Here's how 4 of the best audio systems in cars stack up (GM, F)
Matthew DeBord/BI
Because I regularly test cars, I spend a huge amount of time listening to music in them — probably more time than I do at home.
The days of the good-old AM/FM radio, or era when a stack of cassette tapes was all you had to satisfy your listening needs are long gone.
Powerful, multispeaker audio systems are now custom-designed and perfectly integrated with a vehicle's infotainment setup. You can literally listen to anything except cassettes and and vinyl records in your car (CD players, however, are beginning to vanish).
And in luxury cars and SUVs, premium audio offerings are a common option.
That option cost thousands of dollars. And for the most part, it's worth it. Because most premium systems make use of careful audio design to position speakers, include subwoofers, and combine excellent amps with superior speaker build quality, listening to music in your car can be better than listening at home.
Over the past two years, I've experienced just about every automotive audio system out there in the marketplace. Here we're comparing four of the best.
Obviously, when listening to music in a vehicle, you will be using a variety of media: terrestrial radio, satellite radio, CDs, MP3s, Bluetooth streaming, and streaming audio services such as Pandora, Spotify, and Tidal. You may also be using USB inputs or an AUX jack, so the quality of your source audio will vary.
Rather than getting into dicing and slicing that, I've tried to describe these systems more generally, in terms of their overall sounds quality. But for the most part, I've found that plugging into the AUX jack gives me the best modern audio (although some experts maintain that the USB port is better), and that using CD-player input still offers the best sound.
Also, with the exception of a single more downmarket system that I discuss, these audio offerings are all well-engineered have speakers galore. The individual components are of a high baseline quality.
So let's zero in on what's important. How do these systems sound?
BOSE: We've experienced Bose systems on a variety of vehicles, but we often find them in General Motors cars, like Cadillacs and Corvettes.
Matthew DeBord/Business InsiderHOW DOES IT SOUND?
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTo my ear, Bose hits a very sweet, middle-of-the-road place. I'm not talking about the up-market Panaray version that Bose developed for the new Cadillac CT6, which takes what Bose does well to a new level.
Basically, Bose car audio systems always sound good, and unlike some other choices, they do it without requiring 1,000-watt outputs (the Panaray setup doesn't even get to 600). Depending on how many speakers a vehicle has, where they're positioned, and whether there are powerful base speakers, they can sound significantly better than great.
The base is full and robust, the midranges are well-defined, and the highs are bright. As anyone who has used Bose home speakers or the company's well-regarded noise-cancelling headphones knows, Bose isn't for base-head listeners.
Rather, its car-audio systems will please the widest range of listeners. Rock lovers, pop lovers, hip-hop lovers, jazz lovers, blues lovers, classical lovers — everyone will be happy. The so-called "soundstage" is clearly presented, with good distinction among instruments or vocals and the position of players.
BEST FOR: Everything.
ANY COMPLAINTS?
Flickr/AlicePopkornEven the Panaray system on the Cadillac CT6 doesn't quite rise to the sublime register as some other premium systems available in vehicles.
Bose is so broadly good that it misses out on going for it with, say, the detail you might want if you're listening to jazz or the captivating soundstage you might want if classical is your thing.
That doesn't mean a Bose system is in any wash mushy. Quite the opposite — you can crank it up with no worry about distortion.
But it's not going to invade your dreams. Instead, Bose car audio will simply never let you down.
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