Do we have speakers?

So i've been seriously contemplating hauling the stereo and speakers out of my 2020 and replacing them them, because the sound from my old Jeep Wrangler just blows it away...which is pretty damn sad.

Well out of pure luck today i just happened to try changing the quality setting on my downloaded Spotify and Amazon music...well its literally night and day! Amazing sound! So the stereo IS capable of some decent sound and base after all, with the right music. Thought id share in case anyone else was ready to spend a ton of money on amps..etc.

I swapped out my door speakers, tweeters, center speaker and added an underseat sub.

Biggest bang for your buck would be swapping out at least the center channel. Myself and many members on this forum will recommend the JL C2-350x. It's sold in pairs, so you could find one in the marketplace or buy a pair and put your leftover one in the marketplace.

arpypat said:

I swapped out my door speakers, tweeters, center speaker and added an underseat sub.

Biggest bang for your buck would be swapping out at least the center channel. Myself and many members on this forum will recommend the JL C2-350x. It's sold in pairs, so you could find one in the marketplace or buy a pair and put your leftover one in the marketplace.

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Thanks. The sound system was really underwhelming for sure, especially the base. I could adjust the sub levels and base levels and nothing really changed. With better quality music though, i have ti say, its really nice sounding. I'll see how it goes....the radio still sucks, which is what i listen to most.

Maxum said:

Thanks. The sound system was really underwhelming for sure, especially the base. I could adjust the sub levels and base levels and nothing really changed. With better quality music though, i have ti say, its really nice sounding. I'll see how it goes....the radio still sucks, which is what i listen to most.

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By "Radio" I assume you mean FM radio ?

It's all really relative. Years ago, FM radio sounded GREAT compared with AM Radio. Then came along Tape ! and then CD, and then Mp3, and each one sounded better that the previous, and the previous, by comparison , now sounded terrible.
Unfortunately, typical BlueTooth is a step backwards, unless you have HD Bluetooth, which is far too advanced for the Honda HU !! (or most current phones)

With the Center speaker replaced, the overall sound from the Premium system is not that bad, assuming the source is good.. AM radio is still going to sound bad, and so is FM, compared with a decently recorded Mp3.

Low quality (low bandwidth) streaming is going to sound significantly worse than streaming at a decent rate, more in line with a decent bit-rate Mp3.

It really all depends on what you get use to, and if your listen to better sound systems, (like a decent Home Surround Sound Entertainment system), and then go back to a car stereo.

Also, as systems get better, you start to really hear the differences between well produced and balanced recordings, and ones that are really way below studio quality.

SCOPESYS said:

By "Radio" I assume you mean FM radio ?

It's all really relative. Years ago, FM radio sounded GREAT compared with AM Radio. Then came along Tape ! and then CD, and then Mp3, and each one sounded better that the previous, and the previous, by comparison , now sounded terrible.
Unfortunately, typical BlueTooth is a step backwards, unless you have HD Bluetooth, which is far too advanced for the Honda HU !! (or most current phones)

With the Center speaker replaced, the overall sound from the Premium system is not that bad, assuming the source is good.. AM radio is still going to sound bad, and so is FM, compared with a decently recorded Mp3.

Low quality (low bandwidth) streaming is going to sound significantly worse than streaming at a decent rate, more in line with a decent bit-rate Mp3.

It really all depends on what you get use to, and if your listen to better sound systems, (like a decent Home Surround Sound Entertainment system), and then go back to a car stereo.

Also, as systems get better, you start to really hear the differences between well produced and balanced recordings, and ones that are really way below studio quality.

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Yes..FM. Do they still broadcast AM?? lol I was listening to downloaded playlists off Spotify, which wasn't great, then I tried Amazon Music and it was so much better, it was amazing. Determined that the download quality of my Spotify music was set at Auto, so I re-downloaded everything with the best quality setting that was there...it improved quite a bit, but still not NEARLY as good as what the Amazon music is. Satellite Radio is good, but so far, I'm quite pleased with the sound from the speakers with Amazon Music....I can't even describe how much better it is compared to FM or Spotify for that matter. I'll just put up with the level of sound from FM as long as my playlists have decent sound.

Maxum said:

Yes..FM. Do they still broadcast AM?? lol I was listening to downloaded playlists off Spotify, which wasn't great, then I tried Amazon Music and it was so much better, it was amazing. Determined that the download quality of my Spotify music was set at Auto, so I re-downloaded everything with the best quality setting that was there...it improved quite a bit, but still not NEARLY as good as what the Amazon music is. Satellite Radio is good, but so far, I'm quite pleased with the sound from the speakers with Amazon Music....I can't even describe how much better it is compared to FM or Spotify for that matter. I'll just put up with the level of sound from FM as long as my playlists have decent sound.

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My experience is:

AM: is TERRIBLE
FM: is Poor
BLUETOOTH is Poor (Bluetooth HD might be better but not an option )
SATELLITE: is a little better (still heavily compressed)
STREAMING: varies according to bandwidth available ( from poor to OK)
HD Radio: mostly OK
MP3: is good ( Higher rates are better)
FLAC: is Excellent

Once you get to Mp3 & Flac, the differences are not always apparent, because of the Car's Environment, road noise, and the speaker/amp quality of the car's audio system.
Yes, if you listen to MP3 & FLAC one after another, you can easily tell, but at 70Mph on the Interstate in a Honda, it may not make that much actual difference.
Generally at this level of quality, there is more difference between the actual recording and how they are mixed, that the MP3/Flac differences,

90% of the time I listen to my own Play lists on a USB drive, recorded as Mp3 at 256K or better, volume normalized, and with car optimal Equalizer settings
10% of the time I listen to Spotify, just for something new

After the FREE 3 months of Sirus_XM, I did not subscribe -- content was too repetitive .. on many Channels you could tell the time each day by what they player Every day at that same time !!

I do have Flac Players running on a couple of "Honda Hacked" Honda GenX head units, and they manage to Handle the Flac Playback OK, without skipping, but they are not installed in a car (yet), and are connected to decent Home Stereo speakers, so sound good.

I keep mentioning this, but replacing the Center Speaker in the Premium Sound System makes a world of improvement .

I think it's good to use the Spotify Downloader from AudFree to get the Spotify songs. It helps you get lossless music on your computer. And you can listen to the songs anytime you like.

What makes the stereo even better is doing the HondaHack and then installing the Viper4Android EQ app- there is a night and day difference with all sources you listen from.