[Jcali86]

Can anyone talk to how the sound system is that has driven or picked their car up please?

[Realw5]

+1

[bri1042]

I've had three versions of the HK sound systems in my last three cars ('16 340i, '19 M2C, now '21 M3).

The less that's said about the "HK" in the M2C the better. I had installed some PnP upgrades and a sub, timed the sound and tuned it to the best of my ability and I was very satisfied with it. I didn't change out the speakers (space issues in the doors) but they were fine with more power and proper timing/tuning. The last two days with the car after I removed my upgrades were excruciating. I'd forgotten just how horrid it was.

The HK in my 340i was almost good enough to live with, but not quite. On that car MusicarNW did a massive upgrade and it was wonderful, but the stock system wasn't BAD, it just wasn't stellar. I actually think the non-HK Hifi system in my SO's 530e is better than the HK was in my 340i.

I haven't tweaked the EQ much on the M3, but so far it is a CLEAR improvement over what I remember from the 340i. It still has timing issues to the driver's seat, but they aren't as bad. Mid-range isn't squished, and the metal HK tweeters don't sound like they're trying to kill me. Bass is acceptable.

I need to live with it for a while, but so far it has exceeded my admittedly low expectations.

[Transfer]

If it's the same as in my M340i it's not that great. I'm actually going to spend some time adjusting it today because it's been a disappointment. I'll see if it's just my settings. To the contrary I think the HK system in my X3M is very good. It is driven by ID6 so the EQ settings are a little different but that one sounds awesome.

[amrh]

I've had HK on every one of my previous BMW's - either by choice or not. Unfortunately, my current 340i does not have it - it's abysmal. I'm not an audiophile - I just like to be able to listen to decent sounding music. The standard sound system is horrible. I will definitely get HK with any future BMW's!

[gurns]

I am no audio expert but I really enjoy listening to music. The HK system in my G82 is decent however, I have nothing to directly to compare it’s performance. The base response is noticeable and pleasing without rattling any car components. I need to tweak the high end a bit more and the mid range could use a bit more punch. A little more play with the EQ should do the trick.

[Kansr]

It’s not horrible, I use to have a bose system in my Q60 (infiniti) and it really doesn’t match especially on low end. I’ve made small adjustments on the eq, to see what works best. But it’s all subjective to the music you listen to, your own ear and listening position..Still making adjustments to fine tune.

[Saturatedfat]

It's nothing mind blowing but definitely not bad. This is purely from listening to XM, I haven't tried anything high quality or loss less yet.

[35mphgolf]

Don’t forget - source matters. I’ve got HK in my i3 and it’s fine... when cabled up and playing through Tidal. The second I switch to Bluetooth it’s trash. I haven’t been able to check SD or HDD so I can’t comment there.

[Wamion117]

Originally Posted by Jcali86

Can anyone talk to how the sound system is that has driven or picked their car up please?

I picked up my g82 today and drove about 200 miles home

I had the HK system in my previous 430 convertible and to my surprise, the 430s was noticeably better...after a few hours I started to forget there was any difference (until I was quickly reminded when I picked up my friends

[PLF69]

Tried it a few minutes during test drive and it was not that great but coming from M2 it can't be worse. I don't mind much since it's not one of the attributes I'm buying it for.

[modat]

I came from a Honda Fit so for me the HK system sounds AMAZING

[Ginster6]

Some how the Sedan sound better than my 2021 x3m40i

[bri1042]

One update, and this would be vs. the HK system in my 16 340.

One serious complaint that I've always had with these car's audio (which I've mentioned before) is the driver's proximity to one driver set. You would think you could deal with this (to the determent of your front passenger...but oh well) with the balance control but I couldn't in the 340. Properly balanced sound for the driver's seat was between one click and the next on the balance scale on that car, so it remained annoy and it was always off-balance right-to-left. On that car, I had MusicarNW install a killer system with proper DSP timing.

The G80's balance setting allowed me to actually balance the sound. I'm quite pleased. Logic7 off, careful adjustments to the EQ to account for your ears and music, and balance the sound so you're hearing the sound stage correctly, and it isn't terrible at all.

I don't think I'm going to go through the time sink and expense to get back to what I had in my 340, or even my M2C. It'll never be as good as what I had built into my 340, but it's good enough.

[TigahRouge]

I adjusted the EQ in my G82 to maximize the sound quality.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by 35mphgolf

Don’t forget - source matters. I’ve got HK in my i3 and it’s fine... when cabled up and playing through Tidal. The second I switch to Bluetooth it’s trash. I haven’t been able to check SD or HDD so I can’t comment there.

Car audio aside, can you actually notice a difference with the tracks from Tidal vs Spotify or Pandora?

And in general for everyone else, does listening to music via BT with Carplay/Android auto degrade the sound?

[snareman]

This thread is turning out much different than I expected. All previous HK talk is about how hideously bad it is. It has almost been like GrilleGate revisited. The system must be moving up in the world though because in this thread the consensus seems to be that it at least isn't all that bad.

[35mphgolf]

Originally Posted by snareman

Car audio aside, can you actually notice a difference with the tracks from Tidal vs Spotify or Pandora?

And in general for everyone else, does listening to music via BT with Carplay/Android auto degrade the sound?

So my streaming comparisons started at home. My main listen right now is on Dynaudio Xeo 20s / BlueSound Node 2 / IsoTek Evo3 Polaris. I also have a pair of Dynaudio Focus XD 60s but the Xeo’s are better for me at the moment.. until I build the Focus system.
My local home audio shop uses Tidal for streaming and they turned me onto it. For streaming, it’s the best right now (considering all things like quality, content, interface, etc). And no they aren’t paid to say it.

I came from Apple Music and could tell a significant difference between that and Tidal. When I first heard it, Tidal was more full, more detail, more information (bass dug deeper, was more articulate, highs rang out more clearly, etc). Kinda like when you’re wearing earmuffs in winter and then take em off. Layers of sound just opened up… and it’s not like melt your face off omg this is unreal, but certainly noticeable. And the better the speakers, the more noticeable it’ll be.

And back to source matters, that includes transmission. You can stream Tidal (or whatever service you have) through Bluetooth and it’ll sound like garbage. Connect to a cable, and you’ll notice a big difference. If you don’t, consider yourself lucky
Side note - that realllllly sucks because using a cable means no CarPlay. Oh well, I got used to iDrive and it really is a solid system.

The audio world really is a [financial] rabbit hole


update: the issue isn’t whether or not you’re using CarPlay / Android Auto. That’s just a user interface, nothing else. The issue is streaming via Bluetooth. Compression is not your friend.

[Der_Wolf]

Originally Posted by bri1042

One update, and this would be vs. the HK system in my 16 340.

One serious complaint that I've always had with these car's audio (which I've mentioned before) is the driver's proximity to one driver set. You would think you could deal with this (to the determent of your front passenger...but oh well) with the balance control but I couldn't in the 340. Properly balanced sound for the driver's seat was between one click and the next on the balance scale on that car, so it remained annoy and it was always off-balance right-to-left. On that car, I had MusicarNW install a killer system with proper DSP timing.

The G80's balance setting allowed me to actually balance the sound. I'm quite pleased. Logic7 off, careful adjustments to the EQ to account for your ears and music, and balance the sound so you're hearing the sound stage correctly, and it isn't terrible at all.

I don't think I'm going to go through the time sink and expense to get back to what I had in my 340, or even my M2C. It'll never be as good as what I had built into my 340, but it's good enough.

Originally Posted by TigahRouge

I adjusted the EQ in my G82 to maximize the sound quality.

What are your guys EQ settings?

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by Der_Wolf

What are your guys EQ settings?

Wolf, EQ settings on these systems are really a variable item. The HK metal tweeters are harsh and too forward to be balanced with the other drivers, and keeping them in check is my main focus with the small number of frequencies on the EQ. But other folk LIKE tweeters with those attributes based on their ears and what they are listening to. Techno, EDM, and other genres that I don't listen to focus on bass and treble with very little mid-range...if that's what a person listens to, they'd want totally different settings than I would with my "Beatles to Punk to Manchester to totally random stuff" tastes.

Also, I'm exiting my 40's next month but I can still hear a 17k hertz tone just fine, which is probably why I find metal tweeters unpleasant.

Lower mid-range gets really muddy if you aren't careful with the 200Hz slider. Outside of that, adjust to your ears and your music.

[Der_Wolf]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Wolf, EQ settings on these systems are really a variable item. The HK metal tweeters are harsh and too forward to be balanced with the other drivers, and keeping them in check is my main focus with the small number of frequencies on the EQ. But other folk LIKE tweeters with those attributes based on their ears and what they are listening to. Techno, EDM, and other genres that I don't listen to focus on bass and treble with very little mid-range...if that's what a person listens to, they'd want totally different settings than I would with my "Beatles to Punk to Manchester to totally random stuff" tastes.

Also, I'm exiting my 40's next month but I can still hear a 17k hertz tone just fine, which is probably why I find metal tweeters unpleasant.

Lower mid-range gets really muddy if you aren't careful with the 200Hz slider. Outside of that, adjust to your ears and your music.

I hear you. I made adjustments to mine, and they sound good for certain types of music, but then badly for other types. On my F80, I had the surround disabled because I thought it was really bad. On the G82, I have the surround enabled, but the surround slider set one to the right (passenger). My EQ settings are basically 4 up on the first two next to bass, and then 3, 2, 2, 1, -1, 0 (I think that is the order, but I am not next to my car now so I may be mistaken). I am just curious what yours look like even though its subjective.

[jonahk]

Originally Posted by 35mphgolf

So my streaming comparisons started at home. My main listen right now is on Dynaudio Xeo 20s / BlueSound Node 2 / IsoTek Evo3 Polaris. I also have a pair of Dynaudio Focus XD 60s but the Xeo's are better for me at the moment.. until I build the Focus system.
My local home audio shop uses Tidal for streaming and they turned me onto it. For streaming, it's the best right now (considering all things like quality, content, interface, etc). And no they aren't paid to say it.

<snip>

Sort of off topic but nice to see another BlueSound Node user! I came from a Sonos connect and holy cats it's so much more responsive. Mine is connected to a Rotel 60w 2ch amp (using their DAC) driving KEF ls50s and a SVS sb1000. It's so overpowered for my office it's redic and I love it

I also started to notice the difference in compression for the first time on Spotify. I haven't tried tidal on the Node yet but I'm afraid if I do I'll never go back and there is a LOT of music "missing" from Tidals library at the moment. Looking forward to Spotify Hi-fi and REALLY hope I can stream that from my phone when I'm in my car, too.

Anyways back to the thread