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      03-11-2012, 07:23 PM   #1
Can258
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Non-Nav / HiFi System Equalizer ?

I didn't get HarmanKardon and Navigation. I'm wondering does the HiFi system have Equalizer settings ? Or does it only have treble,bass,balance,fader ?

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      03-11-2012, 07:38 PM   #2
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No, you won't have access to the equalizer. This was the same for the e90s, the only way to get access is to upgrade to the Harman Kardon system.

In my opinion, using only bass, treble and fader is very limiting and the sound rendered is typically flat. When I had the HK system in my 06, using the equalizer you can optimize the sound any which way and the sound is great! Sorry.

You may be able to do some sound optimization via your music player before it passes through the BMW aux.
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      03-12-2012, 12:06 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wdlv View Post
No, you won't have access to the equalizer. This was the same for the e90s, the only way to get access is to upgrade to the Harman Kardon system.

In my opinion, using only bass, treble and fader is very limiting and the sound rendered is typically flat. When I had the HK system in my 06, using the equalizer you can optimize the sound any which way and the sound is great! Sorry.

You may be able to do some sound optimization via your music player before it passes through the BMW aux.
Erm...I'm not so sure on that. I'm getting the hifi option with 205w amp and nine speakers. I'm sure I read somewhere that this has equaliser settings. I thought this was what the dealer said when I consider the options. My car arrives next week. I'll let you know when I get it. Previous poster could well be right though...
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      03-12-2012, 03:47 AM   #4
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I am also getting the same option Hifi 205w amp 9 speakers. I am trying to find out if it has equalizer. It would be awesome if you can let me know when your car arrives
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      03-12-2012, 08:33 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Junction17 View Post
Erm...I'm not so sure on that. I'm getting the hifi option with 205w amp and nine speakers. I'm sure I read somewhere that this has equaliser settings. I thought this was what the dealer said when I consider the options. My car arrives next week. I'll let you know when I get it. Previous poster could well be right though...
I can verify it doesn't have the equalizer. The system is pretty good for the base (in US). It's not as good as the HK I had in my e92, but its plenty for me.
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      03-12-2012, 11:29 AM   #6
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Hmm. I'm planning to get the H/K option and the fact that equaliser settings are offered, and necessary, doesn't fill me with confidence. You shouldn't need to fiddle with the equaliser settings on a truely high-end hifi system to make it sound good - in fact you can usually tell a truely good home hifi amp because it won't have equaliser options on it.

If H/K have done their job properly the best equaliser settings should be the default ones.
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      03-12-2012, 12:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Feanor View Post
Hmm. I'm planning to get the H/K option and the fact that equaliser settings are offered, and necessary, doesn't fill me with confidence. You shouldn't need to fiddle with the equaliser settings on a truely high-end hifi system to make it sound good - in fact you can usually tell a truely good home hifi amp because it won't have equaliser options on it.

If H/K have done their job properly the best equaliser settings should be the default ones.
@Feanor
Congratulations on choosing the HK sound option, my comment was not meant to alarm anyone, what I was saying is the the default sound out of the HK system is phenomenal. However, if you are listening to a particular track that you think needs tweaking you can do so via the equalizer that is so much more powerful than just Bass/Treble adjustments.

I can attest to this from my e90 experiences, I had the HK option on my 06 330i but did not get it on my 10 328i. I know that for that particular year there were other issues going on (such as not having a dedicated amplifier, etc.) but I could definitely hear the differences. I knew that I would be upgrading to a new car so, I didn't let it bother me. Having said that I have heard much better reviews of the HiFi systems of late so, owners should be fine with that choice.

To continue with the earlier thought, the equalizer is particularly excellent for channeling more bass, specifically from the subwoofers (you cannot do this with merely Bass/Treble) furthermore, midrange adjustments are great if you need them). My personal experience was that I almost never touched the equalizer since on the HK system it wasn't really necessary since you get so much more range with true tweeter speakers, midrange speakers and lowrange subwoofers.
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      03-12-2012, 12:44 PM   #8
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Ahh OK - thanks for the reassurance!
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      03-12-2012, 01:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Feanor
Hmm. I'm planning to get the H/K option and the fact that equaliser settings are offered, and necessary, doesn't fill me with confidence. You shouldn't need to fiddle with the equaliser settings on a truely high-end hifi system to make it sound good - in fact you can usually tell a truely good home hifi amp because it won't have equaliser options on it.

If H/K have done their job properly the best equaliser settings should be the default ones.
I couldn't agree more, at least from a pure audiophile's perspective.

However, I suspect many people (I'm one of them) like to manipulate the sound of certain tunes when it comes to listening in the car!
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      03-15-2012, 12:05 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smohr33 View Post
I can verify it doesn't have the equalizer. The system is pretty good for the base (in US). It's not as good as the HK I had in my e92, but its plenty for me.
Thanks for letting me know. When I get the car next Wednesday, I'll post my thoughts on the HiFi option.
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      03-15-2012, 12:27 PM   #11
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IMHO, I always leave the equalizer flat because I prefer listening to the recording as it was meant. Same thing at home on my Denon/KEF setup. It blows my mind, especially in home theater systems, when people spend thousands of dollars on precision speakers and then screw it up with an equalizer or a "Music/Movie/Theater" setting in their AV boxes.
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