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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum iDrive, Audio, Bluetooth, Phone, Cameras, Electronics + Coding HK bass dissaponting in a new car.

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      05-23-2018, 06:07 PM   #45
530iDriver
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I had HK on a R53 MINI Cooper S and it was alright, but definitely better than the base CD/Boost stereo offered in first gen MINIs at the time....

My last 2 BMWs (E90 and G30) have come with the basic Hi-Fi stereos and have been generally satisfied with the sound quality and staging. Would the H/K and B&O sounds better? I am sure they do, but then again there are added admission costs there.

Personally, when it comes to HiFi, I think your money is better spent on quality components on a home system, but that's me.

I find the standard G30 stereo to sound much better than the "Professional" CD stereo that was offered as standard equipment on US market LCI E90s...
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      05-25-2018, 12:56 AM   #46
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 530iDriver View Post
I had HK on a R53 MINI Cooper S and it was alright, but definitely better than the base CD/Boost stereo offered in first gen MINIs at the time....

My last 2 BMWs (E90 and G30) have come with the basic Hi-Fi stereos and have been generally satisfied with the sound quality and staging. Would the H/K and B&O sounds better? I am sure they do, but then again there are added admission costs there.

Personally, when it comes to HiFi, I think your money is better spent on quality components on a home system, but that's me.

I find the standard G30 stereo to sound much better than the "Professional" CD stereo that was offered as standard equipment on US market LCI E90s...
HK is different across same series (ie E60 vs F10 vs G30) as well as chassis.

I think B&O follows that logic, but HK is minimum.

If you find less adequate, then save your money.
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      08-27-2020, 09:57 PM   #47
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Harman Kardon Logic 7 Surround Sound missing bass

I've seen a couple threads about this on line and in here as well. I recently traded in my 2015 F10 and purchased a 2017 G30. The 2015 had a standard hifi sound system while the 2017 has the HK Logic 7. The 2015's Hifi sounds way better than the 2017 HK.

I am really disappointed with the quality bass in the vehicle. I don't feel or notice the subwoofers below the seats at all even when listening to bass heavy music. I am almost curious if they were disconnected. Every once in a while I catch a song which has louder bass on SiriusXM. But you would think sounds from ITunes or Tidal Masters would give you a better sound.

What should I do? I would hate to have to replace HK with aftermarket speakers and due to the need for the trunk space I can't get a sub for the trunk.

What can I do?
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      09-05-2020, 10:57 AM   #48
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On my 2021 LCI they seem to have really improved the HK. For some reason it seems louder and has more surround sound compared to my 2017 5
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      10-06-2020, 12:51 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by morellomax View Post
I think they're 4 ohms and the underseat woofers are 8 ohms but don't quote me.

The HK amp is rated at 50w to each mid+tweeter and 125w to each woofer, but I'm not sure that's RMS @12v. The Bavsound units are easy to drive and their response curve is ideal: after careful listening I have genuinely decided they sound best with the equaliser set flat all the way across on my G30....
I installed last week Earthquake SWS-8Xi woofers under seat (G31 2017, Harman Kardon). As they stated on their web site http://earthquakesound.eu/car-audio/...s/sws-8xi.aspx that BMW's factory woofers are 2-Ohms. Should have been a one-to-one replacement, but it wasn't. Woofers were clipping like this
At first I didn't realize that the BMW impedance is something else as they (earthquake) stated on their web site. So I took my multimeter and HK factory woofers are 8-Ohms. And the earthquakes are 2-Ohms. Any idea what to do?
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      10-07-2020, 05:20 PM   #50
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I have a new G31. HK.
Of course the acoustic is a bit different than G30, but still.
I found the music to be very precise.
It needs some equalising, but after that, if you match your equaliser with your music, you get very good results.

I believe some users are expecting an overpowered bass, but IMHO that's not the point in music, except of some specific genre (gangsta rap, dubstep etc)
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      05-13-2021, 09:09 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mobilejo View Post
Also interested in this - haven't even got my car yet but I have never been happy without a 10/12" subwoofer & amp in any car so I'm just thinking ahead.

If its like all previous BMW's with HK it will be fairly easy - battery in boot, factory amp in boot so all the connections required are nearby. Just a case of which wires need to be tapped.
IM IN THE SAME BOAT

on the HK system does anyone know the underseat subwoofer wiring colours?

Im trying to tap into them from the boot where the amp is.
Would avoid needing to unscrew from seats and sub.

installing a sub and amp in the boot. My car doesnt have folding seats.
Ive read on a few forums that most of the bass wont make its way into the cabin because.

installing sub thats 300-400W RMS. will this be sufficient to compensate sound insulation of my sealed boot?
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      05-23-2021, 07:00 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mittu View Post
IM IN THE SAME BOAT

on the HK system does anyone know the underseat subwoofer wiring colours?

Im trying to tap into them from the boot where the amp is.
Would avoid needing to unscrew from seats and sub.

installing a sub and amp in the boot. My car doesnt have folding seats.
Ive read on a few forums that most of the bass wont make its way into the cabin because.

installing sub thats 300-400W RMS. will this be sufficient to compensate sound insulation of my sealed boot?
You need the technicpnp harness (just google it, they have their own website), it has all the configurations you need to get the high level wiring signal without modifying or destroying the integrated system.

I did recently install amp and sub in my 2018 530e with great success and I have somewhat high hifi standards. I have the H/K and was NOT satisfied with the bass that could not follow from 50% volume and up. The sound quality itself is OK.

I used the following parts: amp, trunk subwoofer (2x8 inch) self made specially fitted, line output converter, technicpnp harness and wiring. Everything is documented with pictures. Everything is turned on/off by signalling. Basically everything was plug and play, still have to do the work with installing though.

After successfully installing and adjusting the gain/bass/volume/balance the results were very good. And for the people that says the bass won't make it in to the cabin is generally true but to my big surprise there is just a small difference in having the center open vs closed. You wouldn't believe it. But I think it has with the design I made for the subwoofer box. The two 8 inch is firing right into the back of the back seats. I tried uploading pictures but I think the resolution was too big.

Last edited by 530e1991; 05-25-2021 at 05:35 PM.. Reason: Typo " I have the H/K and was satisfied" -> " I have the H/K and was NOT satisfied"
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      05-24-2021, 10:57 PM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mariuss View Post
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.
I definitely noticed the difference from my 2019 430i Gran Coupe to my 2020 530e. F Chassis cars had a 600w amp. G Chassis cars have a 464w amp. Check out Harman Kardon's Auto page and you can click the different series and see the audio specs. I did a bavsound upgrade and it's all around better. Just waiting for an amp upgrade from them to complete the package
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      07-10-2022, 03:41 PM   #54
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Exchange amp and woofers from f30?

I too am convinced the bass and power is way more on the f series. Has anyone looked into exchanging the amp and under seat speakers from an f30 into a g series? Is the harness the same?
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      07-11-2022, 11:46 AM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B530e View Post
I definitely noticed the difference from my 2019 430i Gran Coupe to my 2020 530e. F Chassis cars had a 600w amp. G Chassis cars have a 464w amp. Check out Harman Kardon's Auto page and you can click the different series and see the audio specs. I did a bavsound upgrade and it's all around better. Just waiting for an amp upgrade from them to complete the package
The G30 is 600W AMP as well, but BMW started in MY2020 using a less than 600W AMP and adding a booster to bring it back up to 600W. The booster has proven to be a weak choice.

But I guess it was a cost cutting move. Similar to how light and cheap the key feels for a MY2022 G30 compared to a MY2020 where they cut all the weighty metal out and just left it with plastic. Lighter, but feels like a knockoff key.
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      07-14-2022, 10:08 PM   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkizzo View Post
I too am convinced the bass and power is way more on the f series. Has anyone looked into exchanging the amp and under seat speakers from an f30 into a g series? Is the harness the same?
If it's G30 it might be. But G31/LCI uses the RAM/booster.

I used a technicpnp harness to power a sub and the underseat woofers with a seperate amp and to be honest there isn't that much difference in bass from the underseat woofers. I think they are just crap. I might by Earthquake ones to upgrade the underseat to see if that helps. The sub helps a fair bit once you turn it up.

That said is anyone interested in TechnicPnP harness for the pre-LCI? My car is one of the pre-LCI 2020s but has idrive 7 lite and some LCI stuff (engine and RAM/BOOSTER) so I ended up with the wrong harness.

The harness is - BMW TechnicPnP Add-a-Sub harness - HBT Top Hi-Fi - HK (option 688).

http://technicpnp.com/product/logic7...sub-t-harness/

Happy to give it away for free if you can cover postage from Australia. Harness has not been used.
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      07-26-2022, 05:54 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by choppedliver View Post
If it's G30 it might be. But G31/LCI uses the RAM/booster.

I used a technicpnp harness to power a sub and the underseat woofers with a seperate amp and to be honest there isn't that much difference in bass from the underseat woofers. I think they are just crap. I might by Earthquake ones to upgrade the underseat to see if that helps. The sub helps a fair bit once you turn it up.

That said is anyone interested in TechnicPnP harness for the pre-LCI? My car is one of the pre-LCI 2020s but has idrive 7 lite and some LCI stuff (engine and RAM/BOOSTER) so I ended up with the wrong harness.

The harness is - BMW TechnicPnP Add-a-Sub harness - HBT Top Hi-Fi - HK (option 688).

http://technicpnp.com/product/logic7...sub-t-harness/

Happy to give it away for free if you can cover postage from Australia. Harness has not been used.
Would this work with the BASE audio system mate?
Im in sydney and id like to try it out
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      07-27-2022, 05:17 AM   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tuzii View Post
Would this work with the BASE audio system mate?
Im in sydney and id like to try it out
Checking on PNP it doesn’t look it will work.
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