Going through lists of amps, speakers, and subwoofers inside a quest to upgrade your car's audio may be baffling. OEM Audio Plus removes the confusion, a minimum of for Scion owners beats pro, by providing a total package.
CNET tested the company's audio upgrade in the Scion tC. OEM Audio Plus also provides sound system upgrades for the xB and iQ, and is working on a package for the FR-S and xD.
The upgrade consists of replacements for all of the existing speakers dr dre headphones, and also the addition of an eight-channel 360-watt amp and an 8-inch subwoofer having a 130-watt amp to power it. In the tC, that means new tweeters beats by dre studio, mids, and woofers in the front doors monster beats, and two new 6.5-inch two-way speakers facing the rear seats. The subwoofer mounts in the side of the cargo region.
Simply because OEM Audio Plus matches the speaker sizes with the originals, the door grills stay stock. The subwoofer enclosure is nicely carried out monster headphones, sitting unobtrusively in the cargo region looking like a piece of stock equipment.
For every of the Scion models, OEM Audio Plus tuned the amp's digital signal processing to fit the elements and also the automobile.
Listening towards the system, we heard a definite improvement over the stock Scion tC audio. The soundfield showed great depth, and the instruments came through with clarity. With the tone controls zeroed, the sound was well-balanced.
Nevertheless, this well-balanced sound also came across as flat, like a very clean reference speaker system. The subwoofer supplied a good base for the sound without making itself recognized. Editor Antuan Goodwin sarcastically noted, "Well-balanced sound is just what Scion owners are looking for."
The system staged sound reproduction in front of the passengers, giving it that front row at a concert impact. But the staging was a little low, developing a sweet spot at torso level rather than over the dashboard, probably because of the speaker placement in the doors and also the lack of a center channel.
Playing Safri Duo's extremely drum-oriented "Played A Reside," the method didn't deliver a lot presence. The multiple overlapping snare and tom drum beats did not come via with the intensity they deserved. But on tracks by The XX, where a single bass drum beats, the impact was a lot stronger. The system created bass that might be felt, however it never rattled door panels or caused other distortion.
The OEM Audio Plus system truly excelled at horns. On each Dusty Springfield's "The Appear of Love" and Stan Getz's "Desifinado," the breath from the musicians playing horns could be heard distinctly. The entire range of sound coming via the horns was reproduced distinctly.
Likewise, the jazz electric guitar on "Desifinado" came via with extremely clear tones, although the guitar sound was a little as well localized at the right side speakers. Elton John's voice on "Your Song" sounded extremely rich, with a large amount of presence.
In doing these listening tests, I utilized each a CD and MP3s compressed to 320Kbps. There was little distinction between the two formats in the system's reproduction.
One area exactly where the OEM Audio Plus system failed was playing music at high volume. Turning the volume to maximum resulted in nasty distortion.
The OEM Audio Plus upgrade can be ordered via Scion dealers or on the company's Web site. The method for the Scion tC expenses $1,399, with installation extra.
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