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      10-31-2013, 02:20 PM   #1
a_lopez_o
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Question Harman Kardon factory installation error

Hello,

I have a problem related to the Harman Kardon Sound System in the F30. I ordered my 2014 F30 328i with the Harman Kardon upgrade, I recently picked up my car at the dealership and I quickly noticed that the speakers grills in the door panels were black color, instead of silver color as in all HK systems that I have seen. Afterwards I realized that the tweeters in the back door panels were missing. I asked to the salesman about this situation, and he had no idea what was going on. I told him that they hadn't installed the HK sound system in my car. He told me they were going to investigate what had happened to the HK system installation in my car.

After a few days they told me that an error occurred when assembling my car at the factory. They assembled my car using the door panels that go with HiFi sound system. They will change my panels and will install the HK speakers and tweeters, but now I am concerned if the rest of the sound system is really Harman Kardon equipment.

I have the equalizer and Logic 7 in my sound settings, but how can I be sure that rest of my sound system is the Harman Kardon equipment, for instance how can I tell if the subwoofers installed are really from HK ?, Are HK speakers the same size as HiFi speakers ?, Do the HK speakers will fit in the housings of the door?

Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated.
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      10-31-2013, 02:42 PM   #2
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only way to tell is the aubs are real Harmon kardon you have to take out the suba under the seats to look
the rest of the speakers are easy to tell
karmon kardon has silver coils so there's a little silver circle in the middle of the speaker that you can see from the grill

then check the trunk the left aide has a grey cover you can remove to check if there is a haon kardon amp there.
it just looks like a black box
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      10-31-2013, 02:44 PM   #3
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Check your dashboard for a center speaker also
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      10-31-2013, 02:52 PM   #4
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I'd decode the VIN to make sure its at least listed as an option. The amp is also pretty easy to get to in the trunk. You could compare the part number with realOEM to confirm it is HK.
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      10-31-2013, 02:53 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Revms1
Check your dashboard for a center speaker also
I have a center speaker with HiFi. It is not a tell for HK.
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      11-01-2013, 11:57 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1lyfe View Post
only way to tell is the aubs are real Harmon kardon you have to take out the suba under the seats to look
the rest of the speakers are easy to tell
karmon kardon has silver coils so there's a little silver circle in the middle of the speaker that you can see from the grill

then check the trunk the left aide has a grey cover you can remove to check if there is a haon kardon amp there.
it just looks like a black box

I removed the cover that 1iyfe has mentioned, but I can't tell if the amp is Harman Kardon equipment because it has a black plastic on top. These are some pictures I took, maybe someone can tell if it is the HK amp.
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      11-01-2013, 12:07 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by a_lopez_o View Post
I removed the cover that 1iyfe has mentioned, but I can't tell if the amp is Harman Kardon equipment because it has a black plastic on top. These are some pictures I took, maybe someone can tell if it is the HK amp.
The amp is HK (main 20-pin connector, power connector and control connector). The HiFi OEM amp has only one connector (42-pin).

You need to make sure that your dealer replace all the non-HK OEM speakers and add all the HK tweeters, in particular the rear and the rear deck speakers.
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      11-01-2013, 01:16 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
The amp is HK (main 20-pin connector, power connector and control connector). The HiFi OEM amp has only one connector (42-pin).

You need to make sure that your dealer replace all the non-HK OEM speakers and add all the HK tweeters, in particular the rear and the rear deck speakers.
Thank you Technic; my car has the rear deck speakers installed, but I don't know if they are HK equipment. I tried to look for the silver color circle in the middle of the speakers, as mentioned by 1lyfe, but the black color grill doesn't allow for a clear view and tell if they are silver color. The dealer told me that the rear deck speakers are only installed in cars with the HK upgrade, and that there are also HK speakers with black color grills, do you know if this is true ?
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      11-01-2013, 07:02 PM   #9
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I just removed all of my HK speakers, as I bought the Bavarian Sound Werks upgrade. Let me post the picture of the HK mids/tweeters for you. Also, the rear deck HK tweeters are on the outside. If you take a plastic slide and slip it under the grill, it will pop right up and off, and you can easily see the speakers. The tweeters on the HK are also angled towards the front of the car, and easy to see. The speakers on the top are the HK's and the ones on the bottom are the BSW's.
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Last edited by Kaitain; 11-02-2013 at 01:48 PM.. Reason: Added Picture
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      11-03-2013, 09:22 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaitain
I just removed all of my HK speakers, as I bought the Bavarian Sound Werks upgrade. Let me post the picture of the HK mids/tweeters for you. Also, the rear deck HK tweeters are on the outside. If you take a plastic slide and slip it under the grill, it will pop right up and off, and you can easily see the speakers. The tweeters on the HK are also angled towards the front of the car, and easy to see. The speakers on the top are the HK's and the ones on the bottom are the BSW's.
Thanks for the pic Kaitain, I will try to check the rear deck speakers to verify. By the way, I'm also considering to upgrade my speakers to BSW, but I don't know how these perform. Is there a significant improvement with the BSW upgrade in comparison with the Harman Kardon speakers ?
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      11-04-2013, 12:45 AM   #11
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I am finalising my review right now with pictures and video link BSW prvided me. I have worked the last 2 weeks with no days off, so sorry for the delay in the review, but I need rest also
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      11-04-2013, 08:52 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaitain View Post
I am finalising my review right now with pictures and video link BSW prvided me. I have worked the last 2 weeks with no days off, so sorry for the delay in the review, but I need rest also
First things first, I'm sure there will be some of us eager to read your review on the BSW upgrade.
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      11-06-2013, 12:25 AM   #13
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a_lopez_o, my review is up. Feel free to ask questions and I will answer them. Sound is somewhat subjective, so I tried to keep my review to that which everyone can be on equal par to. Enjoy!
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