I put Akrapovic exhausts on my Z06's and ZR1, didn't know they came with a radio.

 

My thoughts too.

Ken

 

The stereo is light years ahead of the C6 and C5.

 

Surprised no one has mentioned that the stereo systems changed during the C7 years. The 2014 has an HD system that was dropped in 2015. Somewhere down the line, 2018 I think, another HD system was introduced.
I can only comment on 2014 which I think is a pretty good system. Not quite as good as our SUVs but still pretty good.

 

Saying the radio SUXS would be a compliment.....

Talked to a local shop and was told it would hit me for about 3k to replaced the speakers, amp and required other required parts.

 

Its not very good. I've detailed why in many threads and will do so again for the record.

It suffers from all the normal problems you find in car audio (limited dynamic range, poor frequency response, bad sound stage, etc)... just made worse by the Bose processing. The Bose system applies an automatic EQ (actually just a simple bass shelf) that actively removes low frequency information. See below...


This chart was created with a calibrated microphone, pink noise (equal energy) and pro-level FFT analyzer software. The blue line is low volume, the pink line is high volume. I aligned the high frequency response because as you can see it doesn't change with volume. However bass drops as volume increases - plain and simple. This is the opposite of expected behavior. And yes this the factory 3LT system with the so called "subwoofer" this not directly about the speakers themselves - this result is due to the audio processing occurring inside the factory amp.

My guess is GM does this protect their cheap speakers. This keeps people from complaining about distortion or blown speakers. It also allows GM to use a crappy amplifier because they are removing the power hungry low frequency energy from the audio signal. This is one of those cases of saving pennies per car because they know that 80% of people will never notice. This thread is proof that plan worked since many think the audio system sounds good Sorry but there is no getting around the scientific data - the C7's audio response is BAD. I've been car audio as a hobby since the mid 80s so I am very confident in this assessment.

Part of the reason why you get such a wide range of opinions on this topic is the lack of a good reference system If you have access to a truly wonderful, full-range, dynamic, high-end audio system you'll would quickly realize the C7's audio is terrible. Granted most cars are not concert halls so your expectations need to be lower in a vehicle. However sadly the C7 is still subpar compared to other vehicles and even other Bose systems. For example my wife's Infiniti Q60 (with Bose) sounds better. Compared to what can be done in the aftermarket the C7 system is a joke. Granted nobody is buying this car for the stereo but I find its disappointing because it could have been much better with just a slight cost increase. The fact that GM is actively messing with the audio signal proves they were covering up for being cheap. They put in an easy software tweak to fix a simple hardware problem.

 

That is just the HD radio receiver, it has nothing to do with the overall sound system which is unchanged. HD radio is just digital FM, if you use XM or another audio source then nothing changes.

 

Actually it does have a noise cancelling feature... its just not very good due to the limitations of the equipment used. To actively defeat the loudness of the C7 you would need thousands of dollars of very high end equipment. This would add lots of weight plus cost to the car. That would be fine if this was a luxury SUV but in a sports car where the focus is on handling and acceleration it would be a poor choice.

 

I dig it!! I had to adjust the settings a little and it sounds good to me. I mainly use Spotify through Apple Play. The radio stations don’t sound as good to me

 

The C7 sound system is garbage. TBH, it sounded worse than my C6's stock system. The balance is all wrong and seems to suffer for me an overamplification of low frequency sounds, or its killing the mid and upper ranges too much with its noise cancelling system.

 

Yea? What about it is so bad?

 

Bose haters gonna hate...

 

Compared to the C6 its awesome. I thought the bose in the C5 was pretty good, then when I got the c6 I was really disappointed. The C7 was much improved.

 

If you're a person who "doesn't notice" then by definition is the sound system sounds good to them!

This is what I call being good on paper. It's sort of similar to wine snobs who think they can pick out the expensive wine and are often shown to be wrong and violin enthusiast who can't pick the Stradivarius from the cheap violin. Obviously the expensive wine or Stradivarius is better on paper but not in practice.

And the reference system is expensive or heavy or both. This is a car! A sports car at that. Money was put into acceleration, handling, weight reduction, etc. The sound system is good, not great, better than in most cars. I appreciate it. If I want great sound I'll do it at home or see a concert where sound and sights are much better.

Correction: NO cars are concert halls - period.

Looks like a boat that is probably well insulated and very quiet when nothing is playing. When nothing is playing in my C7 it isn't quiet and was never supposed to be.

Again, I refer you to my first point - if it sounds good to the owner of the car and he doesn't notice the imperfections of an audio engineer then that's all it needs to be.

 

You guys really need to look at the audio settings and your source material. The sound system isn't the best but it certainly isn't trash. It sounds a lot better than many others that I've owned. If you're Bluetooth streaming or listening to XM yeah it's going to sound like crap.

I'd like to upgrade the sound system as I have in the past with every car I've owned but it's not plug and play like it used to be.

Edit: looks like they guy who likes to participate in 10 arguments at a time is back.

 

I think a better analogy is temperature. You might be hot or cold (subjective), but when you measure the temperature you have (objective) data which can be used to define the condition. Another way of thinking about it: I can tighten a bolt and claim its "good" or I can use a torque wrench and know its correct.
If you like the system then enjoy it just understand it is not reproducing frequencies accurately.

I've been in some that would easily qualify at that level. However attempting to reach such conditions is a folly.
It is very clear where the C7 engineers spent their time... and it wasn't on the stereo and I am glad they focused on more important things.

 

In the end, with all of the varied opinions above, it's all about expectations. For me, comparing this to other high-horsepower/cheap sports cars, the audio is excellent. I wouldn't (unreasonably) expect it to beat a Q60 (which is not the same class of car as a Corvette), a truck (which is much larger, has more space/cavities, more sound-deadening, etc) or

You'll have plenty of guys in this thread telling you that the stereo is only good for the 'normal, average' person who doesn't know any different... but these guys have unrealistic expectations for this car. Go jump in any other corvette-style sports car on the market and report back with a better setup.

 

It doesn't really change much. If you ask me if I'm cold and I don't feel cold but then you get a thermometer out and say "But it's 62 degrees" I will still say "It doesn't matter - I don't feel cold". In the end, it's only the individual's perceptions and preferences that matter (to that individual, of course) - not yours! Is your measurement more scientifically accurate? Sure. But if the person doesn't care about that precision then your opinion and about $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks! (Price of coffee estimated - I don't go to Starbucks for coffee).


Again, I DON'T CARE that it's not reproducing frequencies accurately! I'm an older male. My ears are incapable of hearing some of those frequencies anyway! Paying for precision frequency response for a person who is incapable of receiving such frequencies is what is folly (unless you're simply considering resale value to a younger person). And trying to stuff that into a sports car is just plain stupid (again, for an older man).

It doesn't change the fact that cars are not concert halls and will never be.

 

It better be!

 

Given the background level cabin noise the stereo system starts out at a disadvantage, but IMO it sounds good for what it is, with the exception being the overly thumpy boom box style bass that seems to be "de rigeur" today that I reduce to keep the pressure waves to a minimum. Overall I'd rate it about 8.5 on a scale of 10.