Marco On Music
Marco Migliari is a music professional of some standing having worked as a Studio Technician, Sound Engineer and a Music Producer. We don't think there can be many people out there who know as much about sound recording as Marco although his self-effacing professionalism would prevent him from acknowledging this fact. We invited him to report on his own speaker upgrade:
“Two weeks ago I had my Toyota Verso OEM sound system upgraded with a pair of Audison Prima APK 165 speakers. I took my car to Western Car Radio in Bristol - I'm regularly in town for business - and left the guys to it for a couple of hours while I had a meeting nearby.
The upgrade was swift. I got a call when the car was ready for collection, ahead of time, thanked and shook hands with the owners and eagerly set off on my journey back home. I am a music producer and I make a living from crafting quality sound and I was painfully aware of how bad the speakers were in my family car. Even a pair of tin cans on a string would sound better than my Toyota's OEM sound system.
First impressions truly exceeded my wildest expectations and turning on the car radio was most satisfying. I have a random collection of CDs loaded in the built-in changer, mostly folk and indie projects I have worked on over the years, which the kids seem to really like on long journeys. For the first time in 10 years I was actually able to hear details long forgotten, and within a few miles I found myself regretting some past mix choices as I started to analyse my own work in the comfort of my Verso.
The first thing that struck me was the level of detail - the OEM system is remarkably lifeless, with confused and muffled mid-range, non-existent high end and mushy and boomy bottom end. The Audisons showed remarkable quality in the crucial mid to high-mid range and also good imaging, something I certainly would not have expected in a car. I was disappointed to be sat to the right of the ideal listening position, but for the first time I could actually tell that there WAS a stereo image at all! So I could still enjoy the stereo field because there was information there that wasn't just centre, full left or full right. Top end was rich but not shrill, and bottom end sounded tight and nicely controlled, with information unexpectedly reaching down with great clarity into lower octaves.
I was also able to tweak the basic settings on the OEM amplifier to adjust the sound to my own taste - +2/7 on the bass and I adjusted the F/R ratio to 2/7 to the rear, just to get some depth on the stereo image. I actually started thinking that I should upgrade the rear speakers as well, but the fact that the OEM speakers were extremely dull oddly helped to provide some kind of bass reinforcement, albeit without the definition I could hear from the front.
Radio playback was for the first time a very pleasurable experience - delivery was clear and I found I needed less volume to counteract motorway engine noise, which should make future journeys less tiring.
All in all, upgrading to these Audisons has been an extremely satisfying experience, and I will certainly begin to reference my own professional work in the car since I now have a useful sound system. Recommended.”
Thanks Marco. It is great to hear from someone as capable as you at articulating what they are hearing. I am sure others who have upgraded feel the same way and if anyone reading would like to tell us about their own experiences, we are always happy to hear them. Visit our website, www.drivingsounds.co.uk or email me directly: editorial@drivingsounds.co.uk.
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