[mgastor2022grey]

[Disclaimer: This might offend some people, apologizing for that sooner]

Hey guys, hope you all have been in good health..

Recently, I have been seeing a lot of YouTube videos which show car owners who upgrade the audio system of their cars for a huge amount of money. Now, I am just getting myself clear, I love premium audio and am a basic audiophile. But, are we really using our money wisely? I don't know...

For starters, when we cross the budget of 20 lakh, we get a good audio system which is a bang for your buck.

We have now started to see branded audio being a part of the standard equipment of manufacturers. For example, we have a 9-speaker JBL system in the Nexon, a 8-speaker Bose system in the Seltos and Creta and a 9-speaker Infinity system in the Hector. Though, we still have companies which don't care for audio at all (That's for you MG! The Astor has an unbranded 6-speaker system, which IMHO is not adequate)

When we realize that our cars don't have a good enough audio system, we begin to search for aftermarket options. We may initially start with a small budget, but later end up spending which may cost us a fortune (I have a friend who has an I20, started to spend for audio with an initial budget of 3 lakhs, but later ended up spending roughly 11 lakhs!).

We even have certain BHPians such as @flipflop, who has spent 29 lakhs to get the best out of his Sonet (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...s-chennai.html (29-lakh rupee audio upgrade | Concert in a Kia Sonet | Installation done at Speedfreaks Chennai)).

I have certain YouTube videos which state owners spending a mini-fortune for their car's ICE, such as this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT_TlIiJdvE

I'm not criticizing these people, just a doubt that many people have: Are these upgrades really worth it? Many people have stated that the car manufacturers don't offer enough of these high end system. (Not only complaints from Creta, but also from a Volvo XC90 customer who stated that the 19-speaker Bowers and Wilkins speaker sounds bland)

Now more and more companies are offering ridiculous pricing for their car's sound system, such as Bentley's Batur which is asking $32000 (approximately 27 lakhs) for it's premium audio.

According to me, any audio system would sound adequate with some tuning. But is that really not enough? Do we really need a mini concert in our cars where we will be spending at max 24 hours? I really do not know...

BHPians, please throw some light on this...

[Rajeevraj]

Not to trivialise or belittle the question, but in my view these are questions that will have no clear conclusions and there is no end to it.

The same can be extended to a lot of things. Is it worth spending 30 Lakhs on a car when you can pretty much get everything in a 15L car? Is it worth buying a BMW for 70Lakhs when a Superb at 50 L will probably give you more? Is it worth going to a fine dining restaurant and spending 2000 per person when the neighborhood hotel will probably give you the same food at 200. People buy large mansions and houses for 2-3 people when something half the size will still be too much.

All of these exist because there is a section of people who find value in it. It maybe inexplicable to a vast majority, but that is what it is. We all find joy in doing, buying different things. This is just one of those.

[MotorDev]

Ah, the classic struggle of a car audio enthusiast! The constant question: Should I spend big on a fancy car audio system? We all love a good beat during our daily commute, but do we really need a wallet-draining, concert-level setup just to enjoy our favourite tunes?

Car manufacturers are doing their best, but the temptation to go the extra mile is always there. Is it passion, obsession, or just the thrill of having the flashiest car audio system in town? The mystery remains. And don't even get me started on those jaw-dropping price tags. Lakhs of rupees for speakers?

Perhaps a middle-of-the-road approach is the way to go. A bit of tuning here and there can work wonders. After all, do we truly need our cars to double as concert halls?

In the end, it all boils down to individual choice and budget. Whether you prefer a modest setup or are willing to invest in a high-end car audio system, it's your money and your decision. Some might opt for a full-blown concert experience, while others are content with a basic, functional setup. It all comes down to what you prefer and how much you're willing to spend.

[d3mon]

People forget that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

A car interior has terrible acoustics to start with. Imperfect positioning of the listeners w.r.t. speakers, unavoidable reflections via tons of surfaces and road/traffic noise creeping in.

OEMs with high end audio options (like B&W in Volvo) spend millions of dollars and hundreds, if not thousands of hours in an attempt to tune out the inherent issues with a car's interior space. These are audio engineers with PhDs and decades of experience and expensive audio measurement equipment, mind you.

If you think just throwing expensive audio components at the problem can solve these issues, I think you'll end up being disappointed. You need a solid foundation (well built car that can cocoon you from the outside world - nothing lower than the likes of a Skoda superb, IMO), good quality components (this is what most of these audio installs focus on) and then tons of tweaking for it to sound as good as it can within the constraints of a car's (acoustically) flawed interior.

[greenhorn]

As much as I'm crazy about audio and hifi equipment, I'm going to draw on my economics basics to explain this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_utility

The curves for different people are different.

Some may be able to hear differences others can't, or vice versa.
For some, the price to pay for achieving it may be insignificant compared to the happiness it brings them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

Another term that may be equally relevant

[Rodie09]

Very subjective topic. One can only express their personal opinion and expectedly the results will be heavily skewed in favor of last option. I can only say 'To each his own'. At least this is better than spending a fortune on a fancy number plate that cost more than the car in several cases. But it's an eye opener that there are many takers out there for such expensive set ups.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by mgastor2022grey

According to me, any audio system would sound adequate with some tuning. But is that really not enough? Do we really need a mini concert in our cars where we will be spending at max 24 hours? I really do not know...

BHPians, please throw some light on this...

A bit of a long post, in summary - Yes, worth it.

I used to play music, was part of certain music bands in my younger days so I'm familiar with how musical instruments sound. In that light - No it's not possible to tune an entry level system to sound like a high end system.

Thanks to different gelf uncles , I was fortunate to experience good music. At that time it was fashionable to have a massive stereo system at home, the best sounding of all of them was a pioneer system, let's not forget there were two Sony Walkmans that I have experienced among lots of such portable players that were absolutely brilliant , one of them even had a wire remote , auto reverse IIRC, amazing sound.

Coming to cars - the first audio system (aftermarket) that was impressive to my ears those days was Kenwood HU+Pioneer speakers . In OE terms the most remarkable one was Mk1 Octavia Elegance trim , it had an Alpine system , brilliant one it was. I don't think music system was given much importance in mass market cars for a while till Bose came along, now we have Harman, JBL ,Bose, Sony to name a few and depends on the type of ear you have you may prefer one over the other - I prefer the Sony, it reminds me of that Pioneer /Alpine systems I used to listen to more than anything else.

Right now with OEMs focusing on music on the road we can experience very good music with wide immersive sound stage while on the move, it's brilliant, needs good amount of computing power to achieve it, not possible at all without spending a good amount of money.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by mgastor2022grey

Are these upgrades really worth it?
According to me, any audio system would sound adequate with some tuning.

As someone who lives and sleeps with Audio in the background, NO, beyond a certain amount of money. Basic systems on regular cars may not sound good and can be upgraded, but after a price point, it's a case of diminishing returns.

Irrespective of what installers try, you cannot beat the factory settings one gets on premium cars. I spent crazy money in 2002-2006 on Qualis/ Innova on Blaupunkt systems, which used to be a thing. I didn't have anything for my cars after 2008 when I moved to European makes.

I have no recent local Car Audio setup, but I built a 2 Channel system at my Home using Classe-Delta Mono-blocks and Amati speakers with Nordost cables. It sounds fab, but from this experience, I saved a lot of money for my other setup and picked Accuphase Integrated with Harbeth speakers at about 1/4th the price of the Mono setup. Is the Audio quality four times different - NO. In fact, on certain types of music, vocal/ classical, I find the latter better


If someone wants to buy a Kia and add a 40 lac system, please consider this i7. I am sure not only will the audio be better than the local setup, but the car will be infinite times superior

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v18xaRgLPa0

[Cyborg]

Money’s worth, value or what amount is right for what purchase is an individual’s decision. It can never be generic as it’s about where an individual is in life and the importance of the object to the individual. Whatever that may be, high end audio or anything else.

Monetary value - 10 thousand rupees for example has a different value proposition from say Mukesh Ambani downwards to different people. It’s like saying (in a different way), one man’s food is another man’s poison.

[inwester]

Going by the logic in the question, no one would ever fly business class since they all land at the same time.

That said, I voted 'NO'.

Although, I tend to buy the top variant in terms of mainstream brands, or upgrade to the optional branded audio system for luxury makers. I find the standard OEM speakers leave a lot to be desired, but after a certain level its a classic case of diminishing returns.

[GTO]

I believe in two sayings:

To each, his own

Live, and let live

What anyone else does with their money is entirely their domain. We shouldn't ever criticize that. Some people spend big money on car audio, while others spend 4-lakhs on a handbag, 10-lakhs on a watch, 90-lakhs on a wedding and 100-crores on a house.

Whatever makes him / her happy

Personally, I don't think spending big bucks on a car audio system is worth it and I have written as such in a related thread (The Downside of High-End Audio Installs). This negative vote is coming from someone who has a 4000-song neatly catalogued music collection on iTunes, has a premium music subscription to all the services and spends at least 10-hours a day listening to music. I am still the old-school type who downloads all the songs he likes and adds them to iTunes.

But the real magic of music is from the voice of Eminem or Asha or Enya, not the 1-lakh rupee component speaker . I enjoy music even on reasonably good headphones costing under 10,000 rupees, or my girl's Airpods!

Most new cars now have very good ICE systems from the factory, and they only get better in the 20-lakh car segments and up. With my 530d (two stock subwoofers) and Superb L&K, I feel absolutely no need to upgrade the audio system. The Thar has a decent music system for a convertible Jeep, although I do intend to spend 20 - 50k on upgrading the speakers, an amplifier and a subwoofer. 50k is not over the top at all.

For my home entertainment, I would splurge a bit more because we are very big on TV shows & movies. I think I've spent about 2-lakhs on my home audio system and am on the lookout for a bigger 65-75 inch TV now (which will be another couple of lakhs).

[buzzy_boy]

The problem I have with these installs is that there doesn't seem to be an objective criteria to evaluate their quality. Hence, it becomes easy for installers to start scamming people.


Let's take cars. It is easy to understand that a car with 28 KMPL mileage is 2X better than one with 14 KMPL (for people for whom fuel efficiency is the most important criteria). A car which brakes from 100 KMPH in X meters is better than a car that takes longer etc.


But with the audio installs, we've seen even people on our forum, who seem to possess a lot of knowledge about these systems, argue over the brand of source, components etc.

So, voted No! If I were to go for a high end audio, I'd set up one at my home!

[Vid6639]

My view is for the car there are too many variables to get audiophile grade sound and one will never be happy with the non ideal environment of a car. If you look for perfection it will be a money draining pit of no control.

So I prefer to have good audio at home and then in the car spend nominal for upgrading stock audio if it is sub par.

For example in the Ecosport, I added an amp, component speakers and a subwoofer.

In the Jimny, I am adding component speakers and carrying over the amp and subwoofer from the Ford as I didn't see the point in going all out with fancy speakers and a DSP.

If the sound with better speakers and amp doesnt improve, I may go for a different amp with inbuilt DSP to keep the setup simple.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by buzzy_boy

The problem I have with these installs is that there doesn't seem to be an objective criteria to evaluate their quality. Hence, it becomes easy for installers to start scamming people.

While it may not be the be all and end all of it, and I don't want to get into the objectivist vs subjectivist debate, there are measurements. If you're doing an SPL freak, an SPL meter usually has the final say. That's how dB drags are held.

If you're doing a high fidelity install, a good starting point (and let me re emphasize again, not the last word) would be an RTA measurement of the final system, distortion, resonance etc measurements which would at least give some baseline metrics. This is how other high fi equipment is tested. I can imagine why it's not, for the installations showcased here, and I don't want to go into those reasons because ultimately it will end up in a debate that has been done to death in audio forums worldwide.

Having placed myself at risk of being accused of trying to spread objectivist propoganda - I will remind everyone again that I'm merely responding to a question. I have no intention of affecting people's livelihoods because of my immature beliefs, insufficient knowledge, limited spending ability or deficient hearing skills/abilities

[where_to_next]

Most cars these days come with a decent audio setup which should be sufficient for most folks. There are the few scenarios when I see people tend to change/upgrade

• You are a huge audiophile
• Once you sit in another car with a better music system, your ears & mind would slowly itch to consider an upgrade for your system as well

For reference, I consider the 6-speaker JBL Infinity audio setup in my Harrier very good. Before this I was listening to stock music system in 2008 Swift which I liked too back then. But now that I got used the Harrier's better sound, I don't think I would like the output in Swift.