Top-of-Class Audio System - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Top-of-Class Audio System - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test

The audio system in our 2015 Volvo S60 is one of the best ones in our fleet at the moment. And it's one of the better ones on the market at the moment, period, especially for the premium compact sedan segment.

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darthbimmer

Definitely with you on H/K and JBL as brands. Have had a H/K amp and JBL speakers in my home for 23 years, all still going strong. H/K systems in BMWs have been pretty good. Not totally sold on JBL car speakers. Alpines always sound a bit better to me, though JBL is still solid.

nagant

I could care less how loud a car system gets, the main thing is how it sounds. I hate too much bass more than anything. Put on a set of Beats headphones to see what a muddled mess too much bass can make music sound. I have had JBL items before and my parents had systems in their 90s Explorers and they sounded good, but I think the Infinity systems in Chryslers of the time sounded better. My ex in laws had a DeVille with the Bose system and it sounded great as well. I have the Boston Acoustic 376W six speaker system with sub now in our PT and it has sparkling highs and more than enough bass. For aftermarket speakers I have used Infinity for years and have been very happy.

A car review without a review of the soundsystem (especially expensive cars) is really not complete. I dont think that a list of specs with frequency ranges that cant be heard by the human ear would mean anything really. I would just prefer to read reviews with a simple list of the number of speakers/watts per channel and features of the interface.

emajor

Great review, Dan, and excellent writing. I am looking forward to more audio reviews of the Edmunds fleet. I'm guessing the performance of the audio system often gets overlooked during the buying process.

beemer_aric

Crutchfield.com has they're own brand of speakers called Sound Ordinance which get great reviews.

wheelmccoy

I'm not too picky with sound systems. Just give me something where the bass isn't muddy and the vocals (including news and traffic reports) aren't shrill. Maybe you can write about how effective "active level control" systems manage volume at various speeds. And perhaps compare bluetooth vs aux vs CD sound quality.

Looking forward to a Volvo S60 vs Acura TLX sound off.

janet_k

Sound quality, starting with the (now promised) comparison of the S60 vs. the TLX. I remember back in the late '90s/early '00s when Edmunds would supplement every "Full Review" with a "Stereo Evaluation" -including a score out of 10- at the end. That's what I would like, as my want.

ralphhightower

Volvo doesn't have B&O in their cars?

SimpsonTide985

It's definitely near the top in its class. Way better than any Bose system I've heard.

SimpsonTide985

wheelmccoy said:

I'm not too picky with sound systems. Just give me something where the bass isn't muddy and the vocals (including news and traffic reports) aren't shrill. Maybe you can write about how effective "active level control" systems manage volume at various speeds. And perhaps compare bluetooth vs aux vs CD sound quality.

Looking forward to a Volvo S60 vs Acura TLX sound off.

I actually test drov the TLX and S60 a few days ago and the sound system in the S60 blows the TLX away. Very disappointed in the ELS system.