Professional sound settings

BimmerUKF10 · Dec 11, 2010

Before my iDrive started rebooting and became unusable (see iDrive rebooting thread), I spent considerable time playing with the graphic settings trying to get the best from the F10's Professional audio system (think it's called 'Premium' in the US). The settings below give the best overall sound (to my ears at least).

Fader +2 towards rear
Treble +4
Bass 0
Surround off!!!
100Hz -2
200Hz -1
500Hz 0
1KHz +2
2KHz -3
5KHz +4
10KHz +6

The surround just seems to add copious amounts of reverb and wrecks the sound IMO.
I initially set everything up using my ears, then used some sine wave test files with a large diaphram mic who's responce I'm familiar with and an oscilloscope (yes - I'm into audio!). Assuming my calculations were correct, the results were suprisingly flat. My preferred settings have a slight boost around 3Khz, but I like it that way. Makes you wonder why they can't equalise the default settings better.

bmwarchitect · Dec 11, 2010

I am looking to get an F10 soon. Would you recommend the upgraded stereo? Thank you in advance.

NewbimmerMD · Dec 11, 2010

Absolutely ! It is a 600 watt system with Dirac based DSP. The base system we get here in the states is actually the mid-range system BMW offers on European models which people have said is still pretty good. But the professional system is simply amazing once tuned correctly. You won't regret it especially if you spend a lot of time in your car playing music.

BimmerUKF10 · Dec 11, 2010

Yes! Although I'm not sure what 'standard' is for the US market (I'm in the UK). The standard stereo we get is OK, depending on what your after. Never heard the 'advanced' upgrade, but the professional stereo is far better than the standard. It's really powerful and you can have it up loud without distortion. The bottom end is a bit 'muddly' and you have to adjust the graphic to sort out the mid range, but it's pretty good for an OEM stereo. Definately worth the money.

bmwarchitect · Dec 11, 2010

I have listened to the base system in a 535 I drove and it was ok listening to the radio, but I was overwhelmed. I will look into the premium system as I enjoy listening to music in the car, particulary on trips. Thanx for the input.

bmwarchitect · Dec 11, 2010

Correction. Was NOT overwhelmed.

jmr99vet · Dec 11, 2010

THANK You. I tried your settings and they are superior to the "quesses" that I made. I have the premium radio.

efex101 · Dec 11, 2010

Okay, sending this to myself to change ASAP thanks

xDrive Canuck · Jan 14, 2011

Sound is subjective but for anyone out there looking for a starting point with the premium equalizer this is a very good one. Sounds great! Thanks!

Lambow · Jan 14, 2011

bmwarchitect, What kind of music do you typically listen to? Do you think your settings would apply to a wide variety of music genres? I have been playing with the settings for a week now and will try yours tonight. Thanks.

bmwarchitect · Jan 15, 2011

You may have mistakenly addressed this to me, but was meant for BimmerUFK10.

highyo · Jan 15, 2011

thank you very much for this info, your settings are great! sounds like a new system. i was all over the place.

BimmerUKF10 · Jan 15, 2011

Thanks Highyo! Glad they work for you! :bigpimp:

MSS2 · Jan 15, 2011

Can these settings be applied on the standard system on f 10. I am waiting for mine to arrive but thought I should ask

BimmerUKF10 · Jan 15, 2011

Unfortunately not. This is only applicable to the Professional or 'Premium' systems. Both are actually the same, but they have a different name depending where you are in the world.

Lambow · Jan 15, 2011

Sorry for the mix up. I tried the settings on my way home tonight and they sound great, much better than what I had been using. Thanks BimmerUKF10! One noticeable difference is that I could make the volume louder and had better sound.

What is the purpose of surround sound anyway?

BimmerUKF10 · Jan 15, 2011

No problem - more than glad to contribute something useful!

Not 100% as I've not really looked at it, but it might be that a real surround source (Dolby Digital DVD etc) may allow true surround. In stereo though it is just simulated and achieved by adding reverb which sounds horrible to my ears. I'll try playing a film when I get around to it and see if it sounds any better.

1HOT BMR · Jan 15, 2011

Great job! - Your settings sound better to me than all the settings I've tried on my own. Thank you.

BimmerUKF10 · Jan 15, 2011

Fantastic! The key to setting equalisation on any system is to cut wherever possible (-) and only boost where nessesary (+). The audiophile purists though will always argue that equalisation should be left flat (everything on 0). This originally came from the idea that this would most closely reproduce the sound as intended by the producer of the material. This view though only holds water if you have a really high end system in an environment with perfect acoustics. Something that a car stereo could never aspire to. I certainly think the equalisation in the F10 helps! It is definately one of the better OEM stereo's I've heard.

markl53 · Jan 15, 2011

I have the standard system on my 535i. Question though, other cars I've owned with an equalizer, the equalizer overrode the basic treble and bass. On your settings it appears you're setting separate treble and bass as well as the separate frequency ranges within the equalizer. Actually, you said your bass was set to flat. Aren't these conflicting with each other, for example, your treble setting of +4 is affecting various ranges of your equalizer. Are you sure they work in concert?

BimmerUKF10 · Jan 15, 2011

Bass and Treble along with the graphic all work simultaneously. The Bass and Treble controls are of the standard 'shelving' type (effect all frequencies above or below a set point on a curve). They have a different effect on the sound to the Graphic.

One of those where a sketch would help!

Vidar P · Apr 10, 2011

BimmerUKF10 said:
... Assuming my calculations were correct, the results were suprisingly flat. My preferred settings have a slight boost around 3Khz, but I like it that way***8230;.

Great thread BimmerUKF10. As a fellow audiophile (lovely english Naim 500-series home hifi), and with an ordered F10 535xi being produced week 17 with the Professional HiFi, I was utterly pleased to read about your settings and measurements. To come up with this solely by ear seems like an impossible task.

Now, room correction (in the frequency domaine at least) is also becoming more and more used in home audio, in the digital domaine mostly. Do you know if the EQ in F10 is analogue or digital?

Also, with reference to the citation above; I didn't quite understand; did you calculate or measure the end result, or both?

Best regards. Vidar

BimmerUKF10 · Apr 10, 2011

Bit of both. I used a large diaphragm microphone (Neumann TLM103) that I'm used to and has a well published frequency responce. This was connected via a preamplifier to an oscilloscope. I then used the iPhone oscillator app as a signal generator, plotted results of a sweep and calculated the actual results by adding / subtracting the published curve of the Neumann.

The graphic on the BMW CIC is digital, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Analogue eq is great used under the correct circumstances and if it is well designed. Personally I'd rather have cheap digital processing than cheap analogue as the results are generally better. For all the BMW (harmon kardon) system is good, it is a car system and there are limits! Having said that, imagine if Naim did car audio?

It's worth pointing out my settings may not sound pleasing to everyone. If you like music that is bass heavy (and to be fair I occasionally do), a bit more boost on the shelving bass control might be desirable.

Carnivora · Apr 10, 2011

Yes, but does the volume go to eleven? *said with british accent*

Vidar P · Apr 10, 2011

Thanks for great inputs! I would like to find a reasonably flat frequency response in the drivers position, so my question was aimed at finding out whether your suggested settings were measured as near flat as possible (in a car). In that case they're a great starting point!

With regards to Naim in car audio, they actually do make car audio. For Bentley.

http://www.naimaudio.com/naim-for-bentley

And I take it as a good sign that they use the same Dirac "Live" system as in the F10 Professional HiFi!

http://www.dirac.se/products.asp

BimmerUKF10 · Apr 10, 2011

I'd love a Bentley, but slightly out of my price range!

Not sure what Dirac has to do with the F10 since all the audio gear seems to be made by Harmon. Presumably they developed the Eq algorithms etc.

Vidar P · Apr 10, 2011

I think H/K ProLogic7 is out and Dirac is in for the F10. Loudspeakers are german Eton btw.
It was, as far as I know, H/K for the E60 Professional Logic7 system, but Dirac for the F10. Don't know who delivers the amplification though, it might be H/K for all I know.

http://www.dirac.se/bmw_products.asp

BimmerUKF10 · Apr 10, 2011

Nah! The head unit, amplifier and combox have Harman stickers all over them. Check out my other thread part 1:-

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=531940

Dirac must have assisted with the software / Eq.

Vidar P · Jul 2, 2011

Tried your settings for a day or two now; and it seems far better than the standard "flat" in an audiophile sence. Thanks a lot!

However, I think you are right that it gives a slight peak in or around the presence area. Compared to my inhouse Naim 500-series/KEF 207/2 system (which is supposed to be rather flat and also measures rather flat) and my Naim Headline/Sennheiser HD800 headfi which also is supposed to be rather flat; there is an obvious "zing" or elevation of energy in this frequency region, which is easily removed however by reducing some of the frequencys above 2khz by on or two steps, the entire treble, or perhaps both. By turning down the energy at 5khz, 10khz and total treble one or two notches I think I achieved a more earfriendly, neutral and insightful balance which resembles that of an ultra-highend system (or even live music) even better.

Have you done any more experimentation with your settings?

miked · Jul 2, 2011

Can you post your settings??

Vidar P · Jul 2, 2011

Same as BimmerUKF10's settings, except;

Treble = 0 - +1 (undecided yet)
5khz = +1
10khz = +3

Removes the high frequency focus, and in my subjective view seems a bit more natural overall. I think Bimmer's settings was very effective in removing a certain inherent bass boom (slowness and overhang) in the standard settings, and also in achieving a smoother and more articulate midrange balance. But as he said himself was a bit tilted towards the top end. So this is just a downtilt based on shortterm listening and subjectiveness.

Warning; my settings might be subject to further adjustments though, as this is just the findings after a few days of shortterm listening.

miked · Jul 2, 2011

Vidar P said:
Same as BimmerUKF10's settings, except;

Treble = 0 - +1 (undecided yet)
5khz = +1
10khz = +3

Removes the high frequency focus, and in my subjective view seems a bit more natural overall. I think Bimmer's settings was very effective in removing a certain inherent bass boom (slowness and overhang) in the standard settings, and also in achieving a smoother and more articulate midrange balance. But as he said himself was a bit tilted towards the top end. So this is just a downtilt based on shortterm listening and subjectiveness.

Warning; my settings might be subject to further adjustments though, as this is just the findings after a few days of shortterm listening.

Thank you, haven't done too much tuning to the system yet but will give these a try, thanks again.

nealh · Jul 4, 2011

I have used the settings posted and overall I am very happy. I would like more bass. I just finished my ED about 1000 mi.

Am I better using the EQ or Bass setting. I'm no audiophile for sure. TIA.

BimmerUKF10 · Jul 4, 2011

nealh said:
I have used the settings posted and overall I am very happy. I would like more bass. I just finished my ED about 1000 mi.

Am I better using the EQ or Bass setting. I'm no audiophile for sure. TIA.

If your starting with my suggested settings, the 'bass' control will probably give you the best results. If you want more baas than the system can offer, you may want to consider adding a subwoofer. I have written a couple of guides on how to do this. They are on this forum if you do a search.

emimix · Jul 4, 2011

BimmerUKF10 said:
Fader +2 towards rear
Treble +4
Bass 0
Surround off!!!
100Hz -2
200Hz -1
500Hz 0
1KHz +2
2KHz -3
5KHz +4
10KHz +6

.

How can I access these settings plz? I got Premium Package & Premium Package 2….. but when I go to Settings-->Tone, I see way less options!

THX

BimmerUKF10 · Jul 5, 2011

I have no idea what the premium packages include since we don't have them in Europe. It's a US only thing. You MUST have 'Premium Audio' to have the graphic equaliser. Assuming you do it should be obvious under 'tone'.

CTBMW11 · Jul 5, 2011

Can't wait to try the suggested settings.

Has anyone had issues with the sound quality of Sirius/XM? The sound from satellite radio doesn't seem to be as natural as the other modes (radio/CD/Ipod), which is contrary to what I had expected. The higher frequencies are accentuated, and at times is not bearable (sounds like a whining in the background). I have tried several different settings and found that the best sound is when I have "surround sound" set to off, and the equalizer and other settings at close to flat. of course when I listen to my other sources, I have to change the equalizer back to my preferred settings. Any thoughts?

infoe · Jul 30, 2011

any update to this thread? I went with the OP's settings + Vidar P's changes from the moment I got in the car...the sales rep actually did it while I was reading out the settings to him when we were doing the initial setup.

It sounds great, but I do find these settings a bit heavy on the bass side but did'nt want to mess with it, since i"m no audiophile and thought thats the way it's supposed to be. I am not sure whether to raise the treble a few more points or just lower the bass from 0 to a -1.

Vidar P · Jul 30, 2011

Infoe; I certainly agree with you. The Bass 0 setting is a bit heavy in the long run, for most material. And the Treble +4 has proved far too explicit for me. The EQ settings seems very good though, as they seem to flatten out the overall frequencyresponse very effectively, at least after tailoring the bass/treble a bit.

Coming from a "neutral" home highend hifi system, BimmerUK's settings, although very engaging and explicit, will seem a bit coloured, or a frequency response graphically a bit like a hammock if you like.

At this point (my car is just 4 weeks old) I've kept the essence of BimmerUK's EQ as it seems very flat, but ended up Bass -1 and treble -1 (actually!) as this gives voices on the radio a very natural quality, and seems to let music sound more alive and natural too. I've also flattened out the fader to 0.

Very entertaining thread BTW, as infoe I hope it stays alive!

Gran Turismo · Aug 1, 2011

Now that I took delivery of my B5 last saturday, I'm rather leaning to Vidar_P's "flatter" treble settings. With more treble boost, I'm tending to experience listening fatigue.

So my currents settings are based on those from BimmerUKF10 with following changes... tested i.e. with Vivaldi, Norah Jones, Popa Chubby, Nine Inch Nails and many more:

Treble +1
Bass +1 (I agree that 0 is more neutral, but IMHO a car is a different listening environment than at home and can stand a bit more)
EQ:
1kHz +1
5kHz +1
10kHz +3

I fully agree on switching Surround off, it does more harm than good! Even with disabled surround effect, I've never had a car audio system with such good imaging.

Professional sound settings

Our Vendors

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities