How many miles on your car? problems?

[Kelleytoons]

So somehow option (2) (which is what I have) sounds better than (1) even though it's not the Sony system and only has the six speakers?

 

I don't know, all I know is that it sounds really good to these (old, admittedly) ears.  Not the absolute best car audio I've ever heard (that would be the system I installed in my Honda Prelude, in the 80's -- but without the neat bells and whistles available through MFT, of course) but really, really good, better than I've been able to achieve in any vehicle since that Honda.  I think a large part is how quiet the car is inside, but I also think the system is well designed even for an "entry level" system (at least not the highest upgrade).

 

I boost the bass and treble a bit, and I'm playing "lossless" MP3 files (files ripped at the "Insane" present).  I also level the audio using Media Monkey to 89db, because my playlists are mixtures of a lot of different artists from even different recording eras (modern era artists are all hot mixed now, WAY too loud levels, and don't play nice with anything recorded prior to the last 5-8 years).  The audio from other formats (FM, Sirius, Bluetooth, etc.) doesn't sound as good, naturally (it varies depending on the source) but, as I said, I consider the MP3 playback on par with almost anything I can achieve, at least portable, and perhaps better (and I have some pretty high end portable equipment).