Premium JBL Hi-Fi System Worth It?

I usually don't listen to music when driving my sports cars, so I don't usually opt for the upgraded audio systems. On my daily drivers, I always do get the higher end audio.

Although I've driven lowered cars all my life and very well versed in navigating driveways, I find the front lift system comes in very handy in narrow driveways where you don't have as much room to enter or exit at a good angle. I always get the lift on my cars.

 

Lift is a must. You don't know when you'll need it, until, unexpectedly, you do! Plus, the 458 Lift came packaged with the AFS headlight system which I love on spirited night driving. Don't know if F8 packages it together?

I like the upgraded JBL, but honestly only use it at Stoplights and at cruising speeds when the exhaust valves are closed. Otherwise, you have all of the music you'll ever need right behind you.........

 

No on both. Useless.

the upgraded sound system still sucks. Not worth the money.

mad far as the lift, this has been debated countless times. I never needed it on my 488 and have yet to find a use for it on my Pista. But there are some that swear by it so it’s up to you to decide. I vote no.

 

Negative x2

 

I would pass on JBL, it still doesn't sound great. As far as front lift goes, I would get it. Even if your house has a flat driveway etc., it may determine your resale down the road. For some people, it's a deal breaker.

 

Well, I would get both... The upgraded sound system is really nice when your magnificent Ferrari engine “music” is not present, like in bumper to bumper traffic... Playing Pavarotti in these situations makes them bearable...

The lift is an absolute necessity for me. Without it, I could not enter my driveway without scraping (even with extreme angle approaches). Also, I have used it to enter or exit several local shopping centers and to summit a few low-rise speed bumps.

If my 458 did not have the lifter, I would absolutely get it installed at the dealer. The first time you scrape, you’ll wish you had it. You might be ok with the standard sound system though, it really depends on your personal music preferences.

Cheers!


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No to upgraded audio. Yes to lift, but primarily if you have a garage lift and for resale since people seem to want it. I use it on my Pista when putting car on my garage lift. Otherwise never need it.

 

Absolutely it is a proven deal breaker for the majority of used buyers! The ones w/o lift just sit and sit, and sit... very hard to shift.
I've two friends, one of who has now bought his used 488, both walk from any 488 without a lift in their search process regardless of other options. Maybe the sentiment is different in other parts of the world but over here the lift is a must have for the greater majority. And I can certainly see why as an owner.

Re the JBL, while it could be better, like any stereo for that matter, it is at least adequate for the car but the standard system is a bad joke....disgracefully bad. Personally I wouldn't custom order the car without it.

 

I can tell you from personal experience no lift does not affect resale. My 488 sold quickly and no one cared it didn’t have a lift. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s useless on Ferrari’s as they sit so high.

getting a lift on a Ferrari is like telling Dolly Parton to get bigger boobs. Unnecessary.

 

I have the lift and JBL on my 458 and looked long and hard to find a car so equipped. I'm an audiophile and a car nut so while I concede the true aria is coming from the tail pipes, I also live in Manhattan and spent plenty of seat time in the 458 not revving it the sky or just cruising in auto (I know) or commuting on the highway. I think the radio is well worth it. The base unit is unfathomably bad, and the JBL is...on the low end of okay. Source audio makes a big difference. If you listen to a CD or high quality digital files it actually sounds genuinely not bad. Using an adapter from 30 Pin to lightning from the iphone seems to heavily degrade the quality which sucks because most of the time thats what I'm doing. I suspect that for some asinine reason, the phone is sending an analogue signal thereby doing the digital audio conversion using its own DAC vs sending digital audio out (as in most modern cars) via USB to the cars head unit which has a much higher quality DAC far more suited to providing an analogue signal to a multi-speaker system. I've yet to dig more because it still sounds okay and much much better than the stock speakers which blew me away with their mediocrity. Having said that I'm the kind of person who spent I plead the 5th money to get Burmester on a base boxster. This is not in that universe.

As for the lift, I thought I'd absolutely need it living in Manhattan and just being in the NY metro area with our horrendous roads. My now good friend and SA at Ferrari long island who also used his 458 much more than most swore you don't need it, but I held out and....So far I've used it once out of an abundance of caution. My Porsches all seemed to scrape more easily. I'm still glad I have it for peace of mind but it really seems to have plenty of ground clearance and a short overhang (decently good approach and departure angles). That said it recently thew a check engine light that turned out to be a pointless part for the exhaust gas recirculation system (power warranty paid so no complaints), and I got it flat bedded out of extreme caution and having the lift allayed some concerns when the driver was going up the ramps of the tow, but still would have been fine without.

Now that being said, even though I love my car, I took a black on black as it was a holy grail late model fully loaded coupe with heated seats and memory (I use the car during winter) LEDs, Lift, JBL, and a ton of other stuff and I always dreamed of a coupe with the exposed engine and wanted a 14+ so this was it and was a one owner to boot. I very much am not a black car or black interior person, but I conceded it looked sinister and was otherwise perfect and told myself I'd wrap it. Well, a few months in and I have not yet wrapped it as it seems a shame to throw away whatever the previous owner spent on doing a full clear bra and though I love my car, every time I see one in a color more to my liking, I wonder if I should have given up on these options to get a color I love. I was over a year into my search and this was literally one of three that I ever found with the options I wanted having lost the other 2 bidding against other buyers as I was until It got stupid. Now I find myself speccing F8s. If you don't give a **** about carbon and just want a free color on tan alcantara, the speakers, shields, and not much else, I seem to be coming in at well over 100K less than what everyone is saying their carbon heavy F8s are priced at. Makes me wonder how badly I'd get dinged at resale time when the 400K MSRP cars are setting the deprecation precedent.

Sorry for the rant. In summation, yes JBL --in my humble opinion-- meh on lift, if not critical in Manhattan probably fine most anywhere, but more so if you find an otherwise perfect car only if you're as tetched as I am would I let it hold you back on moving forward.

 

As mentioned socal it must be different in your parts but over here I can tell you you'd be screwed w/o it on so many driveways. I find the biggest issue isn't so much the level of the driveway itself but the variation of how the layback dips on different driveways. Some roads can have more of a roll from the center point to where the bitumen meets the concrete guttering at the leading edge of a driveway entrance. You could have a super flat driveway entrance and the dip of the layback catches the front of the car out. The layback will often catch the fins on the diffuser if the car isn't driven out of the driveway at a 45% angle on many occasions. There is a code here where a layback must be able to run the water past the driveway entrance without it spilling into a flat driveway on the way past. Where the of the roll is greater the layback tends to dip more so the water running off the center of the road toward the gutter doesn't run beyond the layback and into the driveway entrance. On some driveways the car has to be driven in beyond the 45 with the lift so not not to scrape, Driving in dead on there would need to be a 20 to 40 mm think piece of timer placed into the layback even with lift up or it would be goodbye front lip.

 

For F8 with filter, I guess jbl will make sense given lack of better sound from the pipes. I have jbl on my 458 and never used it anyway.

For the lift, it really depends on where you live. I cannot imagine to live in San Francisco or Mountain area without it.

 

I dont know if everyone here has listened to the upgraded audio, when I test drove the F8 I didn't even turn the stereo on. I have no idea. But, the way I'd look at it is- on the GTB the upgraded audio was a solid improvement. If that matters to you, you might as well get it. In order to replicate that in the after market you will spend 2-3x the option cost. (at least that was the case with the 458 and 488- not sure on F8 option pricing).

Lift- I don't know how critical it will be for resale, but its kind of the same thing- will you use it? Will you like to have it?

I like having both- but- if you are really trying to keep the options cost down I think you could safely skip both and wouldn't miss a beat in enjoying the car. Its the drive that matters and the F8 delivers!

 

The 488 JBL upgrade was well worth it to me. Vastly better than the 458 JBL upgrade was. Go for it and skip the 4200 Apple Play.

 

if I was buying used I would only consider cars with the jbl.

I don't really need a front lift for my area, but if I did...

 

I did JBL as I like to have the option of a decent sound system in the car, plus it’s certainly a better starting point for future upgrades if I find the system lacking in anyway.

I passed on the lifter, pretty substantial lifting collar on the front springs and makes it much more complicated if you want to lower the car in the future. I also took the advice of many 488 owners who never had a use for it.

 

Sounds like the JBL got better after the 458. It was marginal in the 458 compared to High end burmester in AMG or Sensonum in Lambo.

 

In a 458, no. But in a 488 absolutely.

 

Lift mandatory. Unless you live in some perfectly flat “everything new and paved” kind of area, it’s a must have IMO.
JBL...eh. I’ll tell you though the non JBL is a joke. Like, a joke. Sounds like a tin can stereo to me. If you expect any kind of audiophile quality system in this car, IMO you need to go aftermarket.

 

JBL in 812 is phenomenal. Heard it in the Pista and was not worth it - but IMO would be great in the F8. Lifter is mandatory IMO

 

Ive got it in pista and thank god. Its 100% worth it. With the additional road noise intrusion Pista absolutely needs it and then some. Realistically the JBL should be the standard system with another even more powerful sound upgrade available as an option. Now that would be the right thing to do by the customers at this price point.

With the stock sound you may as well not even bother having it in the car its so weak. After hearing the stock system in a mates pista i can see why ferrari have a no sterio box you can tick as It would be borderline unlistenable on the go. Shameful in typical ferrari fashion.

In F8 its not even a point worth questioning. Just tick the box and move on. Even the press car f8 i drove the other day had the jbl as even ferrari wouldn’t be silly enough to leave the stock one in as it would have only drawn attention to themselves to just how mean they are with the punters who are paying more than enough for the car as it is. Its a joke to think of the amount of extras you have to throw at this car just to make it feel somewhere near the money they ask. Ridiculous!

 

I got both and think they help with resale.

 

I have upgraded the stereo (aftermarket) in almost all of my Ferrari's, changing the speakers and amp adding a sub costs about half of what they want for the high end stereo. Mike has great solutions for these cars. Though my reckless youth has robbed me of a lot of my hearing (I wear hearing aids), I still need to hear the dead, does not matter what car I am in. The 458 is the first car I have ever owned with a lift and I doubt I will ever need it, but the AFS lights those I will use. I mean no offence but I always find it interesting that people spec, or buy cars already thinking about the next person to own it. If the day comes that I must consider what any car will be worth to anyone but me, I will go buy a Honda accord.