Volt Onwers please.. Bose Audio vs Sound Studio Package

IMHO.. Nearly all production audio speakers, premium or not, are crap. Chevy Bose....still cheap garbage construction. As for the S, not much better, if at all.

Note ... I've only seen the hatch speakers, but I'm sure the rest are the same components.

Our company Volt does not have the Bose system, but my previous Cadillac CTS did. In my humble opinion, the Bose system sounded a bit better than the Sound Studio package I have in my S. FWIW, I think that XM sounds like crap in both. I had XM in the CTS and flipped the subscription over to my Model S, but won't renew it.

Galve2000 said:

I do consider myself a bit of an audiophile althoUgh I try not to be a snob about it, and I am nursing an addiction to XM satalite radio...

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You call yourself and audiophile, but admit to listening to XM radio??? :scared: :crying:

The Bose system in the Volt is better than anything else I've had before in a car.
The sound studio package in the P85 I rented a while ago sounded too soft in the lower frequencies at low volume. But turn it up to 8 or above, and it sounds pretty decent.

J in MN said:

You call yourself and audiophile, but admit to listening to XM radio??? :scared: :crying:

The Bose system in the Volt is better than anything else I've had before in a car.
The sound studio package in the P85 I rented a while ago sounded too soft in the lower frequencies at low volume. But turn it up to 8 or above, and it sounds pretty decent.

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Yeah but that shouldn't be. 8 is borderline deafening.

J in MN said:

But turn it up to 8 or above, and it sounds pretty decent.

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Probably because your ears are struggling just to differentiate sounds at that volume, never mind whether they're accurate or not. :scared:

My Volt has the Bose package in it. I have listened to the sound studio package on a Model S on 2 different occations. Overall, the Bose is a good system, but not an outstanding system. Like all Bose products, the highs are a little overstated (intentional on Bose's part. As you age, the your hearing changes, and your ability to hear highs diminishes. Bose figured out that most people who can afford their products are over 30, so they intentionally overstate the highs to make it sound better to that demographic). Mid range sounds on the Bose are crystal clear. The Bass is not terrific on the Volt sound system, it really could use a little more "umph", but I suspect that is intentional in an effort to make the system use less power (the Volt's Bose system is marketed as a low power draw system for electric vehicles). Overall, I would say that the Bose in the Volt is pretty comparable to the Sound studio package in the Model S, with the Bose sounding a little better at lower volumes, and the Model S system delivering better sound at higher volumes due to its larger power output. On a only slightly related note, the Model S has a much better interface for interacting with your music, but the Volt has an actual CD player (also plays DVD's on the 2011 and 2012 models) Hope this helps.

ZestyChicken said:

Yeah but that shouldn't be. 8 is borderline deafening.

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Mayhemm said:

Probably because your ears are struggling just to differentiate sounds at that volume...

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It depends on your source material. If you are listening to XM radio, or some over compressed FM radio station/internet feed, I would totally agree with you. I don't listen to that.

Rifleman said:

...with the Bose sounding a little better at lower volumes, and the Model S system delivering better sound at higher volumes...

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Yes, thank you.

How many watts is the Volt's 7 speaker bose system?

I drove a volt with the böse system for 3 years and I can say that the standard sound system on the model S does not match the quality of the bose in the volt - I unfortunately do not have the premium sound option installed

mbaier said:

I drove a volt with the böse system for 3 years and I can say that the standard sound system on the model S does not match the quality of the bose in the volt - I unfortunately do not have the premium sound option installed

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My previous Cadillac had the Bose system and I find the Tesla Premium Sound system to be comparable. Doesn't seem any worse or any better than the Bose to my ear.

Galve2000 said:

Bose Audio...I do consider myself a bit of an audiophile...an addiction to XM satalite radio

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This is funny.


Bose offers mid-range sound for a high-priced system (their advertising gives the appearance that they're the next best thing since sliced bread).

Keep in mind it was implemented with constraints. If resources (kW) are unlimited you do anything great. Trade-offs. People often compare against the high end system in ICE cars. Good engineering is finding a balance that satisifies.

the new Chevy Volt is on the road – and available with a Bose Energy Efficient Series (EES) sound system. Using a proprietary design and exclusive Bose technologies, the system delivers premium high-quality audio – but is 30% smaller, 40% lighter and uses 50% less energy than automotive sound systems with comparable performance.

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Image: http://i.imgur.com/V75857t.png

I like the Tesla Sound Studio vs the Volt Boise at louder levels.

I had both options on my Volt's when I had homes in both Texas and AZ. My Texas Volt had the Bose and my AZ Volt did not. I did love the Bose option. Having tried both options on the S I didn't go with the premium audio. I was leaning for the premium for Sirius but I really only listened to three channels. I could get BBC and ESPN through Tune-In. I miss First Wave (since I'm still stuck in the 80's) but only for the DJ's since I found equivalent selection of Tune-In also. The audio difference didn't seem to warrant the option IMHO and deaf ears spending too much time at concerts.

I had the Bose system in my now departed Volt and like all Bose products it was just ok. IMHO the Bose brand is greatly overrated. The Reus system on my Model S is vastly superior.

The Bose on my volt was ok, you couldn't get any bass and it was underpowered. Sound studio is 10x better. Ok maybe 5x [emoji3]

artsci said:

I had the Bose system in my now departed Volt and like all Bose products it was just ok. IMHO the Bose brand is greatly overrated. The Reus system on my Model S is vastly superior.

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But isn't that a silly comparison because the Reus system was not trying to meet the stated below design goals?

the new Chevy Volt is on the road – and available with a Bose Energy Efficient Series (EES) sound system. Using a proprietary design and exclusive Bose technologies, the system delivers premium high-quality audio – but is 30% smaller, 40% lighter and uses 50% less energy than automotive sound systems with comparable performance.

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I own both a 2012 Volt and Tesla both with the premium sound packages. The Tesla sounds much better, and from when i test drove the non upgraded Tesla, it's sound wasn't as good as the Bose in my Volt. Not sure how but the XM sounds way better in the Tesla then the Volt for some reason.

We have been very pleased with the Volt Bose system. It is a good step up from any car we had. The Tesla is good as well but pricier.