Funny thread.. The fact is, the stereo is good but could have been better. We're all similar but we're all individuals with different levels of senses, some common.
A better system would have allowed us to make some adjustments to the sound, preferably via an Equalizer.
Low end strength is a must on stereos nowadays and should not by 'stereo'-typed as a youthful indulgence.
Peace.

 

Well I would agree and disagree with almost everyone here. Sometimes the rig sounds pretty good and other times it sounds very pedestrian.

To me, the biggest problem with this stereo is the lack of adjustability. I think if there was a more flexible EQ, that more folks would likely find this Bose rig a bit more acceptable, especially considering the drivers they provided in this system, which in my opinion are just of average quality.

That said, I like bass and I find that there's plenty of bass in this system (in the sedan version at least). Now I'm talking about standard bass, not true subwoofer bass. Very few factory systems will get you to that place, you need aftermarket for the truly great stuff. The problem to me is that the bottom end is just not very well defined. When you are feeling the need to turn up the bass on some tracks, many times it just starts to get muddy and whooly instead of getting more thump. Not exactly "tight" sounding bass drivers, but still not awful by any stretch. I think a lot of this might be from the bass boost that happens at lower volumes from the head unit and the frequency and "Q" they picked for the bass control. The "Q" is probably too wide and the frequency might be a bit too low for the size of the bass drivers in the doors.

Now this is coming from a 32 year touring career musician that actually happens to be an audiophile (rare combo) and still has good hearing (even rarer). I've even done a decent job at studio engineering and mixing live sound, so I'm completely screwed as far as a few of you may be concerned.

Overall, I would say the stereo is good, not great, but I don't feel ripped because the extra I paid to get it included other features I wanted so it really wasn't a big investment loss. I may play with different drivers later on down the line but I can live with it for now.

BTW, in all the cars I test drove in the 3 weeks before I settled on the G35, the best sounding stereo was in, believe it or not, a Camry Hybrid, followed by the Lexus and upgraded Audi A4 rig. The BMW wasn't special either. The Camry was much better than the others but the car was boring and I already had a Prius so I was looking for the FUN and I found it.

 

RLampke,what are you an expert in? Speak for yourself. Tell me Lampke, because I have a Linn audio system (soon to be upgraded to Dynaudio Confidence C1s speakers) at home AND have Bose wave radio at work (what heresay!),and soon will buy some QC2s for traveling,does that NOT make me Audiophile? I am not saying that Bose comes anywhere close to the SQ of the Linn setup,but for the love of.........Please stop the condescending attitude.....You are giving me as an audiophile a bad name. And no, I do not want see your PMs with Feng, thats why its called PRIVATE MAIL. The way you come across in your responses I would find it hard to be professional with you too.

I too have PM Feng, and personally I enjoy the fact he has given me some insights (what he is allowed.....) on just how hard it is to design an audio system for OEMs on a shoestring budget. Now I have not heard the SOW,but I have corresponded with the Stereophile writer who have, and he states Feng is ............hold on..............an AUDIOPHILE.

I have followed the threads on AVSForums and to tell you the truth they end up as being the same here. All the Bose bashers state the same mantra like a broken record (yes,I too post there under a different name). Feng cames out using facts,the bashers can't handle it or it goes over there heads and they resort to name calling.

And Feng, keep posting on audio websites, may I suggest Carsound.com, the Great Richard Clark has a section there,and there is a section about OEM integration with aftermarket. People there know there car audio.
Just my 2 cents.........

 

Can anyone compare the G's Studio on wheels to the TL's ELS system? I mean playing regular 2 channel CD's and not the surround.

The surround system is great in the TL but not too many sources out there. I think the ELS's 2 channels sounds decent. Yes, it doesn't have enough volume but at its loudest, it still sounds crystal clear.

 

Sota, I doubt you'll find many OEM head units with much adjustability aside from the standard treble/bass/fade/balance control (and maybe a few presets). As for driver quality, I can't comment since i've never seen nor inspected the drivers in this system.

However, I did get a chance to demo the SoW in a '07 sedan yesterday...and I have to say I walked away impressed.

Most of the material I used for my listening evaluation would be considered "sound quality" material. They are for the most part all high-quality recordings..much of it consisting of various vocal ranges and real instruments. Genres ranged anywhere from jazz to rock to r&b (i.e.- diana krall, the eagles, alice in chains, alicia keys, etc....even some beyonce singing acapella).

After fiddling with the limited controls for a bit, I settled on fade all the way to the front, and balance a click or two toward the passenger side. Treble and Bass were set to flat (0).

I chose to fade all the way to the front because during initial listening, the sub in the rear deck didn't appear to be providing much (if any) extension to what the woofers in the front doors were already covering. Any additional benefit it provided was cancelled out by the rear fill drivers that would fade in with it, which I found to muddy up the overall sound (notably the midbass and lower midrange regions).

I am a bass lover myself, but while listening to some reference tracks, I found myself actually backing down the bass because it was overly pronounced. That said, I agree with sota that the midbass could be more defined. This is not to say that the midbass was bad at all (its response was actually quite good and had adequate extension), but it could be more defined. Who knows, maybe my expectations were set artificially high going in since I was expecting the type of midbass you might get from an aftermarket offering with regards to a 10" midbass .

The midrange was something that stood out for me in this system, as it was one of the best that I have yet to hear in an oem (even besting some of the better aftermarket systems). It was without any noticable peaks or dips in the response...detailed and neutral would be a good way to describe it.

The tweeter was good..I have no complaints other than I thought it had a very slightly exaggerated top end, which seemed to add a bit of artificial shimmer. However, I realize subjective taste in the tweeter region can vary widely from person to person, so the extra shimmer might be preferable by many people.

With regards to the soundstage and imaging, I thought it did very well for an oem (of course keeping in mind most oem's have diddly squat as far as proper imaging goes). The left boundary was somewhat sacrificed as I adjusted the balance toward the passenger side for a better center image. While it wasn't pinpoint, you could still place the image in its general area on the stage. There wasn't much depth to the stage, but that was to be expected.

Overall, the system was very enjoyable to listen to. There weren't any major peaks or dips in the response, which can lead to listening fatigue. My only major complaint is one that has been mentioned several times already - the system does not get very loud. For most of my listening session, I left the volume around the 3/4 range. While it remained composed even at max volume, I don't know how much merit this holds.

I couldn't agree more with sota on his sub-bass comments. People must keep in mind that this is an oem system. It is one that does very well with what it was intended to play, sub-bass not being one of them. Adding a subwoofer to fill out the bottom end would be easy enough for those inclined.

Hope this review was helpful

 

Guys, can the head unit be replaced if someone wants to get a new head unit? I don't have the studio on wheels, but they look similar.

 

can it be done? probably. will it be hard? probably. will it be expensive? probably.


may i ask why you're looking to replace the head unit?

 

Nice review Jay.

After posting the other night I did a bit more critical listening today. I can say that for the most part, though I still think the midbass is a bit bloated sounding, overall it's a very enjoyable system for what it is.

The bass, as you and I both have both mentioned is more than adequate, and at times even a bit much in the flat position depending on the material.

On the top end of the spectrum I'm glad they didn't go over the top with the sizzle. I've seen so many of these systems that tout amazing or accurate sound, yet take your head off or wear you out after a half hour behind the wheel when the treble is in the flat position. Luckily this isn't one of those systems.

I agree that the midrange is reasonably neutral and overall I think I can live with this system nicely without too much regret.

As far as adjustability, I was mainly thinking in terms of at least a midrange control, which many manufacturers offer nowadays for their upgraded head units. A decent parametric EQ in an oem head unit of this type was not what I was expecting to be included here.

One of the biggest mistakes I find many times is that the center frequencies these head unit manufacturers choose for the bass and treble controls are usually too low for the bass and too high for the treble, giving you an extreme smile curve rather than a musically useful one. Even though I would like to have had different points chosen on this system, I know it's a bit unrealistic to be too picky about this since it is basically oem we're talking about.

So regardless of my initial **** criticisms about it I still think this will be, for most folks, a really decent sounding stereo for the price invested.

 

My understanding is that if you get an LOC and an good amp, that you really don't need a new head unit - but you do need good speakers. Do you know what the stock system's speaker size's and configuration look like? I'm thinking that while the stock speakers are smaller than the SOW set up, the openings must be the same size, meaning you can probably get some big *** speakers for the fronts

 

I'm asking because the quality of the music is pure crap when the volume goes up...not just distortion, but you can hear all kinds of static at certain freq...oh well, good enough for now I guees.

 

Yes, I can.

On the same day, I compared the stereo systems on the following cars, listed in decreasing order of overall preference:

1. Lexus GS 350 (Levinson)
2. Acura TL-S
3. VW Passat (Dynaudio)
4. Mercedes E350 (Harman Kardon Logic7)
5. Infiniti G35 (Bose Studio on Wheels)
6. VW GTI
7. Camry (JBL premium system, auditioned a later day)

About my biases. I've been into high-end home audio for many years. I prefer accuracy and neutrality. I don't like coloration or distortion, even if it makes some material sound better. I love systems that are very resolving and revealing, even if it means revealing the flaws in a recording. I also love extended and accurate bass, but I loathe bloated bass.

My test was done with 2-channel CDs only. No unfair advantage to the TL with DVD-Audio discs. I zeroed out all equalizer settings and turned off the surround-generating modes on the systems that had them (TL-S and E350). I tested the same six CDs on all systems, with the car parked. Genres included vocal, piano, full orchestra, jazz, and electronica. The electronica disc was good for revealing bass-induced rattles. The Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti did well on the rattle test, while the VWs failed. (I didn't test that disc in the Mercedes or Toyota.)

The Levinson system was the only one that sounded like a decent home system. It was just great -- neutral, revealing, and involving. I went home after the test and spent some time pricing out various Lexuses to see if I could justify buying one. There's a significant step down from here to the ELS system in the TL.

It was a close call between the TL and the Passat. The Dynaudio system in the Passat had a level of resolution that rivaled the Levinson system, and for certain material I would rate those two systems as about equal. But the balance ruined the experience. It was too tipped toward the upper mids and highs. I tried turning up the bass, and that helped some recordings but hurt others. The problem is systemic, and ultimately I found myself straining too much to enjoy the music. I'd rank the TL system about equal overall to the Dynaudio, but it spreads its shortcomings around more evenly and so it's a better overall experience for most recordings. The TL is not as resolving and accurate as the Dynaudio or Levinson, but it's way above the other four systems in this regard. What struck me most about the TL system is the wonderful balance and musicality throughout the frequency range. That combined with above average detail extraction and resolution made it more enjoyable than the Dynaudio system overall. And the Passat's tendency to rattle when fed a bass-heavy signal sealed the TL's 2nd-place finish. Compared to the Levinson and Dynaudio systems, the TL is a tad muddy, with some euphonic warmth that I don't personally like. But it's still far above the next two on the list.

It's a big step down to the next two, the E350's Harman Kardon Logic7 and G35 Studio on Wheels. These two systems actually sounded kind of similar. I'd need to review my notes (left in the office) for a proper review here. Basically, these systems both suffered from a thin midrangy sound, somewhat harsh, kind of honky, a bit like listening through an AM radio. Thin cymbals, scratchy violins, pronounced sibilance in voices, congested at fortissimo orchestral tuttis. I've heard this kind of sound a lot, even in home systems, and the problem usually starts with drivers (speakers) that are simply not as good as they should be. Both of these systems also suffer to some degree from a bloated unrealistic upper-bass. In neither case was it terrible, but I'm pretty sensitive to that.

The step down to the GTI was not as great as the gulf between the TL/Passat and the E350/G35. The best thing I can say about the GTI system is that it had no huge flaws (see Camry below). But it was simply boring and did not involve me in the music at all. It was the one I most wanted to turn off and stop wasting my time with. However, for a sport-minded car in the low $20K range, I think it actually competes well.

I tested the Camry on another day, but I included it here because someone else mentioned it as their favorite system. It just goes to show how tastes differ because I could not stand it. I'm sure that on some axes it's not the worst on the list. But it had a horrible, unforgivable upper-bass bloat that could not be toned down by adjusting the controls without completely killing the sound. One of my test discs had so little low-frequency content that it sounded good, kind of similar to the G35. But my other five discs were basically unlistenable, even solo piano.

 

Wow, thats a great review ephemere.

It's interesting to me how some people put so much stock into their car sound systems. I guess a lot of people are just way more into music than me. To me, being inside the car with all of the road, wind, engine noise, etc., I don't expect a studio quality experience. The stereo simply has to be "OK" or "good enough" for me. I'm much more concerned about the rest of the vehicle, the ride, driving dynamic, safety, features, etc. Just goes to show you that different people value different things, and opinions vary.

 

Mike I think I fall into the same category as you. I do enjoy my music but more as a background for when I'm driving. I like to hear the sounds of what is around me such as the purr of the engine, the exhaust sounds and sometimes I like to listen to my partner in the passenger seat .

 

mikepro: I agree. Even though I have about 10,000 CDs, I never cared much about car audio before. I rarely used the stereo on my dearly departed Z3. But that all changed when I started having a long boring rush-hour highway commute. As much as I'd love owning a great RWD sports sedan like the G35, the sad fact is that I won't be able to really use it for 90% of the miles I'll be putting on the car. I just test-drove the Civic Si and found it difficult to resist buying, it was small and light and cheap and so much fun to fling around corners. But again, pointless for my utilitarian needs.

This does bring up a good point, though. My test was done with the cars parked, so it didn't take into consideration cabin noise while driving. That's a big factor, but I won't be doing that test until I narrow down the field to fewer choices.

 

Me too. Only sometimes though.