CUSTOM PALISADE UPGRADES!  SUPER SALE! ALL PRICES HAVE BEEN LOWERED! LIMITED TIME ONLY! CLICK HERE

Disappointing Audio

jimanderson3 said:
First of all, let me say that overall, I'm a very happy Palisade owner. That having been said, the one thing that's a huge disappointment in my Limited is the sound system. Given the high quality of everything else in the vehicle and given that the Limited is supposed to have "premium audio," I've been massively underwhelmed. The bass is muddy/boomy, but the big issue is the high end. It sounds both compressed and rolled off. The tweeters must be crap. Either that, or they've badly messed up the EQ.

I wonder whether there's any chance that a firmware upgrade might help the electronics? That may not be the fix that's needed anyway. Seems like I'm probably going to be shopping for aftermarket speakers.

Anyone else feel this way?
Click to expand...
Yes, try turning off the Quantum Logic Surround and Bass Boost, set the tone to +2 Midrange, -2 Treble, and set the position between the front seats.
 
has anyone considered replacing the Harmon amplifier? I noticed it under the front passenger seat today and thought maybe by replacing it those who aren't satisfied with the sound might find an improvement. Just a thought. Or is it just the digital processing that is causing the issues?
 
Have you ever driven down the street all your windows up, your radio turned on. Had a car pull up
next to you with their windows rolled up, And all you heard was boom, boom, boom and your car vibrating?
That is what some think the sound system in the Palisade should be like.
If you take the time to turn off all the sound clipping and regenerating sound features, adjust the high, medium,
and bass levels. First adjust the center of sound production area of the Palisade. It doesn't sound bad
for the price point the vehicle sells at. If you want a $15,000.00 sound system, you should have purchased a
car at the $200,000.00 price point. People are purchasing the Palisade at the $32,000.00 price point then expect
the same system they could get, After they pay an extra $9,000.00 extra, in a top of the line Mercedes.
We get what we pay for. If you want a better stereo system or you have burnt out your hearing in that boom box
Add one to the Palisade. That is not what the vehicle was designed for.
 
Gene said:
Have you ever driven down the street all your windows up, your radio turned on. Had a car pull up
next to you with their windows rolled up, And all you heard was boom, boom, boom and your car vibrating?
That is what some think the sound system in the Palisade should be like.
If you take the time to turn off all the sound clipping and regenerating sound features, adjust the high, medium,
and bass levels. First adjust the center of sound production area of the Palisade. It doesn't sound bad
for the price point the vehicle sells at. If you want a $15,000.00 sound system, you should have purchased a
car at the $200,000.00 price point. People are purchasing the Palisade at the $32,000.00 price point then expect
the same system they could get, After they pay an extra $9,000.00 extra, in a top of the line Mercedes.
We get what we pay for. If you want a better stereo system or you have burnt out your hearing in that boom box
Add one to the Palisade. That is not what the vehicle was designed for.
Click to expand...
The Limited gets close to $50k, so I'm comparing it the other vehicles I have owned in that price range: 2013 Acura MDX and 2006 Lexus IS350. While I didn't think the Acura sound system was exceptional, it was still better then the Harmon of the io
Gene said:
Have you ever driven down the street all your windows up, your radio turned on. Had a car pull up
next to you with their windows rolled up, And all you heard was boom, boom, boom and your car vibrating?
That is what some think the sound system in the Palisade should be like.
If you take the time to turn off all the sound clipping and regenerating sound features, adjust the high, medium,
and bass levels. First adjust the center of sound production area of the Palisade. It doesn't sound bad
for the price point the vehicle sells at. If you want a $15,000.00 sound system, you should have purchased a
car at the $200,000.00 price point. People are purchasing the Palisade at the $32,000.00 price point then expect
the same system they could get, After they pay an extra $9,000.00 extra, in a top of the line Mercedes.
We get what we pay for. If you want a better stereo system or you have burnt out your hearing in that boom box
Add one to the Palisade. That is not what the vehicle was designed for.
Click to expand...
I'm certainty not equating loud bass with sound quality. I don't listen to music (or movies for that matter) any where close to reference levels.

Of course sound quality is subjective, but the Limited trim comes close to $50k and I am comparing it with other vehicles I have owned in that price range. My previous vehicles were a 2013 Acura MDX and a 2006 Lexus IS 350 with Mark Levinson sound system.

While I wouldn't say the Acura sound system was exceptional, it still sounded better than the Harmon Kardon system in the Palisade to my ears, and the Acura cost $10k less (7 years ago).

The Lexus Mark Levinson system was far superior to both of the other systems.

This could be due the DAC, amp, speakers, cables, tuning, cabin acoustics, etc. You can't separate the components from the sound quality, It is a system; all the components have to work well together for an enjoyable experience with a variety of sources.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Palisade is a great value; I wouldn't have purchased it if I didn't think so. But to me, it seems as though either Hyundai compromised on parts of the sound system for other features (I love all the safety features it has), or I just prefer a warmer and smoother sound then the sound engineers at Harmon Kardon.
 
I don’t have high audio standards so it’s good enough for me. Like discussed, they may have compromised on components to put the money into other areas like safety tech, or how about the heated and ventilated 1st and 2nd row seats! I love that feature!
 
With the discounts I paid just less than $46,000.00 for my HTRAC limited Hyper White Palisade
The MDX we looked at was $59,000.00 And yes it had a better sounding sound system.
There had to be compromises in somethings to get all we get for that price point.
Actually I dumped my 2018 Genesis G90 ultimate in favor of the Palisade. I didn't really see any
difference in the sound systems of either, about the same. The Genesis had a much better ride quality,
The Palisades electronics is better. Genesis would have been a much nicer car to travel in, if I
didn't have a problem every trip we took.
Take a look at what a Lexus with the equipment the Palisade has today at 2020 prices, Holy crap I looked at one
 
raggedy1 said:
I don’t have high audio standards so it’s good enough for me. Like discussed, they may have compromised on components to put the money into other areas like safety tech, or how about the heated and ventilated 1st and 2nd row seats! I love that feature!
Click to expand...
I agree. My kids love the heated and cooled seats in the second row.

Compromises must be made unless you don't have a budget, but the original post was discussing the sound system quality, not the quality and value of the vehicle as a whole.

I am a bit of audiophile and probably pay closer attention to the audio than most. My wife and kids think the system sounds good.

Coming from someone who had a home tube amp for 15+ years, I think with the typically compressed audio formats expected to be streaming from phones, a warmer sound would have been less fatiguing.
 
When I started my search for the a Palisade, Acura dealers were discounting the MDX by over 9k off msrp. The MDX would have cost me less than my Palisade.

for the sound, I will agree it’s not the warmest sound. I’m more a home theater guy than music so it’s fine, but I do understand it’s not a warm sounding system.

the Quantum Logic is a joke. yuck!
 
I love my Palisade, but not good for a person who likes heavy metal. My Dodge Caravan mommy van had an awesome stereo and it blew this one away. I’m so disappointed! I spent more money for an SUV and the stereo is most important to me.
 
Madugu said:
I actually love the audio in my limited. Especially when I turned on the extra bass and some other audio feature I can’t recall right now. Qs or something like that.
Click to expand...
Quantum sound logic or something. Our salesman actually turned it on for us and let my wife and I sit in and play some tunes for a few minutes uninterrupted. We keep it on- absolutely love the sound. Also a fan of the bass boost, even without playing around with the treble, mid, or bass.
 
I only play the radio when driving to mask the tinnitus I hear all day. Suffice it to say, I'm not a big audiophile.
 
G-461823 said:
I love my Palisade, but not good for a person who likes heavy metal. My Dodge Caravan mommy van had an awesome stereo and it blew this one away. I’m so disappointed! I spent more money for an SUV and the stereo is most important to me.
Click to expand...
What trim palisade do you have?
I listened to a SE with the 6 speaker system and agree it sucks.
If you take the time to adjust the 12 speaker system to your liking
It isn't really that bad.
 
DoubleDown said:
Yes, try turning off the Quantum Logic Surround and Bass Boost, set the tone to +2 Midrange, -2 Treble, and set the position between the front seats.
Click to expand...
Found out yesterday that my iPhone has a balance, as in left/right balance setting under accessibility. When I checked it, I found out that it was just a little more to the right side. I discovered this by going to the position setting on the sound settings on the palisade. When I pushed on right side, there was treble and base, the left side had very little sound, especially the treble.
I have never set this balance on my iPhone before and it must have been this way since I have owned owned it ! I suggest checking your phone. It made a huge difference , blue tooth and apple car play was affected by this! Good luck !
 
G-672269 said:
I've tried that as well but without success. The issue I hear sounds like compression artifacts on cymbals and snares, or spoken "S" "Ch" and "T" sounds. There's an extra sizzle/static sound, and the crispness of the high end is missing. It's there across all inputs I've tested: analog and HD radio; Apple CarPlay with iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora. It's especially bad on talk radio or podcasts, as there's no mid or low end to mask it.

This is literally the only thing I don't like about the car (oh and the 70 mph vibration TSB issue).
Click to expand...
Completely agree on sound. Didn’t notice as much at first when test driving but I came from an Audi sq5 with a bang and olufsen and big difference. It never gets clearer the more you turn it up and I can still hear my self sing ;-) can’t describe more other than the word clear. I’ve messed with everything on and off and I think also the music you choose to get the best you need to change it. Which is lame. My Passat from 13 which is much less expensive was better with a fender. Unless you’ve had premium sound one may not notice.
 
scadballs said:
Completely agree on sound. Didn’t notice as much at first when test driving but I came from an Audi sq5 with a bang and olufsen and big difference. It never gets clearer the more you turn it up and I can still hear my self sing ;-) can’t describe more other than the word clear. I’ve messed with everything on and off and I think also the music you choose to get the best you need to change it. Which is lame. My Passat from 13 which is much less expensive was better with a fender. Unless you’ve had premium sound one may not notice.
Click to expand...
Agree..I know what you mean.My Audi q5 S line had the B.&O. System..it was excellent...
This is a Hyundai. Not an Audi....I knew that when purchasing..
 
We find the sound system in our Calligraphy to be just fine... but we don’t listen to Heavy Metal music.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top