greetings,
I took my fit out for a 330 mile hwy drive yesterday for a meeting and I was shocked how crappy the stereo sounded,
I listened to radio station that I usually do and I could not tolerate the sound quality, it was that bad,
do I have bad speakers? head unit? or do all fits suck in their sounds quality?

what did you do to improve sounds quality in your fit?

 

you have really bad grammar and you dont really explain anything. so does your radio have too much static or, does your speakers suck?

also, how the hell did you manage to get your fit up to 330mph?

did you also forget youre in a under $20k econobox? if you wanted premium, crisp, thumping in car audio you should have gotten a phantom(or genesis).

upgrade your current stock setup or just crank it up and accept the stock system.

 

no static,
no the sounds quality is not what I am used to,
20k econobox, wow, my 14k corolla sounds much better :-),
hence I am seeking help, I am not sure if the speakers are of poor quality or the head is putting out poor quality sound.

 

I think you're in the wrong section (there is a separate ICE (In Car Entertainment) section here). So have a browse as many people (including me) have the same problem.

By poor Sound, I'm assuming you've cottoned on to the:

• screechy treble
• non-existant midrange
• muddy bass

The problem is primarily the stock HU (head unit). The Honda engineers (or whomsoever made that unit) have decided to "tune" the system to the car and applied internal equalistation that sounds terrible. This means poor sound is being sent to the speakers so they don't have much of a chance .

The secondary problem is the speakers themselves, but these largely reflect the poor HU (crap signal in->crap signal out principle). I've read posts from many people who say that biggest "bang for buck" upgrade was changing the HU alone which outputs a better signal to the "OK" speakers.
Having said that, the speakers are apparently adequate/"OK" so they can also be improved upon.

I'm doing mine in that order too: HU first (as this is the most important imo) and then speakers a couple of months down the line when/if I can.

As I said, have a look at the ICE section as there are more helpful posts there .

Gaffer

 

gaffer, thks,
I feel better knowing that I am not the only one, I read through most of the post in the ICE sub section (how did I miss that one doh!)
I see the solutions are not cheap. little pissed to be honest on the thought of having to plunge more hard earned $$.

 

After modestly tweaking the treble (+3)/bass (-2) settings, I have to say it's the best sound system of any car I have ever owned. I'm not saying it's a great sound system, or appropriate for people who like to drive around at 10 mph annoying their neighbors with thumping bass at 110db, but for a stock sound system it exceeds my expectations.

1970 Honda N600 (self-installed Kenwood)
1976 Honda Civic 1500 4-door
1980 Honda Accord
1983 Honda Accord
1989 Mazda MPV
1990 Subaru Legacy
1996 Nissan Quest
2003 Subaru Forester

 

I love annoying people and setting car alarms off with my bass lol IMHO my o9 sounds fine if it's as bad as u seem to think it is take it back to the dealer and ask or go to an audio shop u trust and ask them they might have messed up on the wireing

 

I upgraded my speakers first and was not happy because it sounded different but not better. I then switched the head unit and it made all the difference. The stock speakers are still in the back doors and they're not that bad now. This is due in part to the new head unit's crossover so that anything below 80Hz is filtered out and my sub takes care of the bass.

 

hmm, not a bad idea, I will hit the dealership after I return from my business trip in a week. if honda has to buy back a cars maybe it will catch the eye of their lazy engineers who designed the stereo or the vendor who supplied it.

i will try -2 bass and +3 treb on my way to the airport tonight :-)

 

I like bass +6 treb+3 and turn the src off if it's on

 

I listen to mostly classical and acoustic music, and I was aiming for "natural" sound. I found that with flat settings, radio voices sounded boomy, so I turned the bass down until they sounded normal to my ears. At 64, I have some high frequency hearing loss (my wife might argue about "slight"), so +treble is to compensate. To my ears, going any higher than +3 on the treble makes the sound harsh. But sound is subjective, so just go with settings that make the music you like sound good to your ears.

 

The stock stereo is a huge improvement over my old Subaru radio.

 

+1 -- My previous car was a Subaru Forester XS.

 

I've never had a car with a sound system that required so much fiddling to get a good sound. Good music? Can't understand talk. Set for talk? Rejigger for the next tune. Frustrating.

Cheers.

 

sportMTnavi, my ears could not agree more with ya.
anyway, I got done tinting the all but front big windows, 5% limo,
now to put in a bottom tray for mpg.
then to hunt a double din head unit,
I saw my buddies infinity suv and it has 5 cameras that gives it a skirt/all around view, WOOOW,

 

I used to always have 20% to beat the heat in Florida, and while it was nice during the day, and nice for privacy, I couldn't see much at night without rolling down the windows, especially backing up a dark driveway. I'm enjoying living in a place where I don't have to worry too much about heat and can leave the windows as they are.
I hear they have some tints now where you can have all the heat shielding of traditional dark tints without having to make them so dark. Will never go darker than 35% again.

I wish someone would make window tint with that cool trick from "Transitions" eyeglass lenses! Clear at night, dark during the day.

 

I find the sound is best with the windows open. I find it strange...

 

It all depends on what your expectations from your sound system are going to be. I'm coming from an 1993 Accord inwhich I had an aftermarket Kenwood. To me? The stock Honda Fit stereo is a dream. Sounds better than what I had, and I absolutely love the ergonomics of the buttons.

But if your expectations are massive decibles or crystal shattering acoustics, then you are probably going to be disapointed. I am not. I would share the statement that it exceeds my expectations.

I think the trick, is to live with an old Kenwood with buttons the size of grains of rice that REALLY sounded bad, then when you are introduced to The Fit stereo? You are movin' on up!

 

I'll put myself into the stereo quality is poor column and it is NOT a question of volume.

The built-in tonal balance is horrible. No deep bass. Punched up and unrealistic mid-bass. Screechy treble.

Then you combine it with radio engineers who do the same, it becomes annoying at best.

I find that well recorded CD's suffer the least. Everything else........

It makes our '98 Civic sound like a concert hall.

John

 

The 2010 stock stereo cannot handle Municipal Waste