Why Sound Group II?

[IndySilverC]

Check out this article for a thorough and slightly gushy appraisal of the Boston Acoustics Sound Group II option for the 300.

I have it in my own SilverC, and can add my own endorsement (for what its worth) to why I think it's worth the extra $ to get premium sound.

I'm no where near to being a sound snob, but I do have a trained musical ear, so I know what sounds good to me, and having played in an orchestra I know when things are out of balance. I can say that SndGrp II does a great job of reproducing a very full sound, at both low and high volumes.

But, I'll leave the gushing to the guy in the article.

[II kings 9:20]

The only problem with SGII is the sh!tty Bostons for all that extra money, fade to the rear and hear for yourself. It has the same spkrs as SGI, cheap paper whizzer cones. I have replaced my fronts and they sound great now without an amp.

[jjs]

Originally Posted by II kings 9:20

The only problem with SGII is the sh!tty Bostons for all that extra money, fade to the rear and hear for yourself. It has the same spkrs as SGI, cheap paper whizzer cones. I have replaced my fronts and they sound great now without an amp.

You may have posted this some other place, but can you please elaborate on replaced them with?

[rogue]

As for imaging, it was top-notch.

Officially that whole entire article is nonsense and most likely sponsored by Boston Acoustic or Daimler Chrysler as publicity.

First and most importantly, proper imaging cannot be achieved with 3 speakers in the dash. The term "Stereo" refers to left and right imaging. A center channel screws up left and right imaging. I found the imaging so bad with the stock Sound Group 2, that I thought my hearing was going out on my left ear. After I removed the center channel, things got back to normal.

The factory subwoofer rattles the rear "speaker protector tray" in the trunk so badly that many owners have removed it. Mine is in a landfill somewhere.

I truly was unaware how horrible the Boston Acoustic system was until I removed it from my car, and held the speakers in my own hands. I then replaced the speakers and attempted to run higher quality aftermarket speakers off the Boston Acoutic "66 Watt per channel" amplifier. It was barely capable of pushing 30watt 3.5" Speakers, let alone 6x9"s in the rear deck.

Upon reviewing my plan of attack, I yanked out the factory system out of the equation completely, keeping only the NAV unit. Only then did I realize how much noise was induced through the factory wiring and the ESP module mounted on the same bracked as the amplifier. I was suffering whine and popping noises. My audio installer had to relocate the ESP module to cut back on the induced noise from the unit, and spent over 4 hours wiring resistors in place of the factory speakers and throughout the system to reduce noise.

We finally got the factory induced noise down to a bare minimum and I am amazed at the imaging and sound quality in my car. The Sound Group 2 speakers were so bad, they didn't even produce these noises. Replace them with an aftermarket speaker and you begin to hear the whining.

The simplified version is this:

Boston Acoustic makes great aftermarket equipment, their OEM applications are much like BOSE. Paper whizzer cone speakers incapable of accurately producing music. Is it better than most factory systems? Sure. But in comparison to anything aftermarket, its horrid. That said, at comparable prices, buying aftermarket equipment and having it installed by a reputable installer will produce results that will blow the Sound Group 2 system out of the water.

I regret buying Sound Group 2, can you guys tell? I don't consider myself an audiophile either, but I guess I am definitely pickier than most. The guy that wrote that article must be new to car audio, or is simply comparing it to the many other factory systems out there.

Take a listen to the Factory System in the new Acura TL. THAT is a quality factory system.

[dkals]

I replaced two out of the three front dash speakers with the Boston FX35. The sound is much better. Some people have disconnected the center dash speaker. I may go out and buy another set of the FX35 and replace the center speaker and use the left over speaker as a back up.

Do a search on front speaker replacement. The grill's pop out with a credit card, and somebody posted which colors for the speakers are positve and negative.

I would like to replace the back speakers but it seems like a lot of work and you probably need another or new amp for the power required by the new speakers in back.

[II kings 9:20]

Originally Posted by jjs

You may have posted this some other place, but can you please elaborate on replaced them with?

Yes, rogue started all this, I used the Eclipse SE 8233, here is rogue's original thread.The swap was very easy for the front dash, I have not done doors cause they sound pretty good. Here is the link that I used to do mine http://300cforums.com/forums/showthr...ash+speaker s
I went with the Eclipse listed in the link, the only thing a little tricky was getting the grille off, the credit card did not work for me, I used a keychain screwdriver to pry it up. Also, the wiring is idiotic, someone in this thread posted the + and - wires for the entire system. I put the NAV in and used the empty center grille to locate the GPS since SGI does not have a center spkr. Some audiophiles with SG II disconnected the center dash spkr because of imbalance and usefulness only in a 5.1 DVD mode which we don't have.

[IndySilverC]

Well, guys, all I can say to you is that I must have a really low threshhold of satisfaction.

How much have you guys spent on aftermarket sound improvements to your 300's? I'm curious to know how much my low threshhold of entertainment is saving me.

[joeywild]

i have had competition system in my mazda years ago, not comparing this 300 system to that but for $300 it is pretty damn good. my mazda set-up cost over 10 grand (wife still doesnt know) 7 years ago.

[Redman]

Basic sound group "sounded" great to me - but they say you definitely lose hearing acuity every year after 30.
Color me deaf-nus!

[300Con23s]

I haven't heard one good OEM system. I remember someone who had a S500 Benz and he would brag about the Bose system in his car. We then compared his sytem to a S500 with a full Focal/Audison system and he pretty much shut up after hearing the difference. In my last 2 cars i've spent big bucks in upgrading my sound system because i've added aftermarket dvd and screens. Before I was introduced to high end aftermarket speakers, I thought the OEM systems were the best systems on the market. That was until I was introduced to the K2P's and Utopia line of componet speakers from Focal. My plans for the 300C is a complete Focal/Audison or Focal/JL Audio system. What I might do is have the JL's for the JL subs and a Audison 4 channel for the speakers. Im thinking about putting K2P's in the front with no rear fill and adding (2) subs in the trunk. The system in the 300C is crap and its ok for the person who doesn't care too much about sound quality but for a audiophile you would know this system doesn't even come close to the higher end speakers and componets on the market. For the people who haven't heard Focal's, I really advise you to go have a listen for yourself. You will be impressed.