Thoughts on the 9-speaker system?

[DCBuckeye]

I'm curious what owners with the 9-speaker system think of it. (There is another thread here talking about some disappointment with the B&O system and exploring aftermarket upgrades, but it doesn't really touch on the 9-speaker.) If you have the 9-speaker, how are you finding it and how important would you say audio quality is to you? If you don't like it, what options are you looking at to improve the quality? I fully expect it will not satisfy true audiophiles out there but I guess I'm somewhere in between that and someone who doesn't care at all. I'd like to be able to turn it up, feel some bass without rattling out the fillings from my teeth, and not worry about blowing a speaker.

As background, I've got a GT Premium on order but did not take much of a chance to really explore the stereo options before ordering. Trying to plot out and budget for potential mods and upgrades.

Thanks!

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[Frog]

It depends on your goals. I am well versed in car audio; however, I can't compare the 9-speaker to the 12-speaker options. I can however tell you what the 9-speaker is capable of.

The 9-speaker system is good for playing mids and treble quite loudly with no distortion, it has a good spatial sound stage. As soon as you start increasing bass levels, quickly the system loses the ability to maintain volume or otherwise starts to distort. If you plan, like I do, to add an aftermarket subwoofer of any sort, the 9-speaker system will absolutely do the job of playing mids and treble loudly, with the aftermarket subwoofer bringing the bass.

It's also good for people that listen to podcasts, news, etc.

Based on what I hear about the 12-speaker system, the bass still would not be sufficient for my wants. I would have to throw in a new aftermarket subwoofer anyway. IMO the 9-speaker + aftermarket subwoofer is the best performance per dollar.

 

[Dena]

I wasn't really very concerned about the stereo system when I bought the car. All I wanted was AM and FM radio as I have spend hours on the road and you need something to kill the time. I just checked and I ended up with 12 speakers. Mostly I have been listing to 95.1 radio and their programming mostly lacks music that needs a sub wolfer. The sound quality is pretty realistic but consider that you have 8 singing in the background all the time so if you really want to listen to great sound, you should put the money into your home system.

 

[LETHAL]

I had the 9 speaker in my 18 GT. It was good enough that all I added was a sub and dedicated amp. I suggest an Audio Control Lc2i to patch the signal to the OEM system.

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