is the HK stereo not worth all the potential hassle?

is the HK stereo not worth all the potential hassle? there seems to be so many problems with it- is the stock system all that bad? from what I could hear the HK was a little bit better but maybe it's just not worth it..

it's not worth it if u like to feel and hear SOLID tight bass (this requires aftermarket upgardes which will run slightly more the HK price). if u want loudness w/ a little bass, go for the HK.


actually, u should listen to it at a dealership.

Originally posted by kelli67
is the HK stereo not worth all the potential hassle? there seems to be so many problems with it- is the stock system all that bad? from what I could hear the HK was a little bit better but maybe it's just not worth it..

Hassle? I haven't had one problem. The HK system is not too shabby and is worth the $$. I think the real hassle would be doing a custom installation to achieve better quality.

I think the HK is pretty good, aside from the piss poor AM reception. I'm sure that is more a result from the anteana than the unit itself. It's plenty loud and doesn't sound too bad.

the HK system is a good one and I ended up retrofitting it myself to replace an aftermarket system (which was a very nice system). check out my E46 stereo page:
http://www.mindspring.com/~pmbenn/stereo.htm

Unless you want ghetto style bass. Then, you'll need something else.

For just "loud, clear, hurts-your-ears, rock / pop / whatever" the HK is splendid. Try Billy Squier or Ozzy and turn it up 'til your ears can't take any more. It's SWEET!

I have had both; HK is worth it.

Significantly better sound.

Originally posted by nate328Ci
I have had both; HK is worth it.

Significantly better sound.

Completely agree. My CD's sound almost as if they're different CD's!

I haven't had any hassles with the HK at all. As for bass...it has all you should ever need unless you like to be thumping around your neighborhood. Frankly, for a strict audiophile it may be slightly too much bass as it is imo.

Eric

Originally posted by eboller
I haven't had any hassles with the HK at all. As for bass...it has all you should ever need unless you like to be thumping around your neighborhood. Frankly, for a strict audiophile it may be slightly too much bass as it is imo.

Eric

Especially for back-seat passengers.

Sometimes my friends complain, then I turn around and pimp slap the hell out of them.

Originally posted by webguy330i
Sometimes my friends complain, then I turn around and pimp slap the hell out of them.

Originally posted by machmeter
Unless you want ghetto style bass. Then, you'll need something else.

For just "loud, clear, hurts-your-ears, rock / pop / whatever" the HK is splendid. Try Billy Squier or Ozzy and turn it up 'til your ears can't take any more. It's SWEET!

werd up, especially Ozzy

Here's an audiophile's review to the H/K.

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/3series/me...w17/43413.html

Here's Edmunds' review...

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...6/article.html

for the record, I'm a long time audiophile myself and have had equiptment such as McIntosh electronics with Dynaudio speakers in sealed enclosures in vehicles. present home theater system cost more than my subaru but less than the bimmer. the HK system is a good one.

Unless you plan to install an aftermarket stereo, get the HK.

Originally posted by ObD
Unless you plan to install an aftermarket stereo, get the HK.

I don't know if I'd quite agree. there may be folks out there who are satisfied with the H/K apart from the bass. aftermarket subs can easily be added to this system. the crossed over signal can be tapped into under the decklid where the original sub amp is.

For a factory system, the HK is actually pretty decent. I don't know how the coupe compares to the sedan I listened to as the sub setups are different.

OTOH I think the wagon HK is a rip, as it doesn't have a sub at all.

6.5" aftermarket 'subs' I put in back aren't working out. These things I have seem to need a real enclosure which the body cavity can't provide. I'm gonna attempt to build a tiny sonotube sub recycling an old Solobaric from my old car and put it in the center of the spare tire.

Originally posted by 31st330i
I don't know if I'd quite agree. there may be folks out there who are satisfied with the H/K apart from the bass. aftermarket subs can easily be added to this system. the crossed over signal can be tapped into under the decklid where the original sub amp is.

Stereo as in system. Head unit, speakers, amps. AKA An Ack upgrade.

Here's an observation...

Many people seem to complain that the bass isn't strong enough for them on the HK system.

Many people seem to complain of the rattles in a car.

The more bass, and the stronger the "thump", the more likely you are to loosen up the car and cause rattles. Trust me, I know this from installing $3000+ in aftermarket on my Passat. And I only have a single 10" sub!

I'm looking forward to getting my 330i which comes standard with the HK. I'll have in-dash CD, clean sound, and some other perks without having to cut into my car at all. If the HK bass doesn't quite rattle the windows, then that's fine. I'm sure the act of driving will loosen the car up and cause rattles well enough without it.

Originally posted by DougDogs
If I need to listen to clean, decent music, I listen to one of my systems at home. Maybe I'm just one of the few who believe that a car is a means of transportation, and home theater and sound reinforcement belong in the home

I tend to agree with you but perhaps you've never had a long commute where a really nice stereo system makes a difference (specifically that it sounds so good that you are drawn into the music - a lot of this has to do with the quality of the *recording*as well). the most expensive stereo I ever had in a car was ~$5K and I had it at the same time that I had my longest commute.

the other thing I touched on and that most peopledon't take into consideration is the quality of recorded material. on a good system, mediocre recordings (most of what you buy) don't sound much better, in fact they often sound worse. similarly, a good recording I have found will sound good on almost any system.

Originally posted by 31st330i

the other thing I touched on and that most peopledon't take into consideration is the quality of recorded material. on a good system, mediocre recordings (most of what you buy) don't sound much better, in fact they often sound worse. similarly, a good recording I have found will sound good on almost any system.

Actually, I think poor recordings sound worse on a good system, as it lets you hear all of the problems with it, whereas a poor system tends to mask them. Good recordings can't make a $30 boombox sound like a McIntosh and a pair of Thiels, though.

Originally posted by 31st330i
the other thing I touched on and that most peopledon't take into consideration is the quality of recorded material. on a good system, mediocre recordings (most of what you buy) don't sound much better, in fact they often sound worse. similarly, a good recording I have found will sound good on almost any system.

I've always speculated that many of the folks that had issues with the system were...buzzes..rattles...etc, were probably listening to mp3 crapola recordsing burned to a cd. I'm sure some of the rattles and hums were legit but frankly the recording quality of mp3 is pretty poor so it wouldn't surprise me if the sounds weren't so great.

Eric

Ah! another heretic
I've been beating this drum for years and most folks think I'm nuts.

Now, granted, I just have an -ahem- adequate stereo (VPI Jr, Benz-Micro, Tara Labs RSC interconncts, Linn Genki, PS Audio 100c, Vandersteen 2c's) but there is just "stuff" there in the LP grooves that get lost in a 44.1KHz sampling rate.
People say that "stuff" isn't important. Aaaa.....

Originally posted by DougDogs
Absolutely, and anyone who thinks CD's sound better than albums is more than welcome to come hear how albums are supposed to sound at my house. (as long as the album is in good shape ) I'm very fussy about how I treat records. (down right anal about it)

Back to the thread topic, the HK system is not bad at all, and I think Germany has fixed most of the earlier rattle problems in the 3 series.

I'm amazed at how often I hear comments on the quality of a sound system, that only refer to the amount of bass it puts out. Talk about juvenile. Maybe we can get BMW to start installing Cervin Vega's in all their cars?

"dude...."

Originally posted by ff
I'm amazed at how often I hear comments on the quality of a sound system, that only refer to the amount of bass it puts out.

good point. the H/K system IMHO has a decent image and soundstage whereas the standard system just barely has decent image and soundstage (after twiddling the knobs, of course).

there are indeed design flaws in the H/K system from an audiophile perspective, though. the tweeters are badly placed. they should be close to the mid/woofers for a central focal point and they would probably be better placed down lower on the door panel, close to the 5.25" mid-woofers. the idea is to keep the left and right speakers the same distance from your ears. this is why serious audiohpiles place the main components down in the kick panels and aimed up at the dome light (or in our case with E46s, aimed at the motion detector cover). the other flaw is the high range of the rear door speakers. ideally, these should be configured with a bandpass crossover (highs and lows rolled off - just midrange at a lower volume) this is for rear fill.