Bose AudioPilot

[Hopkins]

Can anyone hear the effect of the Bose AudioPilot? I have tried toggling it on and off in various situations and I cannot hear any change in tone or volume! Should it be obvious (irrespective of whether it is good or bad)?

[warpc0il]

It won't change the tone but with the system On the volume should increase with the level of ambient noise and decrease as the noise reduces.

At best the effect is subtle, just means you don't have to turn down when stopped in traffic and up when moving fast.
Seems to work best with spoken word, e.g. audio books and discussion programs, rather than music.

At worse it can get confused, especially if you have aftermarket intake/exhaust, and is best left switched Off.

[GreySilver Beast]

I could never get this feature to work in my first RX-8 and left it switched off all the time

[Honkytonk]

Some unscientific testing with my car (bearing in mind I have an intermittent drivers door speaker problem), makes me believe this is a bunch of marketing hooey and it does precisely nothing. I leave it on though. Because why not?

I will get a car audio researcher friend to do some testing on it once I've got the speaker fixed...

[sagarh]

I didn't even know the RX8 had this (owned the car 8years!) How is it switched on/off?

[Honkytonk]

Hold down the right hand knob on the stereo to get into the sound settings, then you can flick through the options, which include bass/treble adjustment etc.

[sKenDread]

I'm actually in the process of doing a write up on it.

Effectively, for any of you who remember the loudness button on older car stereos. The loudness button was a pretty simple circuit that recreated the effects of the Fletcher Munson curve in reverse.

Where at lower perceived levels our ears are not very sensitive to mid low to lower frequencies and mid hi to higher frequencies. This is by evolution a form of survival where threats to life are more focussed on the frequencies in the mid band range when at rest. Anything outside of that bandwidth would naturally catch our attention and wake us up anyway.

So in audio sound reproduction, a simple EQ design effected by VCA was devised to alter those unperceived frequencies to balance out the 20Hz - 20kHz bandwidth again.

The AutoPilot system (S1 versions only as Bose utilised the canbus speed as an additional parameter in later versions) this includes the addition of a microphone which is used to deliver the VCA a varied signal that controls the amount of boost in the EQ curve.

So in layman's terms. It turns the bass, and highs up based on the noise perceived by the microphone. And therefore increases the perceived volume.

The reason why it's a subtle effect is by 2 factors design based on the noise that was expected (stock no aftermarket exhaust systems) within the vehicle and the natural way we perceive frequencies we focus on

[warpc0il]

So that also explains why it seems to work better for voices than music

Is this similar to what Channel 4 does with the adverts, which makes them "seem" so much louder than the programs?

[sKenDread]

Absolutely dude. In some ways it's actually a side effect of changing the sound of the engine with a louder exhaust.
TV and radio broadcast stations actually compress the living crap put of the audio. Smashing every frequency with a compressor makes it louder, decreasing the dynamic range.
It's an old trick they use to compete with others. But it also lowers the dynamics of the audio.

[Hopkins]

Thanks for all the replies. I shall try it with spoken word. In other cars the effect of the "auto volume control" has always been obvious and welcome. I understood from the RX8 manual that the AudioPilot would probably be an EQ plus volume, but I just couldn't hear anything different, even when toggling on and off at motorway speeds.

Incidentally, I only discovered it because I scoured the manual to find out if I could turn that accursed beep off. Then I discovered all sorts of things .

[sKenDread]

I think I went off on one.

Basically, you probably won't hear much difference above volume 10.

If you have a loud exhaust and/or tires then the effect won't be as noticeable as it's been trimmed to work within the original cars expected noises. It sounds all fancy and stuff but the principal is pretty basic.

If you have more noise than originally designed then the effect would be effecting all the time until the threshold has been reached so there would be no noticeable change. And toggling it won't make much of an audible difference


The design itself isn't supposed to be noticeable, just "natural"

[Hopkins]

Interesting. My exhaust is stock, so it should be fine I'm that regard. The music is usually loud, and often a complete racket, so perhaps that's why I'm not noticing it!

[AndyBrad]

works on mine.

i use it to reduce the effect of the audible speed controller in the passenger seat. with it on it masks wot a bit

[sKenDread]

works on mine.

i use it to reduce the effect of the audible speed controller in the passenger seat. with it on it masks wot a bit

Isn't yours an R3?
The Bose stereo is not the same but has the S1 so the AudioPilot V2 uses microphone as an input source to the VCA but also has canbus speed as an additional input source (no idea why)

Like all things the V2 was also upgraded to provide a less "natural", more hyped effect. Most likely to please customers that would feel they didn't notice the effect in v1. Hence why you may notice it more.

I'm just guessing for the reasons behind hyping the effect.

If I'm wrong thinking you have an R3 then maybe your interior ambient noise isn't so loud?


I have my own system of passenger noise reduction built into my head . I call it selective hearing. But unfortunately it doesn't work as physical impact reducer. But by the time she hits me, the moments usually passing on by

[AndyBrad]

yup r3

so what your saying is its just another way the r3 is a superior car. Nice

[bigpete8]

Checked mine while out at car and its already on (along with the Radio Beep OFF)
I did turn the radio down this morning after having it on for the first time since going back to stock exhaust... Bit quieter in there maybe...

[sKenDread]

Just as a thought, Bose became popular due to their innovative yet simple audio reproduction designs.

Sometimes technology isn't as obvious to the listener as the approach to reproducing to original source of audio is not to mask it with more equalisation but flatten out the characteristics that the enclosure (car) and speakers + amp damping would produce.

Therefore the original sound is as unaffected as possible.

That being said Bose just like other midrange brands also hype the EQ (roughly 250Hz) to give the brand a particular style. And feel more punchier than other brands.

Midrange is not bad at all. It's midrange for the general public. If you've ever listened to a top brand or studio monitors you might dislike the sound they produce as the attempt to not colour the original source is more accurate and can sound quite well... Flat

[warpc0il]

Apparently Bose also specified a different EQ for cars with cloth rather than "leather" interiors - which would make sense if they're matching to the environment

I wonder what impact this has on people swapping head units, just to get firmware levels compatible with external inputs.

How many end-up with the wrong EQ for their interior.

Does it really make that much difference?

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

[sKenDread]

Due to the reflective capability of leather I would guess if they did eq specifically, cloth would have a hyped mid to hi frequency curve.

Someone could potentially notice the lack of highs, if they did have a leather version in a cloth. But personally I don't think many would take notice. That being said, it would be dependent on how much boost or cut they did between the two versions.

It may be as noticeable as when you put your hand behind the high frequency drivers. You definitely hear that difference.

Note: about putting your hand behind the high frequency drivers/tweeters. Don't add a card or turn the drivers side tweeter so it's facing you more. By design, it's meant to be a compromise so that both front seats get a balanced left and right field. It will affect the sound stage balance

[warpc0il]

One of the things a love about this forum is the huge range of skills, experience and knowledge that we have within our community, and that everyone is willing to get involved.