I have a lot of respect for Fender guitars and amps. I love how they sound, when I hear other players playing though them, but neither their guitars nor amps have never fit me in a context that I have liked, and I have yet to play through a Fender guitar or amp that I would buy.
So I found a car that I really liked, and much to my chagrin, it came with a Fender car audio system. Who knew Fender was in to car audio now? I have bought new cars before, and I could *always* get a better sounding aftermarket sound system for less money than what the typical dealership audio upgrades come with. In this case, the Fender system was standard, no upgrades, no downgrades, it was just what came with this model. No choice, that's it.
I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to replace this system as soon as possible.
Until I started my test drive, and pumped some music through the system. This is one great sounding system. It is clear, it is balanced, it is tight, and it can get loud and still stays clear and balanced. No rattling, no speaker giving out distortion, it is like being in a club with a great PA, in my car.
Do not get me wrong, I have heard after market systems that do this, and even more, but there is a lot of modification and money that goes in to that.
But, from my own experience, this is the best system that I have ever heard that comes stock (or upgraded) out of a manufacturer or dealership. Now granted, this setup only comes available in VW's and only a few models so it can be balanced together as a *system* rather than speakers, but this sets the bar pretty high. This is the first time that I have never wanted to replace the audio system that came with my car.
Now, to put it in context, I am *not* a high end audiophile by any means. But I am not used to cheap and bottom end either... the sound and feel that I am hearing out of this Fender car audio system compares very well to my home audio system (Higher end Dennon receiver and Definitive Technology speakers with towers as LR mains) and my Mackie powered speaker PA system (SRM 450s and SRM 1850 subs). Not the biggest and baddest systems, but certainly, quite nice.
Hearing that quality in my car is quite a treat!