View Full Version : What a Crappy factory Radio!
CWolfey
07-07-2003, 01:50 PM
I have never heard such a poor quality sounding radio, I am shocked! My wifes ford radio blows this away! along with all other factory radios I have heard. Its a BMW shouldnt be a little better?
I mean it is a convertible but there is no bass at all, it just sounds terrible, if I knew the standard radio was going to be like this I would have chosen the H/K system..
What does your factory radios sound like, any good??
Maybe mine came broken already..no way?
I just couldnt take it anymore.
LeucX3
07-07-2003, 02:03 PM
Turn off the radio and listen to the sounds coming from the car. :D
Betcour
07-07-2003, 02:24 PM
I find the default sound to be pretty decent. Not top-notch of course, but rather decent. My previous car was much, much worse.
xmas63
07-07-2003, 02:53 PM
The HK system that comes with the 330i PP is a thousand times better than the stock system. But anyway, take the money you would have spent upgrading to the HK system and put it toward an aftermarket system.
bmw325
07-07-2003, 02:58 PM
I have never heard such a poor quality sounding radio, I am shocked! My wifes ford radio blows this away! along with all other factory radios I have heard. Its a BMW shouldnt be a little better?
I mean it is a convertible but there is no bass at all, it just sounds terrible, if I knew the standard radio was going to be like this I would have chosen the H/K system..
What does your factory radios sound like, any good??
Maybe mine came broken already..no way?
I just couldnt take it anymore.
Agree- pretty much every car I've ridden that was built in the last 5 years has a better sound system than my 325's stock one. But-- I just don't care when I'm driving the car. I usually keep the volume lower than I normally would so that I can hear the inline 6 through the music.
CWolfey
07-07-2003, 03:15 PM
Turn off the radio and listen to the sounds coming from the car. :D
Ohh very true dont get me wrong I dont need the radio, it is alot of fun just driving this fine machine..
I hear many factory radios at work and it just got me thinking..thats all.
I also have not passed the break in period and have yet to experience the power beyond 4500 RPM's
Only 400 miles left though.
BruceX3
07-07-2003, 03:22 PM
While cruising home last night from Laguna Beach I actually remarked to my SO that I thought the car had an excellent radio. We were listening to dance music at the time and the sound quality was great with the top up. So, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the car's audio system! :D :thumbup:
magbarn
07-07-2003, 04:06 PM
While cruising home last night from Laguna Beach I actually remarked to my SO that I thought the car had an excellent radio. We were listening to dance music at the time and the sound quality was great with the top up. So, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the car's audio system! :D :thumbup:
Unfortunately for CWolfey, his car doesn't come with the HK system like yours did.
LeucX3
07-08-2003, 07:37 AM
[QUOTE=CWolfey]Ohh very true dont get me wrong I dont need the radio, it is alot of fun just driving this fine machine..
I hear many factory radios at work and it just got me thinking..thats all.
[QUOTE]
I understand what you're saying, i was just being a smartass. :bigpimp:
LmtdSlip
07-08-2003, 08:37 AM
I agree the basic radio is crap. The radio/CD player in my wifes Ford Tauras is way better sounding than the BMW.
Isn't that a bit sad considering the price difference between the cars.
cvalle
07-08-2003, 09:28 AM
...listening to the base and HK systems before you decided? :guitar:
yamato
07-08-2003, 10:00 AM
I have never heard such a poor quality sounding radio, I am shocked! My wifes ford radio blows this away! along with all other factory radios I have heard. Its a BMW shouldnt be a little better?
I mean it is a convertible but there is no bass at all, it just sounds terrible, if I knew the standard radio was going to be like this I would have chosen the H/K system..
What does your factory radios sound like, any good??
Maybe mine came broken already..no way?
I just couldnt take it anymore.
These are my 2 cents.
Mine has only 6 speakers and I find it acceptable. The fact that you have a convertible makes a lot of difference to the acoustic charactericts of your cabin. The speaker frequency response, power requirement, speaker positions..etc to get the same audio quality as a non-convertible 3 are different, but BMW puts the same set of system to both types of cars. This definitely cannot satisfy any audio fans. All the bass has no hard reflective surfaces to bounce around inside the cabin. So you hear no bass.
The best way to go is to customize yourself one aftermarket. Find an audio expert store to do it.
gtvr6
07-08-2003, 10:52 AM
These are my 2 cents.
Mine has only 6 speakers and I find it acceptable. The fact that you have a convertible makes a lot of difference to the acoustic charactericts of your cabin. The speaker frequency response, power requirement, speaker positions..etc to get the same audio quality as a non-convertible 3 are different, but BMW puts the same set of system to both types of cars. This definitely cannot satisfy any audio fans. All the bass has no hard reflective surfaces to bounce around inside the cabin. So you hear no bass.
The best way to go is to customize yourself one aftermarket. Find an audio expert store to do it.
I'm disappointed with the sound too. I have an '01 with H/K Sound which was a $600 option (I think) when I got my car and I thought it sounded pretty good. Last month, my friend bought an '03 Audi A4 with the optional Bose Audio sound (a $675 option).....blows my system away.
His system also includes a 6 disk in-dash changer & cass. That really upsets me.....I can only have either a cass, or optional at the time cd. Love my car and the sound is nice...but I do think other companies have a better sound. :dunno:
Guest84
07-08-2003, 10:54 AM
I agree the basic radio is crap. The radio/CD player in my wifes Ford Tauras is way better sounding than the BMW.
Isn't that a bit sad considering the price difference between the cars.
Agreed, our Ford Explorer stock radio w/CD player sounds better than the stock radio in the 2002 330i loaner I had last month.
Matthew330Ci
07-08-2003, 08:50 PM
i extensively listened to both the base and the hk before making my decision. actually i had no choice as hk was standard on my car but in my opinion, they both suck donkey balls. the bose in the infiniti is infinite times better than the hk.
The HACK
07-08-2003, 09:00 PM
i extensively listened to both the base and the hk before making my decision. actually i had no choice as hk was standard on my car but in my opinion, they both suck donkey balls. the bose in the infiniti is infinite times better than the hk.
:tsk:
Bose is the Backstreet Boys of audio equipment...All marketing, no substance. Anyone who thinks any Bose system is "good" should be spanked. :thumbdwn:
Matthew330Ci
07-08-2003, 09:06 PM
:tsk:
Bose is the Backstreet Boys of audio equipment...All marketing, no substance. Anyone who thinks any Bose system is "good" should be spanked. :thumbdwn:
i am fully aware of what audio elitists say of 'bose' but the fact is it sounds so much better than the hk. hk is crap.
are you saying the hk is better than the bose in the i30?
:tsk:
Bose is the Backstreet Boys of audio equipment...All marketing, no substance. Anyone who thinks any Bose system is "good" should be spanked. :thumbdwn:
Like they say..."If its got no Highs and no Lows, It must be Bose"
:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:
If anyone wants to know what a really good audio system should be, I strongly recommend listening to the Levinson system in the Lexus LS430. Now that is what I consider a good system, and the Lexus doesn't cost much more than a BMW.
...and the Lexus doesn't cost much more than a BMW.
I dont think the cost of the vehicle determines the quality of the radio. It all depends on the manufacturer. The stereo is just like the cup holders, they are both items that BMW obviously could care less about. BMW knows that its customers are buying their cars for the performance, not for a cup holder that can fit a big gulp, or a stereo that wakes up the neighbors. My TWO CENTS :D
CWolfey
07-09-2003, 05:06 AM
Well than I made a bad decision about the radio when I bought this, I got it with the nav thinking it would be better because it's all integrated in one & fits nice in the dash.. But on top of all this the Nav system also has no features that any other brand or car make has...You cant search by phone number and you cant just enter in a business name and find it..I cant believe it, I will probably end up taking it all out and putting in an Alpine or something.
I usually would not get an Audio system installed in a new car I buy because I have been installing this stuff for 12 years now, and I should know better!
Bose no way..for some reason they dont beleive in Highs or Lows.. like RCK said.
Why do people buy cars like BMW's, which are made for driving and complain about the audio system.
It's all about the car not the audio, sheesh.
Go ahead :violent: me.
gtvr6
07-09-2003, 10:32 AM
Why do people buy cars like BMW's, which are made for driving and complain about the audio system.
It's all about the car not the audio, sheesh.
Go ahead :violent: me.
For the love of God...they lighten the steering to appeal to others....why can't they have a nice sounding stereo??????????? It didn't stop me from buying the car, but I'm going to complain about I'm paying 40K for a car and having a better system in my fathers Nissan Altima.
kdshapiro
07-09-2003, 05:59 PM
This system sounds better than top end Bose systems on a lot of other autos. Sure it can't compete with the Levinson, but then again, the HK is not a $3,000 option. Whether BMW should offer something comparable, is another story.
Matthew330Ci
07-09-2003, 07:15 PM
regarding bose, i know they're a mass-market brand similar to sony but as factory car stereos go, they're not bad, at least in the I30 I have. I listened to the 150watt bose in the Acura TL and it probably sucks as much as the HK. also, 350z drivers with the 240w bose complain about how the stereo sucks as well. but i've almost exclusively seen only compliments about the 200w bose in the maximas/i30's from a couple of years ago... :dunno: maybe in that car, they managed to get it sounding good? i was amazed at how crappy the bose sounded in the acura compared to the infiniti.
so i'm not saying bose as a brand is 'good' cuz i've heard my share of crappy bose stereos but my original point was to point out how much i think the hk sucks compared to the bose in the i30.
andy_thomas
07-10-2003, 03:31 AM
For the love of God...they lighten the steering to appeal to others...
And that was a really, really bad idea.
Buff_AGM
07-10-2003, 04:49 AM
The Bose system in my '97 Maxima kicks ass. My '03 HK, doesnt sound as bad as I first thought it did. Music w/o a lot of bass sounds cleaner,(because the speakers dont rattle as much) and it sounds ok overall as the volume doesnt get too high(vs. on the Max, where the system's limits were much higher than my eardrums). I also tip the fade slightly to the rear speakers to reduce the bass rattle. All in all though, a medicore effort by BMW and HK, but def. an improvement over the HK of a few years ago.
cvalle
07-10-2003, 06:47 AM
I had a Bose system in an Infiniti J30. Best factory audio system I ever had. I had a Bose system in a MB C280. Not terrible, but buzzed like crazy with any bass heavy material at even moderate levels. There was no comparition with the J30 system, which would play as loudly as I could stand with no discernible breakup. The newer speakers in the C280 were "slim profile". Great for designers, but very limited in performance.
I've had HK on both a 2000 323Ci and 2004 330Ci. While neither sounds as good as the J30, they are much better than the Bose in the C280. To those threads that ask if the HK has changed over the years, I can tell no difference between the 2000 and 2004. I've got a rather pricey home audio system, so have been exposed to far better sound than could ever be delivered in an automobile system.
Chris
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