Most pleasing sound vs most hifi sound

I had reached what I would consider to be about as good as it gets in car audio. I was running a Macintosh 6 ch amp & CDP, Dynaudio clone mids and tweeters custom x-overs, and door enclosures, MB Quart Subs. It took a lot BS dealing with car audio morons. My biggest problem's were sound stage, image, depth, instrument separation, bass integrating. The speakers were located by my feet under the dash so the sound stage was low custom enclosures angling the speakers and adding a second set of tweeters on the pillars helped a lot with this. Imaging is a problem in a car considering your not sitting in the center. I was able to get some depth and separation but nothing like at home. I do think the sound wrapped around me better and the bass was more solid. I think I prefer sitting close in my home system because of this. I feel my car system held it's own with some home systems but not with properly set up ones, too many things were lacking. I sold my car system to get into home audio, I wish I would have known then what I know now. It would have saved a lot of money and headaches!

I wouldn't say that you have a hearing disorder. You may be listening too critically to your main rig, and just relaxing and enjoying the music in your car (not trying to analyze the sound). Critcal listening can be hard work, you may enjoy your system at home more if you don't change anything for a couple of years and just relax and listen to the music like you do in your car. I'm sure you're not upgrading power cords and amps in your car stereo and listening for improvements. Your car stereo is simply about the music, which is why you can relax and enjoy it.

Listening is always more fun when you're just listening for the music, and not trying to isolate deficiences.

Cheers.
John

Not ridiculous at all. Some car system just right balance. Just over the weekend I was driving in my Boxster with stock DSP system with Bose subwoofer behind seat. The dash speaker are damn cheap Nokia 4 inch paper cone mids and highs, the door has 5.5 inch woofers- far from very expensive after market really good system I used to have in my 88 Prelude Si, But the sound is dynamic, clear, and very involving that makes me want to accelerate even faster ;-) and almost always scratch my head why this 4 " mids/high sounds so good. Sure there is plenty of grain but still takes me by surprise every single time.

Not so in all Bose and Harman Karden systems in my other two cars, which are just too electronic sounding and irritating, even though they might be a lot smoother than my Boxster. May be it is the EQed sound of DSP!

I tend to agree with TVAD. I have what I consider to be a very dynamic and detailed system which I love. Sometimes though, I find myself drawn to tubey, warm sounding systems. I know the highs are being rolled off and that the midrange is being exaggerated but there is something very seductive and inviting to me. I am even thinking about putting together a second system that has these attributes.

I don't think this is so uncommon--I got chills listening to the opening to "So What" on an NPR feature on Kind of Blue on my kitchen radio a while ago. And how many times have I listened to that album? And how many times has that happened to me while I was sitting down and "critically" listening to it? Not as often as I'd like. Got the same this afternoon listening to The Who on the classic rock station on the drive home. Here's to the lo-fi!