OEM Audio + Review in '17 BRZ

[gskv]

Here's my review after 3 weeks of owning the OEM Audio Plus

Let's begin with the sound quality:

I'm going to begin to rate this at 6.5/10

I opt for the Robust option.

1. The sound front stage is very powerful, and the bass from the doors are punchy. But I feel it's just very loud, and doesn't have much quality.

2. The imaging of the sound is rather odd to me. I come from German vehicles that have stock systems but with very good imaging. I expected an aftermarket system to achieve similar effects.

3. The bass is heard, not felt in this car. There are some odd sounds that the 6.5" woofers tries to play--and it becomes a disaster.

4. The sub-woofer does it's work, but don't expect it to envelope you.

Moving onto installation:

1. Installation was straight forward. Anybody that has messed with 12v electronics growing up with cars should be able to tackle this install very easily.

The only problem was that the rear speakers did not have a harness to connect, instead it had pins.

I cut and soldered the stock speaker harness, instead of using the pins.

2. Fitment is perfect, OEM grade and everything was nicely done.

Others:

I installed rubber butyl to the doors, and rear quarter panels to assist in taking care of potential vibrations

Conclusion:

I would recommend this kit to people who aren't audiophiles, but want something better than the OEM system. The OEM system in the '17 is actually decent if the EQ is set right.

The OEM Audio+ kit is a hassle free kit to give it a little bit more. If I were to do it again, I would opt for an aftermarket kit that would probably run me another $800 dollars more to do it right.

Overall, 6.5/10

[darko]

how much total was the kit?

[softgrip]

Did you set the EQ to flat in the head unit? You have to set the EQ to flat if you want this system to work well.

I absolutely loved the result in the 2016 car, but the stock system was rubbish.

I also noticed the speaker system in the 2017 sounds a hell of a lot better than previous models. I'm not sure if I'll bother with the OEM Audio Plus for the 2017 model.

[softgrip]

I caved. $1500 aud - can't go wrong

[EAGLE5]

All cars are terrible places for music, and our car is worse than many because it's such an aluminum can. What German cars did you come from? I'd rate the 2013 stock stereo as a 3/10. I'd rate the Logic audio of a 2007 550i BMW as a 5/10. Spark EV stereo is a 2/10. My McIntosh bookshelves with a quality preamp and amp are a 8.5/10.

On that scale, still a 6.5?

[Twinz]

This does sound like something is off. The instructions still said to set the vehicle to tC when I installed mine over the summer. That is NOT the correct setting anymore. I don't know if the BRZ radio has similar options but the OP's description of the SQ issues sounds a lot like when I tried to listen to my system on tC

[l0aded]

Tuning is a huge factor for OEM audio plus, meaning if you have the wrong tune for your setup then it will not be to the "oem audio plus" standard.

I'm not saying this to say something went wrong but I've gone thru multiple iterations with OEM Audio Plus as I had the original, upgraded to the reference, changed from balanced to robust, then from robust to full, upgraded the 4" dash speakers, and finally my head unit. Thru this drawn out experience I've had a chance to hear the system done so, so right and also go horribly wrong. And btw, it has gone wrong more times than I would have liked along these steps but just contact Sandy or Daniel and they will make sure you are taken care of.

I would say make sure you have 1) the right settings in your car, 2) the right audio tune for your headunit AND setup (which oem audio+ system and possibly even which gen does matter), and if you still don't like it, I would recommend switching from Robust to Full or Balanced. This should help with the overdone sound from the door speakers. Personally, I thought Robust was too punchy and loud as well and it really ruined the "balance" of the system. Switching to "Full" was a sweet spot for me.

Personally I have ended up with a specially made tune for my Joying 5.1.1 (v1.90) headunit, the first gen system with dedicated amp,reference upgrade (6.5" door speakers) and 4" front speakers. The re-tune done by Sandy made a WORLD of difference when compared to the system using the Pioneer BeSpoke which I thought was actually the wrong tune after I recieved the 4" dash speakers as certain frequencies were coming out too strong out of front stage.

Ultimately it should sound perfectly meshed together with no frequencies blaring out of any set of speakers.