AM talk stations - they must talk about Aston Martin!

 

The radio is a waste in these, even satellite, although much better than FM. You have to put a disc in the really get the best out of the sound.

As many have said, it's a car, it's not built around speaker placement, speaker placement is built around available room and tuned to do it's best with what it had to work with. I absolutely love my B&O. Someday I'd love to hear the Premium just for point of reference because many have said it's just a little better but the cool factor of the mushrooms has to equalize them a bit

 

Wait.... is no one going to make a comment about the Peter Gabriel SACD??

I second the vote for the "S" trim. The added stitching and Carbon is just enough to set it apart. (You also get bigger brakes, quicker steering ratios, and a couple other items.... all incorporated inn2013+ models)

As for the stereo, my S line car came with the base audio from the factory.
After listening to the audio in a couple of other cars, I undertook the task of performing an all factory spec upgrade to Premium.

Given the situation again, I'd perform the upgrade every time.... I feel it's that much better over the base audio...

 

The B&O in my DBS is loud enough and clear enough to enjoy even over the bark of my Quicksilver exhaust as I blaze down the road. That's all I care about

 

Good sound - not worth the price. Especially given the nice noise the engine provides. I ordered it on my 2012 Vantage and ever since then I may do a minor stereo upgrade but come to the belief that the upgraded stereo is a marketing trick to get your ego to part with more money.

 

I think it depends upon how your using the car - the factory premium stereo is great. But if you are on long trips or legs, the sound of the engine slight drone is not special as if accelerating. In those times (90%+) the car us used, it's nice listing to the stereo. On my last Vantage I got spoiled with the B&O which was incredible. If I bought another future Vantage, the B&O would be a major factor in deciding which Vantage to buy.... not the main factor (color comes first) but close to the top.

 

B&O is nice if you didn't pay new for it. Second owner +. Harmon international has the grip on all of the vehicle sounds and components used in the current market. They all work and sound better than the car stero we had a decade or two back. But I like a bit of wind noise and exhaust note to complement my music of choice.

 

The Meridian in our Jag has much fuller sound than the B&O in the Rapide. I don't think I would pay the extra for the B&O new, outside of the cool rising tweeters. That alone is worth something, no?

The B&O in my buddy's 750 BMW sounds better, but maybe I should revisit his car before making final judgement...

 

At least you have the B&O, the last of the Rapide line some have the standard audio, its horrible for a vehicle that size.

 

I have never seen a Rapide with the standard audio!

 

Yep.. what he said

 

Everyone has a favorite interior or exterior color. I like the Morning Frost White for easier maintenance (polishing swirls, etc.). I also have a blue top, which although not up much, looks great. I had no interest in black or 50 shades of gray. AM offers 20 exterior colors, but not many seem to show up for sale. As for the blue interior, I like it a lot. The extra stitching with the S package really makes it. Also, the piano black full console and arm rests are good looking. I looked at cars with black interiors and they were nice, but I like mine much better.
My car has the 7 speed trans. I have almost always had stick shifts, but as I leave the car in Sport mode and always manually shift it, this sounds like a stick and feels like it without the
3rd pedal. I'm good with it.

I know you have all seen the posts that start out with "I'm looking for an AM. What color should I buy?" That's not me!

 

I dig blue interiors and blue tops on convertibles.

 

The premium system (Alpine) is fantastic. Their blend from tweeters to the 4" mids is spot on. As Brent noted though, it has a hole in the mid-bass and the sub is a bit one-note, in that all you can hear is its tuned frequency under your butt. Since an audiophile will maintain that getting the mids and highs is of critical importance, the system is very enjoyable and doesn't fatigue.
I'm not sure how many songs it can hold in the USB playlist, but I loaded up ~600 driving songs and just shuffle play. Using 320k .wma and the occasional unfortunate .mp3 files are adequate. Bluetooth or Sirius are forbidden.

If I had the option second-hand, I'd still opt for the B&O unheard, as I've worked with them on several projects and have yet to hear anything but impressive from their designs. But I'm perfectly content with the 700w Premium system.

While I disagree with his balance and fader settings, being a surround sound person, his tonal settings are recommended:

EQ-
60hz - down 1
200hz - up 1
1k - down 2
3k - up 2
12k - zero
Bass & treble - zero
Subwoofer - 1 click down

It does not play SACDs. I confirmed with PG's "Passion." I don't have So on SACD, as I opted for the 1/2 speed 45 vinyl remasters, which are quite lovely even given its early digital origins.

(Since we are qualifying our qualifications, my company makes the projection screens used in the leading mastering studios and reference home theaters. So, I do audio all day long and twice on Sundays...)

Cheers,
Chris
Seymour-Screen Excellence

 

I have yet to load any cd's in the car. Curious to hear the difference between CD and Spotify.