How do u like the base radio?

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vger105

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Messages
7
We have a new 2017 SV and I want to upgrade the speakers. My wife, otoh, is perfectly happy with the system that came with our Leaf. For those of u with S or SV models, how do u like your radios? Anyone change the speakers?
 
Did you purchase or lease the vehicle? If it is a lease, spending the time and money to upgrade the speakers is really not a wise choice.

Why do you want to upgrade the speakers? Is there an issue with the audio output?

I have a 2013 SV with the standard NAV and speakers. I have no issues with it, and have not found a reason to want to upgrade them.

Check the Music/NAV and Mods forums. There are posts from those that have done speaker upgrades.

Who is going to be driving the car more? Will it be a struggle to get her to agree to do the upgrades? Do you have the ability to do the upgrades without damaging the vehicle?

Just remember the old saying: Happy Wife = Happy Life.
 
I have an S. I find the stock radio to be very adequate, especially as I do not value having an audiophile auditory experience while I drive.

I believe that things like HD TVs, stereos, etc are like diamonds..... You only notice differences when you put them next to other ones, and the diamond you have will still make you happy;

Also, any change in the speakers will not be worth the time and money, and the loss of the old, "free" speakers you have left over. I have always found that we always accommodate to what we have, and even if you get new speakers, in a week, the great new speakers will sound just "ok" again.

Also, since the radio is also connected to other systems of the car, I would never change the radio.
 
To me, it sounds fair. I usually upgrade my stereo when possible.

For an audiophile, it would sound very bad. For a majority of people, it's good enough.

I guess audio quality is too subjective to get a good answer.

Just my thoughts.
 
FWIW, I test drove a LEAF with the Bose package when I was shopping for mine and I wasn't impressed. It sounded only marginally better than the stock radio. The mid-range was alright, but the tweeters are rather muted - I prefer them a bit crisper and brighter. The lower range, handled by the woofer in the trunk, sounds pretty mushy to my ears. I'm sure some people just crank up the bass and treble, which does improve things somewhat, but to my mind a "premium" audio system should be more responsive at flat levels. Given the less than stellar Bose "upgrade", I was pleasantly surprised that the stock audio isn't much worse.

I guess it depends on your budget, but I find it's not worth the money to rip and replace everything.
 
alozzy said:
FWIW, I test drove a LEAF with the Bose package when I was shopping for mine and I wasn't impressed. It sounded only marginally better than the stock radio. The mid-range was alright, but the tweeters are rather muted - I prefer them a bit crisper and brighter. The lower range, handled by the woofer in the trunk, sounds pretty mushy to my ears. I'm sure some people just crank up the bass and treble, which does improve things somewhat, but to my mind a "premium" audio system should be more responsive at flat levels. Given the less than stellar Bose "upgrade", I was pleasantly surprised that the stock audio isn't much worse.

I guess it depends on your budget, but I find it's not worth the money to rip and replace everything.

Did you use the Audio menu to adjust the treble? Mine sounded much better after I adjusted the sound to suit me.
 
baustin said:
Did you purchase or lease the vehicle? If it is a lease, spending the time and money to upgrade the speakers is really not a wise choice.

***We bought the car when Nissan had a $10,000 reduction in price. That plus the $2500 NYS rebate and the $7500 federal tax credit made the final cost irresistable

Why do you want to upgrade the speakers? Is there an issue with the audio output?

*** The sound is adequate but not quite what I would want. The sound is much, much better in our other car

Who is going to be driving the car more? Will it be a struggle to get her to agree to do the upgrades? Do you have the ability to do the upgrades without damaging the vehicle?

*** My wife will be using it most of the time so I didn't pursue a speaker upgrade. If she's satisfied with the sound, so be it

Just remember the old saying: Happy Wife = Happy Life.

*** Amen to that!
 
LeftieBiker said:
alozzy said:
FWIW, I test drove a LEAF with the Bose package when I was shopping for mine and I wasn't i

Did you use the Audio menu to adjust the treble? Mine sounded much better after I adjusted the sound to suit me.

*** I did try that. I have found the most important component of any sound system is the human ear. As I've aged I find I can't quite hear the high frequencies I used to hear. I guess what sounds like a limited dynamic range to me might sound perfectly fine to someone else. Oh well...
 
I don't mean to imply that the Bose system is audiophile quality, just that I find it perfectly adequate for what I play in the car - mostly 80's alternative.
 
alozzy said:
FWIW, I test drove a LEAF with the Bose package when I was shopping for mine and I wasn't impressed. It sounded only marginally better than the stock radio. The mid-range was alright, but the tweeters are rather muted - I prefer them a bit crisper and brighter. The lower range, handled by the woofer in the trunk, sounds pretty mushy to my ears. I'm sure some people just crank up the bass and treble, which does improve things somewhat, but to my mind a "premium" audio system should be more responsive at flat levels. Given the less than stellar Bose "upgrade", I was pleasantly surprised that the stock audio isn't much worse.
For me, when I originally was Leaf shopping in 2013, I listened to both the base SV stereo and a car w/the Bose stereo (happened to be an SL) briefly w/my own music. It was obvious to me that the Bose was noticeably better.

I'm no fan of Bose's products nor the company but I have 0 regrets that I leased a '13 w/the Bose stereo. After living with it for 2 years, I found I LOVED the premium package's Around View Monitor and really enjoyed the Bose stereo. So, when I bought a used '13 to replace my leased car, it HAD to have the premium package.

I ruled out S long ago due to lack of cruise control. Inferior stereo was another mark against it.
 
Your wife is right, the base model radio sounds great and is perfectly suited for the car. Sounds like you"re just looking to make work for yourself. Get a hobby. Build a robot with that time & money.
 
On my 2014 SL I found the Bose better than stock but it was still lacking. So i replaced the 4 Bose speakers w/ Infinity Kappa 62.11i 6.5 Inch Coaxial Speaker. I used the existing speaker's bases.

Sounds substantially better, fuller & smoother sound w/ better highs and lows. And now the equalizer is set as -1 for both base and treble (they were both at +2).

I'm surprised by how well the treble travels up from the low speaker location. I thought the legs would block a lot of the treble. The existing tweeters are still operational so i'm sure they help but they're not that loud. The infinity's have a button to increase the highs and this has not been activated.

I find that this ~$200 upgrade is good value for the money. The next step would be quite a bit more money.
 
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