Thoughts on the BRZ radio/gps/speakers - Should we upgrade?

[dorkymork]

For those of you out there enjoying your BRZ already, I want to know what you think of the GPS nav and the overall radio/stereo performance. I am thinking I would enjoy upgrading it, but if there is no need... Even better.

Thanks!

[Laika]

I was absolutely disappointed with it at first...I'm nowhere close to being an audiophile but I know what I like at least. Then my friend's dad got in my car to play with the Nav and realized the audio was setup in the front right corner and not the center? double U t eff subaru?!


I love the way it sounds now. Not as good as what I expected 8 speakers to sound like and having the bass in the front is very new to me but I still like it a lot. No plans to swap it anytime soon.

[Spaceywilly]

Here's a pretty similar thread
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6534

I'll definitely be upgrading mine at some point (to one that has more buttons) but I think the stock unit is liveable. It's pretty far down on my list of things to do to the car.

[wrxneffect]

Originally Posted by Laika

I was absolutely disappointed with it at first...I'm nowhere close to being an audiophile but I know what I like at least. Then my friend's dad got in my car to play with the Nav and realized the audio was setup in the front right corner and not the center? double U t eff subaru?!


I love the way it sounds now. Not as good as what I expected 8 speakers to sound like and having the bass in the front is very new to me but I still like it a lot. No plans to swap it anytime soon.

Same thing happened to me. I was wondering why the sound was so muffled. Finally went into the settings and saw that it was setup in the front right corner. Changed it and it now sounds much better.

I did find the bass at first to be really boomy. I went in and changed the bass and it sounds much better to me. As to the OP question: audio is subjective. To me it sounds fine and I wouldn't change anything. For others they may want to change it. I guess you'll have to wait until you get the car and then you can make the decision for yourself. I will say though that I wish the buttons on the touch screen were a little bit bigger...damn this fat fingers of mine!

[industrial]

Coming from premium audio in an 09 acura TL, I think the radio sounds fine. The imaging feels artificial and uneven. Needs a little more bass but I'm on the fence on adding a sub. Cranked up I can hear the stereo fine over road noise and wind noise. It won't be loud enough to go "bumpin" through neighborhoods but I think I'm past that point in my life.

[Oriental Life]

I'm still braking in speakers. Will tell my 5 cents after a week or so.

Initial thoughts, not bad, but too many high mids to my liking. And it needs an amp, running at 75% volume is not fun.

[WRXGuy1]

It's not bad, but it's not great either. The navigation is nice to have stock, but satellite reception has been pretty poor. I would love to replace it with an Android deck at some point once a good one becomes available. Pair that with a nice sub and I've got a nice system, I have my doubts that the factory nav will sell for very much though.

[Carlsbad]

I have gone through all the set up and still it sound off. I am getting this flat blown base that I cannot get rid of. As if the subs were blown. I thought I read on one of the threads that someone has a blown sub.
I will mess with it a bit more but then I will take it. I have not enjoyed the audio yet, but I am glad that when it works it is acceptable.

[Oriental Life]

Originally Posted by Carlsbad

I have gone through all the set up and still it sound off. I am getting this flat blown base that I cannot get rid of. As if the subs were blown. I thought I read on one of the threads that someone has a blown sub.
I will mess with it a bit more but then I will take it. I have not enjoyed the audio yet, but I am glad that when it works it is acceptable.

Try Flat EQ and tune into channel 66 on SatRadio. Still having issues?

[Carlsbad]

I just tried channel 66 (Jazz) and flat EQ. The base is flat and out of proportion. If you are getting a crisp sound then my subs are for sure blown (door panel rattles at 35 volume)

[Oriental Life]

Originally Posted by Carlsbad

I just tried channel 66 (Jazz) and flat EQ. The base is flat and out of proportion. If you are getting a crisp sound then my subs are for sure blown (door panel rattles at 35 volume)

Yes, that sounds about right. This channel is the only one that brings this woofers potential to some extent. If you don't have the low punch, something is not right.

Word of advice - check mids in the dash first. When tweeters-mids are blown in passive components this can upset woofers. Believe it or not.

[blalor]

I'm not impressed. Factory nav is a huge waste of money, in my opinion. I asked about the option to delete it when I ordered, but no such luck. Compare the usability and functionality with a $200 Garmin nüvi or the $50 iPhone app. It does the job, and I like the Bluetooth features (I stream Pandora a _lot_). The feature lock-out on the nav (like inputting an address) pi**es me right the f**k off. The quality of the graphics and general look and feel are poor. The responsiveness is poor. I doubt I'll replace the head unit (I spend my money on track days and tires), but I'll never love it.

[Carlsbad]

I will take it in for the blown speakers and let you know the response from Subaru. Thanks guys

[DragonPunch86]

I actually am not fond of the sound system. The bose system I had in my Tc definitely had more capable audio system. It's kind of disappointing but I can't say I'm too concerned about pumping the radio any time soon while I'm too busy listening to the engine go to work.