Maybe it's the retro styling of the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS, but each time I drive it and crank up the stereo, I flash back to a certain Friday night after a high school football game in the '70s (think Dazed and Confused comes alive). A bunch of teen-age longhairs --myself include, when I still had lots left -- are hanging out in a burger joint parking lot around an older kid named Kenny Guillotte's '68 Camaro. (Like D&C's David Wooderson, he had already graduated and also had long blonde hair). The Camaro's doors and trunk are open and Kenny's blasting Aerosmith's Rocks. I remember it clearly 'cause it was my 8-track tape playing, which I thought for sure earned me some cool points with the posse.
I also distinctly recall the Craig PowerPlay "surface-mount" speakers kicking out the jams from the back deck of Kenny's Camaro (or maybe he even moved them to the roof ... that part is lost in the haze), and how that was about as bitchin' as it got for car audio back in those days. I wish I could go back and compare it to the sound of the Boston Acoustics system in our long-term 2010 Camaro SS. Almost as much as I wish I had even half as much hair on my head as I had then.
The Setup
The Boston Acoustics sound system that comes standard in the 2010 Camaro 2SS Coupe consists of nine speakers powered by 245 watts. The speakers include a 6.5-inch midrange low in each door, a 1-inch tweeter in the "sail panel" in the lower-forward corner of each front window, a 3.5-inch midrange/tweeter in the center of the dash and a pair of 6x9 two-way coaxials in the rear deck. The packaging is low-key, with only a small logo on each door speaker to announce the presence of the system.
The Sound
Per usual, I subjected the Camaro's Boston Acoustics system to our standard audio evaluation process. This entails sound-checking it with jazz, rock, folk, pop and rap music tracks I've listened to in hundreds of cars to gauge clarity/lack of distortion, tonal balance, timbre, tonal accuracy, soundstaging, imaging and dynamics. And I test for staging/imaging, linearity and absence of noise using non-musical test tracks. (For details on our testing procedure, check out the Edmunds.com article Sound Advice.)
Besides bringing back memories of my misspent youth, the sound of the system in the Camaro also reminded me of similar Boston Acoustics setups in other modern-day muscle cars, specifically the Dodge Charger. While it can't compete with premium systems in even some lower-priced cars, like the Bose setup in our long-term Mazdaspeed 3, it's hard to complain about the Camaro's system performance relative to its price.
Without a dedicated subwoofer, the Camaro system suffered from not being able to provide solid low end, although the 6x9s in the rear deck and 6.5s in the front doors did a valiant job of pumping out decent if not very detailed bass. For example, on the Outkast track "Ain't No Thing," the system produced impressive low-frequency energy -- and also an annoying amount of interior-panel rattles. But on other tracks the low bass and midbass were mostly boomy and distorted.
The system has a center speaker in the dash, although it didn't help much with soundstaging and particularly imaging. The soundstage was narrow and imaging severely side-biased, with vocals and other elements that should be front and center pulled down toward the door speakers. Unsurprisingly, the system failed our non-audio staging and imaging tests.
But sometimes a system like the one in the Camaro can be pleasing even if it doesn't pass technical tests with flying colors. Even given the deficiencies described above, the Boston system was capable of bringing out nuances in the music and had above average tonality, good stereo separation and decent dynamics. One musical test track, Red House Painters' "San Geronimo," is a rock song with a dense, midbass-heavy mix that many systems render as a mass of indistinct sounds rather than individual instruments. But with the Camaro system, the music held together fairly well. And with the jazzy instrumental "The Blues Walk" that kicks off the Lyle Lovett and His Large Band LP, I found I'd stopped listening for testing purposes but instead just for pleasure.
The Sources
Our 2010 Camaro SS comes with a single CD head unit that also offers AM, FM and Sirius radio. It features an aux-in jack and USB port in the center console storage bin, and the USB cable that comes with an iPod can be used to connect the device. The head unit's iPod interface is pretty straightforward and painless. As our Director of Testing Dan Edmunds pointed out, it includes audiobooks and podcasts as separate menu categories and has an "Alpha Accelerator" quick-scroll mode that makes finding music in a large music library much easier. The same menu structure is also used for tunes loaded on a USB drive and plugged into the USB port. I found that the system in the Camaro got mixed up and listed artists on my iPod/iPhone as albums, and albums as artists. But this could have more to do with a recent update of the software on my iPhone to iOS 4 before I tested the car, and which also caused problems in our long-term GMC Terrain. (I've heard reports that an iOS 4.1 upgrade solves the problem.)
What We Say
The Boston Acoustics system in the 2010 Camaro SS may not be the ultimate in auto sound from an audiophile perspective. In fact, it's far from it and I found plenty of nits to pick. But considering it's standard on this trim level -- and that at full throttle the guttural growl of the car's 426-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 tends to make it a mute point -- the system is a great road trip companion in the Camaro, especially when cranking rock 'n' roll. I'm sure Kenny Guillotte would agree.
The Scores
Sound: B-
Source Selection: B+
iPod Integration: B+
Cost: A+
Doug Newcomb, Senior Editor, Technology
ocramidajzj says:
12:39 PM, 09/21/10
interesting that the Bose system in the MS3 betters this system.
ocramidajzj says:
12:57 PM, 09/21/10
interesting that the Bose system in the MS3 betters this system.
bodyblue says:
04:43 PM, 09/21/10
Sounds like a good system at a great price. It is just in the ugliest car made in America. Too bad!
oachalon says:
07:52 PM, 09/21/10
bodyblue, i am the exact opposite of you. Im not a fan of the boston acoustic stereo in my camaro. I am also an audiophile so could be the reason why. I also think it is one the of best looking cars on the road today. Yay for me!!
frank908 says:
05:43 AM, 09/22/10
"It is just in the ugliest car made in America>" That's outselling the Mustang still.
That has to hurt bodyblue, no? Have fun ox-carting your Mustang.
1487 says:
05:52 AM, 09/22/10
"Sounds like a good system at a great price. It is just in the ugliest car made in America. Too bad!"
Grow up. The battle is over, people like the car and no amount of bashing by the likes of you will change that.
redgeminipa says:
06:52 AM, 09/22/10
Sounds like a good car to drive around in with ZZ Top cranked up. :)
lions208487 says:
07:46 AM, 09/22/10
At first the Camaro caught my attention and then that attention was drawn to the new Mustang. Now after time has past I can appreciate the Camaro for how good it really is. Yes the center stack is not up to par with some others, but then again for under 25K can you really beat it?
Now onto the stereo. After working for an electronics store for several years back when I was in my 20's and being that it happened to be in car audio installation, I can tell you first hand how inferior Bose is to anything else out there. This Boston Acoustic system that is standard in the SS is their bottom line product, and the amp that they use isn't even as good as a 50 x2 amp that you could purchase at Best Buy or Fry's for less then 200 bucks.
Even though the stock systems in the newer cars have vastly improved; they are by far inferior to 90% of every after market system.
If a premium sound system even cost you a modest 500.00 more as an option with any auto maker, do the smart thing and decline. Go to your nearest car audio electronics store and get a head unit for under 200, a 4 channel amp for around 100, and four, 2-way speakers, again for under 100 bucks. With install you will be looking at around 600.00 for the entire system, however you will be much more satisfied with the quality of sound that it produces versus the stock system that's in your brand new car, even if they state it's a "premium" audio system.
lions208487 says:
07:51 AM, 09/22/10
And, if you need name brands.... Alpine, Pioneer premier, and Eclipse make the cleanest most reliable head units out there, and they won't break your bank account. They all now come standard with ipod jacks and at least 2 pre-amp outputs.
Best amps for the money are Infinity (yes that's with a Y) and Alpine. If you have a few extra bucks, you can't go wrong with JL-Audio.
davicho says:
07:52 AM, 09/22/10
Hmmm..I wouldn't say is the ugliest car made in America, but I definately wouldn't say it's the best looking car either. So disagree with both of you (ocramidajzj and oachalon).
The Camaro is okay. I would definately take a Challenger over it specially in SRT-8 trim. The reason the Camaro is outselling the original Pony car (Mustang) is simply because the Camaro is the newest addition to the muscle-car trio...and because almost every Baby-Boomer out there that lived their young age between the late 60's and mid 70's is wanting to re-kindle their fond memories of years past. Nothing more, nothing less.
1487 says:
09:02 AM, 09/22/10
lions:
Many new cars dont take after market head units. Many cars have radios integrated into the center stack. I read that aftermarket stereo components arent selling as well because increasingly buyers don't care or are satisfied by upgraded factory audio systems.
oachalon says:
09:19 AM, 09/22/10
1487, you are correct, a lot of new cars you cant replace the radio, but you can put an aftermarket radio in the camaro, but to me it doesnt look right. The people on here dont like the factory stack so maybe they like the looks:
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/781/img20100610183034.jpg
(Not mine)
Also companies like jl audio offer their cleansweep that will clean up all factory signals (not cheap). This way you can keep the factory unit run nice aftermarket amps and speakers and have a very clean system.
awd_ownz_u says:
11:52 AM, 09/22/10
Unless you are trying to be clever because it's an audio review it's a moot point not mute point.
lions208487 says:
01:30 PM, 09/22/10
1487: That's why you spend the extra 15 bucks for the instal kit, or buy a double din head unit which fits any GM or Ford car perfect. Also many speaker manufacturers have uniform boxes that are molded to look like nothing is in your vehicle. MTX has been producing them for over 15 years, and even JL Audio, Kicker, and Rockford Fosgate are making them as well.
And as far as after market systems not selling.... I do enjoy reading your blogs, but you are not correct on that one. The new didgital mono block amps, and EQ built in nav systems produced by Pioneer and Alpine have racked up big sales at places like Al & Ed's audio, and Gas... I am sure you've heard of them via MTV.
oachalon says:
01:53 PM, 09/22/10
lions208487, if you look at all of the new ford and gm cars, the radios are integrated into the dash, hvac, and other controls. You cant just get the $15 mounting bracket anymore.
lions208487 says:
03:05 PM, 09/22/10
oachalon, you are correct. On Ford and GM models you would need a double din deck for it fit correctly. However, most Navigation and DVD decks are large enough to fill the space. Most manufacturers now build larger units, because even Nissan and Toyota now install integrated decks to make removal more difficult. They say for security purposes, but I doubt it.