GR86 Standard audio - my sound settings

[Hachi-roku]

Last bike I had a bike fit and it helped a lot. But I'm overdue new shoes as they are years old so was going to wait until I got those and get another one done.

hopefully it’ll help get that cost per ride figure down.

 

[911sse]

Earlier today I made a comment in the confessions thread that I thought the stereo in our cars was pretty good sounding for a standard system. Whilst it doesn't have anywhere near the bass or power of my previous F-Type (with Meridian Surround System) I find our cars have a far more pleasing sound once the settings are tweaked.

Whilst I'm no audiophile, I'm not averse to spending a bit of money in getting a good head unit, subwoofer, amp, speakers and soundproofing to improve sound where necessary. Before I go down that route (which I'd prefer to avoid due the weight gain and of course, the not inconsiderable cost) I thought I'd try to get the best out of the standard system first.

My music taste is generally 80/90s rock - The Police, U2, REM, Alanis Morissette, The Strokes, The Lemonheads, Jamiroquai etc. The settings are of course personal to me and depending on my mood, the time of day and what I'm listening to, I may play around with them, but below is what I have landed on.

To access the sound settings via the infotainment screen, select:

• Home (physical button)
• Settings (button on on the screen)
• Sound (from top menu on the screen)

Then you can select from the following options in the 'Audio settings' menu:

Sound customisation
Equaliser
Bass: -8
Mid: -2
Treble: -9

Balance/Fader
Reset

Vocal Image Control
Reset

Virtual Stage Enhancer
This menu option only appears when you have tapped the Vocal Image Control button mentioned above
Mid

Sound restorer
Off

Virtual Bass
Med

Dynamic Beat Enhancer
Mid

Feedback appreciated!

Well I tried these settings before sliding on the CCs for three miles to the road, much fun this AM on the ears and the limit.

 

[beorg]

Thanks.

I'm expected a delivery of the Focals today.

Waiting for my son to come back from University so he can install them.

Hi @leosayer,

Have you had any luck with installing the Focals yet? Your audio settings were really good on the stock set up, and I wondered whether your recommendation would change following the speakers' upgrade.

 

[leosayer]

Thanks for the reminder. I fitted the Focals last weekend on their own with no amp and no sound deadening.

They are a massive improvement in every area - putting a smile on my face every time I listen.

I have so far landed on the following tweaks to my earlier settings.

Equaliser:
Bass from -8 to -1
Mid from -2 to 0
Treble from -9 to -4

Virtual Bass from Med to High

Dynamic Beat Enhancer from Mid to Low - if you set it to 'High' on 'Blurred Lines' then I won't be held accountable for the consequences!

Bear in mind this has mostly been tested in my garage with little tweaking whilst on the move so I expect to make more tweaks however the Focals are so good that it's really down to personal taste. Compare that to the original speakers where my goal was just to make the stereo listenable.

Enjoy!

 

[barkerc2024]

Earlier today I made a comment in the confessions thread that I thought the stereo in our cars was pretty good sounding for a standard system. Whilst it doesn't have anywhere near the bass or power of my previous F-Type (with Meridian Surround System) I find our cars have a far more pleasing sound once the settings are tweaked.

Whilst I'm no audiophile, I'm not averse to spending a bit of money in getting a good head unit, subwoofer, amp, speakers and soundproofing to improve sound where necessary. Before I go down that route (which I'd prefer to avoid due the weight gain and of course, the not inconsiderable cost) I thought I'd try to get the best out of the standard system first.

My music taste is generally 80/90s rock - The Police, U2, REM, Alanis Morissette, The Strokes, The Lemonheads, Jamiroquai etc. The settings are of course personal to me and depending on my mood, the time of day and what I'm listening to, I may play around with them, but below is what I have landed on.

To access the sound settings via the infotainment screen, select:

• Home (physical button)
• Settings (button on on the screen)
• Sound (from top menu on the screen)

Then you can select from the following options in the 'Audio settings' menu:

Sound customisation
Equaliser
Bass: -8
Mid: -2
Treble: -9

Balance/Fader
Reset

Vocal Image Control
Reset

Virtual Stage Enhancer
This menu option only appears when you have tapped the Vocal Image Control button mentioned above
Mid

Sound restorer
Off

Virtual Bass
Med

Dynamic Beat Enhancer
Mid

Feedback appreciated!

Just picked mine up yesterday - these work a treat, it was a harsh experience yesterday! Any other audio tips??

 

[beorg]

Just picked mine up yesterday - these work a treat, it was a harsh experience yesterday! Any other audio tips??

Get the Focal IS TOY165s if you can. Best value for money upgrade to the sound quality.

 

[leosayer]

Get the Focal IS TOY165s if you can. Best value for money upgrade to the sound quality.

Yes I second that.

They're cheap to buy, pretty easy to install and sound so much better regardless of what audio settings you use.

 

[callahan]

Get the Focal IS TOY165s if you can. Best value for money upgrade to the sound quality.

Yep and add a bit of sound deadening to the doors.

 

[BobG]

After having bought the Focal speaker kit some 5 months ago, finally got around to fitting mine today (with some sound deadening in the door skin) and what a difference - vast improvement over the stock kit!

 

[this poison]

I followed the instructions from @leosayer to the letter today and have to say it’s moved the audio experience from stuffy to sweet!

Cheers mate!