Hey guys,

As I begin my hunt for a C7, just curious, does the stereo on the C7 sound good?

I have a vert C5 and one of the first things I did was put in a new DD headunit, separates, amp and woofer.

Yes I like listening to the sound of the motor but on long trips I like listening to good tunes.

Les

 

Garbage. Literally the worst sounding car stereo I've ever owned. Love the car but hate the Bose system!

 

It depends on what kind of music you listen to. As much road noise as there is in the car... high-end audio, to me, would be a waste of money... (I've been into high-end audio since 1960).....

 

Who cares? Never notice. Besides, it's hardly an environment conducive to quality sound. (and, yes... I'm serious)

 

I think the EXACT opposite of the poster above (Kracka). I think the stereo is fantastic for a sports car -- Absolutely fantastic. Note: I have a 3LT with the OEM subwoofer, for frame of reference.

Is it going to blow an audiophile's mind who owned a previous car with a $6000 custom tuned setup? No -- But it does an excellent job and I'd put it up against most SUVs in terms of body, low end response, and tightness.

I've owned a few sports cars, and have always installed aftermarket setups in each. Most sports cars are built to a budget, with tinny doors, small speakers, and lots of thin glass. The C7 has none of these problems. Reflections are handled well with the open trunk area, lots of dampening (due to leather materials, thicker glass, and sunshades in rear window).

With the above being said, Bose does do some artificial processing to the sound (to help drown out road noise and please the average listener). It sounds a bit mellow at times, but it's better than other sports car you'll find on the market for under 100k.

Most people that think the audio is awful don't understand car audio -- A car is an AWFUL place to push for 'dynamically balanced' sound or 'flat' equalisation. The Bose system gives lots of low end and plenty of headroom to help accommodate for the problem areas of the driving experience (road noise) -- I think most people would be very happy. I would likely bet that those folks who upgrade the system in a C7 are spending a lot of money for 'slightly' better sound quality -- and would likely be excited to tell you about the differences (that are unperceivable to others) because of the cash they had to spend.

Note: If you're a sub guy, I think you'd find the bass output to be strong. With the sub in an open trunk 3' behind your head it does a great job. In fact, with any more power the car would become a rattle-mess.
Note #2: You must keep the OEM headunit/stereo. A lot of functions in the car rely on it... so you won't be swapping it out anyway.

 

After adjusting the equalizer settings to suit my ears, I think it sounds pretty good. It’s not an audiophile system by any means, but I’ve heard much worse in other cars. The 2LT/3LT have an additional subwoofer if more bass is what you are after.

 

I agree that a sports car is a horrible platform for an audiophile system. I definitely didn’t spend 6K on the C5 but know people that did. Their cars sound ridiculous when they are parked but on the road their stereos sounded no better than my budget system. I spent about 1100 bucks and got a system that sounded pretty good with the top down.

I too consider myself an audiophile in my home system. Have an old Mcintosh amp that I’ll never give up, my 30 year old Oracle turntable and some nicely worn in B&W speakers. I know I can’t get that in my car and I’m okay with that. Just looking for good sounding system.

Les

 

I'm definitely an 'amateur' audiophile with my home equipment -- I love tinkering with audio, I love the engineering, and am usually not easily satisfied.

My initial impression of the C7 system was good, but the big surprise for me came when I jumped back into another sports car (Subaru BRZ) and realised just how much more easily the system in the C7 fills the space. At half volume you can completely drown out any/all road noise, with low end coming through even when at 80+ mph on the interstate.

I can't promise you'll fall totally in love with it -- but unless you're coming from very expensive grand touring cars (like Bentleys) I can't imagine you'll be disappointed. The stereo is much better than the C5 imo.

In fact, why not just go test drive one and check for yourself?

 

Say what?

 

Popular topic with several threads. I have the 2LZ, which is equipped w/the sub, and find the stereo to be average. Tweaking the rudimentary EQ and turning off the auto volume helps. If a stand-alone system was available, I would have certainly purchased it.

C7 info: https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013...ette-stingray/

Hopefully the C8 will be better: https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/08...ose-has-video/

 

It is a decent sounding system that sounds even better when the car is not running .

 

Properly tweaked the C7 stereo with the factory subwoofer is quite good. Regardless, I didn’t buy the Corvette for the stereo.

 

The audio system is adequate, like most auto stereos.

 

I am not a fan of BOSE. four sets of 901 IV's (for surround sound) had me extremely disappointed when what used to be fabric surrounds (lifetime operation) on the speaker cones turned into extremely short lived foam surrounds. cheap cheap cheap. On the vettes, water causes speaker cone/spyder separations. real cool clyde in a door mounted speaker subject to water invasion.


I had the labeled Bose in the C6 z06 2lz. kept it and when i later purchased a C6 GS 1lt with the no name head unit and speakers, the no name in an A/B comparison sounded just as good!

Ok, Bose, you enjoy a good reputation for noise cancelling systems. Why no noise cancelling system in the Vettes? ESPECIALLY the higher priced 2lt and 3lt!

But thank goodness for cheap tone deaf GM Cost accountants. At least no "piped in" simulated exhaust sounds like some car makers.

Sad there is not a cheaper radio delete option, so WYSIWYG. The name supposes good, but the sound is an afterthought.

 

The stereo in the C7 is just fine for me.

 

(You should have studied how Bose speakers work before you blew a lot of money....)

 

This is exactly the same question I asked before purchasing my 2016 ZO6 and got about the same response you have gotten here and for the most part everyone is correct. I have also owned 5 Chevy Highcountry tricks since 2014( 14,16,17,18,19) that also had the Bose sound system and to me there is no comparison between the two systems the stereo in the 2014 Highcountry is twice the stereo in my 2016 ZO6 2lz and the stereo in the trucks has gotten even better since then with the 2019 being an exceptional system. The stereo in the C7 is acceptable for the average person but if you like to turn it up for a good classic rock song or two it is a little disappointing.

 

I guess it’s all in the individual. I’m a musician, I play a bass, I like feeling the bass vibrate my pant legs. I like feeling it move through my body, the Bose lets me adjust the head room for vocal, instrument, and bass. Without being muddy on the low end, and tinny on the highs. Yup the interior in the c7 is noisy above say 50 mph. For me, it gets louder at the freeway speeds just when you want to cruise and listen to your tunes. I’m 74, and it works super for drowning out the passengers comments of speeding. Just crank it up! You’ll hear it!!

 

Put simply, the OEM stereo sucks but is not too hard to upgrade if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. Here is a link that you might find helpful. That link will take you to my final install notes in the noise-reduction/stereo upgrade thread, which is a long read but well worth it if you want to learn the limitations of the OEM stereo and how to improve it.

 

I tell folks I never thought I'd own a Bose stereo but they threw in a Corvette.

I have the roof off as much as possible so don't really care about the stereo.