OEM Audio Plus Reviews

[oemaudioplus]

Not intended to be a Commercial Post.

Wanted to create an archive of the reviews associated with the OEM Audio Plus Sound Solutions made exclusively for the BRZ / FT86 / FR-S:

What are Owners saying about OEM Audio Plus?
(Did we miss your review?! Send us the link via PM - Thanks!!)

**BRZ / FR- S PRODUCT SHOWCASE**

FULL REVIEWS:
Be-Are-Zee
buddy32
czechm8
ekaj
Fastbrew
MrBodyMassage
prometheus
ravisraval
The Sentinel (Video Included)
Yruyur



FEEDBACK:
Area86
Atticus8631
AzBRZ
BRZ323
captain_jack
chrisbfrs
DrDuquette
ft86me
Gary in NJ
10aded
mjs
nocturne1
Sellout
teamturbo
tonystewart

Be sure to share your feedback!!!





**BRZ / FR- S PRODUCT SHOWCASE**

[lbroskee]

My review... FUCKING AWESOME!! I hated my audio while this was in for tuning

[Phantobe]

I haven't heard any bad reviews, the price is what gets me like meh though lol.

[ajcarson11]

I will post a review in a few weeks -- Been happy so far, just have a few small things to work out. Expect a detailed writeup soon!

[Nivek]

The OEM Audio Plus unit was one of the few mods I got to enjoy on my BRZ before I had to let her go since we added a new family member.

I am pushing 40 and am still able to claim that my hearing is better than most people I know. So when I initially experienced the OEM Audio Plus system at a local meet, I could actually hear the difference between my stock unit and the OEM Audio system. I immediately understood why others refer to this as the OEM Audio Plus experience.

My teenage years were spent developing car audio sound systems for enthusiasts and for competition. I know what money can buy and how to get more for my money when buying car audio equipment. The fact that these guys spent time custom tuning their software for the acoustic environment of the BRZ/FR-S is noticeable.

I *love* the fact that the trunk is not consumed by speaker boxes or electronics. Having a usable trunk and quality audio can be mutually exclusive. I know some people want to *thump* and if so then one speaker box is not going to cut it, but this is truly a system that I enjoyed thoroughly, listening all genres of music.

Interestingly, my wife likes country music, but she did not like riding in the BRZ. I like spending time with my wife, but I do not like listening to country music. Our compromise involved listening to track or two of country music over the OEM Audio Plus system in the BRZ. Now that I sold the BRZ, I am forced to listen to more country music on stock speakers that suck!

Can't wait to get back into a car with better audio!! I miss my OEM. If you are thinking about it, find someone with the system to experience it. You will not be disappointed.

[czechm8]

Great idea to collect these reviews in one post!
Still lovin' my OEM system!

[ajcarson11]

I will start by prefacing my review: I'm fairly picky about audio in general. I wouldn't quite call myself an 'audiophile', but I have a good understanding of what I like, and I'm willing to work to achieve the sound that I want. When I first took a listen to the stock audio in the BRZ I knew an upgrade was in order -- The stock system lacks mids in the right frequencies, lacks bass, and overall sounds enemic. I'm an electrical engineering guy, and don't mind wiring and building a system, but as I was doing some research on audio builds for the BRZ I kept running across the OEM Audio+ system. Thread after thread was filled with 'You can't beat the OEM+ system for the price' and 'I plan out my music for my next commute in advance; its that good'. Having built a few systems for cars in the past I thought 'man, a turn-key solution sounds pretty good'. I emailed Daniel at OEM+ to see if the OEM+ Reference system was in stock, and it was at my door in just a week.

Pulling open the box I was happy to see no clutter -- You get all the components you need, and a packet of instructions. I wish I had taken more pictures during the process, but i'll try to paint a word picture:

- 2 carbon fiber 6.5" woofers with speaker spacer/adapters built in
- 2 drop-in high-grade tweeters with the factory connectors already in place
- 1 subwoofer enclosure with both sub and power amp bolted to the back face
- 1 tightly-wrapped wiring harness
- 1 small packet of zip-ties, and a knob/screw/speed clip for attaching the subwoofer in the factory trunk mounting holes
- 1 packet of quick-connectors/fuse holders for connecting the wiring to the battery
- 1 instruction manual

You can see the difference in speaker composition here (stock speakers on top, carbon fiber OEM+ speaker on bottom):




Installation was fairly straight forward. The instructions say the install takes 2 hours. For 2 people who both know the process and how to remove the panels this time-allotment is probably realistic, but for everyone else who is moving step-by-step I'd budget 3-4 hours. I'd recommend following the video on Youtube for the installation. Some of the pictures in the manual can be hard to see, especially as they are in black and white. The wording in the video is also different in some areas, helping to clarify details of each step. I recommend picking up a few interior trim removal tools. You don't want to use screwdrivers on your shiny new interior! Installation of tweeters and door speakers was beyond simple -- Unscrew (or pop out) the old speaker, attach the new one, and attach the wiring connector. For the subwoofer/wiring harness installation I recommend removing all rear trim panels beforehand. It makes it easy to understand where to route the wiring and how to attach the subwoofer to the mounting points. Subwoofer installation was fairly straight-forward, but I found it difficult to line up the speed-clip, trunk mounting hole, and subwoofer to get everything attached. I had to raise the subwoofer up a half inch off of where the trunk floor card sat in order to get the mounting screw in. I REALLY recommend taking your time installing the subwoofer. It is very easy to knick the paint, especially if you don't order a custom painted subwoofer (I have the stock default paint option on mine). The hardest part of the install involved routing the wiring harness. Getting the bundle of connectors up into the headunit area can be tricky, but even with that, I wouldn't call it 'difficult'; just requires you to sit back and think. Overall, I would consider the installation easy, and I think anyone could do it with some patience. It is, however, 100x easier than ripping apart the interior to install a traditional custom audio system. OEM+ did a great job of getting everything you need into one package.




Upon firing up the stereo for the first time I was a bit underwelmed. The mids seemed recessed, the tweeters sounded harsh at high volume, and i was able to max out the volume of the entire system when the 'volume' was only at 35. The knob kept increasing, but the output stayed the same. I sent Daniel an email over at OEM+ and he understood my concern. A new amplifier/DSP unit was shipped to my house, and this resolved the issue.


This new amp worked wonders. The Reference series meets my expectation in some areas, and exceeds it in others. The balance of the system is perfect. OEM+ tunes for each car using a DSP, spending up to 80 hours to get every speaker working together to present a cohesive, holistic sound. I am very happy with the balance and soundstaging. Most vehicles have a very left-biased soundstage (if you are in the drivers seat) meaning that the audio coming out of the left channel tends to sound like it is coming from an area in the door next to your left leg. The OEM+ system brings the sound stage up to ear level, and directly in front of you (the driver). The left and right channels are very balanced for the driver, with each speaker (tweeter, door driver, sub) hitting the ears at the same time. The crossovers in the DSP unit do a great job of splitting up the frequencies correctly between all speakers. I found the highs and mids to be a bit too fatiguing at higher volume, but this was easily corrected from the EQ on the stock BRZ headunit. The lows are interesting. I chose to go with the 'robust' setting from OEM+ and i am glad I did. The punch is absolutely there, and it is very very tight. The front door speakers have a lot of kick, and this helps to keep the soundstage forward, while letting the sub contribute to the overall thump. It is rare that the sub feels localized -- the DSP and crossover tuning really make the sound feel three-dimensional.


With all of the above being said, I do have a few things to note:

1. If you are used to having one or more larger subwoofers in the rear of your vehicle, you may be underwelmed. The bass that the OEM+ system puts out is very tight, but will not send you down the road bouncing. For me, i've found the bass output to be perfect at a standstill, and great for cruising around town. I mainly listen to blues, rock, metal, and some country. At 45mph+ I find that the bass drops off, and the overall sound becomes a bit thin. This is to be expected with an 8" subwoofer in my opinion, and if you want more punch at those higher speeds you will need to move more air (or completely sound-deaden the car).

2. If you are someone who likes to fiddle with settings and EQs and crossovers, then this system may leave something to be desired. I can relate to this, as i'm used to having complete control over my car audio systems. OEM+ has designed this to be a turn-key solution, and if you are sticking with the stock head unit you will not be able to change much. With that being said, if you do find that you'd like to change something related to the EQ, OEM+ will accommodate your request free-of-charge (provided that you can send in your amplifier for retuning).



Overall, I would recommend the OEM Audio+ Reference system for our cars (BRZ/FRS). The tuning really makes the difference, the install is fairly easy, and the OEM+ support team is great. The system comes with a substantial warranty (10year/100,000 mile i believe?) and looks completely stock (no wires hanging around, no cutting apart the car or modifying wiring harnesses). I know many people may be looking at the price tag ($1500), but think it of this way: If you could have payed for a premium sound package when ordering your car from the factory, would you have payed the extra $1500 for the car? If so, then find someone with OEM+ in their car, give it a listen, and give the system a try. You won't be disappointed.


Bonus:

During my research period I ran across several individuals who had added sound deadening to the car to reduce interior resonance. Having experienced rattling with the stock system I knew that the increased output from the OEM+ would require deadening to maintain the sanity of those listening. I went ahead and took the panels off the car to do this before installing the OEM+ system. The deadening ran about $60 for 50sqft (of which I only used 36). I was able to do most of the car (trunk, rear quarter panels and wheel wells, doors, rear seats, etc). I highly recommend this, as it reduces interior noise (especially at highway speed) and makes the system sound even better!

[oemaudioplus]

@lbroskee @ajcarson11 @Nivek @czechm8

Thank you for your awesome feedback!!! Truly it is comments from owners like yourselves that keep us striving to provide the BEST product and service. Thank you!

[twag4]

OEMAudio+ is a great company with great people. Daniel and Sandy are top notch. Customer service is second to none, and Daniel went out of his way to make sure I was happy with my system. I can be hard to please, and they did it! What a great company!
I purchased a reference system that came with upgraded rear speakers due to an unusual delay in shipping my system, again great customer care. I could not be more please with my purchase. I chose the robust setting for bass, and am glad I did. At highway speeds, the bass is enough for me. Anything less on some of the music I like would not have been enough if i had chosen just full bass or less. I have a car that is modded, and it isn't the quietest car any more. The system does a great job of staging the sound in front of me, uses the correct speakers to reproduce the desired frequencies, and sounds very clear. It also gets pretty darned loud. I am happy. I have read where others find the system a little treble heavy, tedious tweeters I guess, but I do not. I actually have increased treble a notch or two depending on the recording I am listening to. I have a 2013 10 series that got the scion display radio as found in the 2014 model. It sounds very, very good for what looks like a factory installed system. The sub enclosure is not too intrusive and does a pretty good job for its size. The install was fairly easy, although as many others have said, the sub is very tedious to install. Once I figured out the mojo, it wasn't too bad. My trunk liner was pretty hard to get to push into corners fully to allow the sub enclosure to settle into its final mounting place. The install is still plug and play, not very difficult at all. I recommend this kit to anyone who wants to upgrade their sound system without having to buy every component and make them work . I don't believe all of the talk by people who say they can make a better sounding system for less money. I have put together several car stereo systems in the past, and any that got close to this price point were always lacking somewhere. The ones that did sound this good overall, cost more. I am no expert though, just stating my experience. There would be more bass available in a different system, but it would come at the expense of trunk volume and weight. This has enough bass for me. This system isn't too heavy, and I can still hall everything that I halled before the system was installed. I can even get my spare tire out without removing the sub. Buy this, you won't regret it! Besides, it comes with something a pieced together system won't- the best customer service I have ever experienced. There are several vendors on this forum that are truly exceptional in that regard, OEMAudio+ is one of them- maybe even the best of them!

[l0aded]

My review is up there, still loving my 400+ and Reference Series after ~2 years now.

Met with Daniel and Sandy on multiple occasions and they are both great people to work with.

[ethan160222]

What are some of the key decision points between the 400+ and the Reference 400CF? It appears that the Reference adds replacement door drivers and a specialized DSP profile.

I'm looking for a balanced system and an end to the awful door rattle.

[RIP.S2000]

Originally Posted by ethan160222

What are some of the key decision points between the 400+ and the Reference 400CF? It appears that the Reference adds replacement door drivers and a specialized DSP profile.

I'm looking for a balanced system and an end to the awful door rattle.

Well put, I'd also like to know. I understand that the audio system wasn't a selling point of the car, but on road trips, the door rattle (which comes and goes) can really kill the music.

[slowmow]

Just wanted to add that I've had a great customer service experience (so far!) with OEMAudio+.... I just got my ReferenceCF system, and after unpacking I noticed that the amp mounts on the sub were smashed out of the fiberglass enclosure. Given the robustness of the hardware, and the packing materials, UPS must have dropped this thing from a serious height. One call to OEMAudio and some texted pictures later, and they are working on shipping a new unit. Daniel made suggestions for getting the car back together and at least some audio playing in the car in the meantime. I didn't get "ship it back (at your expense), and we will take a look..." or "go F*^& yourself"... just a few questions about how they can get me back on the road ASAP. I also had a question about how the enclosure might not fit given some aftermarket coilover suspension posts (TEIN Flex Z) sticking into the trunk area, and Daniel was interested to know how the fit worked out so they can consider their design.

Bottom-line? So far, so good. The system sounds great, and the customer service has been excellent. I went with the OEMAudio+ system based on the recommendations here... this is exactly why forums like this are so useful.

[oemaudioplus]

@RIP.S2000 @ethan160222

Great!! Simply put.. You can expect our signature sound (Clean Crisp Clear) with both the System and Reference Series for the BRZ/FR-S. The difference is the number of drivers (speakers) and the speaker configuration. Reference series (top of the line) includes replacement front woofers and features our 2-Way configuration tuned for the acoustics of the BRZ/FR-S; resulting in a whole new level of imaging and clarity.

For a subjective example.. I listen to the System 400+ primarily (because it is in the demo vehicle I occasionally drive), and it continues to amaze me with it's level of sound reproduction and clarity. With that said; I do hear a noticeable difference when I hop in our Reference Series equipped vehicle. Primarily it's another level of imaging (Instruments are more defined locationally / sounding warm like a live performance). There is also a difference in the range of our front door 6.5”s, you can get more deep bass out of our drivers, but not at the cost of clarity. This results in a more balanced bass reproduction.

Also, you can always go with the System 400+ and upgrade the the Reference Series later, if desired.

Regarding RATTLES: because our sound solutions are designed specifically for the acoustics of your vehicle we are able to accomplish deeper low frequency reproduction in the cabin of your vehicle yet tune out the distractions (such as vibrations) you experience with the stock output. This is true of both the System, Reference and SL Series.