Future of Car Audio

[Thug541]

Hey guys, I just wanted to get a feel of what most of you guys this is the future of car audio. Every year that passes, every car seems to either have an odd headunit size, integrated mp3 radios/navigation, bose, infinity, monsoon etc. sound systems. It seems as if the days of buying aftermarket equipment will one day come to an end. Look at the new civic, they have a navigation option....ON A CIVIC! Civic's have always been one of the easiest cars to hit up with aftermarket parts, now Honda is saving the profits for itself.

Basically, what I am wondering, is what do you guys think? Is aftermarket car audio eventually going to be doomed? Or will there always be a market for them. Discuss....

 

[Dexter]

There will always be a market, and now companies can make even more money making dash kits for those oddly shaped dashes (ie Mazda 6)

 

[FSDET]

this thread sucks

 

[InFlames]

Theres always something better....

 

[toucci]

to quote the almighty kerpal, "you don't ask dumb question!"

 

[TStar]

i have no love for oem-equipment..always seems a little too half-assed for me :\
(ok,except in some superluxury cars, but i don't have one..soo....)

 

[chuyler1]

The aftermarket scene will always be a few steps ahead of the auto manufacturers and if consumers want the latest and greatest then they will seek out aftermarket equipment.

Navigation is old news in the aftermarket world. So isn't DVD playback and satalite radio for that matter. 2005 was the year of the IPOD and auto manufacturers are just catching on.

Now the craze is 5.1 surround sound, multiband digital EQs, and hard disc equiped head units for MP3 and data storage. What's next? HD radio, wireless integration with your cell phone and other devices, voice activated commands, more powerful computerized head units with email and messaging, etc... Some of this is already available in the aftermarket.

The auto manufacturers are lost without the aftermarket scene creating the buzz for new products and features. Only when something succeeds in the aftermarket do the auto manufacturers catch on and put it in their cars. First it comes to the luxury vehicles, then as optional equipment, and finally as standard equipment.

 

[ChopstickHero]

i think high end components like navigation will continue to keep dropping as more companies get into the market. just like car video/lcd/dvd units. before it was for the elite, now everybody and their mom has one. eventually everybody will have navigation.

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

i'd rather have an 80's "boom box" in my passenger seat that have to live with a Bose speaker system

"no highs, no lows, just bose"

 

[Thug541]

good views.....but i;ve noticed every new car has a "premium" sound system option.....and i feel only people like us will realize these are never worth the money.....I still think the audio junkies like us will be the only ones left ....while those few random people (you know the ones who buy jensen and jvc head units) will be super satisfied with the stock becuase they paid "extra

 

[chuyler1]

But what I'm saying is that there has always been a premium sound option...and the people that don't know the difference think the non-premium system sounds good anyway. The car audio industry is tiny in comparison to the auto industry as a whole. There will always be people happy with whatever comes in the car.

But there is an obvious cycle...

In the 80's people would buy aftermarket units so they could have cassette players in their cars. In the 90's cassette players came standard but people looked to the aftermarket for CD players. These past few years, CD players have become standard and people look to the aftermarket for MP3 playback and Satalite radio. Right now we are starting to see these in factory systems and so forth.

High End Aftermarket = cutting edge.
Cheap Aftermarket = offset 1-2 years cutting edge.
Factory Systems = offset 2-5 years from cutting edge.

As the high end aftermarket moves on to new features, the low end (Jensen and JVC decks) will pick up new-ish technologies at cheaper prices and eventually the technology will make it to the factory systems.

 

[TStar]

the low end (Jensen and JVC decks) will pick up new-ish technologies...

*COUGH COUGH* (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu) (eekfu)

 

[Thug541]

haha no offense TStar....granted i used to have a jensen amp (and subs) and a jvc headunit...they are typically marketed to the casual shopper. And it was good for the price i paid, but what i have now, blows it out of the water.

 

[chuyler1]

I'm not trying to knock on those brands...they just don't have the R&D that brands like Eclipse, Clarion, and Alpine have. In other words...they are followers, not leaders.

 

[Poseur]

One thing not to discount is the fact that eventhough ALOT of aftermarket stereos wind up actually negatively effecting sound quality, etc. There's TONS of ppl out there who just like having neat-o looking displays with motorized flippy do-dads and lightshows, etc. Also generally bragging about how many speakers they've got and how many watts each speakers has. Of course they assume that this means good sound, eventhough sound quite frankly has very little to do with it somuch as attempts to be cool.

IN the end it's the consumers who drive the industry, Car audio just happens to be FILLED with some of the worst.

 

[chuyler1]

The consumers dish out the cash but its the sales and marketing people who educate the consumers on what to buy. If people have bad systems, I blame sales and marketing.

I blame them for marketing subwoofers with chrome flames on the side. I blame them for every car with rear speakers. I blame them for the people that actually want flippy do-dads and lightshows on their head units. Its a double team effort though. Marketing pushes the product on the consumers through advertisements and shows like "Pimp my Ride" and the sales people aren't educated enough to tell the buyers what they really need.

Seriously...you don't see this crap on home entertainment systems. Even the cheap surround sound home-theater-in-a-box units come with all the components necessary to get good sound. They send the right amount of power to the right speakers and it looks nice in your home. The satalite speakers don't have 4-way tweeters or other garbage and the subwoofer is a basic box that sits on your floor. No flames, leds, or fancy grills.

Why does the car audio industry have so many flippy ******* do-dads?

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

Lots of marketing crap in HT as well, look at Bose, that crap is all marketing

Tiny 3" satelites mated with a "bass module"..there is no way you can get full sound with that setup, but people still pay 10-20 times more for them because of marketing and there are other brands that are the same, just not AS over priced

It is becoming more form than function, small speakers that have no sonic qualities are taking the place of larger speakers just for the small footprint and "asthetic appeal"

Im not saying a small speaker cant sound as good as a larger one, just that there is no way a single driver speaker will sound as good as a slightly larger 2-3 way speaker

Also on the pre/pro, receiver end there are companies that market "sound fields". Last I checked a Sony or Yamaha receiver had about 30-40 DSP modes to "enhance" sound quality. All that crap does is alter the artists original concept by introducing noise and echos and all sorts or un-needed junk

I dont mind the flashy bling bling as long as its useful, but I will continue to buy on function and sound quality before I buy something that "looks cool"

 

[Thug541]

I'm with you guys. When i first got into car audio (17 years old) i thought fancy flip out tv's and cool lights were the way to go. As i soon learned, it is not. Tho i have found some head units that looked good and performed good, looking back, I coudl've def. gone for a nice alpine unit that would've made my system sound better and easier to customize. Its funny tho, in HS I dreamed of a flip out TV, then realized I didn't need one, then the AVIC-N1 comes along with its navigation, and now I have a great flip out unit, with navigation, and all the options in the world. And instead of going cheap everywhere, got some JL amps, and kept the system infinity....tho some don't agree with their sound, mostly the tweeters, I think they are perfect for what i listen to (mostly rap and r&B)

 

[Brian MP5T]

I miss the Single DIN slot...

 

[SP33D]

As the high end aftermarket moves on to new features, the low end (Jensen and JVC decks) will pick up new-ish technologies at cheaper prices and eventually the technology will make it to the factory systems.

haha no offense TStar....granted i used to have a jensen amp (and subs) and a jvc headunit...they are typically marketed to the casual shopper. And it was good for the price i paid, but what i have now, blows it out of the water.

I wouldn't go as far as saying infinity blows them out of the water.. well maybe it blows jensen out of the water, but JVC has a lot of good products as of recent... I'm sure you'll see some of their head units in some SQ cars soon.

I have a feeling it's only going to be a matter of time before JVC becomes a top competitor with Alpine (unless of course Zapco can get their products properly marketed.. if thats the case then I see Zapco and Alpine being the 2 top mobile audio companies in the future). JVC is such a huge electronics company that I'm sure they have enough money to buy out the latest and greatest products being developed, reproduce them, and market them properly. JVC owns companies like Emerson, Symphonic, and Sylvania.. and also the rights to VHS.

One thing not to discount is the fact that eventhough ALOT of aftermarket stereos wind up actually negatively effecting sound quality, etc. There's TONS of ppl out there who just like having neat-o looking displays with motorized flippy do-dads and lightshows, etc. Also generally bragging about how many speakers they've got and how many watts each speakers has. Of course they assume that this means good sound, eventhough sound quite frankly has very little to do with it somuch as attempts to be cool.

IN the end it's the consumers who drive the industry, Car audio just happens to be FILLED with some of the worst.

That's because most idiots think loud = sounds good, and most of them think that spending the most money you can at Best Buy is going to give you the best sounding system in the world.

Im not saying a small speaker cant sound as good as a larger one, just that there is no way a single driver speaker will sound as good as a slightly larger 2-3 way speaker

Most of those 2 or 3-way distort themselves and sound like garbage so I don't really know what you're trying to get at with that.