[Lapua65]

Hi. Not yet received my Polestar 2 yet so don't really know what to expect.
I used to always upgrade my audio systems in the cars but for the last few years generally been happy with the Mercedes and Audi premium upgraded systems. Not the Merc e350 system that was absolutely terrible. Does the Polestar audio system perform well compared to other systems around these days? I have heard that the Tesla systems are good but to be honest the Model 3 I tested wasn't great. It wasn't bad but just not as good as I was expecting.
I also believe the Polestar can't play from a USB or SD card. This seems a bit short sighted as this has become my standard storage for audio tracks for a while now.

 

[S1m0nc]

Was impressed with the audio on my test drive - sampled with some Portishead and Massive Attack. Can't compare with a Tesla, but certainly seemed more robust than my Mk7 Golf R.

Hmm. Hoping USB or SD is an option, but I guess with 3 years of 4G data and Spotify with voice activation could be worse problems to have.

 

[GDank]

The sound system is decent ... no idea how it compares to what level you expect or are used to.

No SD card 100%.

USB is no for now ... and the official response from Polestar is no. However there is one USB that has a white ring around it ... noting it's some how different to the others so maybe in time.

Regardless of that ... put the music on your phone and stream using Bluetooth. No one can tell me they can hear the difference in a car that doesn't cost £200k+

 

[Lambo]

It's OK, good enough. I had an Audi A4 previously with B&O system and that was better. Had a Saab 9-3 with upgraded infinity speakers and power amp before that which was pretty good too.

Depends what you are expecting and used to - its not audiophile quality but it's very good and so convenient with Spotify. Not much control on the positioning of the sound space (L-R or front to back).

 

[boakham]

The thing that has surprised me is how low the max volume is.. the B&O system in my Audi went much louder. Maybe they think because you don’t need to drown out an engine you don’t need the volume 😉

 

[ProfessorCook]

How on earth could 600 watts of amplifier not produce overwhelming volume?

 

[boakham]

No idea! I am disappointed by the lack of loudness. The B&O on the Audi used to go loud enough to make your ears bleed 😂

 

[polerad]

No idea! I am disappointed by the lack of loudness. The B&O on the Audi used to go loud enough to make your ears bleed 😂

🤔
The cars were tested at the PopUp and on the test drive had plenty loud speakers. If anything I was worried we couldn’t modulate the volume down enough....🤷‍♂️

 

[boakham]

Maybe I’ve deafened myself over the years then! Or maybe I like stupidly loud rather than plenty loud 🤣

 

[polerad]

Maybe I’ve deafened myself over the years then! Or maybe I like stupidly loud rather than plenty loud 🤣

have you played with the driver focused settings? I recall some place saying they screwed that up for RHD cars, putting the focus in the front left instead of the front right for you all and your weird car sidedness

 

[GDank]

I'm getting old ... I couldn't go past 50% on my last 2 cars ... both had 600w+ of POWER...

 

[boakham]

have you played with the driver focused settings? I recall some place saying they screwed that up for RHD cars, putting the focus in the front left instead of the front right for you all and your weird car sidedness

I’ll give that a go next time I’m in it! Thanks!

 

[Steve The Techy]

Maybe I’ve deafened myself over the years then! Or maybe I like stupidly loud rather than plenty loud 🤣

It must be you I hear coming down the road with the bass thumping away over the engine noise. Now it will be worse, no engine noise.😂

 

[Ratselop]

Not so more on power, but quality: Spotify seems to stream at regular quality, instead of high. There is no option to change that unfortunately. The digital radio/DAB often has much better/ richer sound quality than Spotify

 

[polerad]

Not so more on power, but quality: Spotify seems to stream at regular quality, instead of high. There is no option to change that unfortunately. The digital radio/DAB often has much better/ richer sound quality than Spotify

Reminder to sign the petition to get Spotify to correct this tomfoolery:

[Android][Other] Increase bitrate in Android Automotive

The playback in Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto) in Polestar 2 is poor due to low bitrate in the Spotify app. Please either increase the hardcoded bitrate in the app or make the bitrate a user configurable setting in the app. Note that YouTube Music uses higher bitrate...

community.spotify.com

 

[hedwri]

Not so more on power, but quality: Spotify seems to stream at regular quality, instead of high. There is no option to change that unfortunately. The digital radio/DAB often has much better/ richer sound quality than Spotify

YouTube Music is good if you're a premium subscriber, higher quality than Spotify.

 

[JRRF]

Sound level also has to do with the source input volume as much as the amp's output.

 

[ProfessorCook]

Sound level also has to do with the source input volume as much as the amp's output.

And the number of drivers in the speakers and the number of speakers and speaker efficiency and what color socks you have on and...

(oh wait...)

 

[JRRF]

And the number of drivers in the speakers and the number of speakers and speaker efficiency and what color socks you have on and...

(oh wait...)

The signal coming into your pre has a lot to do with how much amplification it will require. A low output phono cartridge will require a lot more than a high output CD player. This is a common way that people overdrive their amps, create clipping, and subsequently ruin speakers with non-sinusoidal inputs.

 

[Toby]

The thing that has surprised me is how low the max volume is.. the B&O system in my Audi went much louder. Maybe they think because you don’t need to drown out an engine you don’t need the volume 😉

I second this, I have the volume set to half way for casual listening. We fiddled with the volume settings to play music in the back for the kids and they said it was too loud at that volume. Will also check out the settings for RHD but it doesnt sound left side biased.

Not so more on power, but quality: Spotify seems to stream at regular quality, instead of high. There is no option to change that unfortunately. The digital radio/DAB often has much better/ richer sound quality than Spotify

I'm intrigued by this as it sounds pretty good to me. I wonder if it is tethered due to contracts with Internet suppliers.