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subjective topic .....premium sound question

6K views 31 replies 9 participants last post by  Snowman73 
#1 ·
Read couple of older post about how premium is so-so compared to HK/B&O etc. I do feel that the premium sound is just OK and the sound from Audi Q5 (that I test drove 9 months ago) with B&O system got imprinted in my ears as that was the best that I had heard....so clear and crisp base. Makes me wonder why was F25 not fitted with at least HK?
Do we know which company made this premium sound?
 
#2 ·
Premium Sound is H-K system.

3 tiers of sound:

Standard< H-K; also known as Premium Sound < B&O is top sound system.
 
#3 ·
I have the Euro version of the Professional sound system which is B&O but ours comes with DIRAC sound technology and its way better than anything I have heard in an Audi. I am told (as it is stated on other threads) that the professional sound in the US without DIRAC is not as impressive.
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2013 3.0d X3 M-sport Deep Sea Blue, Black Leather, Xenons, DIRAC Professional Sound sytem, Pro Nav, 19" Wheels, Tinted windows, Folding Mirrors, PDC, ASS, DAB Radio, Aluminium trim inc roof bars
 
#6 ·
If you listen to XM Sirius it sucks, not if you listen to copied high quality CD's to the hard drive.
 
#8 ·
I think the problem is in the speakers. It's my understanding that they use very low end paper speakers that just don't deliver great sound. I haven't considered putting third party speakers in, but if BMW had offered a really nice sounding option, I would have paid the extra $2k more for it. As it was, I don't really mind that I spent the $875 for the "premium" sound system, because if it sounded any worse I would be pulling my hair out during my long commute....but it seems like $875 is overpriced for the quality of the upgrade.

My Lexus GX-470 has a Mark Levinson system in it and a used replacement amp alone cost me $800...I think the initial option price on that system was $3.5k.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Now I understand why you don't like the H-K sound system. The Lexus ML system is one of the best from the factory car sound systems on the market- and it's not a $875 upgrade; it's much more. You should have your local after market installer redo your system.

Everything's relative. Those coming from B&O sound systems may be disappointed also- this is a $3700 or so upgrade. My Acura RL Bose 5.1 surround with DVD-A is certainly better than the X3 H-K- but only marginally better.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Don't get offended. I'm not anti BMW. I love my 2012 X3. Yes, it's a great and fun driving SUV. I just see from this forum that many are disappointed in the quality of the stereo whether it is the regular version (like mine) or the premium version. I think some were implying that it might be because it's a Harmon Kardon as opposed to a B&O. I was just pointing out that the HK in my MB was fantastic. What I was saying had nothing to do with how it drives when compared to my MB. I do not even know why you would bring that up. The one real niggle that I have with the BMW is its lousy NAV.
Agree about the mediocre NAV. The Germans should use whoever Acura uses in it's MDX and RL models. Totally intuitive and fantastic on the fly system.

I will say that when I took the JD Power survey after purchasing my X3 I blasted BMW for their inferior NAV. I know that many others have done the same. I also know that the 2014 NAV in many Bimmers is better than the 2013. Hopefully the NAV keeps improving. Reliability and NAV are really my only 2 major complaints about the BMW brand.

As previously stated, I like the H-K sound system when I'm listening to high quality CD's or CD's I've copied onto the X3's hard drive. I still am wondering if people here are using inferior source materials: XM/Sirius, iPod, iPhone, internet recordings, poor quality CD recordings- Garbage in begets garbage out.
 
#23 ·
Agree about the mediocre NAV. The Germans should use whoever Acura uses in it's MDX and RL models. Totally intuitive and fantastic on the fly system.

I will say that when I took the JD Power survey after purchasing my X3 I blasted BMW for their inferior NAV. I know that many others have done the same. I also know that the 2014 NAV in many Bimmers is better than the 2013. Hopefully the NAV keeps improving. Reliability and NAV are really my only 2 major complaints about the BMW brand.

As previously stated, I like the H-K sound system when I'm listening to high quality CD's or CD's I've copied onto the X3's hard drive. I still am wondering if people here are using inferior source materials: XM/Sirius, iPod, iPhone, internet recordings, poor quality CD recordings- Garbage in begets garbage out.
I am hesitant to bring it up again (I don't want to get you too excited) but I am extremely happy with the NAV in my 2013 MB E350 Cab. Fantastic. I am especially impressed by the voice control. In the Lexus or my BMW, you sort of need to know and memorize the vocabulary. In the MB, once you hit the voice control button, the screen lists terms you may use without having to memorize it's vocabulary. The map shows a few exits in advance, splits when needed and has never positioned me the incorrect place like the BMW has. The cars knows it's exact position right from the start up as opposed to the BMW whereby it could have me driving on an incorrect street or even a lake for the first couple of minutes until it locks in with the satellite. The MB, Lexus, or even the Honda NAV always locked it with the satellite from the moment it turns on.
 
#9 ·
I am driving a rental 2013 328xi. It has regular sound and it seems to be better than my 2011 x3 premium sound. Seems to have a crisp and tight bass. I am confused. Anyone on this?
Should I ask the dealer to look at it or will I be laughed at ***128512;
 
#17 ·
I think the reason I "sense" that the premium hi fi in the 2013 X3 is crappy is that it sounds like it's missing the lower half of the sound spectrum. I'm not talking subwoofer lows, but rather whatever a bass driver or woofer might put out. So although the sound generally is crisp and clear, it sounds similar to what you might expect out of small portable speakers you might attach to your ipod or your desktop computer.

It doesn't sound bad, it just sounds incomplete. And although you can turn up the bass and lower frequencies via the equalizer, the incomplete portion of the bass spectrum just gets louder, emphasizing the fact that your channeling all those nice watts through small speakers.

I'm curious what someone with testing equipment finds when they analyze the sound in an X3.

It's really too bad they didn't use speakers that could provide a more balanced sound in the lower spectrum, given that an SUV has lots of room under seats or in the rear portion of the car ....I can't imagine it was a space issue, but rather a design issue.
 
#29 ·
I play around with that B&O system in the A8 at the dealership, it sounds pretty amazing, but not $8000 amazing :)

Isnt the DIRAC live system is nothing more than a software? Isnt the hardware design by BMW? I have heard a lot of good things about this DIRAC system, but I have never had the opportunity to hear one in person.
 
#32 ·
Apparently, the speakers in some cars are badly positioned. Dirac, is a Swedish company who create a virtual copy of the inside of the car. They then look at the optimal space within the car to get the best sound experience. They they reposition the direction of the speakers to create the best solution for that car. Without this, your graphic equaliser may seem less responsive I.e you make an adjustment but the speaker points straight into the seat so muffles the sound. All clever stuff, certainly enough for bmw to take notice.
 
#31 ·
I investigated the lack of the lower spectrum of sound more and noticed that the 5 inch drivers that are supposed to provide most of the base are in the floor under the seat and are pretty much are muffled by all of the soundproofing in the floor of the car. The lack of volume from those speakers makes me wonder whether they are even positioned upward in the car...

TRY THIS: Put your head near the floor in front of the front seats and you will barely hear the floor speakers at all. Even when I turn bass all the way up in the tone settings, I have to have my head within inches of the floor practically under the front seats in order to hear the bass at a volume that is balanced with what is being put out from the other speakers in the car.

What's up with that? If you turn up the bass on the stereo to hear the lower spectrum, you will simply get much louder muddled output from the smaller speakers in the car well before the output from the floor speakers become noticeable.
 
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