Is it just me or is the Bose HIFI system in the 599 really bad?
it's not the greatest. But this system is deep and before you write it off, get out the radio manual and dive into the settings. You may find something that changes the experience for you.
it's been a few years since i did it and so i forget how i did it, but make sure you can get into your tone and equalizer settings. mine were locked for the longest time and the system sounded really terrible until i was able to gain access to the tone setting and equalizer. it's now actually acceptable.
If you push the 2 buttons above the 2 knobs along with the lower right button below the right knob all at the same time then this will put you into a hidden menu and you can select the bose option and then you need your radio code and you enter it this will then allow you to access in the sound menu an equalizer that has preset curves and 4 user setable curves.... Not bass + treble but better....
Yes. I agree. Actually I find it pretty good. The problem with the 599 on the audio side is there is not much flexibility to replace the factory speakers- not without spending huge money. The bass in the car is the better point. The biggest issue seems to be the tweeter placement and their dispersion pattern. They aren't very good so that really affects the sound. FWIW, here are my latest settings: 599 stereo settings EQ 1 (I use this for AM radio) 50 hz: -10 200 hz: -7 700 hz: -3 2.7khz: +3 10khz: -10 EQ 2 (I discovered the setup in the car, even with the bose auto eq turned off will affect the tonal balance depending on how much volume you have selected- therefore this setting is for lower volumes, like when a passenger is with you) 50 hz: -9 200 hz: +4 700 hz: -6 2.7khz: +2 10khz: +7 EQ3 (louder volumes) 50 hz: +7 200 hz: +6 700 hz: -6 2.7khz: +2 10khz: +7 Balance and fader: 0 Loudness: off Ferrari surround: on, medium size vehicle Subwoofer: 0 Xover front; off Xover rear: off Xover sub: 150hz Compression: off (It seems to me that they have it wired so the subwoofer is in line with the speakers as opposed to being fed from a separate subwoofer out from the head unit- therefore you don't want the head unit to work like there is a separate sub, but rather the speakers are full range, which they basically are and they just use their own passive crossovers) In the TFT screen menus, turn the Bose auto eq off. Give them a try and play with them as you might like. FWIW, I like progressive rock music so these settings are arrived at while playing a lot of Rush.
Is the 599 premium stereo the same as the one in the 458? Would like to learn the differences between the regular and premium stereo packages before I spec my car.
Thanks guys found my way into the bose sub menu and the sound sure is a lot better. Not sure what all the different options are for, like compression and large/medium car etc. Should there be a manual with the car explaining all this does not seem to be in the infocenter manual?
Compression reduces the space between the softest sound and the loudest sound. Purists will say to turn the compression off but you should try it both ways. It might sound better to you with it on. I have it off. The medium or large is just the delays the system uses for the surround sound- in essence how far away are the speakers from the occupant(s). Play with this too- in the end there is no right and wrong- just what sounds good and the stereo system in the car is nice to have but its not really the car's calling card. You know what Im going to say next- the real stereo is the car itself!
