Adjust your bass to +1, trebble to +5 or +6. Also, bass bias adjustment on the stock amp that's in front of the battery for the subs in the rear deck. Search to find more info.

There are also some settings in the radio that need to be turned off...maybe someone with a better memory could explain better. DSP or something like that? I'll look next time I'm in my car.

 

Just had the dealer do the bass bias adjustment as part of my new car delivery. What a difference, takes the stereo from a tinny piece of crap to acceptable. I actually got the rear view mirror to shake to the bass and not have it sound completely over driven on my drive back from the dealer.

Thanks for the info!

 

Appreciate the reply. I will give bass adjustment in the trunk a shot. Thanks man

 

It is easier to adjust the OEM amp after you remove some of the carpet in the trunk.
You can squeeze your arm in between the carpet and battery without removing anything if you know exactly where your aiming

I wouldn't expect too much from the stock rear deck subs though, I wasn't happy till I dropped a 12" sealed sub into the trunk.

 

It's called DDL (Dynamic Distortion Limiter), and it needs to be off

http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3375

 

Nice, thanks again!

 

It's interesting how some owners comment about the OEM head and speakers being shitty. My experience is different.

I am a long-time musician and have a good, midrange-quality home recording studio. I can cut CDs of my music and so I'm in control of the provenance and quality of the CDs. I don't compress the **** out of my final mixes, as most studios do to all music that is being marketed towards pop radio, so my mixes are dynamic and have a very healthy clean bottom end in addition to very nice midrange and high-end clarity.

The G8's OEM stereo does not disappoint when playing good source material. (Mine or anyone else's.) It is capable of significant low-end response (seemingly linear down to 37 Hz that I know of, maybe lower) without breaking up. The stereo imaging is pretty good. Midrange and high end are acceptable - certainly less colored than other systems I've heard - with less midrange "prang" than what I hear in lots of auto stereos.

As SRG 963 said, don't overboost your bass EQ at the head - that just makes it boomy and difficult for the speakers to control. I have not boosted the level on the sub amp because that's my personal taste.

Usually with a decent stereo, if you don't like what you are hearing it's because the source material is not recorded well - that decent stereo just brings out the bad as well as the good.

 

It's interesting how some owners comment about the OEM head and speakers being shitty. My experience is different.

I think what we take away from this discussion is that "good" means different things to different people and most folks cannot express in words on a forum what is "good." I know there are folks here who equate bowel loosening bass with "good" to the exclusion of all else.

I'm less than impressed with the OEM rig. It seems too harsh and bright to me while the imaging , IMHO, is lacking.

It is very source dependant, that is certain. If folks are evaluating audio fidelity with 128kbps MP3s or XM radio they need to just give up. Not gonna work.

Again, that's my take on it.

 

I just bumped the boost and it made a big difference.
There are times when you are just " in the mood " to crank it.
This has helped, but:
Back to the original question. I would like to know if anyone thinks
simply replacing the stock speakers with better quality, using same wiring, would provide crisper sounds, less breakup at higher output/volume??
If so, any recommendations?

 

Just like an aftermarket system, it needs to be tuned.

Here is a link to the thread, Night and day difference after its done.

Look for my post at the bottom, for my settings.

http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8194

 

OK, I did a search on the post, removed the carpet from the side with the battery, where is that control knob? I could not find it for the life of me? Is it the battery side or foward facing side of the amp? Did the rest of the settings but cant seem to find the amp knob

 

It is on the bottom. Reach in with your finger and turn the knob, while the radio is on. You can here the base get lower or higher, depending on which way you turn it.

 

I have an 09 GT, loaded. I have owned a number of vehicles in the past, (Infiniti, BMW, Nissan, and so on). This car has the worst stereo ever. Mostly the speakers cant handle any bass, and if they do other parts of the car rattle (i figure thats what you get when you buy American). Anyway, what have others done to work around this? Replace all of the speakers, or just the rear?

Those 3 makers have some of the worst stereos I have personally ever heard too. lol
Infiniti(Nissan) uses Bose, which is almost always lousy even in Vettes. And the BMW systems have great high and mid, but pretty lousy bass too.

My Lincoln had a THX system which was amazing! Never heard anything with as good of factory punch as that!

 

No highs or lows it must be BOSE! :wink2:

 

I know this is a little off subject but is it just me or does XM generally sound like crap? Always sounds over compressed and like it is "in a tunnel." I agree with the idea that the source makes the biggest difference on sound quality. I have actually started reverting back to some cda's from mp3's. I have also noticed how some recording engineers are better than others when it comes to mixing a good "warm" tone into modern rock. The new Metallica sounds like hammered **** no matter what source it comes from, I saw on "The Metal Show" where they had a discussion about it and the mixing engineer commented how the tapes were mucked up when he got them...

 

Just did the "bass adjustment mod" and wow - what a difference. I wasn't expecting a difference like that at all, but the system now thumps a little bit. Thanks for sharing guys!

While the knob was a little difficult to find (feels more like a button that you would press in and out, but it actually just turns), it was worth it.

 

Weird, you had an Infiniti that sounded better than this? Must not have been a 03-06 G35 like I had..man, that Bose was garbage.

This isn't as good as my full custom system in my previous cars, but it's definitely better than any stock I've heard. This is the first time I don't need to upgrade and dump tons of money. Well, maybe a sub if turning these up doesn't satisfy.

PS: if you haven't found the switch:

 

yeah i also turned the knob up the other day when me and my friend where putting some wires in to install my subs, it sounded a little better but uhhh those (stock subs) suckkk

also dose any one notice a diffirence in sound if you have your ipod pluged in like it sounds like **** turned up between if you have a cd turned up

or am i just mest up and hearing things

 

Most people make this mistake. Your input device needs to be turned up alll the way, all the EQ settings need to be off. Then it will sound just as good as a quality CD.

 

Replaced the speakers in the doors with Polk DB651 speakers and disconnected the stock amp/subs and rewired it to run an aftermarket Kenwood 1000W amp and Polk 12" sub. Can't remember the model of the amp or sub as they're from my old car and I bought them 7 years ago. They still work great and put out good sound so I figured why spend the extra money?

Still considering replacing the tweeters in the dash, but it would be a lot of work and I'm not sure I want to tear my dash apart.

Just the door speakers and the aftermarket amp improved the sound quality tremendously.

 

I must have no clue what good sound sounds like because I'm pretty happy with the stock system, especially after turning up the amp adjuster. I'm not saying its world class, but it works great for me.

 

In my humble opinion, these cars benefit greatly from a complete system overhaul. As such, I used Alpine speakers, amps and a processor to upgrade my sound system. The result is this....

 

Just remember the first rule in car audio. A cheap aftermarket speaker is usually better than a premium stock speaker. :driving:

 

The stock speakers actually don't suck. Have you adjusted the amp in your trunk for your subwoofers?

 

I'm running Hybrid Audio Legatia and they are sensational. I run the L6 and L1 powered by the new RF Power Series amps.

 

I am getting ready to put in a couple sets of treo's for the front end and some treo tsx 10's for the lows. Oh and I just picked up a pair of mtx elite amps to run everything. Should sound pretty good when I get it done!

 

After reading the replies i would like to clarify what i meant by shitty system. In my other vehicles the entire system sounded decent, nothing great, but nothing poor either. The G8, bass is not good at all, the rest is ok. I guess upgrading the speakers is probably the ticket. I had an 02 vette myself with the Bose (One of the worst systems) although the Infiniti G35 and Pathfinder in particular had sweet stock systems. Different strokes for differnt folks, right..

 

After reading the replies i would like to clarify what i meant by shitty system. In my other vehicles the entire system sounded decent, nothing great, but nothing poor either. The G8, bass is not good at all, the rest is ok. I guess upgrading the speakers is probably the ticket. I had an 02 vette myself with the Bose (One of the worst systems) although the Infiniti G35 and Pathfinder in particular had sweet stock systems. Different strokes for differnt folks, right..

I can't say that I agree with the stock system sucking. It sounds much better than stock systems in all my previous cars with stock "upgraded" stereos (BMW, Honda, Saab, VW). To my ears it sounds better than any other stock system I heard including a 2008 G35 with Bose "Studio on Wheels" and a 2005 TL with Bose. I also thought the Bass was lacking at first, but after I did the bass gain mod at 75% it became very decent. I even had it at 100% for a little bit, but that was too much bass for my taste. One thing that might have given you the impression about the stock system is it doesn't overboost the bass nearly as much as other stock systems I have heard.

Word of caution! If any of you are doing the gain mod, be careful. When I was twisting the knob, it fell off and fell down below the battery bracket. I had to disconnect the battery and unscrew all the brackets to get it out.

 

Bose may nbot be that good but my stock Trailblazer SS Bose system is 10X better than the G8 stereo...

 

They must put some good Bose on the TBSS. The Bose I heard on the TL has overboosted bass at low volumes, and distortion all around once you turn it up. The Bose on the new G35 is nothing special either.

 

Don't like speakers?

I have an 09 GT, loaded. I have owned a number of vehicles in the past, (Infiniti, BMW, Nissan, and so on). This car has the worst stereo ever. Mostly the speakers cant handle any bass, and if they do other parts of the car rattle (i figure thats what you get when you buy American). Anyway, what have others done to work around this? Replace all of the speakers, or just the rear?[/quot

Quit your complaining. If you don't like the speakers why did you buy the damn car? Go pay 60 or 70 grand for a foreign car.
Bitch Bitch Bitch

 

I have an 09 GT, loaded. I have owned a number of vehicles in the past, (Infiniti, BMW, Nissan, and so on). This car has the worst stereo ever. Mostly the speakers cant handle any bass, and if they do other parts of the car rattle (i figure thats what you get when you buy American). Anyway, what have others done to work around this? Replace all of the speakers, or just the rear?[/quot

Quit your complaining. If you don't like the speakers why did you buy the damn car? Go pay 60 or 70 grand for a foreign car.
Bitch Bitch Bitch

what kind of ****ed up argument is that, if you dont like the speakers why did you buy the car? thats the most stupid theory i have heard, hmm i like the car butttttttttt i dont like this one button on the dash so i wont buy the car? no the stock speakers suck you have to understand some people like to play loud music 24/7 and have Great bass and Great sound, and im sorry these speakers not so good all i was hearing was the speakers wanting to crap out