03-12-2017, 12:59 PM | #1 |
Private First Class
31
Rep 104
Posts |
HK bass dissaponting in a new car.
Having driven G30 530d xDrive since Friday, I find the Harman Kardon music system significantly lacking in the bass depatment. I know HK systems need some "running ineriod" and I'm interested to hear if anyone can give an estimate how much time is needed for this. The car I drove had 1100km on the odometer when I returned it and it was 4 weeks old. Can one expect the bass to improve significantly with more music time? Music was nice and crisp when stationary but on the highway at 150km/h, the tire roar was quite high and turning the volume up didn't bring expected sound clarity and "power". I did set the equalizer to full bass, default middle and high treble.
After switching to my F30, my puny Hi-Fi system has much worse sound overall but kills the G30 HK in the bass department. |
03-12-2017, 02:27 PM | #2 |
Lieutenant General
1312
Rep 10,185
Posts |
Usually takes a couple months of playing music to get them to loosen up and play properly.
Also remember the F30 has a much smaller cabin and will sound different even if the systems were identical. Only real way to get proper bass is to add a subwoofer
__________________
BMW if you are reading, I need a job, Please. |
Appreciate
1
FlyingWombat243.50 |
03-12-2017, 03:54 PM | #3 |
Private First Class
31
Rep 104
Posts |
Size difference or not, I wouldn't expect a higher tier, more expensive audio setup to sound worse, especially in a higher class of a car. And both F30 Hi-fi and G30 Harman Kardon have woofers under the front seats, right? Does anyone here share my observation? I can't imagine it was a defective car/audio...
|
Appreciate
0
|
03-12-2017, 04:08 PM | #4 | |
Lieutenant General
1312
Rep 10,185
Posts |
Quote:
Wish they were proper ones. Would free up boot space in all my cars.
__________________
BMW if you are reading, I need a job, Please. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
03-12-2017, 04:19 PM | #5 | |
Private First Class
31
Rep 104
Posts |
Quote:
I never complained about the bass in my F30, I just wished the sound was crisper overall and I was hoping HK in the G30 would fix that. Now I'm not so sure. Some people also wrote they thought Hi-fi to sound better than HK. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
03-12-2017, 06:02 PM | #6 | |
Lieutenant General
1312
Rep 10,185
Posts |
Quote:
A quick check in a brand new car is a poor test of the system. I hope this is still the case with the G30
__________________
BMW if you are reading, I need a job, Please. |
|
Appreciate
1
FlyingWombat243.50 |
03-12-2017, 06:15 PM | #7 |
Lieutenant
119
Rep 565
Posts |
Bear in mind also that the frequency response changes as the volume increases: bass is smoothed off as overall volume increases, to protect the bass amplifier channels from clipping or the woofers from overexcursion. This is frustrating as I find the HK system over bassy at low volume and then better balanced at about 60% of max volume.
All that said, the HK amp and 8" underseat woofers are quite good for factory systems and should produce enough >50hz bass to satisfy most people. |
Appreciate
0
|
03-13-2017, 12:28 PM | #8 |
Captain
155
Rep 637
Posts |
Hello guys.
I think it is must have. I had e91 with HiFi and my friend e90 with HK.. Difference was really huge! 2 weeks ago I drove G30 with HK and it seemed to be a bit better than the ones in 3er (maybe personal feeling). I love the HK sound but mb I would take out a bit from "bass" |
Appreciate
0
|
03-13-2017, 04:17 PM | #9 |
Lieutenant
181
Rep 546
Posts |
You need to properly calibrate the equalizer. I have a cousin who is in sound recording, he calibrated my 535 to spec on how songs are recorded. My system was like night and day after he did that.
|
Appreciate
1
FlyingWombat243.50 |
04-12-2017, 03:38 PM | #10 |
New Member
5
Rep 21
Posts |
Have to agree the equaliser needs tweaking to get the best out of it. When I picked mine up it was all at default settings and sounded flat and not very impressive. I tweaked the settings and it sounds amazing now. Full rich and clear. I think that a few minutes to change the settings will reap the rewards.
This sounds so much better than the old B&O system in my 2014 A5. I do think part of that is down to the lower ambient noise in the G30, it really is almost silent in comparison |
Appreciate
0
|
04-13-2017, 03:14 AM | #11 |
Major General
2376
Rep 8,364
Posts |
Audio Source & EQ are definitely the key to minimize distortion and get the best sound. You still are not going to get much bass unless volume is turn up.
|
Appreciate
0
|
04-13-2017, 11:29 AM | #12 |
Second Lieutenant
14
Rep 235
Posts |
Can you post here your h/k settings? Or post a pic from equalizer.
|
Appreciate
0
|
04-13-2017, 12:29 PM | #13 | |
Major General
2376
Rep 8,364
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
1
Ilovemycar23.00 |
08-12-2017, 01:19 PM | #14 |
Lieutenant
119
Rep 565
Posts |
I am pleasantly surprised by the HK in my new G30, compared to my F10. Bass seems to go a little lower and to be less boomy and muddy. After an hour or so of fiddling, my current setup is:
- speed related volume adjustment at minimum; - balance and fader neutral; - surround off; - bass +2 - treble 0 and then adjust equaliser bands as follows (figures are amount of adjustment, not the absolute position with cumulative effect of bass and treble adjustments) - 100hz -1 - 200hz -1 - 1khz -1 - 2khz -2 - 5khz -2 - 10khz -1 - towel placed over the centre speaker ( trust me, this is worthwhile ). Tracks used to test: - "Don't give up" by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. - "Black Skinhead" by Kanye West. Bass workout. - "Take the long way home" by Supertramp. All more enjoyable to listen to at mid to high volume than in the F10. But cover up that evil centre speaker firing into the glass windscreen. It has no place in what is really still just a 2 channel stereo system. |
Appreciate
1
tampaM55012.50 |
08-12-2017, 03:25 PM | #15 | |
General
1571
Rep 29,202
Posts |
Quote:
__________________
F10 520d M-Sport Alpine White | HRE P43SC 20x9+20x11 | Michelin PSS 255/35+295/30 | KW V3 Coilover | M5 Front Sway Bar + M550d Rear Sway Bar | 3DDesign Front Lip | BMW M Performance CF Spoiler | BMW M Performance Diffuser | BMW M Performance Black Grills | BMW M Performance Pedals | |
|
Appreciate
1
FlyingWombat243.50 |
08-18-2017, 09:10 PM | #17 |
2024 m340i, 2022 X5 M50i, 2019 m550i
24
Rep 115
Posts |
Swapped out stock HK amp with Match PP82DSP and MobridgeDA1 as well as under seat woofers with Earthquake woofers. Got what I wanted. More control of highs and louder lows. Highly recommend. Shout out to Ken at Musicar!
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-19-2017, 01:02 PM | #18 |
Lieutenant
119
Rep 565
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-19-2017, 07:50 PM | #20 |
General
13100
Rep 18,779
Posts |
I got my HK swap out to BavSound and it sounds much better.
Somehow the ghostwoofer have better improvement on the G30 compared to any of the F series BMW. If you are local, you are welcome to hear my car.
__________________
Email:sales@rgsport.com | IG:RGSport_USA | Web:RGSportShop.com PM for Everyday DEALS!! MSS • iSweep • RaceChip • Sterckenn • AutoTecknic • Akrapovic • Vossen Wheels • Eventuri Active Autowerke • KW • H&R • Ohlins • Remus • and more... |
Appreciate
0
|
08-21-2017, 04:36 PM | #22 |
Lieutenant
119
Rep 565
Posts |
This is interesting. Suggests there is a difference in the enclosure/porting for the G30, and maybe better woofers can make better use of it. G30 HK bass is definitely a little cleaner and lower than F10 HK bass. There also seems to be less leakage of bass frequencies outside the car: if I stand next to the car and shut the door, I'm sure the bass volume drops away more than on the F10.
|
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
|
|