Harman Kardon option
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just go aftermarket
cheaper and you end up getting nicer speakers anyways
cheaper and you end up getting nicer speakers anyways
Yeah true. I was messing about with the configurator the other day and choose every option. The price was a few pounds under £30K for cooper D !
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360 Posts
The HK system has the potential to be fantastic but choose your sound source wisely.
I've taken delivery of an F56 with the Media XL pack (8.8" screen + visual boost etc.) but not the HK system.
DAB and FM radio sounds okay. Medium quality MP3 (have also tried apple and Microsoft WMA files) again sound okay; high quality digital files sound good for a stock sound system.
Remember the car does not come with a CD player as standard.
Therefore high quality digital sound files will sound better through the car's standard system than your average quality digital files through the HK system.
If you buy the HK system make sure you increase the bit rate of your recordings.
I've taken delivery of an F56 with the Media XL pack (8.8" screen + visual boost etc.) but not the HK system.
DAB and FM radio sounds okay. Medium quality MP3 (have also tried apple and Microsoft WMA files) again sound okay; high quality digital files sound good for a stock sound system.
Remember the car does not come with a CD player as standard.
Therefore high quality digital sound files will sound better through the car's standard system than your average quality digital files through the HK system.
If you buy the HK system make sure you increase the bit rate of your recordings.
Yes that's a good point. I think most of the stuff on my iPhone
are 256K AAC files. So should be good enough??
id say the hk system would always be louder due to the number of speakers and the two subs under the seats... quality will ultimately rely on the audio files you feed it.
ive never not had the HK option so i dont really know what the standard sound system goes like?
does your dealer have both so you can do a sound check using the same audio source / music?
ive never not had the HK option so i dont really know what the standard sound system goes like?
does your dealer have both so you can do a sound check using the same audio source / music?
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375 Posts
HK system also has some sort of break in period for the membranes of the speakers. When I got my car it sounded a bit flat and I was missing power but now after a few weeks of using it the sound improved and it sure wasn't a waste of money. Like others mentioned before, you have to feed it with high quality files and if you can try to avoid bluetooth connections to transfer music.
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I sat in a Cooper 5 door today with the HK system, and over the past few days sat in both a Clubman with an HK and a Cooper 5 door standard.
Hands down, the HK sounded amazing, so for me it was a no brainer.
However, the standard also sounded awesome relative to the Toyota Prius. No more sound no longer surrounding me, being front heavy and mates not being able to hear!
Hands down, the HK sounded amazing, so for me it was a no brainer.
However, the standard also sounded awesome relative to the Toyota Prius. No more sound no longer surrounding me, being front heavy and mates not being able to hear!
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Yeah I can confirm that my visual boost option has the subwoofer under driver and passenger seats.
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Actually it's a woofer, not a subwoofer.
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You get the woofers under the seats and front door speakers ie 4 in total in the standard system on the 3 door.
With Visual boost you also get rear speakers ie 6 in total
The standard system is reasonable for the radio but lacks volume as far as im concerned for music. I would definitely have the Harman Kardon if I could.
With Visual boost you also get rear speakers ie 6 in total
The standard system is reasonable for the radio but lacks volume as far as im concerned for music. I would definitely have the Harman Kardon if I could.
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23 Posts
I got HK in my car, and honestly, I'm completely ignorant to the specs of the stock system. IMHO, HK spreads its watts too thin over too many speakers. I'd rather have a few high quality satellites, especially in an environment like a car where space is limited, and there is ample road and wind noise to compete with.
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Hmmm just had a loaner without hk . It sounded pretty good for stock but the hk system blows it away. Super clear and loud enough with oodles of bass especially when fed higher bit rate sound source. Definitely makes a difference. What really does it for me is the image created and that is due to the spread of speakers especially the dash mounted central pair. It's really nicely integrated. Looks good sounds good.
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I had HK in my R50 Cooper and after 170K miles in that car there was no way I was not going to spec it in my F56, with over 40K miles I can only say hat I am more than happy.
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It all depends on the source material.
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So I've got the HK option in my Justa and I have to say, it's a pretty decent setup. I also had the HK in my "old" Beemer F30, which had the benefit of a equalizer, which I do miss.
However, I've found a way around that. If you hook your phone (well iphone in my case) via usb, then play spotify, it'll use the equalizer in Spotify. So I go and make sure to use extreme quality on my phone for downloaded stuff and we're golden.
I tested with it plugged in and messing with the EQ, worked a charm.
Now I am a very happy camper (I could pull down the mids a bit as I find in HKs they are always to "bright")
However, I've found a way around that. If you hook your phone (well iphone in my case) via usb, then play spotify, it'll use the equalizer in Spotify. So I go and make sure to use extreme quality on my phone for downloaded stuff and we're golden.
I tested with it plugged in and messing with the EQ, worked a charm.
Now I am a very happy camper (I could pull down the mids a bit as I find in HKs they are always to "bright")
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