[Moonbags]

When I first picked up my M340, I was most displeased with the optioned Harman Kardon system's soundstage.

Initial thoughts:
* Mids are acceptable
* Highs are a touch hissy and not bright enough
* Bass is underpowered and lacks depth

After stacking a few hundred miles on the ODO and running the system for a few hours around 70% of max volume - well - most of my initial impressions remain. However, the bass seems to have deepened slightly, and it is my biggest criticism. So I think the drivers are breaking in.

Anyone taking delivery of a new M340 who's a little put off by the soundstage may want to give it some time.

I bet if I had some way for a pro audio shop to tune the existing drivers and reroute the under-seat subs to share a 300-watt dedicated amp with a trunk-well fabricated 10" JL sub — and swapped in Focal tweeters in the A Pillars — this system would be excellent.

[cls49bmw]

I had the same reaction when I first got my car. However, after a year of ownership the sound is much better.
Search around on this forum, because there have been some discussions about the HK system. Some owners feel the new speakers take some time to get to optimal capabilities.

[GAPortimao]

I definitely noticed an improvement when i crossed over into 4 digit miles

[Banana Clipper]

I know its a different platform, however, the X7 I drove had the HK system and my M340i does not and I couldnt tell a difference

Maybe I'm not the biggest audiophile anymore but I fancy myself an enthusiast for sure

[m240nj]

Originally Posted by Moonbags

When I first picked up my M340, I was most displeased with the optioned Harman Kardon system's soundstage.

Initial thoughts:
* Mids are acceptable
* Highs are a touch hissy and not bright enough
* Bass is underpowered and lacks depth

After stacking a few hundred miles on the ODO and running the system for a few hours around 70% of max volume - well - most of my initial impressions remain. However, the bass seems to have deepened slightly, and it is my biggest criticism. So I think the drivers are breaking in.

Anyone taking delivery of a new M340 who's a little put off by the soundstage may want to give it some time.

I bet if I had some way for a pro audio shop to tune the existing drivers and reroute the under-seat subs to share a 300-watt dedicated amp with a trunk-well fabricated 10" JL sub — and swapped in focal tweeters in the A Pillars — this system would be excellent.

Just out of curiosity, what's your source for music?

[Moonbags]

Originally Posted by m240nj

Just out of curiosity, what's your source for music?

Great point, I'm streaming from Spotify Premium on CarPlay wireless. My main point of comparison is a H/K system on my High Altitude WK2 used with a wired CarPlay stream of Spotify.

Pretty close comparison, but I had not factored in fidelity loss from over-air streaming. Do we know if the onboard Spotify integration is a better overall experience?

[m240nj]

Originally Posted by Moonbags

Great point, I'm streaming from Spotify Premium on CarPlay wireless. My main point of comparison is a H/K system on my High Altitude WK2 used with a wired CarPlay stream of Spotify.

Pretty close comparison, but I had not factored in fidelity loss from over-air streaming. Do we know if the onboard Spotify integration is a better overall experience?

So in my opinion the HK system isn't as bad as people say. I use Spotify as well but I have the quality set to "Very High" in the settings which made a pretty big difference for me. I'd say check your settings in Spotify and make sure it's set to very high. That being said, I don't think the audio over wireless on this car works as well as others. I also use a USB drive which sounds considerably better than Spotify/Bluetooth. Just my 2 cents...

Oh and on another note, I also have a WK2. I just swapped the speakers for focal components and without even adding an amp it's insane how good they sound.

[cls49bmw]

I use onboard Spotify, and find the sound quality very acceptable. Apple Car Play is what I use to play music from my phone's library, and some other streaming music apps. I think the wireless system provides decent sound, but I accept the statement that a wired connection would allow better sound.

I don't use Spotify thru Car Play.

[Enigma735]

What was your build / delivery date? German built or Mexico? The amps in the MY21 from Mexico were vastly underpowered to downright defective, and the upgraded Amp they released to solve the bass total cutout issue is much much more powerful and the bass is far better.

[Moonbags]

Originally Posted by Enigma735

What was your build / delivery date? German built or Mexico? The amps in the MY21 from Mexico were vastly underpowered to downright defective, and the upgraded Amp they released to solve the bass total cutout issue is much much more powerful and the bass is far better.

It's built in Munich. But how do I check when? Doesn't seem to be on the window sticker...

What were you hearing on yours?

[BklynNYBMW]

Picked up my M340i yesterday. There is alot of chatter on the blog about this issue. I have to agree that the HK system doesn't sound as good as the HK system in the 340i xdrive sport I turned in. From what I recall I had the same thing with the previous car. As time wore on the bass got better along with good mid range and the highs were crisp. I have tuned the equalizer the same way I did with the previous car. I will give it some time for the new system to break in. I don't stream music via bluetooth as I find that the sound quality is not as good as when it is wired. But maybe that is just me.
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2017 X6 5.0 MSport, Carbon Black Metallic w/ black leather. All options except vented seats and B/O sound system. AKA the Tumbler
2021 M340i xdrive. Tanzanite Blue with W/Oyster with Red Calipers. All options except Adaptive M suspension, Driver Assistance Professional Package, Cooling and High Performance Tire package. AKA Blue Angel
*Retired 04/30/21: 2018 340i MSport Xdrive sedan. Glacier Silver w/Oyster. All options except active cruise control and window shades. AKA Airstream

[az.m340i]

Originally Posted by Moonbags

It's built in Munich. But how do I check when? Doesn't seem to be on the window sticker...

What were you hearing on yours?

On the driver side door sill there should be a sticker with your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and directly above that should be the month and year your vehicle was built in.

For the sound system, I use the USB port and my music is .wav files (uncompressed), I'm not sure if that is necessary to take advantage of the HK system but it does the job for me.

[Enigma735]

The only way to know is if you check the amp unit sticker itself, which is located in the back rear driver side access panel in the trunk. If the part # on the sticker is 65-12-5-A20-7E7 or 65-12-9-826-944 you have the underpowered amp. The updated part is: 65-12-5-A38-AB8 rev. AI-02.

[ckennedyYOW]

I've had my M340i for a year and the HK system has improved noticeably. Sure, its lacking sub bass (below 60 Hz likely, but i haven't measured) and the addition of a sub would certainly fill in the bottom end. However, the mids are clear and detailed, the highs are non fatiguing. Ample power to avoid clipping. I typically run onboard Spotify and have not tried uncompressed or FLAC files from a flash drive yet.

All in all, I'm satisfied with the HK sound system. In comparison to my previous vehicles (a number of Hondas/Acuras - which had absolute rubbish for sound systems, and most recently, a WRX - which was barely acceptable) this sound system is on another level. Ok, it doesn't get to the SQ of my home 2.2 audiophile system, but hey the noise floor in a car approaches 70 db while cruising, so its always a challenge to achieve high SQ. I'm sure one could do better aftermarket with a few $K, but I won't be going down that road.

[myM340]

Originally Posted by BklynNYBMW

Picked up my M340i yesterday. There is alot of chatter on the blog about this issue. I have to agree that the HK system doesn't sound as good as the HK system in the 340i xdrive sport I turned in. From what I recall I had the same thing with the previous car. As time wore on the bass got better along with good mid range and the highs were crisp. I have tuned the equalizer the same way I did with the previous car. I will give it some time for the new system to break in. I don't stream music via bluetooth as I find that the sound quality is not as good as when it is wired. But maybe that is just me.
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2017 X6 5.0 MSport, Carbon Black Metallic w/ black leather. All options except vented seats and B/O sound system. AKA the Tumbler
2021 M340i xdrive. Tanzanite Blue with W/Oyster with Red Calipers. All options except Adaptive M suspension, Driver Assistance Professional Package, Cooling and High Performance Tire package. AKA Blue Angel
*Retired 04/30/21: 2018 340i MSport Xdrive sedan. Glacier Silver w/Oyster. All options except active cruise control and window shades. AKA Airstream

What are your EQ settings? I don't know anything about it and looked quite confusing. I was just about to make a thread on this haha.

Thanks!

[Moonbags]

So I spent a little time messing with the EQ as some have suggested and it really has made all the difference. The EQ does drive meaningful, separated frequency response in this car.

I went with a "V" shape for the most part, boosting the bass quite a bit, the highs a bit less and reduced power to the mids.

Overall now I am happy with the system. Certain low, rumbly frequencies just won't be produced, but it's not enough of a lack anymore for me to venture out of OEM territory.

Actually, the system is pretty darn good.

[AustraliaG20]

The biggest issue with the HK system from my perspective is it's noticeably weaker than the idrive 6 version which had the completely standalone amp, not the RAM and a booster in this model. So when I heard the G20 HK based on iDrive 7, I was super disappointed because it is a big step down from what it was. That may be fixed by the new amp, but I'm not sure that is actually possible... from memory the additional amp only boosts the additional parcel shelf speakers?? But I'm not sure about that as I'll need to pull out the wiring diagrams again.

[BklynNYBMW]

Originally Posted by myM340

What are your EQ settings? I don't know anything about it and looked quite confusing. I was just about to make a thread on this haha.

Thanks!

Hey There. I have the equalizer in a v shape pattern. You will need to tune it to your hearing. Some people like more bass, mid range or treble. I like a more balance sound thus the reason mine is in a v shape. Let me know if you want me to post a pic of it. I will once I Get the car back. It is in the shop again. UGH.
__________________________________________________ ____________
2017 X6 5.0 MSport, Carbon Black Metallic w/ black leather. All options except vented seats and B/O sound system. AKA the Tumbler
2021 M340i xdrive. Tanzanite Blue with W/Oyster with Red Calipers. All options except Adaptive M suspension, Driver Assistance Professional Package, Cooling and High Performance Tire package. AKA Blue Angel
*Retired 04/30/21: 2018 340i MSport Xdrive sedan. Glacier Silver w/Oyster. All options except active cruise control and window shades. AKA Airstream

[Graaf_Autowerks]

Here's what I ended with, may tweak it as the system gets broken in. Currently at 6k miles.

I ended up changing the surround from +2 to +1 recently because of some weird echoing effects on one or two songs. Otherwise I haven't adjusted the EQ settings.

[Moonbags]

Originally Posted by Graaf_Autowerks

Here's what I ended with, may tweak it as the system gets broken in. Currently at 6k miles.

I ended up changing the surround from +2 to +1 recently because of some weird echoing effects on one or two songs. Otherwise I haven't adjusted the EQ settings.

Trying this out now. Nice balance. Thanks for posting!

[iulianm]

I've tried doing some measurements, played with the system for 1h and I don't have any conclusive results as the measurements kinda differ very much even if I make just small adjustments to the microphone (e.g. moving from my left ear to my right one).

I tried to adjust a bit the EQ to make it more flat but it ended up sounding worse to my ears as even a slight movement of the measuring microphone would change the frequency response; if the EQ had more than 8 bands and something under 100Hz, might have helped with sub-100Hz bass.

I've done the same measurement in the 2019 Mazda3 which they said they designed it from early stage with Bose to have great sound and this is what I've got:

[Nahlem]

Hmm this might not be related to the HK in your car but now on my 2,5 year lease on the i3s with the HK sound i must say it sounds a lot better now then when it was new, either this is a placebo effect or the speakers really do need a break in time.

My setup has been sens day 1 USB Audio Spotify with max quality offline synced songs.