Bose Stereo upgrade is not very good
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Fairfax County, Virginia
Bose Stereo upgrade is not very good
I recently bought a 2022 Ford Ranger Pickup in Lariat Trim that comes with their best stereo in that package, which is made by B&O. My wife likes the Ranger so much, she takes it every chance she gets and leaves her 2020 Macan S in the garage. She comes home after an outing and says to me "That Ranger has a really good sound system in it, I like it way better than what's in my Porsche. Did we not buy some audio upgrade in my Macan?"
I told her "Yes, we have Bose Upgraded Stereo in your Macan S, my 992 S and the Cayenne GTS - all three of them". Next time I got in the Ford Truck, I cranked it up a bit and she is right - its substantially more pleasing to listen to than any of the Bose we have in the German cars. The highs are crisp, the lows better, and you can hear instruments that are non-existent in the Porsches. One would think that Porsche and Bose could do better...a lot better. I get the 992 lacks sound insulation because its a sports car and weight is a design target, but that doesn't exist on my 2021 Cayenne GTS @ 5,000 lb. and $ 120K. And the cheap Ford truck outperforms it sound-system wise. Porsche needs to do better.
I told her "Yes, we have Bose Upgraded Stereo in your Macan S, my 992 S and the Cayenne GTS - all three of them". Next time I got in the Ford Truck, I cranked it up a bit and she is right - its substantially more pleasing to listen to than any of the Bose we have in the German cars. The highs are crisp, the lows better, and you can hear instruments that are non-existent in the Porsches. One would think that Porsche and Bose could do better...a lot better. I get the 992 lacks sound insulation because its a sports car and weight is a design target, but that doesn't exist on my 2021 Cayenne GTS @ 5,000 lb. and $ 120K. And the cheap Ford truck outperforms it sound-system wise. Porsche needs to do better.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 1,330
Likes: 865
From: Naples, FL
The Ranger is a much smaller volume to fill, not that it is an excuse for your disparaging sound in the P cars.
Have you messed with the treble and bass settings in any of them? Maybe it would help it some.
Just tossing things out there and maybe B&O in a Ford is just better than Bose in a P-Car.
We have a Explorer ST that has B&O and I must say it does quite a nice job of doing what it is supposed to do.
Have you messed with the treble and bass settings in any of them? Maybe it would help it some.
Just tossing things out there and maybe B&O in a Ford is just better than Bose in a P-Car.
We have a Explorer ST that has B&O and I must say it does quite a nice job of doing what it is supposed to do.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 213
Likes: 184
From: Maryland
I recently bought a 2022 Ford Ranger Pickup in Lariat Trim that comes with their best stereo in that package, which is made by B&O. My wife likes the Ranger so much, she takes it every chance she gets and leaves her 2020 Macan S in the garage. She comes home after an outing and says to me "That Ranger has a really good sound system in it, I like it way better than what's in my Porsche. Did we not buy some audio upgrade in my Macan?"
I told her "Yes, we have Bose Upgraded Stereo in your Macan S, my 992 S and the Cayenne GTS - all three of them". Next time I got in the Ford Truck, I cranked it up a bit and she is right - its substantially more pleasing to listen to than any of the Bose we have in the German cars. The highs are crisp, the lows better, and you can hear instruments that are non-existent in the Porsches. One would think that Porsche and Bose could do better...a lot better. I get the 992 lacks sound insulation because its a sports car and weight is a design target, but that doesn't exist on my 2021 Cayenne GTS @ 5,000 lb. and $ 120K. And the cheap Ford truck outperforms it sound-system wise. Porsche needs to do better.
I told her "Yes, we have Bose Upgraded Stereo in your Macan S, my 992 S and the Cayenne GTS - all three of them". Next time I got in the Ford Truck, I cranked it up a bit and she is right - its substantially more pleasing to listen to than any of the Bose we have in the German cars. The highs are crisp, the lows better, and you can hear instruments that are non-existent in the Porsches. One would think that Porsche and Bose could do better...a lot better. I get the 992 lacks sound insulation because its a sports car and weight is a design target, but that doesn't exist on my 2021 Cayenne GTS @ 5,000 lb. and $ 120K. And the cheap Ford truck outperforms it sound-system wise. Porsche needs to do better.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 766
Likes: 442
My wife's Mazda 6 had a Bose system. It was extremely adequate. By comparison, her G20 330i and my E92 328i have Harmon Kardon and they are pretty good for the upgrade price. I've never been a fan of Bose since their first product, the 901 which had many issues in reproducing sound. Their minicube plus bass "module" wasn't particularly impressive and the build quality was awful (but audiophile's wives loved the fact the speakers could be hidden). With Bose, you're paying for a marketing effort, not quality sound.
My only thought about the Bose "upgrade" is that it's slightly better than the base system. Given this is a sports car, and the real music is from the intake and exhaust systems, the Bose is probably good enough. The Burmester is much better, but I'm not sure you could discern the obvious difference until the ignition is turned off.
My only thought about the Bose "upgrade" is that it's slightly better than the base system. Given this is a sports car, and the real music is from the intake and exhaust systems, the Bose is probably good enough. The Burmester is much better, but I'm not sure you could discern the obvious difference until the ignition is turned off.
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Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2020
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From: Sf Bay Area
The Ranger is a much smaller volume to fill, not that it is an excuse for your disparaging sound in the P cars.
Have you messed with the treble and bass settings in any of them? Maybe it would help it some.
Just tossing things out there and maybe B&O in a Ford is just better than Bose in a P-Car.
Yes it is.
We have a Explorer ST that has B&O and I must say it does quite a nice job of doing what it is supposed to do.
Have you messed with the treble and bass settings in any of them? Maybe it would help it some.
Just tossing things out there and maybe B&O in a Ford is just better than Bose in a P-Car.
Yes it is.
We have a Explorer ST that has B&O and I must say it does quite a nice job of doing what it is supposed to do.
Im in the AV Business and Bose has always stood for Better of with Something Else to me and anyone I knew in the business,
Rennlist Member
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 4,208
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From: Florida
Got to remember that Bose is a good but not high-end audio company. Maybe their headphones are the best products but the common home theaters are also middle of the run systems. At least for home theaters you can choose from various Bose systems from dirt cheap to medium priced but for cars their is just one option. Had HK and B&O in other cars and while they may have been a little better its not like night and day. As others stated audio sound is not as important to me in a Porsche and it's decent enough not to be painful to listen to
Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 656
Likes: 343
I have a 991.2 and I can’t find a worse stereo system anywhere, Bose should be ashamed (embarrassed) and so should Porsche. Fortunately I upgraded my system and it’s helped a lot. Didn’t know the 992 also may have the detriment.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 177
Likes: 46
I usually don't notice the audio is off until I get back to the garage.... but when it is on I don't seem to have any bad quality music via lossless apple music.
Maybe the audio source matters.......................
Maybe the audio source matters.......................
Last edited by Ull; Sep 18, 2022 at 03:01 PM.
