MECA, the car stereo competition group, has confirmed what many car electronics people already knew. A new car sounds comparable to a mid-level aftermarket sound system.
Judges from MECA were hired by General Motors to rank the sound system of a Chevy Cruze (which is replacing the Cobalt), against a Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
The judges ranked the cars as they would in a consumer sound off competition. The outcome was that the Cruze won the competition but more importantly for the aftermarket, it confirmed that a factory sound system can compare favorably to a retail car stereo system priced in the $1,500 range.
MECA president Steve Stern and MECA judges Vinny Taylor and Chris Zenner were invited by Chevrolet to Detroit last Friday to judge new cars on sound quality, sound pressure level (SPL), and real time analysis (RTA).
Chevrolet aimed to show that its Cruze, featuring 9 speakers, delivers sound a cut above the typical OEM factory system.
The Cruze did, in fact, win 2 of the 3 tests, scoring the highest in sound quality and SPL when compared to the other cars in its class (all under $20,000).
All 3 judges scored the vehicles independently using MECA’s 100 points score sheet. The Cruze scored 74.83 points and the Corolla was 2nd with 69.75, (both considered a strong score for a factory system) and the Civic scored 58.83 (considered average for a stock system). A 2011 Cadillac was also judged, and it beat the economy vehicles just slightly with a score of 76.25 points.
In comparison to a retail car stereo system, Stern said the Cruze “was comparable to an aftermarket system but not at the highest level of performance. There’s no way these systems could even think of competing with the world champion systems. I would say they would compare to an aftermarket system around $1,500 or $1,500 to $2,000, in my estimation.”
Chevy may use video footage of the judging competition in its TV commercials for the Cruze, said Stern.
Looking at the sound quality scoring, the judges gave the Cruze good marks for ambience, staging, and sub-bass response, said MECA.
In SPL (loudness), the Cruze posted 112.9 dB at the headrest with a 50 HZ peak frequency. The Corolla scored 105.6 dB and the Civic scored 105.2 dB.
In RTA (sound accuracy), the Cruze came in 3rd with 14 points, behind the Civic with 22 points and the Corolla with 28 points.
By contrast the Cadillac by Bose system scored 28 on RTA and 119.8 dB at 42 HZ in SPL.
Source: MECA
Photo: MECA sound off competition finals (2009)
How dealers take this bit of info is important. It is not that OE cares how the car sounds, it is that they are trying to understand their target market for the car, and this event helps them.
The challenge for dealers now is one of, how do I make the most of the demand for audio in the car by adding to and working with what OE has in there. We can no longer try to apply the old ways of doing things to a new marketplace. Showing how bad something is is borderline disparagement and does nothing for dealer reputation or the industry as a whole.
Its time to throw aside what we all were taught and open our minds and ears to what is possible. The days of ripping out a system to replace it is going away as OE designers deliver new interiors, new materials, and better performance.
The real benefit to aftermarket is its ability to outpace the OE side. While they may get more advanced technology hidden away, they are locked into a 3 year cycle to develop a car. Aftermarket responds much quicker to market demand.
Take a look at what is happening over at JBL with the MS8 and recently announced MS amplifiers and one quickly sees the impact OEM has on the market. Automated gain setup, a circuit to fool certian OE amplifiers to keep working with aftermarket ones, simple setup and calibration so all installers become sound experts, and multi-channel sound out of a 12,000.00 prpcessor from Lexicon.
Dealers should look to retrain employees to assist consumers on better sound not more expensive product. There is good value in \"Brand\" and looking at industry data one can quickly understand why some dealers are concerned. They load up with sheltered brands and expect consumers to buy…that is a huge mistake, especially in a down economy.
Train employees to sell from an add on or a replacement position with add on being the preferred route keeping in mind not every consumer wants a subwoofer system worthy of serving as an simulation source for geologic study.
Think …
If I could transform the sound of your car now with one product, would you be interested?
If I could deliver all the impact and excitement you get at a live concert performance, does that give you goosebumps?
If I could show you how much better your car can sound, would you spend 5 minutes with me to expereince it for yourself?
Fact is OE is getting better and is not slowing down. The gap between entry level aftermarket 99.99 speakers and OEM systems is closing fast, and dsp will benefit the OEM to do so. Aftermarket is going to have to do better to apply technology to the car and seamlessly connect to what is in there now.
They said a 1500.00 system, what does that really mean after installation and parts…a basic entry level system. So it\’s time to look at ways to crank the performance meter up a half turn and exciting consumers again. It\’s music and ultimatly what you want your system to do is remain faithful to the music. Accuracy is not subjective and a meter with low resolution does not tell you everything…oh and amplifiers dont make sound…speakers do.
Unless dealers start to drop attitudes towards brands, start learning how to work with OE systems without fear or placing fear into the hearts of consumers they will continue to sell down to the lowest dollar, and once there, your competition is not Joe\’s Car Stereo or Best buy down the street, its the car dealerships offering 0% financing for 60 months on a full loaded car.
I fail to believe that sound quality is subjective. Ultimately, the best possible sound quality system would produce well recorded acoustic or the human voise that sounded indistinguishable from the real thing.
Another thing to think about, is the cost of the speakers, and the limitations that cost posses. An industry insider once told me that a major detroit company had a limit of $3-5 for there PREMIUM speakers, per speaker. Hard to imagine that keeping up with a real sound quality speaker. The biggest problem facing the car audio aftermarket, is lazyness and longer warrenties. People arent willing to pay for installations, and are too lazy to install themselves. Couple that with the unwillingness to modify their car before the warrenty is up, and thats a triple hit for real sound quality installs.
TO: Brick & Mortar Installing Specialty Retailers,
The Good News:
ONE: A significant car manufacturer has determined (confirmed actually) that music (audio quality) in a car is extremely important to the consumer.
Two: So much so that they have used us (MECA sound competition judges) the aftermarket to serve as an “expert friend” to help the consumer assess value and make the right choice of not just a sound system purchase but the purchase of a whole car. They put their brand in our hands.
Three: The car makers thereby endorse us (the aftermarket) as the experts. It is therefore our responsibility to use this expert status to explain to our consumers how, not-with-standing the fact that OEM systems have improved, our systems are superior. Better product. Compare an OEM speaker to an aftermarket speaker. Hold one in one hand the other in the other hand. Look at the PCB of a “good” (be sure it is a brand that understands build and audio quality) aftermarket amplifier compared to the PCB of an OEM amplifier. Compare the wire gauge in the OEM system to an aftermarket system. The OEM will be technically correct (just enough to get by) the aftermarket will have plenty of “performance headroom”.
The Bad News:
ONE: Brick & Mortar Installing Specialty Retailers must bring their “A Game” to every consumer interaction; on the floor, on the phone, e-mail, etc…
TWO: We cannot afford to waste one single interaction with a consumer by delivering only mediocre. We have to present the brick & mortar installing specialty retailer as the COMPELLING CHOICE.
Ray Windsor
President
German Maestro
Great to see the new car manufactures are focused on audio, that tells us all that its a concern to their consumers and that’s great! However, this result is really pending on the demographic of the consumer, as if you give the average audio listener from 16-28 an audio system that can only post 112.9 to the mic based on what they listen to and the fact that you are calling it a $1500-$2000 audio system I think they will be 100% disappointed. I guess for us that are still manufacturing quality car audio speakers, amps and subs that is great news! Now tell them to give us a good set of 5V RCA outputs on the factory heads and lets sell some speakers and amps!
Joe Belmonte
Elevation Audio
315.853.5831 Phone
http://www.ElevationAudio.com
The danger in a report such as this, is that it sends a bad message. Aftermarket car audio has always been about personalization. Sound quality is subjective, and frankly not necessarily the chief reason our consumer is making upgrades. Making your vehicle yours, and tailoring the system to your tastes rather than what the automaker has determined your tastes to be is what sells car audio. And very often, upgrading a factory sound system may mean nothing more than a better set of speakers, or adding a sub and amp. The sales opportunities are there, even now. And I look forward to doing our first upgrade on the new Cruze.