[biggripper]

Hey everyone. This is a total TLDR post but there may be something of value if you can be patient. I'm no audiophile but I do think I have a reasonably discerning ear for balanced sound.

I've finally found a recipe that works for my ears and listening tastes.
I've experienced different versions of this HK systems through the different F8x M cars I've had (2016 F82 M4, 2020 F87 M2, and 2018 F80 M3). I found those HK systems to be decent but not perfect. My best setup was with my F82, which I built out with a full bass upgrade from MusicarNW, a custom corner-loaded seal sub with a multichannel amp powering the trunk sub and the under-seat subs. That system was very good. The stock setups were good just lacking the punch and bottom end, obviously, compared to the Musicar setup.

Fast forward to my G80 and I found, like others that there is something awful about this current generation of HK systems. I'm not sure what has changed. I assumed most of the complaints I was reading were attributable to typical internet whining. I figured if the HK was decent in my F gen cars it would surely be as good in this generation.

As a starting point, I tried setting the system up with the settings I used in my last car 2018 F80 which was Treble most of the way up, Bass - 2, and the EQ boosted +3 at 100hz, -4 at 200hz and otherwise mostly flat. Right off the bat, it was clear that these settings don't work with the current HK systems. So I lived with the system for a couple of months. Tweaking. Listening. Tweaking. Listening. Disabled ASD (Fully!). Switched to B&W profile with Bimmercode. More EQ tweaks.

My observations at this point were:
1) The system only really seems to sound relatively good when pushed to volumes I don't usually listen at.
2) There seems to be an obnoxiously heavy-handed midbass and treble presence in the system.

I decided it was time to add a sub and see if that would balance things out. I hopped online and ordered the add-a-sub harness plus LOC from Tecnhic PNP and then went to Crutchfield and found a powered sub setup. I went with the JL 12" ported sub. I wanted ease of use and I've had good results with JL stuff in the past. I get the stuff and do the installation. The Technic PNP hardness was super easy as was the LOC. Great product. It was clear to me right away though that the ported JL box was a huge mistake. No amount of tweaking I did could fix just how muddy the bass was. This ported design did illustrate to me though that part of was I was after was punch, not just bottom end. I also realized that 12" for me was probably overkill and I wanted to reduce the box size a bit as well. So I sent the 12" unit back and replaced it with a 10" sealed variant. In the turn around while I was waiting for the new sub to arrive I continued to seek out further EQ optimization and I came across a video on YouTube where the reviewer was sharing what settings he found he liked I thought they were laughable since he maxed out the treble and bass and had the wonkiest looking EQ curve I'd seen. In my experience turning up the bass levels in most cars seems to sound pretty terrible so it's not something I usually do. But at this point, I'm in what the hell mode and willing to try anything. I thought maybe there is some logic here since the system seems to only begin sounding full at high volumes and seems to be skewed to treble and midbass maybe adding bass in will help. I did not max out the treble. But I did max out the bass but refrained from making EQ adjustments initially. What a difference. The system now sounds so much more balanced to my ear. Those under-seat subs will take a good amount of volume and get decently low. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I now have my 10" sub in I was able to back off the bass levels a bit and the system sounds much better for me. I also install a sub knob in the armrest for adjustments on the fly.

One of the things I really like about the JL sub is that the power, ground, remote wires are all in a single quick disconnect plug so I need more space I can simply pull the plug and the RCA cable and take the box. Super easy.

[BzsBimmer]

Love the informative post!
I’m with you in that it seems to sound great at higher volumes, higher volumes than I should be listening to on a regular basis.

I didn’t read the other source or see the video on turning the bass frequencies up but interestingly I did that a while back and also found that sounds great due to listening at lower levels but can hear the muddiness at higher volumes.

The last hill to climb is the missing sub kick which I enjoyed from my prior car and the JL sub from Integral Audio. I might have to chase yours down but I also prefer a more built in look, something that isn’t offered off the shelf at the moment.

I’m currently running three Focal Impulse 4.320 amps and Earthquake under seat subs. THAT was a journey haha.

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

Love the informative post!
I’m with you in that it seems to sound great at higher volumes, higher volumes than I should be listening to on a regular basis.

I didn’t read the other source or see the video on turning the bass frequencies up but interestingly I did that a while back and also found that sounds great due to listening at lower levels but can hear the muddiness at higher volumes.

The last hill to climb is the missing sub kick which I enjoyed from my prior car and the JL sub from Integral Audio. I might have to chase yours down but I also prefer a more built in look, something that isn’t offered off the shelf at the moment.

I’m currently running three Focal Impulse 4.320 amps and Earthquake under seat subs. THAT was a journey haha.

Thanks!

I would’ve preferred a more built-in look as well, I just didn’t want to spend the money it would take to get there.

[beerfearme]

Originally Posted by biggripper

One of the things I really like about the JL sub is that the power, ground, remote wires are all in a single quick disconnect plug so I need more space I can simply pull the plug and the RCA cable and take the box. Super easy.

Hey man, do you mind sharing the quick disconnect feature? What was used and a close up picture? Your setup is clean and what I'm looking for, agree JL 10" sealed is the way to go for sure.

Thanks,

Steve

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by beerfearme

Hey man, do you mind sharing the quick disconnect feature? What was used and a close up picture? Your setup is clean and what I'm looking for, agree JL 10" sealed is the way to go for sure.

Thanks,

Steve

Hey Steve,

I’ve attached a picture of the amp section of on the side of the enclosure. I’ve circled the plug in red. The plug has three terminals on it that will accept wiring up to 8 AWG. As you can see there are three terminals one for powere, one for ground, and one for remote. To set the system up you just pull the plug from the amp and use a Philips head screw driver to install the appropriate wires into the corresponding terminal on the plug. Once that’s done you can insert the plug into the amp and it’s good to go. When you need to pull the sub for more space. Simply unplug it from the amp along with the RCA cable and your done! In my case I also have the remote sub volume cable to unplug from the port that looks like a phone jack. Dead simple.

[beerfearme]

Originally Posted by biggripper

Hey everyone. This is a total TLDR post but there may be something of value if you can be patient. I'm no audiophile but I do think I have a reasonably discerning ear for balanced sound.

I've finally found a recipe that works for my ears and listening tastes.
I've experienced different versions of this HK systems through the different F8x M cars I've had (2016 F82 M4, 2020 F87 M2, and 2018 F80 M3). I found those HK systems to be decent but not perfect. My best setup was with my F82, which I built out with a full bass upgrade from MusicarNW, a custom corner-loaded seal sub with a multichannel amp powering the trunk sub and the under-seat subs. That system was very good. The stock setups were good just lacking the punch and bottom end, obviously, compared to the Musicar setup.

Fast forward to my G80 and I found, like others that there is something awful about this current generation of HK systems. I'm not sure what has changed. I assumed most of the complaints I was reading were attributable to typical internet whining. I figured if the HK was decent in my F gen cars it would surely be as good in this generation.

As a starting point, I tried setting the system up with the settings I used in my last car 2018 F80 which was Treble most of the way up, Bass - 2, and the EQ boosted +3 at 100hz, -4 at 200hz and otherwise mostly flat. Right off the bat, it was clear that these settings don't work with the current HK systems. So I lived with the system for a couple of months. Tweaking. Listening. Tweaking. Listening. Disabled ASD (Fully!). Switched to B&W profile with Bimmercode. More EQ tweaks.

My observations at this point were:
1) The system only really seems to sound relatively good when pushed to volumes I don't usually listen at.
2) There seems to be an obnoxiously heavy-handed midbass and treble presence in the system.

I decided it was time to add a sub and see if that would balance things out. I hopped online and ordered the add-a-sub harness plus LOC from Tecnhic PNP and then went to Crutchfield and found a powered sub setup. I went with the JL 12" ported sub. I wanted ease of use and I've had good results with JL stuff in the past. I get the stuff and do the installation. The Technic PNP hardness was super easy as was the LOC. Great product. It was clear to me right away though that the ported JL box was a huge mistake. No amount of tweaking I did could fix just how muddy the bass was. This ported design did illustrate to me though that part of was I was after was punch, not just bottom end. I also realized that 12" for me was probably overkill and I wanted to reduce the box size a bit as well. So I sent the 12" unit back and replaced it with a 10" sealed variant. In the turn around while I was waiting for the new sub to arrive I continued to seek out further EQ optimization and I came across a video on YouTube where the reviewer was sharing what settings he found he liked I thought they were laughable since he maxed out the treble and bass and had the wonkiest looking EQ curve I'd seen. In my experience turning up the bass levels in most cars seems to sound pretty terrible so it's not something I usually do. But at this point, I'm in what the hell mode and willing to try anything. I thought maybe there is some logic here since the system seems to only begin sounding full at high volumes and seems to be skewed to treble and midbass maybe adding bass in will help. I did not max out the treble. But I did max out the bass but refrained from making EQ adjustments initially. What a difference. The system now sounds so much more balanced to my ear. Those under-seat subs will take a good amount of volume and get decently low. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I now have my 10" sub in I was able to back off the bass levels a bit and the system sounds much better for me. I also install a sub knob in the armrest for adjustments on the fly.

One of the things I really like about the JL sub is that the power, ground, remote wires are all in a single quick disconnect plug so I need more space I can simply pull the plug and the RCA cable and take the box. Super easy.

Originally Posted by biggripper

Hey Steve,

I’ve attached a picture of the amp section of on the side of the enclosure. I’ve circled the plug in red. The plug has three terminals on it that will accept wiring up to 8 AWG. As you can see there are three terminals one for powere, one for ground, and one for remote. To set the system up you just pull the plug from the amp and use a Philips head screw driver to install the appropriate wires into the corresponding terminal on the plug. Once that’s done you can insert the plug into the amp and it’s good to go. When you need to pull the sub for more space. Simply unplug it from the amp along with the RCA cable and your done! In my case I also have the remote sub volume cable to unplug from the port that looks like a phone jack. Dead simple.

Thank you, do you have the Audio Control LC2i and the technic pnp? I'm concerned about Active Sound mucking up the sound from the woofer, or is that not a concern anymore?

[biggripper]

I have the LOC that Technic PNP sells as an optional add on with the harness. You could use whatever LOC (ie the LC2i) you want though.

I have ASD disabled via Bimmercode. There’s another user in this forum that has a trunk sub and still has ASD activated and didn’t find it to be problematic from the sounds of it.

[beerfearme]

thanks man, super helpful, I tried to real the whole thread on audio here, I remember him saying that as well, but most seem to have to code it out with bimmercode or something similar.

[PipeM3]

Originally Posted by biggripper

Hey everyone. This is a total TLDR post but there may be something of value if you can be patient. I'm no audiophile but I do think I have a reasonably discerning ear for balanced sound.

I've finally found a recipe that works for my ears and listening tastes.
I've experienced different versions of this HK systems through the different F8x M cars I've had (2016 F82 M4, 2020 F87 M2, and 2018 F80 M3). I found those HK systems to be decent but not perfect. My best setup was with my F82, which I built out with a full bass upgrade from MusicarNW, a custom corner-loaded seal sub with a multichannel amp powering the trunk sub and the under-seat subs. That system was very good. The stock setups were good just lacking the punch and bottom end, obviously, compared to the Musicar setup.

Fast forward to my G80 and I found, like others that there is something awful about this current generation of HK systems. I'm not sure what has changed. I assumed most of the complaints I was reading were attributable to typical internet whining. I figured if the HK was decent in my F gen cars it would surely be as good in this generation.

As a starting point, I tried setting the system up with the settings I used in my last car 2018 F80 which was Treble most of the way up, Bass - 2, and the EQ boosted +3 at 100hz, -4 at 200hz and otherwise mostly flat. Right off the bat, it was clear that these settings don't work with the current HK systems. So I lived with the system for a couple of months. Tweaking. Listening. Tweaking. Listening. Disabled ASD (Fully!). [...]

Great reciew! Great set up! 🔥🔥🔥🔥. I’m planning the same, have my appointment with my installer on the 15th. I wrote to technicPNP for the G80 with 10” micro sub+ and they recommended me the other option (RAM + Booster)… confusing :/. Either way im going to order the one with the LOC. And I’m copying the knob placement! Sorry. 😂

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by PipeM3

Great reciew! Great set up! 🔥🔥🔥🔥. I’m planning the same, have my appointment with my installer on the 15th. I wrote to technicPNP for the G80 with 10” micro sub+ and they recommended me the other option (RAM + Booster)… confusing :/. Either way im going to order the one with the LOC. And I’m copying the knob placement! Sorry. 😂

I did a similar knob placement in my f82. Works well and its super stealthy. The only down side is to do it whilst driving is a bit of a challenge but it’s worth that small downside for the upside of being totally hidden. It was definitely a bit of a PITA to snake the wire under the 8” of carpet that covers the driveshaft tunnel from the back seat to the armrest. Just used an old coat hanger but I probably spent a good hour just trying to get that hanger to come out to the to the opening under the armrest. You’ll have to pull the back off the armrest. It just snaps off. And you’ll need to pull the liner from the inside of the armrest. No need to pull the lid off. It’s challenging but doable. Much patience. Maybe easier for a pro installer for sure. They probably have some tricks.

[biggripper]

For anyone really interest in a custom corner load enclosure. Ther is a guy that advertises on EBay UK that makes custom corner load enclosures very similar in look to the ones MUSICARNW was make for the F8x cars. His prices seem pretty reasonable also. 160GBP. not sure what it would work out to when shipped to the US though. Part of me wanted to go that route but I didn’t want to figure out where to mount an amp (not that hard just pure laziness) also a decent separate amp and sub plus the enclosure would have doubled my cost.

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by biggripper

For anyone really interest in a custom corner load enclosure. Ther is a guy that advertises on EBay UK that makes custom corner load enclosures very similar in look to the ones MUSICARNW was make for the F8x cars. His prices seem pretty reasonable also. 160GBP. not sure what it would work out to when shipped to the US though. Part of me wanted to go that route but I didn’t want to figure out where to mount an amp (not that hard just pure laziness) also a decent separate amp and sub plus the enclosure would have doubled my cost.

Yeah it’d be a challenge putting the amp on the left (or right) if adding a corner sub setup. Under the rear tray now houses the battery so that’s a challenge as well. You can try to mount it further forward but space gets tight.

[Skyscraper]

I had the same opinion listening to the system and believe a sealed premium high powered 8" is what I want to add. The best sounding system I ever had in my 20's used a sealed 8" sub. I loved the tight punch it provided for the type of music I like.

My question is on the Tecnhic PNP site it asks for what system I have. I have looked all over the BMW site for my car and I can't find where to get the order code for the sound system installed. (Option 676) HiFi, or (Option 688) Top HiFi. Where can I find this?

[Needsdecaf]

Thanks for this writeup! I have ZERO desire to add an aftermarket sub to the trunk, but I'd be willing to replace the underseat subs if you think that would accomplish something?

Can you share what your exact settings were running without the sub? ASD was off, but did you leave the B&O coding on?

Thanks!

[PipeM3]

Originally Posted by Skyscraper

I had the same opinion listening to the system and believe a sealed premium high powered 8" is what I want to add. The best sounding system I ever had in my 20's used a sealed 8" sub. I loved the tight punch it provided for the type of music I like.

My question is on the Tecnhic PNP site it asks for what system I have. I have looked all over the BMW site for my car and I can't find where to get the order code for the sound system installed. (Option 676) HiFi, or (Option 688) Top HiFi. Where can I find this?

Top hi-fi. I sent a message in the webpage and that was the response. 👍🏻

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Thanks for this writeup! I have ZERO desire to add an aftermarket sub to the trunk, but I'd be willing to replace the underseat subs if you think that would accomplish something?

Can you share what your exact settings were running without the sub? ASD was off, but did you leave the B&O coding on?

Thanks!

The stuff that’s I’ve read about the underseat subs has been mixed. I don’t have any experience with them personally.

I’ve attached some pics of my current settings. Without a trunk sub I found that pushing the bass level up plus three or four notches worked quite well. Again, I would normally advise against that but this system seems to benefit from it.

[Prossx]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Thanks for this writeup! I have ZERO desire to add an aftermarket sub to the trunk, but I'd be willing to replace the underseat subs if you think that would accomplish something?

Can you share what your exact settings were running without the sub? ASD was off, but did you leave the B&O coding on?

Thanks!

I did the 8” version with the remote and its just what I needed. JL Audio ACP108LG-W3v3. ASD doesn’t seem to affect it.