Well,
Tonight on my way home I stopped in at my local Honda dealer with disk and asked to demo the factory stereo... I used a disk that is an audiophile benchmark standard for evaluating a system for clarity - Jennifer Warnes, "Famous Blue Raincoat" is the album and "Joan of Arc" is the tune... It is not something that I would normally listen to. It is not a bad tune, but it is just not my preferred style of music. My uncle used to work at ADS (wish he still did... He hooked me up before with some great equipment...) and he told me about the "Joan of Arc" tune. Anyway, this song is supposedly produced with perfect clarity, and it has a full spectrum of sounds from silence to very delicate highs to deep punchy bass notes... It is really nice to hear it on a very high end system. Jennifer Warnes has a really solid voice. But you all probably don't want to hear about that - you want to hear about what I think of the factory instal... right?
Well, maybe you caught my
intro posted a few days ago... If not, I am coming from a 1997 Jetta GLS (Franklin is his name with 198,000 miles) with factory amp and speakers with an Eclipse HU and CD changer. I went into the dealer hoping to find a sedan in the showroom. No such luck, but the very nice sales manager (isn't that how they get the job, by being very nice?) brought me out in the drizzle and gave me the keys to an EX sedan and said "have fun, bring the keys in when you are done." So I sat in the lot with the thing turned up to 40 (max) and listened carefully. It was CLEAR, the silence was silent - no hiss at max vol. The highs were very nice and crisp. The bass was strong, but I feel it was not tight enough. It was a bit bouncy (please excuse my technical terminology...) My biggest complaint, though (yes, I am complaining here) is the volume should go up to 50 or 60... IOW, it was not loud enough. I enjoyed my 10 minute stay in the car that I will buy in the next month or so, then, I got out and returned the key. Then I sat for another ten minutes in the lot with the disk loaded in my Eclipse changer in Franklin, my aging yet beloved Jetter, and gave the song another listen. Back to back, so to speak. I think my Eclipse HU maxes out at 74 on the vol. but I seldom need to push it to that. Tonight I set it to 70-72 and listened. "hmmm." I said, "I hear hiss" There was a small amount of hiss there. I never noticed it before - but then I don't really ever listen to Jennifer Warnes, nor have I ever given the listening experience in my car such scrutiny. So nothing is perfect, right? The Highs were also very crisp and high and clear and the bass very tight and powerful. Best of all, it was LOUD. Louder than the Civic, anyway.
As I mentioned in my intro, my 12 hours spent in a rented Volvo V70 was the most fun I've ever had with a factory stereo. THAT was an experience. I listened to Pink Floyd "The Wall" on that trip to Syracuse and heard things I had never noticed before in the 15? years of listening to that disc. I had Bob Marley and Donald Fagan and Frankie Bones and Mark Farina and Busta Rhymes and Many others cranked the whole trip. I was alone and enjoyed every minute. That stereo was loud enough by far. I honestly don't think I ever turned it ALL THE WAY UP.
So, I am sad to say that, while the Honda factory system sounds decent, it is only decent in my opinion. And the Jetta wins - at least w/ an after market HU. Unfortunately, the Si is not an option. I need the 4 doors.
Now, I need to find a HU that will suit my needs (any reccommendations?); but, the biggest challenge will be to convince my wife that I NEED an upgrade and that the factory unit is not good enough. I guess I can't ask for help on that part...
Wish me luck.
bearsfeat