Bambu is pointless. You can't restore what was lost. All it does is manipulating the equilizer to try to highlight certain frequencies. Another marketing hype to deceive consumers.

The Harman Kardon audio in my Mercedes is brilliant. Nice clear sound, deep, proper bass, without the annoying buzzing and clear high tones.

This is just an AD for Bambu and THX, and explains very little about car audio. "less is more"??? such BS.

As a car audio enthusiast less is never more, more after some time still isn’t enough

The crotchety old British guy is awesome. LOL

Some of the best factory stereo systems can't even touch a cheap after market system. It's sad really.

Cheap OEM car audio sounds "cardboard-y" because the shit speakers are literally made of paper.

I put some digital optimisation to your digital optimised files, so you can have optimal optimisation while you optimise.

This Bambu thing seems like it just takes the EQ and makes it a big U or V shape which might sound pleasing to some but you still lose the original sound. Once that file is compressed, you can't reverse that.

Yep. When I listen to satellite radio on the Harman Kardon system in my Mercedes it sounds alright. If I play a CD from 1994 on it man is the sound amazing.

Less is actually more when tuned correctly. However, more power will always give you the volume factor. Great video. This channel is great!

A smartphone, a Tidal Hifi account, and a USB dac connected to the Aux input (no Bluetooth!) is all you need for great car audio. If you don't want the monthly charge for music then rip your CDs to FLAC files and store them on your phone.

2:52 the definition of a corporate environment laugh 😂

Most people dont care about the soundstage, let alone tell the difference between an uncompressed/compressed audio file, they are perfectly happy with their mp3s or low quality music streaming services. I personally download all my music as Flac and convert to Alac for Ipod use. I really dont mind the larger file size. Although I consider myself an Audiophile and make it a goal to have the highest quality files, I personally cant tell the difference between a lossless wav file compressed to 320kbps mp3. Anything lower than 256kbps and the playback will begin to sound a bit crappy on any high end speaker system, especially at higher volumes.

Don't care it's a repost!! It's Cooley! Can't stand the other road show guys....

The THX guy is awesome, clearly your classic audio engineer.

This is why you upgrade to focal

Two things are mixed up here. First there is sound compression which indeed makes everything sound even loud and then there's file compression which makes the file smaller by removing certain data that the human ear can't hear. Those are two complete different things.

It looks like it does the same thing as the Clip Fix in Audacity. It lowers the gain, tries it's best to guess at the waveform that was clipped, and then boosts the signal back up to it's new max. It fixes compression in the dynamic range sense, but not compression in the file encoding sense, meaning that the frequencies cut off when I'd was ripped to a ≥256kbps mp3 can't be restored

THX yes, Bambu no. It is on you to find quality source and well produced music to play on a great sound system. Good amp and speakers will show all the goodness or flaws of the recording. 320kbps MP3 of a well recorded music will sound better then FLAC version of badly recorded music.

Fucking normies think uncompressed audio will make a difference in a car with all the road and tire noise. Unless you drive a Maybach, Bentley or Rolls Royce you are going to have a very dilute experience with car audio.

I absolutely love my 17 speaker Lexicon system in my 2011 Genesis. I added proper subs and it’s amazing. Coming from someone who had systems in cars back in the day I couldn’t be happier.

Amazing! Wondering about getting one of Subaru so interested in Harmon & kardon audio system. 🎛 Any recomendation for great audio in car you would recomment guys? 💫

Very misleading and some terms confused, especially along the lines of compression.

The word "compression" can refer to two totally different things: 1) Amplitude compression flattens the levels, allowing them to be raised without clipping the signal. The goal is to maximize overall loudness. This has been widespread for DECADES by recording studios and radio stations. Studies show that listeners usually prefer a louder compressed signal. 2) Compression of digital data. This reduces signal fidelity in a way that CANNOT be restored by an algorithm. All they are doing is turning up the bass and treble.

Wow, I thought that would be an interesting video about how hard it is to get a good sound in a car because of the shape, materials, number of people ... inside of a car. But the part on compression is not only absurd, but, it is totally scientifically wrong. And I am not sure what bambu is doing, probably some oversampling (which my CD player/DAC also does) but that doesn't restore information that was lost during compression! What is lost during lossy compression is lost forever and trying to fill the gaps is guess work. That being said, good mp3s (mine are 320bps vbr done with a very good CD player) are, to the human ear, virtually indistinguishable from the CD they were made from and, anything above 192kbps is so close that you would need really expensive hifi equipment for just few people being able to hear the difference. Now I have no doubt that your dog can hear that there is information missing above 20kHz and there are also some infra sounds missing under 20Hz but no human can hear that. I can't believe that the THX guy dare say what he said on camera.. although he either has a financial stake in Bambu or in high resolution audio files streaming or sales. (And I am not saying that hi res is not better than CD when well recorded and mixed (which is not easy in itself) but that it takes really top notch speakers, headphones, amp for a tiny percentage of humans to actually hear a any difference between the two).

As a person with years of experience, I truly believe for most people it does not matter if the file is compressed or not. People just want the music and they don't need the perfect Hz required. Although compression does ruin the quallity, it does not ruin it to the point most people can notice it.

Your right, I would never build a home theater without a solid center speakers. BUT Music is recorded in stereo, not in surround like movies. So I would never artificially mix the music into surround sound. Keep it as left & right stereo as it's meant to be.

nice scam for this useless app

HERE LISTEN TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS THROUGH THE MICROPHONE THATS BEEN COMPRESSED THROUGH THE RENDERING/EDITING AND THEN AGAIN THROUGH KZfaq!

I think a nice Audio system with a good amount of bass makes it sound rich and enjoyable.

I LOVE THE FACT COOLEY DRIVES A VIC! Go Cooley, go.

I can say with a very high level of certainty that the opening statement is correct. I have had the displeasure of being stuck with a broken radio, and it's been driving me nuts. Its' not such a big deal in decent moving traffic or on short trips, but after an hour on the highway you start losing your gosh darn mind.

So what about Tidal Premium having 1411 Kbps in the format of FLAC and ALAC. I would assume this would sound better in a car because of less compression?

So where can i get this bambu

I have a pretty great setup to get around this. Instead of an ipod or streaming services, I load all of music onto a $50 used LG G4. Specifically the LG G (or V also) series, because I also use the Auxillary input via the phone's headphone output and the LG G and V series have the absolute best quality DAC (headphone output put simply) in the entire phone business and actually still better than most normal consumer music players like an ipod. I also have it rooted so I can run Viper4Android, which allows for all sorts of software side tweaks aside from just an equilizer. Such as dozens of different impulse response presets, advanced clarity & bass tweaks, expanded sound stage/surround processing, compressed file frequency extension (sort of like this video but much more advanced than just bumping the EQ here and there) and a few other tidbits. Put simply, the sound is vastly better than the radio and considerably better than the best streaming services. Yet it only cost me about $50!! It also lasts about a week on a single charge since it has no sim card/data connection and I can turn off bluetooth/gps/wifi etc since I'm only using headphone output.

Where we get wav files.. I don't think u get wav format anymore

I wish I could have someone look at me the way Cooley looks at Laurie Fincham

Love that my Acura has a 6 disc changer that supports DVD-A. Hours of uncompressed music and playlists. Though their system is similar to THX. Once the volume goes above 24, the sub goes down and the mids become louder.

The fender system in the golf r sounds incredible!

My understanding was that less digital processing is best not more, I run my eq completely flat with any other enhancements turned off and I think I have a good sound for now. In my experience at least, getting the levels and cross over points all dialled in makes more of a difference plus it sounds organic and natural. I'm not a huge fan of digital processing.

Cooley for president!!!

My 2017 vw golf 1.4lt base model speakers sound pretty good.. don't know the brand though..

when Cooley speaks, it doesnt matter what your sound system is, it will always sound great

I always sit perfectly in the center when listening to my home stereo.

Even in 2001, I knew to stay away from 64kbps mp3s

sad so many cars wont even allow a CD player anymore, good thing i have a real Krell HiFi system at home.

A home audiophile goes through a phase where we buy more and more speakers such as 5.1, 7.1 ,or 9.1 dolby theater systems, But we return back to a high quality 2 channel stereo. Less becomes more when you get your priority straight and realize we only have two ears and the one in the driver seats has control.

The best processing is no processing. Watts are not important to good sound current is. Quick release of current. The best car audio amplifier I have heard by a wide margin is the completely impractical Milbert 12 watt per channel tube amp. Four or 5 excellent speakers under most circumstances will give you much better and natural sound than 20 excellent speakers. Car Audio is starting to sound good agin. I think it reached its peak in the mid 1990s. Digital files and bluetooth are light years better than they were just 5 years ago. Satellite radio sounds like garbage. Internet radio is getting better every day. If you are upgrading your system try to find the highest quality components and keep it as simple as possible.

At last! Words of wisdom in a sea of ignorant audio madness!!!!!!!! Thumbs up from me.

Flac master race.

I only listen to lossless files via my old iPod classic. Can't stand the audio compression artifacts. It's too bad that more people don't demand better quality of audio because all of us suffer as a result.

We have lossless streaming nowadays, it comes standard on Apple Music and its extra on Tidal and Deezer. My stock speakers couldn’t keep up with even 16 bit 44.1KHz lossless even though the aftermarket radio improved sound quality. Playing lossless audio on my 2015 Camry stock speakers is like playing a AAA game on integrated graphics. So I decided to get Sony Mobile ES speakers and a 4ch amp. More than 90 watts will burn them out but, 70 watts is going to be loud enough for “sorry I can’t hear you because the music is on full blast” even if the passenger yells at me.

I have a Harmon Kardon system in the Challenger Shaker ScatPack. It kicks ass.

How can I download Bambu?

I process all my music with platinum notes and it sounds amazing.

So much bullcrap! First of all, mp3 files can be very good, they are usually 128kbps but there are also 320kbps ones which are indistinguishable from wavs by untrained ear. Second, file compression and music compression are two absolutely different things and they do not have to go together, but still you cannot undo neither of these if you throw some data away by compressing the file the only way you can put it back is by guessing which is actually done in all music systems, not only Bamboo and this actually is what introduces sound artifacts! You also cannot undo sound compression because it is very similar but cuts different thing you can try to expand the dynamic range by also guessing, or carelessy expanding the whole sound, but this is never done in any sound systems because not only would it harm dynamic music but it is just stupid!

I love the factor Bose system in my 2009 saab the only thing I love to change is the head unit is a old screen needs updating.

I remember an app called CanOpener when I was running an iPhone 6S. It was great. It was better than the standard equalizer in iOS. That and head quake where it tricked your ears into thinking you are hearing 3D surround sound. CanOpener worked great in the car. Sadly the app doesn’t work on the iPhone 7 since it’s 64 bit now. I don’t even see it in the App Store anymore. If you want an app to run music in the car Radsone or Vox or even Jetaudio.

get a DSP that will solve your positioning of speakers issue by latency and tune your speakers to the vehicle with Flat response you shouldn’t need to go over +3DB always tune down not up, so that the sound coming out is what the artist intended the music to sound like and use flac files when you can to get the best sounding experience I recommend a helix DSP or a audison DSP

So really the speakers should be right on the dash in front of you then to hear good sounds?

Where is the software, if you want to slip some ads in the show, atleast put a link at the bottom of the video.

What about DSEE HX from Sony?

Yeaaah! He is baaaack!!

As long as I can connect up Spotify it's all good

My car audio system does not leave me flat. Add a BitTen DSP to the head unit and then amps from there. Can indeed be set to deliver perfect stereo to the driver (though other passengers do not get full effect). DSP units are not mentioned but are the most popular way to ensure fantastic sound.

I have a SQ build in my car. It cost me 14k to get it sounding the way I wanted it. Custom pods, dynamat, DSP, etc. It took me a several years because I built in stages. So it's important to have hi res audio files. I get a lot of compliments and most of the time they are usually speechless when listening to it for the first time. Most SQ builds suck for rap music but mine doesn't I have a 5 - way setup. Tweeter, mid range, 6.5 woofers , 8" woofer drivers, and subwoofers. Tuning was a pain and it's still not perfect. I have the 6.5 and 8" crossed over in a way that the 8 will take over where the 6.5 lacks in low end.

The audio source is key, and components are important. Most factory audio can only do so much.

...so having worked for BOSE, what's the difference between this & Adapt IQ?

Today music is mastered for mp3 listening in mind 320kb is enough(loudness war). Old music on old cd needs uncompressed

when did he leave cnet?

I only use flac these days.

A real car audio SQ will always has to have an image in front of you on your favorite tracks. I mean almost has to be heard how the artist heard their music basically

Dolby Atmos for cars please?

My earphones put the sound perfectly in to my brain. They are the triple cone ones that seal out all outside noise. Speakers have to compete with outside noises so they fail, no matter how good they are.

There is also steel and glass which is awful for sound, so there is that

Uncompressed audio is a marketing meme and this stuff is just amplifying high and low frequencies. Well mastered music with a good sound system what you really need. Flac does not sound better than a 320kbps mp3 file of the same song if encoded from that flac file.

I’m nearly deaf in my left ear and have partial hearing loss in my right ear from military experience. So it wasn’t my imagination that satellite radio in car stereos sound horrible. Had it free with my new car and did not renew. I had one car with decent speaker placement. It had two speakers on the dash about head level and angled towards the driver. The rear 6x9 speakers were flat on the rear deck. Replaced them and they sounded great.

I do agree that I hate those stupid "equalisers" where you have a profile for rock, jazz, classical etc. As the guy said, nobody sods around changing them whilst they're driving. I mean you could read the MP3 tag and automate it, but... I'd be happy with vol, bass, treble and that's it. I suspect it's just marketing stuff - you can show a punter a button marked "DSP" or "E/Q". Telling them about the fidelity or SNR of the system - most people won't get it. I'd like a nice, simple high-quality system rather than a very complex one.

Don't get into hi-fi and you won't be so disappointed when you can't have it everywhere. Just realize when nice is nice enough.

Road noise in some vehicles is significant enough that FLAC files wouldn’t even matter.

Ok I wanna meet the guy who says they can tell the difference between a FLAC and a 320Kbps MP3/AAC. You can complain about compression all you want, but high-enough bitrate and you can't tell. I haven't seen an A-B-X test that hasn't failed. Yes, I have some FLAC on my phone (played via Vox), but I can't tell even being played on my nicest headphones. When I bought my Ridgeline in 2012 the factory "Navigation" unit was crap, so I skipped it. A few years later I did a great system in there and sound really nice. But when buying my 718 Cayman S I didn't want to worry about what the stereo shop did to my new car, so I got the higest-end audio Porsche offers. It's not perfect, but it works really well.

Since when has it been hard to get good sound out of a car?

What kind of car has those good quality speakers

one more excellent video you are the best

Rainbow and Hertz audio ftw. With two 600rms four channels by the name of audio source directly imported from Italy. All in a 2000 gmc Sierra lol

I recently test drove a new Range Rover Velar. Impressive. At the end of the drive, I asked the salesman about the audio (i knew the stats but nevertheless wanted to give him a chance to add something new). He proceeded to smile and say, "its awesome; let me show you". He then proceeds to dial the subwoofer to max and then the bass to max and blow the system out. Needless to say, it sounded like shit! 3 seconds in, I heard a brand new rattle develop in the front left speaker (im certain he "broke" the driver side mid bass component). I looked at him and he was so proud either unaware the obvious new distortion or unaware that that rattle was not a good thing. Regardless, I was done and directed him to turn it down. I suggested he take more thought in his demonstrations for the future. Its a Range Rover afterall. I doubt most of his customers would find that level of loudness appropriate and the few like me who do appreciate audio would find that particular demonstration impressive.

Maybe I'm just a plebian but I listen to the radio with the stock system and it always sounds just fine.

Did we really watch a 2 minute Bamboo ad in 5 minute video? Yes we did

Why the fuck did I watch this!?? *I dont even have a radio in my car :(*

Try and get flac files or high bit rate MP3. And get a master that hasn't been "remastered" with dynamic compression. Some CDs are shocking for this!

I have a usb stick full of .WAV music. and it does infact sound alot better. especially with my subwoofer. before, the bass was kind of distorted and bad... What I don't get is how does MP3 to WAV work? MP3 is compressed, and WAV isn't. How does it turn an 8MB compressed file to a 40MB uncompressed file. where does it get all this extra information?

I design my Own....

He said he heard more bass...well I couldn't hear shit because they talk to much

How many cars support DVD-A and really how many DVD-A are even produced? I know Acura supported it, but I don't know if they still do since it never became popular. At some point the music industry is going to resell all of our music back to us in surround sound. You can even tell the difference between a speaker being set to Bluetooth verses WiFi.

I wish Apple would endorse and move to MQA files. We could finally give this superb and revolutionary format the jolt it needs to go mainstream. It would solve a lot of music reproduction issues in car stereo systems.

i love my 1997 Alpine. Period.

My 2017 Mustang GT Premium has a center speaker. Albeit it is a poc speaker and must be upgraded but... it's a center speaker

I just witnessed the CEO of Bambu having an illegal ripped off version La Bamba😂

Brian Cooley you should hear and see the AUDIO/VIDEO system JOEBRUNODESIGNS installed in a 2002 HONDA ACCORD SE 1,000 watts rms