Does the radio leave something to be desired.

[Hot Vibe]

Riding along a country road with the windows down and the roof open. The stereo has a clean sound but the bass just went away. I know how vehicles are designed and they use the interior as a sound box to provide quality sound. Has anyone put a bass tube or something similar to help out with the cause? I know that putting a box in the rear with amps and the whole nine yards will resolve this issue. I am more of a family man and when not toting the family I enjoy a nice drive. I need something that helps but does not take up much room and is also easily removable. Maybe I will just have to live with it. My Aztek sounded much better, but also there was more room for larger and more speakers. I have not checked yet but maybe mounting something in the rear hatch. My wife suggest that I let my son bang on a drum for more bass.

[NovaResource]

Did you try adjusting the bass up and the treb down when the windows are open?

[Hot Vibe]

Oh yeah had the bass on 6 and the mid on 1 and the treble varied from 1 to 6. Sounds better on 5 or 6. Played with the mid as well. The presets for the EQ are iffy. I like the Jazz setting but I like my own settings better. I grew up with hatchbacks and bigtime bass boxes. Maybe my hearing is shot because of my youth. I just thought that the system in the Vibe would be better or at least as good as the one in my Aztek.

[NovaResource]

Yeah, I like my own settings as well. Does your Vibe have the Moon & Tunes package or the base radio? The added amp may make a difference. Also, where are the rear speakers in the Aztek? The Vibe has them in the lower forward corner of the rear doors, which is not the best place for great sound quality. The front speakers in the lower forward corners of the front doors are no better. I miss the days of front speakers being placed in the dash facing up so the sound bounces off the windshield directly to the occupants.

[Hot Vibe]

I have the 200 watt system and I must agree that a better place for the rear speakers would be in the cargo area. The Aztek has two large speakers in the cargo area. Along with stereo controls(not that they ever get used but only to show someone a useless feature). I do enjoy the built in seats and then I guess you could turn around and play with the controls easy enough. The lazy society we live in said that we should have extra controls in the rear. I am thinking that if the rear door speakers were moved to the cargo area my sound quality would improve. I also tried with the seats down and up. With the seats folded down I do not even want to mention what it sounds like here!! I would have prefered those little cargo spaces in the rear to have been replaced by the speakers from the Aztek. They are almost the same size. Maybe I will do my own modifications once the warranty has expired. If I can wait that long. If my caddie had a CD player I would not even want to drive the Vibe. Yes the vibe handles better around the curves but I spent extra money on the stereo to be disappointed. My 93 caddie sounds better.

[johnsoax]

Frankly, I think that the vibe radio is very good for a 20K car, especially the moons n' tunes. I have the eq setting for treble at 0, the mid at 0, and bass at 2, the radio sounds great even when on the highway with all 4 windows down and the roof open. The bass kicks wonderfully, much better than my old car with upgraded speakers. The amp has been tuned to the car to give you a front sound stage and to sound correct with all the eq settings at 0. I thought the radio sounded like crap until my friend at Delphi suggested I try these settings. Improved the sounds tremendously. I wanted a bit more base, so I bumped just the bass up to 2. It sounds great.

[ragingfish]

Adding speakres to the two hatch panels and running some wire should not void your warranty in any way...

[Hot Vibe]

Thanks I tried that tone setup and it helped. I usually like my bass at +6 and Mid at +1 and Treble at +6. In most GM vehicles that is just right for what I like. I guess it was time to try something different. The sound quality is still not what I am used to but I will keep trying.

[drunkenmaxx]

you can't expect a lot of base from such small speakers! they do excellent mids and highs, just add something bigger and they are perfect.

[redlava]

Definately in the future they should add 8 inch speakers instead of the 6 inch. Provide a little more bump. I am not complaining, it is good for a factory system. My Dakota had 8 inch speakers in the back and it sounded good and with only 120 watts.

[KSNeptune]

The little speakers don't have much bass range. I've got a Nissan altima with 6x9s on the rear deck and the bass sounds incredibly better. I'd suggest finding similar speakers and mounting them in the sides of the cargo area. KSNeptune