[pradyt]

I recently bought my 1st BMW 2013 328i . I got it at a real good price . For the price I did not get the HK system,though .I anyways couldn't relent the price and went ahead with my purchase , thinking I can upgrade it when I have the bucks.
I am a bit of an audiophile , so I was looking to see if there are any options that I can go with .

Can i just give it back to the dealer saying , I would like the upgraded system , would BMW be able to do that??

Or
Should I look for aftermarket upgrades to the sound system ?? BOSE or anyother?

Looking for an opinion . My first post here.


Thanks in advance.

Prady.
BMW 328i Estoril Blue , M-Sport Package.

[speedyvk]

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque320

Do people in Spain get really bad stereos or something? The base stereo in my car is better than any stereo I've ever had in a car. Granted thats years in Hondas, Toyotas a few Mazdas, an E90 coupe a Mustang and 2 VW's and this system is better. Bummer brah.

It's kind of blowing my mind that some guys are saying the base system is garbage because I'd like to think I have pretty well tuned ears from 15 years spent in recording studios surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars in musical equipment. I've met a lot of these so-called audiophile types and most of them have never seen the inside of a recording studio and know very little about actual sound. But hey, perception is everything and they never miss an issue of Crutchfield..

im pretty sure its the same standard radio what you get in another european counters, don't know about USA though. anyway what i hate about standard radio, if u listen to it not so laud its ok'ish.. but as soon as u make it a bit louder its just sounds so terrible, its like very bad quality sound coming out, the bass is omg, cant even call it bass, put any kendrick lamar song and its just feels like speakers about to blow up.. and thats not even at full volume

[focal]

Got the car back and the new front components, amps and processor did improve things immensely. Clarity, midrange depth and sound stage improvements are obvious.

I had a lot of gear left over but doing this from scratch will put you into individual audio price range. The HK is the best value for "good enough".

I personally like to control my audio to better match the sounds I get on my home system. It will never be as good due to the car environment but i am looking for a certain sound that standard nor hifi has.

[philbake]

Moving from my '08 335 w/Logic 7 to a '13 328 w/ standard hi fi, the '13 wins. HK is a step up for sure, but I didn't think it was worth the extra $$'s.

[mech888]

My 09 335i has logic 7 but My 2014 320i has hifi and it's decent enough for everyday use.

[mitsuba]

Well after several rounds here and over 100 posts I read about audio upgrade, this is what I did (and it is not the "best", but what fit my needs) :

1) 1st. bought Bavsound Stage 1. Enjoyed a lot. But not enough since OEM amp does not deliver ! I wish bavsound guys told me that IT WOULD not work with an aftermarket amp unless I added crossovers.

2) Between buying crossovers or changing speakers with higher input, chose to remove them.

This is my current installation :

A) Audison Bit One
B) JL 900/5
C) Hertz Speakers HSK 3 way + Hertz HSK 130 rear doors
D) Sub JL 12Tw3v4 at the trunk

In fact, if anybody In Brazil wants a Bavsound with 2 weeks use, I can sell it.

Also, and more important: use this forum as a resource to understand basics and draw some ideas. Unless you are a DIY installer, I do recommend you to get the best installer you can afford.

My choice of installer in Brazil is http://www.audiodesign.com.br/empresa_premios.php.

regards

[listerone]

I'm just coming from a Mercedes E Class with the Harmon Kardon upgrade.While it was being serviced (more than a few times) I routinely got basic C Classes as loaners.And now I'm back to a "d" with the basic radio.Two points...1) the basic radio in my "d" is far superior to MB's basic radio....2) although not quite as good as my Bluetec's HK my new radio is completely acceptable.Good but not great.

[ADS-UK]

Is it worth paying for HK if the option is between that an HUD?

[darwin1984]

I am not an audiophile but I do listen to a lot of music and podcasts and stock sounds good to me. Better then my 2012 Honda Accord did. Voice calls are louder and clearer too.

[RIOBLAST]

I have the hifi in my 3-series. I too think it's only 'ok-ish'. I got to listen to the HK in another 3-series and I made up my mind to get it on my next car. I'm getting a 1-series and when I looked at the specs I see that there are both fewer speakers and less power output. It's still good, I listened too it in a loaner (fm radio only, didn't bring any music), but will it be as impressive as in the 3-series? It's a smaller car so maybe it doesn't need all the speakers and the extra power?

[dubirl]

Had the base audio upgraded in my car 2 weeks ago and what a difference, took the car North to Vehicle Integration People where Phil and the team installed the following;

Hertz HCP-4 Amp
Rainbows il-c83-bmw-f-series
Tweeters, Front Door Speakers and Sub Woofers - under front seats.
BMW door sails (Tweeter housing)

I listened to music via a USB stick on the drive North so I could compare the sound on the drive home and OMG what a difference. The cost of the upgrade was slightly more than the HK upgrade that I never spec’d when ordering the car. From reading all the different threads on the audio system in the F30 I’m so happy I took this option and would highly recommend it. If you live in Ireland V.I.P. is the place to go, you’d never know the car had anything done to it.

[Viking71]

I will be picking up a 320d sport next week, and from the trial i had at the dealer the stock system sounded like it will be great for I guess 80% of people? I am not a sound technician but didnt hear anything I didnt like tbh.

[maa335iF30]

HIFI is fine unless you plan to crank it up. I was disappointed at first for not getting the HK, and tortured myself until I went back to the dealer and paired my iPhone with an HK equipped car. I'm good now

[smithf80]

As others have said, the TRUE base system is pretty bad.

The HiFi system system that I know comes standard in atleast the US is really not that bad depending on the audio source, streaming my Spotify actually sounds really great.

The same goes for any audio system really though, the better the audio source the better its going to sound coming out of the speakers.

[timmahh]

I still have mixed feelings about the US system (HiFi). My E90 had the HK system, and I was a bit nervous about the downgrade in the F30, though in reality the stock HiFi is fine. I don't think it's as clear as others have said and when I crank the volume as I enjoy doing with windows down and sunroof open on the freeway, it fails to meet up with the E90 HK system.


Having said that, I think most of what I'm feeling is the "damnit.. but there's something better out there" feeling. The truth is with the windows up and a comfortable audio level, the HiFi system is completely adequate [for me anyways]. It's only when I want to make sure everyone on the freeway knows that I'm listening to that it fails to meet expectations, and the HK system would show a benefit.