Why cars sounds SO good?!

[JuliánFernández]

Why cars sound SO good?!

Lately i´d been thinking about this... Almost any car sounds as good (or even better) than most mid-level (home) studios... But what´s the deal with it?

Cars don´t use any material designed to absorb bass frequencies, it´s a very small place and still you can hear the low end clear and punchy, the speakers are not flat (not even expensive) and still sound really good!

So, why it´s so hard to make your studio sound like your car? I guess that car seats work well absorbing bass, and angles should help to, but still...

Anyway, I guess that the original question remains...

How can cars sound so good?!

 

[up-fiddler]

more dbs pleeeeze

Stock systems in autos have come a long way in the last 40 years. (Hasn't everything?) My feeling is the reason things sound 'good' in vehicles is because you listen at higher volume levels to eliminate wind noise, traffic, tire noise, etc. Ever notice HOW LOUD the system is when you get in to start it in the morning? Once you are parked with the motor off you can hear how loud it actually was.

(I still crank it up though because it's fun.)

 

[RandyW]

I think if you think about it a bit you'll find in a car you
have a lot of acoustic absorbing materials.
Your setting on bass traps, even the head liner will have
a little foam material good enough to tame some
standing waves. Your area in a car is so limited that you
even absorb sound.

I know my studio sounds a lot better than the stock
stereo I have in my 350z. Maybe you need to do some
acoustic treatments in your studio. And I guess I need
to get stereo and speakers in my Z upgraded

 

[CoolCat]

yes, i read the shape of the car= room...no corners, a lot of different sized objects.
I have a very medium priced setup but its nice and very enjoyable, between my HR and car thats about it. There's too many "home types" and "rooms" to satisfy every possibility. my pc speakers can make Abbey Road sound like shit...there has to be a sanity check at some point.

 

[jfrog]

...Ever notice HOW LOUD the system is when you get in to start it in the morning?

I tell my kids it the car radio elves that turn the volume up during the night.

 

[Daisy]

Cars don´t use any material designed to absorb bass frequencies, it´s a very small place and still you can hear the low end clear and punchy ...

They don't use material designed to absorb bass, because they don't need to.

Cars are designed in such a way as to allow the sub bass to transmit directly in to the outside atmosphere.

Ever noticed that when people drive by who are playing bass-heavy material ... and all you hear is WHOOOMPH! WHOOOMPH! WHOOOMPH!

That's all the bass transmitting straight out of the car and annoying the entire neighborhood. So when you think of it ... you've got outstanding low end response (no standing waves, etc.), you've got irregular shaped surfaces with a mixture of different textures; from curved glass windshields to vinyl interiors to fabric seats. Certainly they have their oddities, but compared to most home listening environments, there's really no comparison. Accoustically speaking, the car has a lot of unsual advantages that can't be duplicated in a normal listening environment.

 

[drstawl]

How can cars sound so good?!

I disagree with your initial premise.

Cars most often sound like dog poo.

Even the priciest fancy pants car stereo sounds like consumer garbage next to a decent home system.

Of course- I'm speaking about utility vehicles, not a freekin' Bentley.

 

[JuliánFernández]

I disagree with your initial premise.

Cars most often sound like dog poo.

Even the priciest fancy pants car stereo sounds like consumer garbage next to a decent home system.

Of course- I'm speaking about utility vehicles, not a freekin' Bentley.

Oh, maybe my standard is just too low, but i´d been satisfied with almost any decent car audio system that I heard... And I can´t say that of many of the homestudios (with treatment!) that I visited...

 

[toobalicious]

google "cabin gain" and ye question shall be answered.

a

 

[zbert]

All I know is I listen to all my mixes in my minivan. If it sounds good in there I'm usually in good shape.

 

[ofajen]

google "cabin gain" and ye question shall be answered.

a

Of course, the same physics applies to small to medium listening rooms, just at a lower frequency. It works out nicely in my room, since my monitors are pretty flat down to about 30 Hz, and the room gain really kicks in about that point, so my in room response below 35 Hz is flat down to about 20Hz and then starts to tail off. Unfortunately, the room itself has some prominent modes at about 35 Hz and 70 Hz, which mess things up rather a lot, but the very low end is quite good.

On the issue of car sound, I have to say that my new Mazda 5 has a sound system that sounds quite good. All I notice is the music, not the sound system. I don't get the quality imaging I get in my studio, but the sound is on the whole quite natural.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[Erockrazor]

All I know is I listen to all my mixes in my minivan. If it sounds good in there I'm usually in good shape.

I am right with you on that one. 1995 Plymouth Voyager . If my mixes sound anywhere near good in there, I know I'm in REALLY good shape. That is never the case though...

My car sounds like ass.

 

[JuliánFernández]

google "cabin gain" and ye question shall be answered.

a

For those interested... Thanks, toobalicious!


http://www.caraudiohelp.com/newsletter/cabin_gain.htm