2007 impreza stereo...

Have you tried purchasing a CD to try? Not sure if that is what you mean by regular CD or not. If it makes a store bought CD sound bad, then compressing the songs by 10x or more certainly not make it sound better.

Blair

I tried a store bought cd. The sound just isn't there. I guess I am comparing it to my bose system in my 05 z71 tahoe. But a 240 watt system should be a little impresive than what it is...

Well, you can have the best head unit in the world, and the highest wattage, but if you have crappy speakers, it all goes out the window.... Bose is known for their speakers, so you really can't compare OEM Subaru speakers with Bose. My son has the same complaint in his car. He has a very nice Alpine HU but stock, 8-year-old speakers.

Dan D '99 Impreza RS2.5 (son's) Central NJ USA

I LOVE my Bose aviation headset. Worth all $1000 that it cost.

But when I was a live sound engineer, the saying went: "No highs, no lows, must be Bose!"

Most Bose speakers are rocks, efficiency wise... I have a set in my woodshop, as the "B" pair, and they're awful.

My major complaint with my 06 WRX wagon is the stereo - all of it. The head unit has poor features and the speakers couldn't be cheaper. I already had one replaced under warranty for buzzing and the service guy said they were cheap - everyone knows I guess. I will upgrade at some point int he future - just dunno how exactly. I might go for a whole computer system with touchscreen.

It plays OK - just crude head unit and marginal speakers.

Carl

I think I agree. Bose is overrated. I think I saw a pic somehwere on the web of some Bose speakers from 1976 cut open and compared to some modern Bose - no major difference. The Bose system in my daughter's Maxima was a disaster and had to be gutted.

Carl

I used to build audio sound systems, and I always recomended that Bose owners add tweeters and woofers.))

I was planing on upgrading my speakers in the base Impreza. I usually put speakers I put in home systems, but got the Sube tweeters for 20$, and figured they would fit easier, and have some cheap, but sweet

6X9"s that have the bass I like in my Chevy that I planed to put in the Sube. The bass doesn't sound too bad, so will just add the tweeters for now, and think I will coat the 5"'ers in the front doors and maybe the 4"'ers in the rear with something, since they didn't look like they had a coating, which always improves the sound. Have a booster amp I might run the 6X9's with but might not need it. I think the 5"ers have wizzer cones. They Will Go..

VF

I've been looking at 6-7" DVD,TV, GPS units. A computer sounds good but can't decided which unit or combo to get. Figure the higher resolution would be best. Most have black frames and would like chrome or silver to match the dash.

VF

I'd heard the Sube stereo sucks. I am not crazy about mine in the base Impreza, but planned to play with the speakers, and eventually get a DVD/TV/Stereo. The highs are what I feel is lacking the most, but have Sube tweeters for it. The salesperson tried to sell me the Outback, since I told them I would change things in the stereo, probably the whole thing. I said, mo thanks..

VF

Bose is OUTSTANDING in the marketing department.

I bought a set of QC headphones, thinking they'd work as well as my Bose X aviation set. They don't, and were returned inside a week.

On the other hand, the real 901's (with the actual black box) can sound quite natural, with certain music and when perfectly placed, and my wife's Bose clock radio sounds very good with "new age" music (chanting, natural, yoga-stuff) played from a CD or Ipod, but it can sound muddy (lots of 100-160 Hz) and over-compressed with other stuff.

But those speakers in my shop... They're just awful!

I'd love to see this magic coating that "always improves the sound". I've been in electronics (including industrial and consumer audio) probably twice as long as you've been alive and never found that magic solution. Voice coil cement, Cone dope, surround cement, yes.

You sound like you have plenty of experience with the audio stuff, but I'll just mention that I've read the 'issue' with subes is finding speakers 'thin' enough. Evidently there are some from Crutchfield

??). I think I also read that for some, holes need drilling/enlarging.

I've got a buddy at work that used to do custom installs. He did a good job with my daughter's car - I'll probably get him to do mine someday.

Carl

Damm you are Old..)) I should have specified coating paper or fiber cones. With plastic, I'd probably make some Paper and apply it. Depends on the drivers. Most paper cones are coated now a days. I did it when trying to add some mass to mids to extend the lows. I just added white glue and changed the sound of the drivers so much, the store I was selling to couldn't believe they were Phillips drivers. Well, they said they never heard a system that sounded So good, and they couldn't blow it up when they tested it, but then I Didn't go by the book and built a front loaded, folded corner horn sub woofer that was copied from an old University Sound rear loaded one, using a high compliance driver, because I didn't want the efficency of the horn, but wanted the acoustic coupling, corner loading, and reduced distortion with a loose horn. The lows didn't go low enough for me but opening a dead air space in the design did. Then I saw Cyclone Anti Reversionary Headers and realized what opening the space did. Kept the returning sound wave from canceling out the lower frequencies than the horn design could produce. Can Feel the low notes at Low volumes. The mids are in odd shaped boxes, open on the sides. That worked out Real good on the woofers in the rear deck of my car. Carpet foam half round tubes with open ends gave the lowest bass. I like low, not boom.

VF I had contacted A.J. May at RCA who used to design their horn speakers, when debating whether to use a horn sub, and he said, Give it a try... As old as you are, you Must have heard of him, or know him.))

I saw some upgrades of the Sube speakers on line, and the thinness of them to clear the glass, and installing 6"'ers. I have some really nice ones, but don't think they'll be needed . I think I would just doctor the Sube drivers, and I picked up a pair of Sube tweeters cheap, which should be OK, and have nice cheap (6$) 6X9's I would swap out of my old car, and put the OEM 6X9 drivers back. They sounded a lot better after I coated the cones. I just don't look forward to pulling the door panels to add the tweeters.((

I never was big on Stereo in cars, and had FM mono for a Long time, since I though that I'd get into the music too much with stereo, and get distracted from driving or frustrated, not being able to focus on the sound. Because I built audio, I used to Really get into listening when testing what I built. Siting on one side of the car, it is hard to get a nice balance.

VF

Yeah, Tobias Guinn (Toby speaker works) used to do a lot of tweaking on

6x9s adding small blocks of foam and stuff. A lot I don't understand. Except my TOBY home stereo speakers sounded as good side-by-side as other brands costing 2-3 times as much. Uh, this was decades ago however. I still have the speakers though.

Carl

I was a little young then, but the dog sure liked being petted.

Nipper was a great dog, wasn't he??)

Never heard of Toby, but sounds like he was damping resonances in the cones. That's what coating paper cones is supposed to do.

When I needed drives fast, I would get them from a local audio dealer, who built some systems. He asked me, if I Knew what I was doing, and wanted to know what I was doing with the drivers. He was so miserable, I would just give him hints, but not tell him everything. Next time I would go in the store, I would see what he did, and tell him if he was hot or cold. If he wouldn't have been so miserable, I would have told him and why I did things, and maybe learned some things from him, but he was in it Just to make money. It was funny to see him squirm.

VF