Has Anyone Heard the Upgraded Stereo?

[mtndrew1]

Hi gang,

Has anyone here listened to the upgraded stereo system with the subwoofer yet?

I have an '06 Miata with the optional Bose stereo right now. The system is decent, with pretty good lows (no dedicated sub, but an 8" woofer in each door), great highs and decent midrange.

The stereo in the Miata was part of a gazillion-dollar package of some sort with xenon lights and such, but broken out I estimated the stereo was "valued" as about a $300 option, similar to the Smart.

Has anyone here compared the Smart's upgraded audio package to a similarly moderate audio upgrade such as that in my Miata? How does the sound compare? Does the audio distort at high volumes? Does it have decent bass?

I'm semi-picky about my car audio and have always had whatever the premium system is in all of my cars. Any insight into how the Smart's upgraded system sounds would be greatly appreciated!

-Drew

[Smartster]

I have the upgraded stereo in my 451, while it does have the sub under the drivers seat you won't notice it, as there isn't a control to just turn up the bass to the sub and turning up the bass makes the mid range door speaker distort too much. But the front mounted tweeters do bring the much nicely in front of you.

I have bought some after market mid range speakers and will be replacing the ones in the doors also will be trying to replace the tweeters but that's a little harder as no clear understanding on how to get at them in the top of the dash.

I think the main thing the upgrade gives is the MP3 play back plus you the outputs and separating the mid and the tweeters will help. Wasn't an option to get the car any other way for me so I don't know if the upgrade price is costing, but I would say its worth 200/300.

[lhoboy]

Originally Posted by Smartster

I have the upgraded stereo in my 451, while it does have the sub under the drivers seat you won't notice it, as there isn't a control to just turn up the bass to the sub and turning up the bass makes the mid range door speaker distort too much. But the front mounted tweeters do bring the much nicely in front of you.

That's disappointing. Even a moderate quality car stereo should not distort at full volume. It is more likely that the problem is the preamp overdriving the amp than the speakers distorting.

[DaveInTexas]

Originally Posted by mtndrew1

I have an '06 Miata with the optional Bose stereo right now. The system is decent, with pretty good lows (no dedicated sub, but an 8" woofer in each door), great highs and decent midrange.

-Drew

If you think that is good, get a Kenwood or Pioneer and put it in place. After about a month of ownership, I tossed the Bose system on the shelf and bought a pocket to fill the gap that my single DIN radio didn't fill on my 2005 MSM MX-5.

Being that a double DIN radio will fit in this spot, I would save the money that you would spend on the "premium" stereo and put it toward a Stereo with the built in navigation system. $0.02

[mtndrew1]

Originally Posted by DaveInTexas

If you think that is good, get a Kenwood or Pioneer and put it in place. After about a month of ownership, I tossed the Bose system on the shelf and bought a pocket to fill the gap that my single DIN radio didn't fill on my 2005 MSM MX-5.

Being that a double DIN radio will fit in this spot, I would save the money that you would spend on the "premium" stereo and put it toward a Stereo with the built in navigation system. $0.02

Well I know it's no Mark Levinson or anything, but I'm satisfied with the way it sounds.

There are a number of reasons I am always hesitant to change out the factory head unit:

1) The replacement always, without fail, cheapens the look of the interior (IMO). Generally some super-cheesy blue and green flashing LEDs somewhere, mismatched switches and lights, and an overall inconsistent look with the rest of the car. This is particularly true in the '06+ Miata because the head unit is part of a visual block in the center stack and its omission would be immediately visually jarring.

2) I *LOVE* steering wheel audio controls and the last time I checked it was next to impossible to cleanly replicate this functionality with an aftermarket unit. (Side note: I'll miss these most when moving to the Smart.)

3) I don't want to give thieves any more reason to bust my window or slash my top to get something out of my car. In my experience, factory head units are generally left alone, but aftermarket ones tend to make an expensive one-way trip far, far away from the car.

4) The Miata is a lease, and the hassle of tearing apart the car, paying extra money, and then paying more money to have the whole thing put back together is just not worth my time. The car goes back in July, hopefully coinciding with the Smart's arrival, and I have no desire to go through so much hassle for an improvement in sound when I'm already happy with it.

Because of the above-listed items, I prefer to just always buy the best factory audio option and leave it at that. My VW had a great (to my modest ears) Monsoon setup, my Saturn had a lousy "Advanced Audio" package, my Prius had a middling JBL system, and the Mazda has the decent Bose.

I'm a little disappointed to hear that the Smart distorts. I'll be anxiously awaiting the reports as to whether or not replacing the door drivers solves this, as that's an upgrade I'm willing to fuss with. Having mismatched lighting/switchgear/plastics, additional temptation for thieves, and having to shell out hundreds for a head unit I don't even want, however, does not appeal to me.

-Drew

[Gortok]

A friend of mine just had their Alpine flip-up DVD unit stolen out of their Scion XA...window broken, dash destroyed... 3rd car in two weeks, same parking lot (They were out of town.)

The stock radio is available on eBay for about $50...

Yeah, I'll get the upgrade, as well.