Sound Group II necessary?

[ceri]

As factory systems go the Boston Acoustic systems are pretty impressive. But every once in awhile you put on a song that you know pretty well and the whole system just falls flat on its butt. For general purpose light rockin' it's a good little system, but it's still not going to touch a properly setup aftermarket system. That said, a poorly put together aftermarket system consisting of flea market brands in factory locations isn't going to be an improvement over stock SGII. You're going to need at least some mid-level components or high end coaxials up front, plus either a decent amp to fill in the bass or a full sub system to break into the respectable category.

For most, SGI or SGII will be satisfactory to enjoy the car. The differences between them aren't dramatic. The base 4 speaker system on the SXT model will be lacking.

[jerrychrist]

For me personally, if I were to do it again, I would get the most basic radio/speaker package and upgrade myself. I have the 730N with SGII. The uconnect is cool, all the handsfree and connectivity options are cool, but that's about where it ends. I'm not a fan at all of the NAV (has probably half of the address I've needed, even older ones). It isn't awful, but I prefer even google maps over it.

As far as the sound goes, I think it sounds pretty good to about half volume, as soon as you go above that it gets exponentially worse. I like to drive with the windows down and sunroof open which requires more volume and sounds like crap. If you always drive with your windows up, and aren't a huge stickler for SQ, then SGII should be right for you.

[diver88]

Originally Posted by ceri

As factory systems go the Boston Acoustic systems are pretty impressive. But every once in awhile you put on a song that you know pretty well and the whole system just falls flat on its butt. For general purpose light rockin' it's a good little system, but it's still not going to touch a properly setup aftermarket system. That said, a poorly put together aftermarket system consisting of flea market brands in factory locations isn't going to be an improvement over stock SGII. You're going to need at least some mid-level components or high end coaxials up front, plus either a decent amp to fill in the bass or a full sub system to break into the respectable category.

For most, SGI or SGII will be satisfactory to enjoy the car. The differences between them aren't dramatic. The base 4 speaker system on the STX model will be lacking.

SG1, is that what comes standard in the Plus and Classic R/T's? my ears don't work like they used to so sometime the fancier systems are lost on me. I have only test drove the SGII and didn't change the settings from what is was when I got in the car and all I could hear was too much bass so I don't know if I need to spend the $$ for the SGII or save the $$ and enjoy the standard unit.. thanks!

[outflyin]

Originally Posted by diver88

SG1, is that what comes standard in the Plus and Classic R/T's? my ears don't work like they used to so sometime the fancier systems are lost on me. I have only test drove the SGII and didn't change the settings from what is was when I got in the car and all I could hear was too much bass so I don't know if I need to spend the $$ for the SGII or save the $$ and enjoy the standard unit.. thanks!

It has a 3 band equalizer built-in, which isn't much, but should be enough to adjust the bass to your liking, as well as the mids and highs.

The source music has a huge effect on how it sounds. Some are not so great, some are okay, and some are awesome! You'll get different quality, volume, bass, mid and high from different sources such as CD, FM, Satellite and MP3.

[Hal H]

Originally Posted by diver88

SG1, is that what comes standard in the Plus and Classic R/T's? my ears don't work like they used to so sometime the fancier systems are lost on me. I have only test drove the SGII and didn't change the settings from what is was when I got in the car and all I could hear was too much bass so I don't know if I need to spend the $$ for the SGII or save the $$ and enjoy the standard unit.. thanks!

SGII (BA system) does put out a fair amount of bass - even on the flat setting, which is where I run mine at most all the time. The sub is in rear parcel shelf, so its aimed right into the interior, unlike the former '08-'11 SRT Kicker and the current Harmon Kardon systems, which have trunk mounted subs.

Some material can be mixed more bass-heavy, but cut the setting by a point of two and it brings it more balanced.

[dj_KaSE]

Sound Group II sounded good in my old '12 SXT, but not $1,100 good. Same for the 730N... it's pretty cool, but not nearly $800 cool. Someone mentioned the 730N is missing a lot of addresses and I can attest to that.

The base 6-speaker system on my '13 R/T sounds good enough. Though if I'm going to drop over $1,000 on an upgraded system, I advise people not to go waste those dollars on the factory upgraded system. Just not worth the cost. Aftermarket is absolutely the way to go with that kind of money.

[Lord Warlock]

definitely make a few adjustments to the bass once you get the car, it is fairly adjustable and sounds pretty good for a large majority of drivers. I usually listen to mine at above half way and it sounds fine, its only when you start driving it at 80% or more that the sound deteriorates into a mess. I prefer to drive with at least one window down, and sometimes with the sunroof in vent position, but have no desire to have it loud enough so people outside the car can hear my tunes clearly.

[JonasSabatini]

I've been thinking about sticking with the RT plus package and buying a mygig so i can get a touchscreen and wire up a backup camera... But I am totally unsure if its the right move. I know my old Grand Prix didn't like anything but OEM radios for steering wheel funstions to work.

[diver88]

Originally Posted by JonasSabatini

I've been thinking about sticking with the RT plus package and buying a mygig so i can get a touchscreen and wire up a backup camera... But I am totally unsure if its the right move. I know my old Grand Prix didn't like anything but OEM radios for steering wheel funstions to work.

what's a "mygig".. sorry I know nothing about sound systems.. since my post above I've listened to
the SG1 and SGII side by side. the SG1 doesn't sound quite as good as my current set-up (Shaker 500)
and the SGII sounds a bit better. I will be getting a Plus or a Classic, so either will come with the BA 6 speaker
276watt system (SG1?) , pretty sure.

question, I'm really not just chomping at the bit to pay $1295 for the SGII and don't care anything
about Nav.. would I have basically the same thing as the SGII if I just added a Sub and an amp for it
to the SG1 as far as sound goes? I know I'm giving up the touch screen and a hard drive, but I'm thinking
I can save $600-800 and have about the same quality of sound.. reasonable ?

[JonasSabatini]

The "MYGIG" is line of touch screen infotainment systems that Dodge has been putting into their challenger lineup 430,430n,730n ... all basically the same thing they offer an operating system and basic apps as well as a small hard drive. I can find one for a challenger on ebay for like 400 rather than buying a new one for 1800.

To answer your question... from what I gather SG II has a 326 watt system and adds the extra BA subwoofer as well as the infotainment system. I just ordered a my challenger the other day and I just found out that the plus package doesn't come with the touch screen (which is kind of bullcrap but hey) so I'm trying to see if they can edit my order. If not I'll figure out something.

As fair as Bass response you could probably save a little bit of dough going after market... I just don't knot how the steering wheel controls will react to alien inputs. I am kind of picturing plugging in an old HP printer to a unix computer without the appropriate anything.