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Is the standard radio any good or do you need to order the Harmen Kardon stereo.
Is standard radio any good
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140 Posts
I had the r50 and R56 standard radio ... 90% of the situations was god... In bmw f10 with LOGIC7 the difference is abysmal ... ordered an f56 whith Visual Boost Radio not know if it will be better than a standard radio..
.the HK is those extras that should be worth the money for anyone who appreciates quality sound, anyway read this post can help you!
.the HK is those extras that should be worth the money for anyone who appreciates quality sound, anyway read this post can help you!
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140 Posts
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285 Posts
Standard radio
Haven't heard the HK but I would say the standard radio is adequate for the average person. Obviously this forum is for enthusiasts however and not the average owners so most will want an upgrade.
Having had visual boost in my R56 and still have the standard radio in my wifes R60 Countryman, in terms of use the standard F56 falls between the two. If you have a multi function steering wheel the standard F56 stereo is almost as convenient to use as visual boost especially as the F56 steering wheel controls are bigger and better to use than on the previous R56.
With the standard stereo and multifunction wheel controls you also get the radio station displayed when in the speedo display in front of the driver as well as the central display when changing channels as well as being able to scroll through the last 20 phone numbers in the speedo display.
Soundwise the standard stereo could do with a bit more volume and treble and lacks rear speakers. I understand that the visual boost is now part of the chilli pack.
Haven't heard the HK but I would say the standard radio is adequate for the average person. Obviously this forum is for enthusiasts however and not the average owners so most will want an upgrade.
Having had visual boost in my R56 and still have the standard radio in my wifes R60 Countryman, in terms of use the standard F56 falls between the two. If you have a multi function steering wheel the standard F56 stereo is almost as convenient to use as visual boost especially as the F56 steering wheel controls are bigger and better to use than on the previous R56.
With the standard stereo and multifunction wheel controls you also get the radio station displayed when in the speedo display in front of the driver as well as the central display when changing channels as well as being able to scroll through the last 20 phone numbers in the speedo display.
Soundwise the standard stereo could do with a bit more volume and treble and lacks rear speakers. I understand that the visual boost is now part of the chilli pack.
I totally agree - the standard radio is fine - remember you are driving in a car and are not sitting in a concert hall listening for the slightest tonal changes.....
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standard radio
Having had visual boost on my 2012 cooper, I would definitely have ordered it if buying new. The visual boost display is great and it has rear speakers on the F56, however I bought a demo car in exactly the spec and colour I would have chosen....except visual boost!
Having said that the standard stereo on the F56 is easier to use and has more features then the standard R56 stereo. (or standard Countryman stereo)
Having had visual boost on my 2012 cooper, I would definitely have ordered it if buying new. The visual boost display is great and it has rear speakers on the F56, however I bought a demo car in exactly the spec and colour I would have chosen....except visual boost!
Having said that the standard stereo on the F56 is easier to use and has more features then the standard R56 stereo. (or standard Countryman stereo)
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Visual boost with 6 speakers sounded pretty good to me but not sure about the basic system I love my hk though it's superb.
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That's what I concluded too. When I did my test drive, I specified that I wanted to hear the standard radio. It was all right. I've got the Nav XL etc. etc. on the one I ordered, so I'm thinking I'm going to be sufficiently happy with that better system. I'd, of course, like the HK earblaster, but I put that cash into other toys I wanted more. Just couldn't afford the whole enchilada.
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The only way to be sure you make the right decision for you is to sit in the car and listen to them.that's what I did.
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Had HK on our R56 - very disappointing
with our F56 the HK is outstanding
with our F56 the HK is outstanding
if you usually have the radio on casually in the background dialed in to a channel with mostly speech (no music) you will be fine with the standard stereo.
If you are like me and love music, you will find the basic system terrible. It has about the same frequency response as your average kitchen radio.
The HK system has good sound stage, crisp treble, decent mids, OK bass (does not play much under 50hz).
If you are like me and love music, you will find the basic system terrible. It has about the same frequency response as your average kitchen radio.
The HK system has good sound stage, crisp treble, decent mids, OK bass (does not play much under 50hz).
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8,529 Posts
Hk in the f56 is def better than in the r56 I totally agree, with the previous post. Likewise above- I really do love the sound ; it is really good, but what gets me is the stereo imaging it manages-never had that in the car-am sure it's that central dash pair of speakers. Love it; as 24 7 says, if you are like my wife and pop the stereo on for background then the basic system will suffice but if you love music the hk system is a bit of a must; sadly I like the look of it too-those extra tweeters in the rear and in the pillars look so classy but then I am sad and totally in love with this car!
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2,082 Posts
About to place my order for the 2015 JCW with standard radio. I'm old school, enjoy my music, but I'm not even sure what to do without popping in a CD!....and I understand that neither the std radio nor the HK sound system even has a CD player!!! To get streaming with the radio it will cost $500 extra. I have no clue, but I'm for keeping things simple and driving the car!...so I'm probably alright with the standard radio.
Any advice welcome! I may have to sit in a couple cars this upcoming week to compare prior to ordering just to be safe. I'll report back when I can, but like I said any further advice on this is appreciated. I'm all set with my order except for the sound system.
Thanks,
John
Any advice welcome! I may have to sit in a couple cars this upcoming week to compare prior to ordering just to be safe. I'll report back when I can, but like I said any further advice on this is appreciated. I'm all set with my order except for the sound system.
Thanks,
John
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173 Posts
I have the HK radio and thought at first that it wasn't as good as the unit in my son's Kia Soul, but Lowrider from War came on today and I cranked it up to the point where I could actually feel the bass. I'm a happy camper.
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Even the standard radio has usb so just pop all your tunes onto a stick. If you go for media xl you get a 20GB hard drive but on the configurator you can spec a CD changer.
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285 Posts
In the UK I believe Visual Boost is now standard on both the pepper and chilli packs. I have the standard radio which is OK but I would much prefer the Visual Boost, the display is much better and there are speakers in the rear side panels so well worth paying the extra to me.
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Do you know what the difference in the "look" is? (Std vs adding VB) Same pod design, etc.
So, the Visual Boost has nothing to do with adding the Karmon-Hardon stereo option correct?
The configurator in the US isn't all that helpful, honestly...it assumes the buyer knows alot to begin with..which I don't! :-( MY current cars have cd players....I still love my Blaupunkt AM/FM CD Players in my cars, so this is brand new territory to me.
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505 Posts
Correct - in the US, HK is a stand-alone ($750) option you have to add separately. Same with the CD player - it's a single choice option ($500) that isn't part of any package. The 6 changer is factory installed into the glove compartment if you select this option.
The differences between the US and UK packages are mind numbing. It's taken me awhile to learn how to translate between the two. One of the big ones that kept tripping me up on this forum is the difference between what's standard here vs there and the names of the packages. I still have no solid concept of what a Chili or Pepper Pack give you. We have our own confusing array of packages.
Another confusing option is the speaker system. From what I've been able to put together, in the UK they have three different speaker configurations - the basic, a six speaker option/package, and the HK system. In the US the "standard" system is the 6 speaker and the upgrade is the HK (unless I've completely misunderstood what the Mini USA site is saying when they say, "Our standard 6-speaker audio system comes with...").
The US standard radio is just... the standard radio. No fancy color screen, no fancy speakers. It's an orange-ish, single line display with basic graphics. "Connected plus Visual Boost" gives you the 6 inch screen, and the XL version gives you the big screen... and this is where we start getting into the packages, so I'm going to stop here before I type a load of stuff you may not care about. But... no matter what you get, the AUX input and USB input are standard equipment, so you can jack just about anything into the car.
I think that's probably true all around the world. The HK consists of a seperate amp and a specific set of speakers and therefore can be combined with any of the user interfaces that Tiger mentioned (Orange, Visual Boost, Media XL), if the local configurator allows is.
I have the HK and I guess at background volume it doesn't make a big difference. But if you crank it up the HK shines
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