What do you think about Harman's BMW audio system

[Andrein]

Dont know where to post this question. Recently bought a new car with HK audio. Before that i never had HK in the car. It sounds better than my prev 6 speaker basic system but i expected more, especially in LF region. Always feel that bass is not deep enough. Tried to use eq but if correction is more tha 2 notches start getting noticible distortion.

Does anyone have HK audio in the car? What do you think?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

have HK in my OB 2018 Limited. Also had very similar system in OB 2015 Limited.
I think it's sounds very good vs (way too many) Bose systems.
You have to realize that car audio will never sound as good as home for obvious reasons

 

[Andrein]

You have to realize that car audio will never sound as good as home for obvious reasons

Is this always true? I thought it is actually easier to get the lower frequency inside the car given small volume of the cabine and room gain. I am not talking about issues caused by the number of different surfaces inside the car but mostly about deep bass.

 

[slipperybidness]

have HK in my OB 2018 Limited. Also had very similar system in OB 2015 Limited.
I think it's sounds very good vs (way too many) Bose systems.
You have to realize that car audio will never sound as good as home for obvious reasons

Surprisingly, I'm fairly satisfied with the Bose in the wife's Murano. It's pretty decent and has a dedicated "sub" and amp.

 

[lovinthehd]

Does the HK system use a dedicated sub(s)?

 

[Andrein]

Does the HK system use a dedicated sub(s)?

2x8" drivers under front seats.

 

[lovinthehd]

2x8" drivers under front seats.

Do they have separate controls for crossover/level?

 

[Irvrobinson]

We have a 2017 X3 with the 16-speaker HK system. I think it's more than sufficient for car audio. BMW's user interface is still annoying to me, but that doesn't affect the sound, obviously. My wife uses it mostly for classic rock, and I tend to listen to classical music (both on Sirius), and it seems to work equally well for both.

Tire noise makes good bass very difficult to achieve in moving vehicles, especially those with big, wide tires. If you try to over-power the tire noise you generally get obnoxious, thumpy bass that sounds stupid at a red light. IMO, car audio is good only for the most casual listening.

We have the fancy-pants Bang & Olufsen audio system in our Audi S3, and IMO it's a waste of money. That was the one car I bought that a dealer ordered, rather than custom-ordered, so it has a useless nav system and an over-priced audio system. I generally recommend people don't order the fancy-pants audio systems; they're not worth it, unless the vehicle is very quiet, or you like listening in your garage.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Does the HK system use a dedicated sub(s)?

http://www.harmankardon.com/subaru-outback.html
a single 7" x10" subwoofer.

Do they have separate controls for crossover/level?

No, but 5-7 fixed band eq. nothing fancy

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Is this always true? I thought it is actually easier to get the lower frequency inside the car given small volume of the cabine and room gain. I am not talking about issues caused by the number of different surfaces inside the car but mostly about deep bass.

I guess very deep bass would be easier to achieve in small and mostly sealed space such as car, but it would also result in excessive shaking of parts and surfaces that's why you only see (hear it) on aftermarket audio system and they are always annoying rattling.

 

[lovinthehd]

http://www.harmankardon.com/subaru-outback.html
a single 7" x10" subwoofer.

No, but 5-7 fixed band eq. nothing fancy

LOL was wondering what car was "OB".

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

LOL was wondering what car was "OB".

sorry, I spent too much time on www.subaruoutback.org/forums/
These guys just say OB referring to model

 

[lovinthehd]

sorry, I spent too much time on www.subaruoutback.org/forums/
These guys just say OB referring to model

LOL I was trying to find an Opel model that started with B.

 

[Andrein]

I could not find any xover settings. Just equaliser, 10bands. I guss hk system might vary from car to car. I did not choose my sound system. It just happened to be in the car that was in stock at the time. I dont know. Maybe it is my expectations... It sounds kind of ok, but definitely not close to my HT. My wife's mini system sounds basically the same. It is not HK but it has 2x 6" and 2x 8" plus tweeters. And the internal volume is probably twice less tha in my 3gt. Just sometimes hear car passing by and from ouside it sounds much better than mine. But those probably just custom systems not stock HK.

 

[TLS Guy]

Is this always true? I thought it is actually easier to get the lower frequency inside the car given small volume of the cabine and room gain. I am not talking about issues caused by the number of different surfaces inside the car but mostly about deep bass.

You can work up a nasty false bass in a car, but not a pleasant accurate but somewhat understated bass.

Most of the work done on improving car audio has been done and paid for by the European manufacturers, especially German and also UK. In Europe the demand for classic music is high in Germany and the UK. In the UK the most popular FM station is Classic FM by far. They only play classical music as does BBC Radio 3. The higher up the income bracket and those in the market for Audis and BMWs are going to be mainly classical music listeners.
The last thing you want for classical music is a nasty false bass.
The US cars are really dependent on the European tastes, as the Japanese have also been involved in getting their share of the money pot.
My GM Equinox has a fantastic system manufactured by Pioneer. It has a sealed 10" sub in the rear that never intrudes and adds a gentle foundation. I note from consumer reviews the pop/rock enthusiasts are not happy. I only listen to classical music and love the system.
Our Toyota JBL system is also very good, but not as good as the Equinox system.

So start listneing to classical music and you will get a new perspective on your system.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

No necessary Classical, but even Blues & Jazz and you'd find it's H&K systems always tried to make it's system to be sound accurate and neutral. If you think it sounds "boring" then you may want to play with EQ a bit to get to sound you like.

 

[Andrein]

I listen to Classic FM from time to time. Listen to Chaikovsky, Bethoven and some other classic when i am in appropriate mood and dont need energy boost. I i need it I listed classical rock, groups like Deep Purple, Nazareth, Led Zeppelin. I know how they sound at home. I heard them at the concerts. I am not trying to get a boomy bass, but i feel some lack of extension. Maybe the system was tuned for bmw 3 saloon but 3gt is considerably larger. Maybe bmw/HK were lazy to optimize for this particular model.

Though when I listen to Sara Brightman, Harem, first song I get some bass. Lets see. I bought the car just 2 weeks ago. Maybe i need some time to get used to it.

Though i am worried that just a bit of eq in 20-50hz results in noticable distortion. Looks like there is no much head room. Though HK claims 600w.

 

[Bucknekked]

Dont know where to post this question. Recently bought a new car with HK audio. Before that i never had HK in the car. It sounds better than my prev 6 speaker basic system but i expected more, especially in LF region. Always feel that bass is not deep enough. Tried to use eq but if correction is more tha 2 notches start getting noticible distortion.

Does anyone have HK audio in the car? What do you think?

I have a 2014 BMW 335i 2 door coupe with their "hifi" level of soundsystem. To me, the number of upgrades and what they call them and what they contain is mindnumbing. Much to my surprise, you can spend more money on upgrades than on the base model car itself.

All that noise aside, my feeling on the sound system is similar to Andrein's : I was hoping for more in the lower frequencies. What I have discovered over time is the system seems to be very tight at low volume listening levels, with reduced LF response. If I crank it up however, the LF stuff comes forth very nicely and at much louder levels it sounds outstanding. On balance, and after a couple of years of listening, I have learned to like it a lot. I don't love it yet, but I like it a lot.

My previous standard for car audio was my Cadillac CTS and its Bose sound system. I know folks around here love to hate on Bose for home systems. I am with you on that. But the Cadillac CTS/Bose combination was simply marvelous. It was by far the best sounding, at any level and type of source material, of any car I have personally ridden in. I loved that car and sound system for 190,000 miles. May it RIP.

 

[Irvrobinson]

My previous standard for car audio was my Cadillac CTS and its Bose sound system. I know folks around here love to hate on Bose for home systems. I am with you on that. But the Cadillac CTS/Bose combination was simply marvelous. It was by far the best sounding, at any level and type of source material, of any car I have personally ridden in. I loved that car and sound system for 190,000 miles. May it RIP.

My wife loved the Bose systems in her Corvette Z06 and her Porsche Boxster, so you have company in your positive opinions of Bose car audio. I admit to being less enthusiastic than her about either one. Of course, a CTS is a hell of a lot quieter, and therefore better for an audio system to perform well, than the Corvette or the Boxster (especially the Corvette).

I was just listening more closely to the HK system in the BMW X3 yesterday... I even listened to the Hotel California channel... and it's not bad. Of course, those 19" run flat Goodyears were thrumming away, which made the whole analysis seem like enjoying a painting through sun glasses.