04-11-2022, 05:48 PM | #1 |
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HK settings w/ B&W bimmercoded options
Finally got around to semi-seriously adjust the Harman Kardon sound settings. I am no audiophile or sound engineer, but I did always feel like something is off with the HK system - both in my M4 as well as my X7 although the two do not have the same amount of speakers/different positioning. I am very happy with the results, although this does not elevate the sound to anything like a full B&W system. This post is for all of you out there who enjoy podcasts, music and radio and want a good "allrounder" profile of sound.
A few caveats: - There are active members on here who have sound engineering experience, so they will be able to help much more with any intricacies or specific sound profiles - Sound is, to a certain degree, subjective. Your ears may work better or worse than mine but they for sure hear differently! - I like Jazz music and minimal electronic (also referred to as Techno sometimes by some neo-electronic snobs) so that is what I tested on, in addition to a high-definition Pink Noise audio file. - If you care to know I tested it with these two tracks and I'll let you guess which one is the techno one and which the jazz one: 1. Monologue - Doiicie; 2. Avishai Cohen - Intertwined - I used the Octave RTA app to make my frequency band measurements with my iPhone 13 Pro Max (calling out the model because I don't know if the microphones in the phone are any different to other models) - I tried to achieve a "flat curve" as opposed to the smiley face, because I felt the HK system is so out of whack that I wanted to start with an allrounder profile. I am actually very happy with the results considering that I like pronounced bass and mid's. The HK system is a bit too heavy on those so I was able to dial the frequencies down a ton and still get a strong profile while getting a bit more crispness out of the system by having reduced that thumpiness. I did add a +1 overall treble at the end for a bit extra clarity. - I did chose to add a bit more sound to the right and rear of the vehicle (both +1) as well as the B&W "Concert" sound setting, since I really like the immersive effect of the surround (intensity set all the way to +2). This is probably the point where most pro's will fight me on! Alright without further distraction: - First curve nicely shows the HK sound systems shortcomings in the 200Hz range and High Frequencies, as well as the thumpiness - Second curve shows how I was able to flatten the curve out to a certain degree - Third picture is the settings I picked My sound settings in text format: Overall bass 0 100Hz -5 200Hz -7 500Hz -3 1Khz 0 2Khz 0 5Khz +2 10Khz +4 Overall treble +1 Right +1 Rear +1 Surround +2 "Concert" setting Hope this helps all you folks who didn't get the B&W but coded in the settings!
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04-11-2022, 11:15 PM | #2 |
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Nice work! I’ve too noticed that the HK system wasn’t “right” from factory. I am a professional music producer/songwriter, and I set the EQ by ear based on reference material I know very well. I arrived at nearly the same eq settings as you. It makes all the difference! I haven’t tried the B&W codes yet but as of now, I’m much happier with the HK.
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04-12-2022, 12:18 AM | #3 | |
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04-12-2022, 03:14 AM | #4 |
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Thanks Tr4ckD4ys for this helpful information.
I needed this as I couldn't get to grips with obtaining the right sound out of the HK system.
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04-12-2022, 10:12 AM | #5 | |
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04-12-2022, 01:19 PM | #6 | |
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04-12-2022, 03:21 PM | #7 | |
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My sound settings in text format: Overall bass 0 100Hz -5 200Hz -7 500Hz -3 1Khz 0 2Khz 0 5Khz +2 10Khz +4 Overall treble +1 Right +1 Rear +1 Surround +2 "Concert" setting |
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04-12-2022, 03:59 PM | #8 | ||
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Overall bass -4 100 Hz +2 200 Hz -8 500 Hz -3 1 KHz -1 2 KHz -1 5 KHz +1 10 KHz +3 Overall Treble 0 As you see I changed them quite a bit, picture of the band below. It looks and sounds much cleaner, even better than yesterday where at 80% volume I would still get a lot of crap with the bass and mids. If you wanted more bass than this you can then simply tweak this with the overall bass slider to I.e. -3 or -2 (and I'm a bass lover so I was surprised how much it had given how low the settings are).
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Last edited by Tr4ckD4ys; 04-12-2022 at 04:16 PM.. |
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04-18-2022, 03:34 PM | #10 |
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Thank you for the leg work. I posted this question in the F90 M5 forum with no response.
New 22 F90M5 has H&K due to supply issues. Wife’s 22 X7 M50i has B&W and after a tune love it. Is this post on your experience coding B&W sound profiles into your H&K system in the X7? I am contemplating doing that to the H&K system in my F90M5 to see if I can improve the sound. Thanks for feedback |
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04-18-2022, 04:57 PM | #11 | |
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I do like the B&W concert setting, however, that is very subjective and frankly, most sound engineers would fight me on choosing anything but the studio setting - since any addition of surround is just changing the intended sound that the artist created. My last post with the latest adjusted HK settings based on the frequency measurements I did are independent of the B&W mode you chose. I have used those settings now for about a week and am very happy with the results. This is about as much "good sound" as you can get out of the HK! That being said: I am still *very* sad that the B&W was the only option I couldn't select on my vehicle - the biggest bummer for me is actually the additional LEDs in the speakers lol
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04-18-2022, 09:31 PM | #12 |
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Coded it tonight and you’re correct the different profiles don’t make a lot of difference when choosing one from another. In the wife’s X7 there is a big difference when choosing either studio, concert etc.
Another thing I noticed is that her system has a much wider selection of modes and most of them are also labeled 3D. Studio 3D, concert 3D etc. The B&W software we coded does not have those selections? I’m wondering if it’s because it was a F90 chassis? Perhaps most surprising is I used your settings for EQ which I had guessed would be very flat on the base end, and it sounded great. Thanks for that. Will tweak in the days ahead Interested in knowing if your B&W software had the 3D options being as you’re a G07 chassis. Thx |
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04-18-2022, 10:36 PM | #14 |
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Yes - coding the sound modes - nothing else possible from a coding perspective. As the previous poster states, the difference between those modes isn't as significant as with the actual B&W system.
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04-18-2022, 10:40 PM | #15 | |
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That being said, you're absolutely right about the expectation for my settings to sound flat but that's the exact crux of the problem with the HK system: It's just really crappy! The baseline tune from factory is all over the place with the frequency bands and it just really sounds wrong all the time. All I really did here was even out the frequency volumes and the sound was definitely clearer for me but certainly still not great - it's as much as one can get out of this disappointing system that BMW puts into $120k+ vehicles… it is truly the one thing that I will always be unsatisfied about with my X7 which I otherwise love.
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06-06-2022, 12:40 AM | #16 |
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I'm so glad I found this thread. These sound settings are so much better than the default! One thing I knew I'd miss by choosing X7 over Volvo XC90 is it's absolutely fantastic Bowers & Wilkins setup. Too bad they don't offer B&W in BMWs anymore, but with these settings the sound is tolerable. At least I've got HK with my M50i, the base system is pretty meh, I don't know why they put it in $80K vehicle.
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06-06-2022, 06:21 PM | #17 | |
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Overall bass -2 100 Hz +2 200 Hz -6 500 Hz -3 1 KHz -1 2 KHz -1 5 KHz +1 10 KHz +3 Overall Treble 0 |
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06-13-2022, 03:22 PM | #18 | |
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Can someone post a link to the coding required on bimmercode interface? I'll keep looking but hoping someone can help me out lol. |
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bass, bimmercode, bowers and wilkins, harman, harman kardon, kardon, sound setting |
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