AudioFred Messages: 377 Registered: May 2009 Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I've noticed new car audio systems sound much like the sound you hear in any big box store - the bass is turned waaaaay up to produce a bloated boomy fartbox-subwoofer midbass sound. Since this is the only place where most people can hear anything better than computer or TV speakers, I believe they assume this is "good" sound. This is the only explanation I can think of for the reason why every non audiophile I know who has a subwoofer sets it about 10dB to 20dB too loud.
I was curious about my Nissan Sentra. To hear natural sounding midbass I have to turn the bass down to -4 on a scale of -5 to +5. I measured the sound with the audio controls all set to zero, doors and windows closed, and the measurement mike placed atop the driver's side headrest (about ear level for the driver). Here's the sad story: