Anyone else dislike all the audio "enhancements" on aftermarket decks?
 

Bought a pickup a couple weeks ago. The previous owner had recently replaced the original stereo with a Sony deck. Sony's not usually my first choice, but I'm not terribly picky, and it's a reasonably nice deck (with a really convenient front USB slot that will control an iPod).

However, it's laden with about 5 different audio "enhancements"...customizable EQ's, xPlod "boost" settings, some kind of digital enhancer that supposedly fills in the missing information from compressed digital audio files, and so on.

And they all suck.

Seriously, I sat in the truck and tried over and over and over with all kinds of different music, testing each "enhancement" individually and then in conjunction with other enhancements. And after 30 minutes, my conclusion was that the absolute best sound was achieved by shutting all of the enhancements off.

Does anyone turn these things on? Out of curiosity I turned all of the enhancements to their most "extreme" setting and unsurprisingly the result was painful.

I don't... they all suck.

This is why I bought an alpine.

When I want enhancements, I'll buy the IMPRINT system, wher eit uses a microphone, analizes the sound and applies digital sound processing to make it win.


even in this video you can hear the improvement:




watch from 1:27




I slapped a CDA-105 into my prelude and couldn't be happier. I have no need for imprint.

I have a bunch of that crap on my Pioneer. I manually adjust the bass/mid/treb to a small degree, an only use the compression correction if it's a file that's really been squeezed down...there's a mild improvement in that case. The rest of the time it makes it noticeably worse.

i just dislike all the junk period. The animations, and EQ graphs, and the pinhead sized buttons that go along with fitting all that crap into a DIN faceplate. Blaupunkt used to be my go to car audio provider, but even they have really crapped things up lately.

I never use any of it, and I hate that they are all flashy. I want something that looks stock, and works like stock, but sounds better and has more useful features like ipod control.

Only enhancement I use on my Pioneer is "Loud" set to full, and Bass set to +2 (not the equalizer bass, I guess it's a bass boost feature). Otherwise, everything else sounds like shit. Though I do think Loud really helps a lot.

Sony makes shit products. I hate flashy chrome and red LED shit all over their electronics. Trying to appeal to the youth I suppose. I like my Pioneer because it is simple, clean, white backlit digits, and looks like it could have been factory.

Even in the video, the difference is audible. Pretty cool. Your post confuses me though.

I wonder what difference it would make in a Miata.

I was just saying, if you want audio enhancements, you want something like that.

The alpine deck I have itself sounds REALLY great. It simply hass bass and treble adjustments. I've found all low-end systems to sound like shit. Those built in EQs for Jazz Hands, and spoken word, or POWER BASS all make them sound like crud.

Honestly, that Alpine is the best sounding head unit I've heard in a long time. I was surprised how great it made the factory speakers sound...even my wife noticed, and that means a lot. We've had a prelude since 2002 and the stereo always sucked, you could never hear it when driving...now we can keep the volume low and hear it just fine, the clarity and output is amazing.

I dunno if I'd bother with it in the miata since I only have 2 speakers, having the components installed is already great, drop down cruising I can hear everything.

Just bought one with IMPRINT and new carpet and interior bling and power windows and stuff

Attachment 189283

Hope it sounds as nice in person as it seems to in the video. Planning to supplement the door speakers (since I'll lose the Rockford Fosgates in my headrests when I install the Sparcos) with maybe some 6x9s in fabbed boxes in the corners where the soft top frame used to be.

with IMPRINT? or compatible with imprint?

Compatible, technically. Alpine IDA-X305S. Got the IMPRINT tuners, too.

(zack morris's phone)

Sweet

I don't use the "extras" either, with one exception. The Kenwood deck I'm using has built in low-pass filters I used to cut everything below 200Hz directed at the headrest speakers.

- L

IMPRINT is the same processing (more or less) that home receivers use under the name Audyssey.

And it kicks ass.

I'll have to get a vid once the system is in, speaker enclosures made (bought some Alpine 6x9s for the parcel shelf, looking for a stealthy install...) and everything "tuned".

I'm thinking Comfortably Numb or the 1812 overture. :D

I've got a high end Kenwood single din in mine... I love the USB in on it...

As far as the sound goes...definately a PITA to adjust, but has more adjustability and while it may take days, it'll achieve pretty good sound when its done....

I don't even want to guess the cost of Imprint, but I want it

I have a Pioneer DEH-P 880PRS and the SQ features are fantastic. After adjusting the EQ, time alignment, and crossover settings, it sounds much, much better than the previous HU with only basic sound adjustments. This was a back-to-back comparison. No other changes than the head unit.

Almost every Scion ever uses the same wiring harness, which also happens to be compatible with a shit-ton of other Toyotas. Standard 4Runner upgrade from the complete piece of shit stereo that comes in the standard audio package is any Scion radio. They are 100% fully plug&play.

I have a Pioneed T1809 originally out of a 2007 Scion TC in my 2005 4Runner... and some MBQuarts speakers with an 8" Soundsplinter sub running off a 600watt Eclipse amp.

The T1809 is a Pioneer product, but the internal menus for every model of Scion are there. You just tell it whether you're in an tC/xA/xB and it changes the whole sound... plus it has a couple other settings.

I run it on the xB (closely mimics 4Runner interior space) and "FEEL"... which sounds like most stereos do when you hit the "Loudness" button. I crank the equalizer bass down low and ramp the sub-out bass up to max, then use the remote volume control for the amp to control how much bass.

It sounds fine for all the Little Einstein shit we play for our 3-yr old.

Just got pics of some stuff that arrived (can't post pics from this comp) and the boxes for the IMPRINT hardware/software have the Audyssey logo on them.