Fender Audio

auditthxckid · Apr 24, 2018

Has anyone had an issue with the fender audio? From time to time I hear a crackle coming from my passenger speaker although when I bring it to the dealer the problem seems to go away.

I know this is vague but wanted to see if anyone else had luck replacing a speaker under warranty.

Strange Mud · Apr 24, 2018

if you are bored you could try swapping L/R. Armed with that info a dealer may decide you know enough to want to help you fix it. It will also force you to check the connectors

TimCv1 · Jul 7, 2022

The branding is awful, Fender is not a stereo/hi-fi company (it's Panasonic under the badge), and the logos on the A-pillar speakers are gauche and stupid. I have no idea why they decided this would be hip branding but I guess people are dumb like this.

And I own two Fender amps so it's not like I don't like them.

KevinC · Jul 7, 2022

Well, at least it's not Beats-branded like the wife's Jetta. Talk about advertising that your sound system sucks!

Supermoto · Jul 7, 2022

This thread like 4 years old but for what its worth I love having the fender branding on the A pillar speakers.

kevinkar · Jul 7, 2022

It's disingenuous for a manufacturer to partner with a brand to put a logo on a speaker when that logo has nothing to do with the component. It's essentially harmless false advertising but definitely annoying. I have no problem with Panasonic. It's a classic brand from the 60s. But Fender does not make automotive audio components so it's silly to have that logo at all.

That being said, other than some random glitches where the audio fuzzes out and shuts off when driving in the rain (it's happened to a few of us here) with the only solution for me being to pull over, shut off the car and restart it, I've not had any major issues with the audio system.

It's OK to see the logo. It matches my Stratocaster (and my Lego Stratocaster)

ElectricEye · Jul 8, 2022

TimCv1 said:
The branding is awful, Fender is not a stereo/hi-fi company (it's Panasonic under the badge), and the logos on the A-pillar speakers are gauche and stupid. I have no idea why they decided this would be hip branding but I guess people are dumb like this.

And I own two Fender amps so it's not like I don't like them.

As a rock fan, the branding is one thing about the Fender system that I actually do like.
That logo.
It'd kill me if it was a hip hop brand like Beats.

Boje · Jul 8, 2022

@kevinkar nice Eames

KevinC · Jul 8, 2022

ElectricEye said:
As a rock fan, the branding is one thing about the Fender system that I actually do like.
That logo.
It'd kill me if it was a hip hop brand like Beats.

I was at a stoplight once with my windows down, and a dude next to me in a pickup truck noticed the Fender logo on the tweeters and asked if he was seeing what he thought he saw. I confirmed and he gave me a thumbs up. Certainly not the worst branding to have, and I concur that Beats branding is AWFUL - mainly because their products just suck from an audiophile perspective.

I think the claim is that Fender participated in tuning the system - not that any of the hardware is theirs, which everyone knows it isn't.

Of our 3 cars, the R's Fender audio is the best. The Harman/Kardon-branded system in my M2 is a notch below, and the Beats setup in the new Jetta is awful.

kevinkar · Jul 8, 2022

Boje said:
@kevinkar nice Eames

Plenty of Heywood-Wakefield around the house too. Mid-Century Modern all the way!

kevinkar · Jul 8, 2022

KevinC said:
Of our 3 cars, the R's Fender audio is the best. The Harman/Kardon-branded system in my M2 is a notch below, and the Beats setup in the new Jetta is awful.

I will say this car has very good sound. Much better than the Bose system in my Corvette and the system in the V70R I had. I have no need to upgrade it or change anything. Stock sounds just fine and I play full CD resolution FLAC files from an SD card. Some HD tunes too but not full super HD as I don't believe the system supports the really high bit-rate/high sampling frequency data.

dequardo · Jul 9, 2022

kevinkar said:
It's disingenuous for a manufacturer to partner with a brand to put a logo on a speaker when that logo has nothing to do with the component. It's essentially harmless false advertising but definitely annoying. I have no problem with Panasonic. It's a classic brand from the 60s. But Fender does not make automotive audio components so it's silly to have that logo at all.

That being said, other than some random glitches where the audio fuzzes out and shuts off when driving in the rain (it's happened to a few of us here) with the only solution for me being to pull over, shut off the car and restart it, I've not had any major issues with the audio system.

It's OK to see the logo. It matches my Stratocaster (and my Lego Stratocaster)

View attachment 254723

People get wound up about the most picayune stuff. Are you informed about VWs and Fender’s agreement? There’s always electrical tape.

kevinkar · Jul 9, 2022

dequardo said:
People get wound up about the most picayune stuff. Are you informed about VWs and Fender’s agreement? There’s always electrical tape.

Not sure what you're getting at. Please explain. I'm not "wound up" and only expressing an opinion. Problem with that? Also, I don't care or have to know what VW and Fender have done business-wise to have or state that opinion. So I'm not sure what the point is of your reply. TimCv1 commented about the Fender branding and I was simply replying to that thought.

Jeffapotamus · Jul 9, 2022

I have a vague recollection of reading once upon a time that Fender's part was to choose the components (Panasonic in this case) and tune everything to tailor the sound to the car.

TimCv1 · Jul 20, 2022

kevinkar said:
I will say this car has very good sound. Much better than the Bose system in my Corvette and the system in the V70R I had. I have no need to upgrade it or change anything. Stock sounds just fine and I play full CD resolution FLAC files from an SD card. Some HD tunes too but not full super HD as I don't believe the system supports the really high bit-rate/high sampling frequency data.

"No highs, no lows, gotta be Bose."

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