Beats Audio MK3 Leon vs SEAT Sound

[KXL]

The dealer might have the part number. I had a similar query, back in the day, in the difference between the mid-range 8 speaker (base range was 6) vs SSS. On the parts sheet, the front speakers and tweeters were the same, the SSS adds are more powerful rear door speakers, a centre speaker, and sub. Can't remember if there was an external amp or just a more powerful HU.

 

[Copra68]

The seat sound uses the head unit as an amp and beats uses an external amp under the passenger seat if previous conversations are correct.

 

[LouG]

I've always thought cars are too noisy to really get great sound. Then I got the Cupra and SEAT Sound and changed my mind.
SEAT have really nailed their sound systems. Even my wife's Arona sounds good.

 

[Maypack]

I've always thought cars are too noisy to really get great sound. Then I got the Cupra and SEAT Sound and changed my mind.
SEAT have really nailed their sound systems. Even my wife's Arona sounds good.

Seat Sound in my Cupra is great too. Try playing Fantasy by The xx and see how it sounds with a bit of volume.

 

[Rainman]

There is also another option if what you are looking for its sound quality rather just to be loud.....

For the cost of SS or BA you can invest in 2 sets of good quality speakers .... (makes a big difference)
I have put on mine a set of JL Audio for the front and a set for the back .....the difference is huge in sound quality ....
but as i said i don't care to be loud ....i prefer the quality over loudness

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

There is also another option if what you are looking for its sound quality rather just to be loud.....

For the cost of SS or BA you can invest in 2 sets of good quality speakers .... (makes a big difference)
I have put on mine a set of JL Audio for the front and a set for the back .....the difference is huge in sound quality ....
but as i said i don't care to be loud ....i prefer the quality over loudness

Do you mean you replaced the car speakers with your own? I would not be comfortable doing that I think in case I caused any damage to the car.

 

[Rainman]

Do you mean you replaced the car speakers with your own? I would not be comfortable doing that I think in case I caused any damage to the car.

It's quite easy actually .. off course you have to find a professional to do the job for you ...just in case to avoid any damage .... also there is a variety of premium speakers to choose ...depending on how much you want to spend ....

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

It's quite easy actually .. off course you have to find a professional to do the job for you ...just in case to avoid any damage .... also there is a variety of premium speakers to choose ...depending on how much you want to spend ....

Ok I get you, thanks for clarifying. However, considering how much you pay for the Beats audio system anyway I don't really want to pay another few hundred for new speakers plus another few hundred to get them installed... no matter how much I would love to.

I'm sure the Beats audio will do the job when I tweak it to reduce any thumpy bass.

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

Oh man... I just went to look at a Cupra with Beats audio and wtf, it sounds MUCH WORSE than the Seat Sound option I tried last week! Seriously, the bass is god damn ridiculous unless you not only turn the subwoofer to 0, but then go to the equalizer and turn the frequency down too! As for the rest, when I had turned the bass down I then turned the sound up to be greeted with a quite frankly poor rendition of mids and highs. No fricken way are the Beats speakers 'higher quality' than the Seat Sound. It's BS marketing and branding and nothing else... to the point where it seriously annoyed me. I am serious about my audio quality and it was so bad it actually spoiled my opinion of the Cupra that I saw.

 

[Copra68]

Oh man... I just went to look at a Cupra with Beats audio and wtf, it sounds MUCH WORSE than the Seat Sound option I tried last week! Seriously, the bass is god damn ridiculous unless you not only turn the subwoofer to 0, but then go to the equalizer and turn the frequency down too! As for the rest, when I had turned the bass down I then turned the sound up to be greeted with a quite frankly poor rendition of mids and highs. No fricken way are the Beats speakers 'higher quality' than the Seat Sound. It's BS marketing and branding and nothing else... to the point where it seriously annoyed me. I am serious about my audio quality and it was so bad it actually spoiled my opinion of the Cupra that I saw.

Can the sound setup not improve it on the settings?

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

Can the sound setup not improve it on the settings?

What do you mean? I did change the settings (in the short time I had).

 

[Copra68]

What do you mean? I did change the settings (in the short time I had).

That's disappointing I do like bass but only on certain music but still love high quality sound aswell.

 

[black_sheep]

Does the SS/Beats audio improve with use? There were quite a lot of differences of opinion from the audiophiles on the Octavia forums when Canton systems first came out regarding improvements in sound quality once the system had ‘bedded in’.

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

Does the SS/Beats audio improve with use? There were quite a lot of differences of opinion from the audiophiles on the Octavia forums when Canton systems first came out regarding improvements in sound quality once the system had ‘bedded in’.

'Bedding in' is a much overstated phenomenon that people put way too much faith in to correct actual problems. A good sound system will still sound good from the very start and any improvements from bedding in, if at all heard, will generally be subtle and nuanced are not going to magically change a bad set of speakers into a good set.

I cannot emphasize enough how much worse the Beats was than the SEAT sound, it was bordering on dreadful at high volumes. The Seat Sound in comparison maintained good clarity ad detail at higher volume.

If someone likes thumping bass at the expense of quality and detail then Beats may be fine for them... but in terms of refinement the Seat Sound is way ahead. I am actually tempted to wait and look for a different car that has Seat Sound as i know I wouldn't be able to not think about how bad the Beats is every time I heard it. I am of course assuming that all cars equipped with Beats are the same standard without variation between sets. I doubt the one I listened to was a random lemon.

 

[black_sheep]

It would be interesting to compare part numbers across the various audio systems fitted to the VAG range - I'm pretty certain that there will be some commonality, with the VAG brands just paying a licence fee to use the 'audio brand name' to endorse a product, in the same way that football clubs / Ferrari etc allow products to be branded. Or am I just being cynical?

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

It would be interesting to compare part numbers across the various audio systems fitted to the VAG range - I'm pretty certain that there will be some commonality, with the VAG brands just paying a licence fee to use the 'audio brand name' to endorse a product, in the same way that football clubs / Ferrari etc allow products to be branded. Or am I just being cynical?

Not at all cynical... it's just a licensed name with a set of minimum standards that in this case Seat have really cheaped out on.

I really recommend you guys search your local area for a Cupra with Seat Sound and one with Beats and go listen to them both. I would be interested to hear if your opinions on the differences are as dramatic as mine!

 

[black_sheep]

It seems strange that the Beats audio carried a significant price premium over the SS system in EU markets where both options were available; albeit the only difference is the separate amp.

 

[BipedalMale]

'Bedding in' is a much overstated phenomenon that people put way too much faith in to correct actual problems. A good sound system will still sound good from the very start and any improvements from bedding in, if at all heard, will generally be subtle and nuanced are not going to magically change a bad set of speakers into a good set.

I cannot emphasize enough how much worse the Beats was than the SEAT sound, it was bordering on dreadful at high volumes. The Seat Sound in comparison maintained good clarity ad detail at higher volume.

If someone likes thumping bass at the expense of quality and detail then Beats may be fine for them... but in terms of refinement the Seat Sound is way ahead. I am actually tempted to wait and look for a different car that has Seat Sound as i know I wouldn't be able to not think about how bad the Beats is every time I heard it. I am of course assuming that all cars equipped with Beats are the same standard without variation between sets. I doubt the one I listened to was a random lemon.

This is disappointing...

In fact the entire process of getting a Cupra has been a series of them. I hope it was a lemon and that my car is better than the one you tried...

I have the standard setup in my Ibiza (Tech), hopefully it will be an improvement on that. Which, to be fair is pretty good to my jaded ears...

 

[SitdownandhaveaCupratea]

It seems strange that the Beats audio carried a significant price premium over the SS system in EU markets where both options were available; albeit the only difference is the separate amp.

The only difference can not (in my opinion at least) be the separate amp, because the sound quality was to my ear significantly worse than with Seat Sound at higher volumes even with the subwoofer on strength 0. They sound like different speakers.

And yes, they are almost double the price!

This is disappointing...

In fact the entire process of getting a Cupra has been a series of them. I hope it was a lemon and that my car is better than the one you tried...

I have the standard setup in my Ibiza (Tech), hopefully it will be an improvement on that. Which, to be fair is pretty good to my jaded ears...

I will go see some more with Seat Sound and Beats over the next weeks and post back here to confirm.

 

[Jaco2k]

I am really fussy about car audio and I am perfectly happy with the Seat Sound system.
Beats, as a brand, is just a giant scam.
I remember when my desk colleague at work got some beats headphones and was raving about them - I put them on and had to tell him they sounded like a pair of generic 20€ Chinese crap headphones... He was not happy
...from the likes of it, in the car it is the same. And, it looks like Beats is now the default and only choice, which given that it has less quality, was also obviously a cost cutting measure.