VTHokieTL

First, the demo DVD-A they give you is great and helps show off the sweet audio system. I also have some DTS CDs that also sound great. On the other hand, I've bought a couple of DVD-As and some are a complete waste (Metallica's Black Album is nothing but 2 channel stereo with some feedback coming from the rear speakers, and a shift to the rear speakers every once in a while). I hope some decent stuff comes out on DVD-A soon.

Now, what I don't like:
-Lack of support for MP3s and/or SACD. I knew this when I bought the car, so no big deal.

-XM quality. Just doesn't sound that great to me. Don't know if I'll continue after the trial period

-FM reception. This is the one that really gets me. I live in the DC Metro area. I don't think I can get a single station around here without static.

DC101, WHFS (which turned into a spanish station today ), 99.5, Z104, Mix107.3, 95.5 WPGC, etc. These are all local stations and I never heard any static in my old car (a 99 Eclipse). Does the TLs audio system just have really bad FM reception, or do I have something wrong with my unit?


Hopefully this is something specific to my car that they can fix. Other than that, the audio system rocks! I'm still showing off my new car and impressing everyone with the audio system

ibeplato

Pick up a copy of The Blue Man Group's "Complex" on DVD-A. You won't believe your ears.

I haven't had any of the FM troubles but to be honest, other than 106.7 and 107.7 I don't listen to FM (XM is my preferred choice).

Cloudsplitter

Here in Atlanta XM sound quality sounds fine. Are we comparing it to CD? If so, none of the satellite services have that quality, but that's a known. From what I have heard of Sirrius it's no better. Compared with FM or AM it's great.

The sound system is generally great, but I agree with the comment no SACD or MP3? At the very least is should support SACD since it supports DVD-A. That's silly that it doesn't, but your right, we knew that going in. I can't help but wonder if there wouldn't be a firmware update that could address it? ... probably not.

1995hoo

I also live in the DC area and I don't have FM problems except in places where I have had FM problems on other cars (for example, forget about pulling in WTOP's FM signal anywhere around the Pentagon--it just doesn't come through clearly). I don't listen to FM all that often since I like XM better due to no adverts; generally my FM listening is when the Redskins are on 101.5 or 106.7. These have always come through fine, as has 94.7 when I listen to that (it's about the only FM station I would listen to regularly, but Top Tracks and Deep Tracks substantially overlap it without adverts).

If you want a DVD-A that can really show off the TL's sound system, pick up a copy of Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops performing the 1812 Overture. The disc is on the Telarc label--very important to be sure you get the Telarc disc. Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL with the volume, however. You may have to turn it up a bit to hear the quiet portions at the beginning, but be sure to turn it down before the cannons start firing. They can easily blow out speakers if you aren't careful. It's a great recording to impress people, though.

Doctored5

I get pretty good FM in the DC area & the AM is surprisingly good as well. XM quality can vary a lot by song & station. There has been some discussion on this baord about reasons why. XM is definitely much better quality than FM.

tiger2471

I've been told that Linkin Park has a great DVD-A for our sound system, my buddy also has a TL and everytime I see him he asks me if I've gotten it yet, so, check it out.

VTHokieTL

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm going to take mine in to see if there's something wrong with my unit or antenna or something like that. I still can't get any of the major stations clearly, and even noticed that some stations (like Z104) don't even come in stereo with my system.

Mr Bigglesworth

To be honest ... I think XM sounds worse than FM. Music doesn't sound nearly as good and even the talk stations (I listento ESPn Radio all the time) aren't always that clear ... you can hear the effects of the compression

Lore

I tried the 3 month trial when I first bought my car and the audio was definitely disappointing. However, now that I have it again, I've noticed that the music stations broadcast a lot clearer but the talk stations are still pretty bad. Lots of artifacts!

1995hoo

When you think about it, to some degree it makes sense to compress the talk stations more than the music stations, because you don't need the same dynamic range if all you are broadcasting is talk. The traffic stations are by far the most compressed and generally sound pretty bad, but there's no reason NOT to do that on the traffic stations because of (a) the nature of the broadcast and (b) people don't listen for long periods--you listen for one or two reports and then change the channel.

Cosmo Kid

the talk stations are purposely worse quality because there is only a certain amount of bandwith that XM has to work with. they try and dedicate more bandwith to the music stations. i really could care less about the compression on satellite.

what i love about satellite is the choice of music. fm isnt even an option in my car. i dont think i have listened to fm since i set the presets on october 24th, 2004.

xm quality to me is better then my ipod, and to be honest, thats good enough for me. i would rather have really good choices then to have slightly better quality for crap i will never listen to.

i think generally speaking our sound system is WAY overrated. the lack of treble in my car is so noticable that this is the first time i have actually seriously considered new speakers in ANY of my cars. no matter how loud i put music through ANY source it never sounds full. my 99 accord sounded WAY better then my current tl's system.

Repecat

[QUOTE=1995hoo
If you want a DVD-A that can really show off the TL's sound system, pick up a copy of Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops performing the 1812 Overture. The disc is on the Telarc label--very important to be sure you get the Telarc disc. Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL with the volume, however. You may have to turn it up a bit to hear the quiet portions at the beginning, but be sure to turn it down before the cannons start firing. They can easily blow out speakers if you aren't careful. It's a great recording to impress people, though.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip on the 1812 overture. I am about to order it as my first DVD-A disc. I usually listen at levels 6 or 7 with an occasional jump to 12, so I think my speakers will be safe.

Prolanman

If you want to get a DVD-A that really shows the true capability of the sound system try Emerson, Lake, and Palmers - Brain Salad Surgery. You can also check out acousticsounds.com. They sem to have one of the best selections online of DVD-A discs.

mkarg

There are 2 jazz stations in the Buffalo area that I listen to on FM. The signals for these stations are not as strong as the rock stations but I had no trouble receiving the signals until about 6 weeks ago when I started to get a lot of static. The one station from Toronto has more static than the Buffalo station since it is further away. I suspected a problem in the antenna (or radio) so I took the car to the dealer's yesterday and they concluded that the radio was fine. I am going to go back to the dealer's and have them put another TL next to mine and tune each car to the same station and see what happens. This will prove whether my radio/antenna has a problem or not.

TriniBwoy

I hear you bro. For me, an Ipod and Griffin's SmartDeck Tape adaptor pretty much satisfies my music needs. I hardly ever listened to the radio. I've only recently started listening to XM, but not often at all. But like you said, XM quality is lacking.

But maybe somthing is wrong with your unit b/c my FM reception works just fine. I stay in the DC metro area as well.

jzacuto

The quality of the XM on my 2006 is not what I'd expect, but it's a trade off for the variety. And I like the XM traffic reports which I think are just as good (if not better) than what we're missing by not having the 2007s NavTraffic.

If you look around in the forum, you can also find programs that will rip CDs and MP3s so that you can burn them to DVD-Rs and play them as DVD-A discs in your TL. The difference between the CD and the DVD is dramatic. And the quality of the DVD-A makes XM and FM sound tinny and muffled. It's really a pleasure knowing that I can convert my CDs and MP3s to DVD-A and take advantage of those features.

The only complaint I really have is that the stock system is a little lacking in the low-end of bass. The stock 360-watt system on our TSX actually sounds much better in that regrad. Other than that it's pretty damned good.

geekybiker

The XM radio quality is crap I think. It is very very noticably worse than my CD's and probably comparable to FM radio. I guess I was just hoping for descent quality. If I want a huge library of music, Ill just listen to my mp3 player or burn 2 channel DVD-A discs.

Overall Im not terribly impressed with the audio. Its fine and all, but not stunning like acura likes to think.

TriniBwoy

You're are so correct! I can't believe how much better the TSX audio system sounds compared to the TL's.

Knertified

I just picked my my 04 TL on saturday. The audio initially impressed me at first.. but then I started noticing issues with the sound. I tried adjusting the controls but sometimes it seems like your adjustments dont even change anything. I believe the 500-600hz range really needs to be dropped way down. But as far as a stock system out of the box, overall its the best I have heard so far.

I still plan on upgrading it though. I have some Focal speakers I would like to use with a new amp.

Sclass88

It's funny that this thread was revived because over the weekend, my Dad and I visited the New England International Auto Show up here in Boston. We sat in a new A4 and the Monsoon audio system that is featured in that car absolutely positively blew me away, as well as my Dad.

My Dad instantly said that it was much better than the TL's and I think it was definetly better than the stock system in my TSX.

Overall, the audio system in the TL, in my opinion, is decent but very overated. With the DVD-A's, it is hit or miss because it depends on the artist and the music they play. For example, the Eagle's DVD-A sounds good but the Shania Twain DVD-A that is in there is not so good. Also, the stock system in the TL doesn't get nearly as loud as that of the A4 or even the TSX.

I love the TL and TSX but that A4's stereo blew me away. Props to Audi for putting such a superb stereo system in their vehicles (the Q7's was just as good if not better)

EarlB.

I've had my (wonderful) 2007 TL for two days. I love the car, and one of the reasons I bought it was for the real-time XM Traffic system. For me, the satellite radio itself was a "nice to have" but certainly not a "must have." I live in Southern California, and we have plenty of stations to choose from on regular radio.

Although I have been very impressed by the XM Traffic system (it is so cool), I am utterly amazed at the poor sound quality of the XM radio. There is so much static/noise in the signal that I can hardly believe it is really digital. It certainly does not approach CD quality, or iPod quality, or even AM Radio quality. I listen (almost all day) to ESPN Radio 710 in the car and in the office. XM also offers ESPN radio. Having listened to them both in my new TL, I much prefer the sound quality of the AM radio transmission over the XM transmission.

I don't listen to as much music, but what I have listened to did not impress me.

I'll probably continue to subscribe when my 3 months end, just because I love the XM Traffic so much. But rather than thinking that I'm spending $3.00 per month to add traffic to my XM, I'll rationalize that I'm paying $3.00 per month to add XM radio to my traffic.

pandaman1784

EarlB, just to let you know, XM and XM traffic is priced separately. After your 3 month free trial, both XM and XM traffic will stop working. It is at that time when you have to call XM and tell them you want to continue your subscription. You can chose to subscribe to XM traffic only, but you won't continue getting XM radio. It's up to you. Do a search to find out how people are getting XM for $77/year. There is no discount for XM traffic tho.

EarlB.

Thanks Pandaman. I did know they are priced separately. But I think the cost of subscribing to both as a package is only slightly higher (about $3.00) than subscribing to just one. Despite the disappointing sound, it's worth $3.00 to me to add the variety, especially when I'm on a long road trip out of normal radio range.

madmoodawg

I have to jump on here and agree with some of you in saying that the radio in the TL is nothing special. I just traded in a '05 Altima and it had a better sounding stereo. The XM sounded like crap, FM is a little better, and cd's sound just a little bit better. Not enough Treble, it doesn't really get loud enough, and I seriously think that it has the worst sub of any car over 25k. My fiance has an 06 TSX, and her stero sounds much better.

Oh, and can someone please explain to me how the TL does not have a FF or RW function when playing cd's????? Seriously, they have a tape deck, but no FF or RW function??? My 2001 Blazer fast forwarded cd's. Heck, my 98 Mitsu Galant had FF & RW. I don't get it.... I may just have to swap out the stock unit, speakers and all.

gtoddh

You can FF and RW, just hold down the small silver seek buttons.

The stock radio is ok, but I want more of everything. It's not loud enough, there isn't enough bass, the sound isn't clean. Looks like I'm going to be spending some $$ on the stereo.

EndofFile

- The 07's support MP3 format I believe.

- The quality of XM has nothing to do with your car. XM just compressed the living crap out of their broadcasts to save money. It does sound worse than FM as someone pointed out, I think its as bad as a cassette tape. Oh well, quantity for quality. Hopefully itll get better if they do get the green light to merge with sirius.

- As for your FM reception, there may be something wrong with your antenna. I live in Baltimore and I listen to several DC stations such as 95.5, 101.1, 99.5. Crystal clear for me despite being 60 some miles away. Even when Im up in northern MD (100 miles from DC) I still get stations without static, except for 101.1

blkaspec

i agree with most, it is a very good system but not the best. i think the issue is that they tuned it for DVD-A , which sounds awesome, but it lacks what is needed to make your average music sound good. i have no issues with the FM. Sounds the same or better then most cars i have been in. the XM is ify. i am pretty sure that like every ten stations or so are really good and the rest are not. like channel 66, good, channel 65, crap. i think the stations that play newer stuff are usually a little better too. i really think the sub is the weak point though. it works, but more often than not it is not working that well. could be a lot louder and a lot deeper. overall i give it an 89%. almost an A because the DVD-A sounds great but the rest brought it down.