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      06-17-2018, 04:44 AM   #1
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Hi guys,

Two things:

1) I have the Harman/Kardon system in my car and I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed with the quality? The car is new so roughly 950 miles on the clock now but the speakers feel tinny and crackle on most songs (using iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Music saved onto phone so not streaming all via USB cable).

I had the standard BMW speakers in my 6 series GC and felt that was better and I've had HK systems in other cars previously, even my sister has HK in her M235i and despite being a different car, that system is loud and basey.

I've tried playing around with the EQ settings etc but it just doesn't sound right in my opinion...

2) I'm having an issue with I guess my iDrive? 3 times now I've gotten into my car and randomly my HUD position had reset to its highest position and almost out of my line of sight meaning I have to set it to the position I like via iDrive. Not using a different key or anything as only I drive the car.

Another thing is I've noticed iDrive also resetting other random stuff when I get back into the car sometimes like the distance of the zoom on my maps, I split my screen and on the smaller right side I keep the map at 125 yards, got in yesterday and it was at 2 miles and then another time yesterday 180 yards?!

Any thoughts on the above would be really appreciated
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      06-17-2018, 02:04 PM   #2
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Could be a software glitch. Might need to be reprogrammed by the dealer.

I'm not sure if the HK is the same as mine in the US but mine sounds very good. I'd leave the EQ flat and turn down the 1k because I find the vocals are overpowering the music
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      06-18-2018, 12:16 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
I have the Harmon/Kardon system in my car and I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed with the quality?
You probably got yourself a cheap chinese copy, cause the original is called Harman Kardon.
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      06-18-2018, 01:29 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CatalinP View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
I have the Harmon/Kardon system in my car and I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed with the quality?
You probably got yourself a cheap chinese copy, cause the original is called Harman Kardon.
Wow you actually took the time to write that pointless reply over a spelling mistake?
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      06-18-2018, 07:38 AM   #5
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We've got the HK system as well in our x5 and the stock system in our x3. I agree that it doesn't seem to live up to the hype that I've read. In fact, I notice no difference between the two systems.
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      06-18-2018, 08:24 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
Hi guys,

Two things:

1) I have the Harman/Kardon system in my car and I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed with the quality? The car is new so roughly 950 miles on the clock now but the speakers feel tinny and crackle on most songs (using iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Music saved onto phone so not streaming all via USB cable).

I had the standard BMW speakers in my 6 series GC and felt that was better and I've had HK systems in other cars previously, even my sister has HK in her M235i and despite being a different car, that system is loud and basey.

I've tried playing around with the EQ settings etc but it just doesn't sound right in my opinion...

2) I'm having an issue with I guess my iDrive? 3 times now I've gotten into my car and randomly my HUD position had reset to its highest position and almost out of my line of sight meaning I have to set it to the position I like via iDrive. Not using a different key or anything as only I drive the car.

Another thing is I've noticed iDrive also resetting other random stuff when I get back into the car sometimes like the distance of the zoom on my maps, I split my screen and on the smaller right side I keep the map at 125 yards, got in yesterday and it was at 2 miles and then another time yesterday 180 yards?!

Any thoughts on the above would be really appreciated
I hear that BavSound are more less plug & play and it will sound better. Am sure others will offer other options for you.
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      06-18-2018, 08:26 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geye1970 View Post
We've got the HK system as well in our x5 and the stock system in our x3. I agree that it doesn't seem to live up to the hype that I've read. In fact, I notice no difference between the two systems.
Yeah it would appear that it's not actually all that great. My car is actually with BMW today for some warranty work and I'm getting them to check the speakers as a part of it, they've compared it to other X5's with HK and are of the opinion that they're all similar.

If that's the case then I don't understand all the hype, I had HK in a Mercedes I used to have and that sounded amazing, so does the HK in my sister's M235i!
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      06-18-2018, 08:27 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1230vani View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
Hi guys,

Two things:

1) I have the Harman/Kardon system in my car and I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed with the quality? The car is new so roughly 950 miles on the clock now but the speakers feel tinny and crackle on most songs (using iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Music saved onto phone so not streaming all via USB cable).

I had the standard BMW speakers in my 6 series GC and felt that was better and I've had HK systems in other cars previously, even my sister has HK in her M235i and despite being a different car, that system is loud and basey.

I've tried playing around with the EQ settings etc but it just doesn't sound right in my opinion...

2) I'm having an issue with I guess my iDrive? 3 times now I've gotten into my car and randomly my HUD position had reset to its highest position and almost out of my line of sight meaning I have to set it to the position I like via iDrive. Not using a different key or anything as only I drive the car.

Another thing is I've noticed iDrive also resetting other random stuff when I get back into the car sometimes like the distance of the zoom on my maps, I split my screen and on the smaller right side I keep the map at 125 yards, got in yesterday and it was at 2 miles and then another time yesterday 180 yards?!

Any thoughts on the above would be really appreciated
I hear that BavSound are more less plug & play and it will sound better. Am sure others will offer other options for you.
Thanks but not really looking to modify the car or change the speakers
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      06-19-2018, 09:26 AM   #9
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First thing I noticed when I moved from B&O on my F01 to HK on F15 was how unimpressive it was. You are not alone.
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      06-19-2018, 10:31 AM   #10
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That is pretty obvious... B&O costs almost 4 times more than HK.
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      06-19-2018, 11:19 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
Wow you actually took the time to write that pointless reply over a spelling mistake?
There are some muppets on here, aren't there?!
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      06-19-2018, 01:11 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sahiljain22 View Post
First thing I noticed when I moved from B&O on my F01 to HK on F15 was how unimpressive it was. You are not alone.
Well compared to B&O I'm not suprised. B&O is a £4k option. But I received confirmation from BMW today that the HK speakers in my car are perfectly fine I guess I don't see what all the hype is about then?!

There's hardly any seat-shaking (although I don't want ricer) bass with the HK setup, on the contrary on the Mercedes I used to have you could tell it had about 4 subwoofers as a part of the HK package, in the X5 it feels like they're disconnected.

The rest of the HK speakers in the X5 sound good and are very loud but theres limp bass to accommodate it in my opinion...

Regarding the other issues I had BMW said they did a 'software update' but when I checked my iDrive version it was the exact same one as before so I'll see how those other issues pan out
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      06-19-2018, 01:12 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichM50d View Post
There are some muppets on here, aren't there?!
Unfortunately...
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      06-19-2018, 01:22 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibrahimbeg View Post
Well compared to B&O I'm not suprised. B&O is a £4k option. But I received confirmation from BMW today that the HK speakers in my car are perfectly fine I guess I don't see what all the hype is about then?!

There's hardly any seat-shaking (although I don't want ricer) bass with the HK setup, on the contrary on the Mercedes I used to have you could tell it had about 4 subwoofers as a part of the HK package, in the X5 it feels like they're disconnected.

The rest of the HK speakers in the X5 sound good and are very loud but theres limp bass to accommodate it in my opinion...

Regarding the other issues I had BMW said they did a 'software update' but when I checked my iDrive version it was the exact same one as before so I'll see how those other issues pan out
Try my settings. Plenty of bass for me.
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      06-19-2018, 01:27 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavy View Post
Try my settings. Plenty of bass for me.
Thanks I'll check it out!

I tried the EQ Settings the member from China posted in another post as well but didn't find them satisfying.

I'll see if yours do the trick.
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      06-19-2018, 04:59 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CatalinP View Post
That is pretty obvious... B&O costs almost 4 times more than HK.
Yes, but HK sounded worse than the free speakers in some of the rentals I have driven. The surprise was "this is what you get after paying a decent amount for an upgrade ... damn"
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      06-19-2018, 06:26 PM   #17
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It’s all about the EQ settings!
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      06-19-2018, 06:40 PM   #18
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I set my EQ up a few times and it keeps resetting after couple of days. Any reason why?
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      06-19-2018, 08:13 PM   #19
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Bass sucks in the B&O as well. And not sure what you mean by "all the hype". The HK is a mid level option on the X5. The HK is also tuned as such I like your Merc as it was probably the top tier system for them and thus had the RnD to go with it. Not every HK is the same. Trust me many complain about the B&O too and many love it. I have also found on the loaner cars the dealer gives me that the base audio on them is actually pretty decent for no $$$ upgrade fee.

I had HK in my C55 AMG and loved it. I have B&O now just cuz that's what came on the car I found used. I find plus and minus on both systems comparatively to be honest. But yes the Bav auto subs that simply plug in under the seat has changed a lot of people's minds.
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      06-20-2018, 07:48 AM   #20
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I only got the HK(horrible) system so I can use the MOST signal to completely upgrade the system to a SQ competition setup. If you have any questions, PM me.
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      06-21-2018, 06:50 AM   #21
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So today on the way to work I was playing around with the EQ settings randomly and it was like someone has switched the subwoofers on. Such a massive difference!

I had played with the EQ settings previously but I guess I kept cancelling out the bass by turning another bandwith higher or lower. It's alot more bassier/premium sounding now but I haven't quite perfected it as of yet. Once I do i'll upload my EQ settings for you guys to try out if you like.

The HK system is sounding a lot better now, not to the level I was expecting but much much better than before!
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      06-21-2018, 07:26 AM   #22
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So, who's the muppet after all??
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