Hi guys,

I just picked up an 09' R3 and the cars wonderful, save for one problem. The stereo sucks. I almost find myself hoping something's broken because this sounds like a budget system in a budget car rather then some "300 watt Bose stereo system".

So my question to you, the general audience, are theses systems good systems or is this a well known fact that they suck...and i just did not doing my reading ahead of time.

I find the sound missing low's and mid's.

 

Welcome to the forum. Grats on the R3!

I've got the Blose audio system. It's Blose alright. They are notorious for 99% marketing 1% R&D. Too much midrange bass, not enough instrument separation. Almost seems like the crossover is set too high. Makes me wonder how much could be fixed by a good head unit.

 

yeha, its par for the course.

 

The 300 watt Bose stereo IS a budget system. Paper cones, Ridiculous EQ curves to compensate, and a complete lack of clear highs or deep lows.

I tore out everything but the head unit and replaced it all. Big difference. The HU gives a nice clean and strong output, but everything else about the system is garbage.

Unless you're buying a luxury car, the sound system is pretty assured to suck.

 

I dunno about that, even my s2000 had better sound then this. My dads bose system in his vette blows this out of the water. Looks like ill be looking into a full stereo upgrade. I don't know much about it though, ill just tap the shoulders of some of my audiophile friends.

Thanks for the replies, you confirmed my suspicion

 

Mine also sucks, but I seldom listen to the music while driving. The engine sound is far more interesting. I guess the cheapest upgrade would be to change the rear speakers...

 

im with you mino, music really hasn't been a big thing in my life. I dont own an ipod and have a few cd's that are older then my last car... I listen to the radio mostly and occasionally crank the volume. Even still, when i have passengers in the vehicle, i often concede control of the radio, and that is when i cringe.

Im trying to get some research done to find the best route of resolution for this.

 

You can get a decent boost in audio quality by replacing the stock tweeters up front and the rear deck 6x9's. If you don't listen to a lot of music, that might be enough for you. You could even replace your front center channel without needing to pull the bose amp, you'd have to check the audio sticky, but I believe it's a 2 or 4 ohm speaker, meaning aftermarket speakers can be put there without messing with the OEM amp.

 

I feel it does very well for a stock system. All it needs is a little more low end which is easily fixed with a nice sub.