MEBruck

I have a '23 HTC. The audio quality degrades with the top down. This is NOT the Bose AudioPilot kicking in. That feature adjusts the volume to compensate for ambient noise. The issue I am seeing, as noted by the OP, is that there is a degradation in sound quality with the top down. It switches when the tonneau closes and is a very distinct change in sound quality. I notice it regardless of where the car is - even in my garage before hitting the street. It sounds very muffled and not clear at all, and turning up the volume makes it sound worse. When the top is raised the sound quality switches back to "normal" and sounds clear.

Has anyone ever figured this out and how to fix it??

Thanks in advance!

RKCRLR

The car automatically adjusts the sound when the top is put down. I'm assuming GM determined which frequencies it thought were best to enhance for top down driving but it may not be to everyone's liking. You can try changing the tone settings to what you like and saving them as a favorite. At least I think you can still do this, I could in my C7.

NAVY_LDO

I can hear the difference too. When I first set up the audio settings the top was up, wondering if it has separate settings for top up and down. I’ll have to check the next time I take it out.

martybmw

I have a 21 HTC and actually prefer the audio when the top goes down. To me the system sounds just as clear just a far amount more Bass and wish I could save this setting for all the time. As they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Red Mist Rulz

According to Bose and GM, it's a feature, not a bug.

Andybump

You are correct. It does adjust the audio, and that is mentioned in the Owner' Manual. There is no way to disable that feature. You can attempt to compensate using the other audio settings that are adjustable (as suggested by others in this thread).

MEBruck

I'm afraid there is no separate option in the audio settings for when the top is up versus when the top is down. I had hope for that too, but after some playing around with it, that is not an option.

The difference in audio quality is very dramatic, as far as I'm concerned. I just can't believe more people are not making an issue about this. I'd like to think it is something they could change with a software update, perhaps just give us an option to enable or disable that "feature". (ugh)

Aurora Flyer

That's what happens when 70 year old ears listen to 35 year old audio expert design. Alas, I belong to the former, not the latter.

Andybump

Interesting perspective. Perhaps the state of the art audio engineers are designing the system to compensate for the hearing response of the target listener.

Foosh

The difference is significant when putting the top down, and I also perceive the sound as degraded. However, when up to speed and turning the volume up to compensate for the wind noise, it sounds decent. I don't expect a high-fidelity experience in top down driving with all the wind noise. That setting was probably a compromise to make it sound as good as possible under those circumstances.

To me, the Bose systems needs a fair amount of volume top up or down before it sounds good. At low volumes, it's a bit muddy.

papillion

With the top down, I can't hear myself think. Radio sounds like just that. Sound.

MKC8

Sound quality encompasses things like musical tastes, playlist selection, ambient noise level, audio reproduction engineering, physical speaker placement, volume level, equalizer settings, and sound system quality, and are all pretty subjective, and/or specific.
One man's classical is another man's rap, rock, metal, indie, punk, blues, disco, techno, country, reggae, whatever.
If they all sounded the same, what would be the point?
IMO. YMMV.

MitchSpence

I don’t have a vert, but I can’t picture listening to anything with the top down. Other than the sirens behind me fading into the distance and a helo above trying to keep up.

MKC8

Exactly!

at7000ft

Me too, am 73 with a 22 HTC and have never noticed a difference.

Avanti

No matter what you do it's just never going to be a concert hall.

MKC8

Every convertible I've ever owned sounded exactly the same. If you know what I mean?

Andybump

Joking aside, what the OP is talking about is change that is dramatic enough that you do not need to be an audiophile to hear it. But you do have to be listening to music while the top is lowering. The difference happens just at the completion of the lowering cycle when the tonneau just closes and latches. There is very short interruption in the music, and then when it resumes, its "different". It is louder, but its not just louder, it has somehow changed. I have, in the past, tried to recreate it by adjusting the centerpoint setting etc. - but it is something else. The "feature' has been described in the Owner's Manual for every model year since 2020, including the 2024 manual. Anyway, it does not bother me - I almost never listen to music - anything - through the sound system. I'm not sure it would bother me even if I did.

MEBruck

@Andybump described this perfectly. You in no way have to be an audiophile to notice this change. The dynamic range is way different once the top closes and that audio pause happens.

That said, I am apparently one of the few who cares about it, so I doubt the Chevy engineers are going to get enough feedback to fix it.

No worries, I like the sweet sound of the exhaust more than listening to the radio.

Red Mist Rulz

At low speeds you can listen to the audio just fine. At highway speeds with the top down, I just turn the sound off.