nusrat
New member
I'm splitting this into different threads about basically different topics which are all related to replacing my sound system. It's a 2008 Urban Runner with a stock double-DIN HU with TomTom nav. I've owned the car for one year. I hate the UI on the HU, especially since the TomTom screen is dead, and I've decided to get a single-DIN Kenwood KDC-X702.
Part 01, speaker-shopping woes, classical music
The stock unit is OK for listening to talk programs and pop/rock, and even jazz. (I feel no need to impress everyone in the vicinity of my car with teeth-jarring bass. Likewise for volume levels -- the only use I would have for super-loud sound would be to vengefully blast some really bad opera singing at any nearby cars which are forcing me to listen to their music.)
But the stock system is really ass for listening to classical (including choral) and opera, which are all I listened to up until the age of 16. There's just no combination of settings on this system which make that music listenable -- I'm just wincing the whole time. At one time I was one of those high-end audio equipment nut-jobs, and even sold the stuff for a while. I don't expect any in-car system to sound that good -- at least not for less than $3k -- but I'm convinced it should and can sound better than it does.
So I spent a couple of entire days searching for reviews of all the dozens of speakers which Crutchfield says will fit my T4R. I couldn't find anything which even mentioned classical or opera, even on web-sites devoted to high-end audiophilia. Then I searched on the sites of the makers whom I know to have (now or previously) justifiably good histories in home audio. But I found nothing there either.
Then I went to three different "big box" stores which have demo walls. I brought my own music to audition their hardware. It's hard to believe that any of their car-equipment sales are attributable to those demo-walls (except maybe to customers who are hypnotized by flashy space-age ornamentation and multi-colored blinking displays). A lot of their demo equipment is dead or damaged or unlabeled, with no employee there whom you can ask the model or price. And more importantly, all the demo-wall stuff also sounded like crap.
Finally I went to a high-end boutique audio specialist store -- the kind of place which sells five-figure home equipment -- and found that they have stopped selling car equipment. I asked what kind of car speakers they thought might be good for classical music, and they mentioned a couple of brands which I won't name yet, to avoid influencing responders' opinions. And I received one suggestion from a Crutchfield "advisor".
So my question for forum members is: Do any of you listen to "classical" music -- or similarly demanding acoustic music -- and recommend any speakers which are especially good for that?
-- Thanks in advance to any responders.
P.S. -- Minor correction, I did see one review where the reviewer wrote that he was impressed with the way the product handled "classical" music. Turns out, he was talking about the soundtrack from a Superman film.
Part 01, speaker-shopping woes, classical music
The stock unit is OK for listening to talk programs and pop/rock, and even jazz. (I feel no need to impress everyone in the vicinity of my car with teeth-jarring bass. Likewise for volume levels -- the only use I would have for super-loud sound would be to vengefully blast some really bad opera singing at any nearby cars which are forcing me to listen to their music.)
But the stock system is really ass for listening to classical (including choral) and opera, which are all I listened to up until the age of 16. There's just no combination of settings on this system which make that music listenable -- I'm just wincing the whole time. At one time I was one of those high-end audio equipment nut-jobs, and even sold the stuff for a while. I don't expect any in-car system to sound that good -- at least not for less than $3k -- but I'm convinced it should and can sound better than it does.
So I spent a couple of entire days searching for reviews of all the dozens of speakers which Crutchfield says will fit my T4R. I couldn't find anything which even mentioned classical or opera, even on web-sites devoted to high-end audiophilia. Then I searched on the sites of the makers whom I know to have (now or previously) justifiably good histories in home audio. But I found nothing there either.
Then I went to three different "big box" stores which have demo walls. I brought my own music to audition their hardware. It's hard to believe that any of their car-equipment sales are attributable to those demo-walls (except maybe to customers who are hypnotized by flashy space-age ornamentation and multi-colored blinking displays). A lot of their demo equipment is dead or damaged or unlabeled, with no employee there whom you can ask the model or price. And more importantly, all the demo-wall stuff also sounded like crap.
Finally I went to a high-end boutique audio specialist store -- the kind of place which sells five-figure home equipment -- and found that they have stopped selling car equipment. I asked what kind of car speakers they thought might be good for classical music, and they mentioned a couple of brands which I won't name yet, to avoid influencing responders' opinions. And I received one suggestion from a Crutchfield "advisor".
So my question for forum members is: Do any of you listen to "classical" music -- or similarly demanding acoustic music -- and recommend any speakers which are especially good for that?
-- Thanks in advance to any responders.
P.S. -- Minor correction, I did see one review where the reviewer wrote that he was impressed with the way the product handled "classical" music. Turns out, he was talking about the soundtrack from a Superman film.
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