10-04-2012, 07:19 AM | #23 |
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Adding 2c...... ...IMO a car is not the best place to be listening to music. I am an audiophile nut and have spent the price of my Australia bound M-sport on my home stereo (2 channel) where I can listen to music uninterupted.
In the M-Sport I avoided the upgrade to the HK figuring the "HiFi" in the 328 was fine for listening within the confines of the car and other external noise. I havent heard the basic system that is in the 318 or 320 but I would agree with statements above that a move from basic to mid will give the most appreciable result for most. Also....most people are listening to relatively low sample rate/bit depth MP3 in the car these days and lose much of the audio information that a better spec'd system can reproduce. Like all things it comes down to what you find important but the mid option should do just fine in the car.... Mine arrives in port on 15 Oct so not too long to wait now....probably first week of November for delivery. |
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10-04-2012, 07:41 AM | #24 |
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I didn't order my vehicle with anything other than the standard 6 speaker system, and I have to admit that I didn't crank the audio system during my test drive. I sort of assumed that whatever basic stereo that came with the 3 series would be at least the equal of the stereo in my current Falcon - maybe this was naive.
For reasons I won't go in to right now, during my time waiting for my vehicle to arrive, I've had occasion to play with both a new X3 and a 116i. Both cars only had the standard stereo system. In the X3 I found that the sound felt like it lacked clarity and was distant. I spend a lot of hours in my car (about 40,000kms per year) and I spend a lot of time listening to audio books or podcasts and I found that the quality of voice was not all that great. Conversely, the 116i had a great sound even out of the base line speakers. The smaller car had a much nicer base reverberation when I put on music that would use it, though with the base tone turned up too much it would begin to distort - certainly not a douf-douf car by any stretch of the imagination.
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10-04-2012, 02:16 PM | #25 |
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Morel Silk Dome Tweets or even better, Morel Silk Dome Signature Tweets. Latter quite phenominal but cost the earth. I've got the former in my VW Golf Mk6 GTI and they are just about good enough for me. Very, very acceptable even when I compare their high frequencies with my Meridian Active Audiophile System (heavily modified) at home which cost nearly as much as the car!
The standard system is really quite horrid. It's pretty disgraceful that BMW would install such a substandard product. Would totally destroy my enjoyment of the car. The HK system is good and more than good enough for a car like the F30 which has a fair degree of internal noise. It's got a sufficiently good dynamic range and does not distort too much at high volume levels. Worth every penny IMO or as in Oz, every cent. Go and listen to the Meridian Surround Sound System in the Jaguar XJ. Simply sublime. Use a top quality Classical Music CD, preferably a Verdi/Wagner Opera or a Mahler Symphony. The BEST of the best.
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10-04-2012, 06:34 PM | #26 |
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Absolutely! But it is probably one of, if not the most popular places to listen to music. However, nothing can compare to a room specifically setup to listen to music - with a great hifi system installed - of course.
Nonetheless, having the hk logic7 in my E90 for the past 7 years, I could not take a backward step in the music listening department. Especially where that is my main music listening place. In addition, the DAB+ radio, which I am excited about, should (I hope) add a little extra quality to the music.
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10-04-2012, 09:53 PM | #27 |
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Variety yes but quality sadly not. Comparing FM triplej to the digital broadcast I find the FM sound superior. The variety and additional information from the DAB+ is fantastic and I'm glad I have it. Except for the birds station, it's just odd.
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10-05-2012, 02:47 PM | #28 |
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Just one more thing: you need to run-in loudspeakers for 40 to 60 hours to get the best out of them.
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10-25-2012, 07:12 AM | #29 |
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Well, my Hi Fi 9 speaker option is fantastic, much better than what i had on the X5, it is clearer also. I can imagine the HK would be even better, but this system is far superior than standard audio.
DVD movies sound great (you can enable DVD while you drive) a Blue Ray player would have topped it (I wonder if the new CIC system will have a blue ray player?) |
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10-26-2012, 05:07 AM | #30 |
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I wanted to ask a sound-system question...
When I was driving an X3 recently, one of the things I noticed was that the sound system was very audible on the outside of the vehicle, even with the doors all shut and the windows up. Since the system generally stays on after you kill the ignition and before you lock the car, I got out several times and noticed how loud it was outside, even though I didn't have it what-I-considered loud inside the car. A few times I got home and parked in the drive way and after I got out I was concerned that the noise level may be enough to wake my baby son who's bedroom is above the garage. I even had an occasion where I collected a friend from his house and at the time I pulled up, I was speaking with a customer on the phone via Bluetooth. My friend came out and told me that he could hear the customer's end of the conversation inside his living room with the car parked outside. When I later drove a 116i, I didn't find any problems with the sound levels outside the car. I'm guessing there isn't a lot of sound insulation on the X3. So my question is, how does the 3 stack up in this regard? Has anyone noticed any issues with the sound system being quite loud outside the car? I want to enjoy music in my car without broadcasting to the world my eclectic tastes.
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10-26-2012, 05:29 AM | #31 | |
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I do think I've got my bass above the normal levels and you can hear it quite clearly outside of the car. well the bass at least |
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10-26-2012, 06:01 AM | #32 |
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Up loud, sunroof open weather permitting. All of Melbourne can hear me driving my car - and that was in my E90!!!! Even better in my F30 with Nova Nation & The Edge digital radio.
Hey, I paid top $ for my hk and I LOVE using it.
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328i M-Sport, Estoril Blue, Carbon XP 35 Tint, front heated seats, black Dakota, Sports Suspension, Anthracite Headliner, HUD, Pro Nav, Sunroof, hk 600w, Bi-Xenon, 19" 403M wheels, Reversing Camera, DAB+, Xenon, BT Ext Connect, MST turbo intake pipe, MST Cold Air Intake, JB4 on Map 2 with Catless DP produces awesome performance in Sport.
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10-27-2012, 01:37 AM | #33 |
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10-28-2012, 03:44 PM | #35 | |
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There are a few tests you can carry out to determine whether your car's amp has an issue or not. Test the same DVD in another system or 2 where you can determine whether it is still low. Test another DVD or 2 with known audio level in your car to see if there is a difference. I have heard a major difference in audio quality between DAB radio and my iPhone's music with the iPhone winning hands down - and then some. I should check the DVD/CD player sometime.
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328i M-Sport, Estoril Blue, Carbon XP 35 Tint, front heated seats, black Dakota, Sports Suspension, Anthracite Headliner, HUD, Pro Nav, Sunroof, hk 600w, Bi-Xenon, 19" 403M wheels, Reversing Camera, DAB+, Xenon, BT Ext Connect, MST turbo intake pipe, MST Cold Air Intake, JB4 on Map 2 with Catless DP produces awesome performance in Sport.
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10-29-2012, 03:59 AM | #36 |
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I found on another forum the poster mentioned the cause of this is due to how the iDrive converts the 5.1 audio of DVD's he also mentions that dvd's with "stereo" audio sound fine. Have to find a DVD with stereo option to test this out.
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