DSP....rubbish??

toplad

Member
I've have the DSP hifi and I must say, it sounds rubbish.

The bass doesn't have much impact, mid range isn't clear and the treble piss poor too

I'm sure you could get better results with a 150 quid HD unit and 4 speaker(2x 6x9, 2x4 inch mids) than current setup

I don't expect home hifi sound quality, but I would like a clearer sound and a more natural tone.

What's the first port of call to improve the sound????
 
Does yours have Carver? Mine is fabulous. Try adjusting the settings and play it on jazz or concert. Did you buy it used? Perhaps the previous owner blew out a speaker or the amp??????????
 
Have messed about with the DSP but ended up setting it back to 'concert'. It's Ok but the sound doesn't seem as good as our X5 which just has the basic business CD set up.
 
The following is my opinion... feel free to differ... tell me yours... keep us inspired.

The amplifier adjusts its volume and (possibly) loudness setting according to the speed.
The amount by which is does this can be changed from the default setting, which seems to have been made for open driving... not for the QP...
To go to this hidden menu, switch on the radio, and then immediately thereafter press and hold the <SEL> button for 10 seconds.
Browse to the 'GAL' setting (= Geschwindigkeits Abhängige Lautstärke i.e. speed dependant volume) and change this to a lower value.
The default setting for the Roadster is 5. I like 3 for driving the QP (on cruise control that is... when *I* am driving I like to listen to the engine :D).

Also... you have both the DSP's equalizer and the treble/bass tone controls.
It's probably best to keep the tone controls on their defeat (flat) setting and just use the equalizer.
You might want to keep the lowest (80Hz) band of the equalizer on a not-too-high setting as the sound will quickly become a bit muffled.
Also try to keep everything relatively flat, there really is no need to use the full range of the equalizer.

As to the DSP effects... these don't do anything to enhance the sound quality imho, but since home theater amps have these programs as well who am I to argue... Anyhow, just set the Echo slider to its lowest setting to disable the DSP effects whilst keeping the equalizer enabled.

All in all, the DSP system sounds okay / good enough / pretty decent, when set up right.

If your car came with the DSP system, I wouldn't replace it for another unit. It sounds decent enough and the cost of scrapping it and buying a complete new audio system doesn't weigh up to the improvements that would bring. Replacing parts, like just the amp, or a few speakers is cumbersome because of the non-standard digital connection for the amp or the odd voltage requirements for some of the speakers.

Now... if you don't have the DSP system... I wouldn't advise this as an upgrade to anyone... aftermarket stuff will give you a bigger bang for the buck.
But... as an OEM option for those that don't like to do their own ICE installations it really isn't that bad.
 
No offence to anyone here, but listening to music is so subjective, it depends on many things, e.g what genre you listen to, whether u prefer more bass, more treble, etc etc.

I am a terrible audiophile, so I knew I would I would have to upgrade.


some people arent fussed about sound, others are over fussy.

I cant understand people that make sweeping statements , like its "piss poor" lets offend everone who thinks its great,,

To say it sound s**t, is your opinion, I once heard a tascam £4500 home audio amp, that sounded no better than anything else for much less money, but that was my opinion.

If you dont like it, go for an after market amp speaker upgrade.
 
RustyZ4 said:
No offence to anyone here, but listening to music is so subjective, it depends on many things, e.g what genre you listen to, whether u prefer more bass, more treble, etc etc.

I am a terrible audiophile, so I knew I would I would have to upgrade.


some people arent fussed about sound, others are over fussy.

I cant understand people that make sweeping statements , like its "piss poor" lets offend everone who thinks its great,,

To say it sound s**t, is your opinion, I once heard a tascam £4500 home audio amp, that sounded no better than anything else for much less money, but that was my opinion.

If you dont like it, go for an after market amp speaker upgrade.

Over egging it a bit there, I think

I never used the word s**t either btw, but it's also one I'd use.

jhbuining,

Thanks for the advice :thumbsup:

I have messed about with the tone, echo and EQ, but it's made no difference, so everything’s set flat, more or less, but it still sounds grainy to me :(

Going to have a look at the Gal setting tomorrow, I was hoping to do a self install with some after speakers and maybe an amp, as you mention the odd voltage, its put me off :(

I'd rather have a basic set up with less bells and whistles and high quality components
 
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