488 Pista Audio Options

This is an area where Ferrari just doesn't care. The sound systems are not any good compared to lesser german cars. I had a 991tts with the upgraded Burmester and it was fantastic. I didn't listen to it much but I could turn it up and not hear the engine. I just bought my wife the AMG GT C Roadster and it has the upgraded Burmester which is again, fantastic. The sound system in my 488 Spider doesn't get used much because I drive top down and with the top up it's OK but not really worth listening to so I just leave it off. The JBL upgrade just isn't worth $6k especially since the Burmester is so much better and it's a $3500 option on the Porsche and $4500 on the AMG. Much more for the money in those cases. I would say the JBL system is about 25% better than the standard system but 50% less than the Burmester in either the Porsche or the AMG.

I can't understand why anyone would want a radio in a track focused car like the Pista anyway. Even so, if you aren't driving the car because you don't want to put miles on it, who needs the radio?

 

No audio system for me in my Pista. I will put two https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Waterproof-Portable-Bluetooth-Black/dp/B01MSYQWNY/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1548515120&sr=1-4&keywords=jbl+bluetooth+speaker of these in the back if I want to listen to some music. Save $$$ and weight

 

The JBL System in the 488 in fact is one of the best sounding systems you can get in an actual sports car. It is way better that Audi’s B&O system in the R8, the upgraded Burmester in the 991 or Lambo’s Sensorum.

 

I’ve had both and the JBL is far better sounding than the standard which is unlistenable
Make sure the system settings are set to surround and the sound levels are at factory settings


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The Ferrari stereos are getting better. The upgraded in my 458 is pretty good. The upgraded that was in my F12 was also pretty good. The upgraded in my GTC4 is actually very good- not quite the top of the auto industry, but surprisingly close.

In general, the logic for skipping the hi-fi upgrade in any Ferrari is: its a Ferrari, the sound you care about is engine and exhaust! And sometimes lately its: the standard system is good enough. I can tell you the standard system in the 458 and F12 were not that good. I had a brief drive in a GTC4 with the standard system and it was OK but the upgrade is noticeably better. I have not heard the upgraded system in the 488 though- Ive only heard the standard system- and its actually OK.

The logic for the hifi is you enjoy the engine and exhaust note but sometimes you want your music and you enjoy having a nice sounding audio system. The upgrade cost usually is $4-5k. The cost to do something similar in the aftermarket is around 2x that. On the Pista the upgrade is rather steep- I think its $9k. And the car will have less sound deadening. Yet, I opted to go for it because I like my music and that adds to my enjoyment of the car and I plan to enjoy driving the car.

 

A friend of mine didn't tick the upgraded radio option thinking the Pista would get the regular radio by default as a no cost option and his Pista came in with no radio. I ordered the upgraded system for my Pista, always do, the last two generations starting with the 458 have had much better optional systems. I actually think the one in my Lusso is pretty good.

 

Just a reminder: the ‘small’ Audi system is ‘not’ what comes as standard with the 488 GTB and Spider.
For the 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale there has only been one system as an option, which in both cars sounded worse than your iPhone’s speaker due to it’s ‘low weight’ construction and poor noise insulation of the cars.

For the 16m, there has already been an upgraded JBL system. I already had a chance to listen to the upgraded system in the Pista and it’s nice for a car with so small noise insulation. But do not expect to get something like the standard 488 sound systems.

 

My CaliTHS had the basic system and it was a disaster, even simple phone calls. The Lusso didn't really need it but wish I still did it, in my 488 I splurged to JBL and very happy, will be doing that moving forward. I plan to use the Pista for all types of things and the JBL is going on.

 

Just my two cents. My 458 has the upgraded JBL. When I finally figured out how to get to the Audio adjust page on the Right TFT, it was night and day. I adjusted it to my personal tastes and now actually enjoy listening to it when I'm in 7th gear lolling around! However, I always push the pause button when I downshift into the "fun" zone. There's music.....then there's MUSIC.

 

LOL you've got to be kidding. It's the worst (most F car owners that are honest will tell you). You want to hear a great sound system, listen to a Bowers & Wilkins in 720 it blows them all away. JBL is a sub-rate speaker system at best.

 

I'm just talking about sound systems, I've learned as a former 458 owner not to come here and say anything nice about Mac. I figured the sound system would be safe though...as it's killer

But while I'm here go drive a 720...you might like And yes I had a GT3RS before as well...

 

I have had the JBL setup in my 458 and now in my Pista, and it's a very decent system in both, but of course the extra road noise in the Pista is an issue over about 60 mph. At lower speeds, it really does sound quite good, roughly equivalent to the B&W setup in the 720S.

 

I don’t think there is any objection to saying nice things about Mac. It’s the way some people talk about Mac as though they discovered motoring nirvana and those who cannot see it and ‘blindly continue to buy another brand’ (usually Ferrari) are just somehow less worthy, that grates.

As for JBL, normally they would be considered a more bread and butter solution in the hi-fi world, but that doesn’t necessarily make them a less sophisticated company. They build for a market (a bit like Merc don’t make supercars but I bet the Mercedes One will be a cracker). JBL speakers are regularly used as a staple fold-back speaker for musicians - they are robust, reliable, cost-effective and give good sound-per-pound. Making sound and speaker systems work well in an automotive application is a different science so the established hi-fi pecking order doesn’t necessarily apply. You have to go by your ear in each car.

My Speciale is terrible but I don’t like altering cars from standard so I have left it and put up with it. I mainly listen to radio anyway and it does the basic job. My Mac had standard hi-fi and it was fine. BOSE in my 997 was a little better. Aston Martin I had a Linn system which was better still. I didn’t order the upgrade in my 488 spider knowing I would probably not keep the car and guessing that it may not be sensible for resale. It performs adequately but not terribly. For my Lusso I did select the JBL system on the basis it is a semi-daily driver, has a larger cabin with good sound deadening and is not an open-roof car. The JBL system is clearly from the top drawer as far as OEM sound systems go and has a very high degree of clarity, weight of bass and more than enough power. Are there better systems? Very possibly but I haven’t heard anything that you could say is comfortably better. Porsche’s Burmester system is very good too, though I stuck with the cheaper (and reasonably good) Bose upgrade on our soon-to-arrive Panamera. The Range Rover’s HK system is also very good, much better than it should be for its price. It is easy to listen to and just does a solid job. It is not as ‘expensive’ sounding as the Lusso’s JBL though. I ordered the JBL on my Pista spider because it is a tailor made car and I didn’t dare have any reason to be disappointed given what I know it will cost. I will definitely be keeping the car for a long time.

At the end of the day, everyone hears things differently, most play a different selection of music/radio and each car has so many different acoustically resonant surfaces that there are no hard conclusions merely general statements. I think most people would bracket the systems I have heard/owned as follows...

Top class; Porsche’s Burmester, Mac’s B&W, Ferrari’s JBL, RR’s Meridian
Middle class; AM’s Linn (they don’t use it anymore), BOSE, RR’s HK (this gets close to the top and if value counts is hard to beat)
Lower class; standard 488, standard Mac, standard Porsche etc. Do a job but don’t bring the music to life.
No class at all; sorry Speciale, I dearly love you but here you are!

Arguing which is better among these categories is a bit pointless - everyone’s ear and music taste is different - unless you are just talking about cost (for example, why does the Pista JBL cost more than the Lusso?). I do know there are some differences, even among the top class cars but lets be honest, an automobile is such a compromised place to listen to music that it is not really that significant. An audiophile would not be completely satisfied without listening to ‘perfect sound’ in a resonance-controlled quiet room. Which no car is.

 

For resale because most won't drive it and hope to flip.

 

HiFi standards can only be installed at home imo ….. sorry

 

FWIW, here's how I'd rank auto stereos

10/10: Merc S Class Burmester upgraded system (wow, better than many home systems I've heard and perhaps more pleasant than some studio)- the word "effortless" comes to mind.
9/10: Range Meridian upgraded: truly excellent and I didn't think it would get better except for that Burmester
8.5/10: Ferrari Lusso upgraded: There might be ½ a point in there because its surprising to hear such a fine system in a car with a howling V12. Its really really really good.
8/10: BMW 7 series upgraded. Nice but not as good as the above.
6.5/10: F12b upgraded
6.0/10 458 Italia upgraded

 

Have the MB Burmeister in the Maybach- the best I’ve heard. The SLS B&O a distant second. The 488 JBL is very good but not in the same league
And none compare to great home system


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Are most spec'ing with or without a radio? My car came without one and it felt a bit odd but now that I have driven it a few times I can say that I dont miss it.