Ideal EQ Settings for HK Audio System

[jim101]

Originally Posted by justinstephen

McHenry county? I'm up in Crystal Lake, I just got mine today. Left it at the dealer because of the snow we got, hopefully bring it home tomorrow and get some winter tires on it.

Can somebody map me to the weather screen, pls? I can't find it, and a search here (and read of the manual) didn't yield a simple path.

TIA.

[cctm4me]

Originally Posted by jim101

Can somebody map me to the weather screen, pls? I can't find it, and a search here (and read of the manual) didn't yield a simple path.

TIA.

Its under the BMW widgets. It takes a second for them to load.

[audihere]

Well, tried out new settings on way to work and HK still sounds like complete shit.

Hopefully someone can figure this thing out.

Chris

[AustinJerry]

I use software called Room Equalization Wizard (REW) with a calibrated USB mic to tune my home theater system. I have been meaning to try and apply the same principles to tune the audio in the new M4, but haven't had the time yet. My expectation is that there will be a combination of EQ settings that produces the flattest response. Whether that results in good, or even acceptable, sound is yet to be seen.

I have only had the M4 since Thursday, and I am still struggling with the challenging iPhone integration, so I haven't paid much attention to sound quality. My initial impression is that the level of bass is much softer that I had in my 335i premium sound system.

So, does anyone have a theory why we are disappointed in the sound system? Is it the electronics, or the speakers? What are some suggestions to improve it?

[Mandi90TT]

Huh. You all must have some really sensitive ears, because, while I don't think the HK's sound great, they don't sound terrible. And I say that having come from a $5k+ sound system in my last car, with bi-amped Boston Acoustics up front, tuned for high sound quality.

[Tonymiabmw]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

Huh. You all must have some really sensitive ears, because, while I don't think the HK's sound great, they don't sound terrible. And I say that having come from a $5k+ sound system in my last car, with bi-amped Boston Acoustics up front, tuned for high sound quality.

Low mids are the worst, no punch at all from 80hz to 140

[AustinJerry]

I spent some time this morning using the Room Equalization Software (REW) and a calibrated microphone to analyze the frequency response in the M4's cabin, and to tweak the equalizer settings to try and flatten the response.

For those of you not familiar with REW, it is a shareware audio measurement system that runs on a laptop. It uses a calibrated USB microphone as input, and outputs test tones over a 3.5mm stereo cable plugged into the BMW's AUX IN audio port in the console. REW sends user-definable frequency sweeps to the vehicle's audio system, which are then picked up by the mic, and displayed as a response graph on the PC.

I took care to place the measurement mic at exactly the spot where my ears are (27" above the driver's seat, and approximately 7" forward from the seatback). I sat in the passenger's seat, closed all doors, and rolled up the windows in order to simulate a typical driving condition.

I started by turning Logic 7 off, and centering all the tone controls to their flat positions. A "reference" measurement was taken with these settings. I then conducted a series of measurements while adjusting each of the frequency band sliders to different positions in order to get a feel for how the various sliders affected overall frequency response. Finally, after the familiarization phase, I started zeroing in on slider settings that produced the "best" response (in my opinion, of course). The following graph shows the beginning "reference" response, and the ending "optimized" response, which also has Logic 7 turned back on.



The first thing you will notice is that the two measurement curves are not very different. On the positive side, this means that the audio system is reasonably tuned for the vehicle in its flat settings, but on the down side, it means that the frequency sliders are only marginally effective in altering the sound characteristics.

Here are the settings I used:

100Hz +4
200Hz +7
500Hz +0
1Khz +4
2Khz +5
5Khz +5
10Khz +5

I then played some familiar music CD's to assess the results. In general, I was reasonably pleased with the sound of the system. It sounds a little less bass-heavy than I was used to in my 335i, but I think it is just a matter of getting used to a different system. Unlike other opinions I have seen in this forum, I don't think the H-K audio system is a disappointment.

If you try the settings I posted, I would enjoy your feedback. Remember, audio is highly subjective, so experiment!

[tkhan456]

Originally Posted by AustinJerry

I spent some time this morning using the Room Equalization Software (REW) and a calibrated microphone to analyze the frequency response in the M4's cabin, and to tweak the equalizer settings to try and flatten the response.

For those of you not familiar with REW, it is a shareware audio measurement system that runs on a laptop. It uses a calibrated USB microphone as input, and outputs test tones over a 3.5mm stereo cable plugged into the BMW's AUX IN audio port in the console. REW sends user-definable frequency sweeps to the vehicle's audio system, which are then picked up by the mic, and displayed as a response graph on the PC.

I took care to place the measurement mic at exactly the spot where my ears are (27" above the driver's seat, and approximately 7" forward from the seatback). I sat in the passenger's seat, closed all doors, and rolled up the windows in order to simulate a typical driving condition.

I started by turning Logic 7 off, and centering all the tone controls to their flat positions. A "reference" measurement was taken with these settings. I then conducted a series of measurements while adjusting each of the frequency band sliders to different positions in order to get a feel for how the various sliders affected overall frequency response. Finally, after the familiarization phase, I started zeroing in on slider settings that produced the "best" response (in my opinion, of course). The following graph shows the beginning "reference" response, and the ending "optimized" response, which also has Logic 7 turned back on.



The first thing you will notice is that the two measurement curves are not very different. On the positive side, this means that the audio system is reasonably tuned for the vehicle in its flat settings, but on the down side, it means that the frequency sliders are only marginally effective in altering the sound characteristics.

Here are the settings I used:

100Hz +4
200Hz +7
500Hz +0
1Khz +4
2Khz +5
5Khz +5
10Khz +5

I then played some familiar music CD's to assess the results. In general, I was reasonably pleased with the sound of the system. It sounds a little less bass-heavy than I was used to in my 335i, but I think it is just a matter of getting used to a different system. Unlike other opinions I have seen in this forum, I don't think the H-K audio system is a disappointment.

If you try the settings I posted, I would enjoy your feedback. Remember, audio is highly subjective, so experiment!

Thanks for the post! Sounds good. Only thing I tried was instead of boosting everything, I used the +5 as the zero mark and then shifted everything down so I didn't boost everything, which to my ears makes things sound worse and instead i just cut things.

[robbo mcs]

Thanks for doing this. However, some of it doesn't really make sense.

Your settings show you have significantly boosted low freq 100 and 200hz, yet the black trace shows these significantly below the "flat" blue trace. Likewise the high frequency 10khz. The boosted mid range 1-2khz does seem higher

Am I reading this correctly, blue is flat, black is with the eq adjustments?

[AustinJerry]

Originally Posted by robbo mcs

Thanks for doing this. However, some of it doesn't really make sense.

Your settings show you have significantly boosted low freq 100 and 200hz, yet the black trace shows these significantly below the "flat" blue trace. Likewise the high frequency 10khz. The boosted mid range 1-2khz does seem higher

Am I reading this correctly, blue is flat, black is with the eq adjustments?

The recording levels had changed slightly between the first and last measurement. After adjusting the levels, the graphs look more like what you might be expecting. Across the board, the black measurement is now showing the increases one might expect with the settings I have applied. Also, for the flat response, I only measured down to 100Hz. I could go back and re-measure, but it is a bit of a chore to get everything set up again.

[Joz132]

Originally Posted by justinstephen

McHenry county? I'm up in Crystal Lake

We're neighbors - I'm in Lake in the Hills

[smedin]

I've been tweaking my EQ since I got the car in October. I haven't been happy with it at all... until this morning, when I hit upon this nutty config:

(shitty pic alert)

Call me crazy, but I need my awesome sound, going on 30 years now, and this seems to work. Decent punch and balance. I may slightly tweak it still, but this is very close. For my ears, anyway.

Say what you will about Logic 7. Cars provide such a shitty environment that I don't mind the wraparound effect. Does it reflect the original stereo staging? No. Do I care? No.

[8600RPM]

Gus any settings boosted that much make no sense. Your looking to get a sound out of a system that is impossible. This system is like last individual sound on m3, needs loud volume to sound good. Cut 200 frequency by 2 or 3 clicks. Cut treble by 1 click, boost bass by 1. Logic 7 off. And crank it up. That's as good as it gets.

These huge boosts and fader to rear and big bass boosts just are silly. Whatever equupment your using to reach these conclusions is not being used properly

[cctm4me]

Originally Posted by audihere

Well, tried out new settings on way to work and HK still sounds like complete shit.

Hopefully someone can figure this thing out.

Chris

You are so fricken over dramatic in this thread. The HK system can be looked at by the audio-junkies as less than impressive I am sure. However, for us less knowledgeable people, it sounds pretty damn good after you play around with the settings. Each person that has been in the car with me has stated how good the sound is.

Saying that HK is shit and even taking the time to post your little throw up face is just a bit overdone no? If you are such an audio buff, then you probably should have spent some time at the dealership testing out the HK system before ordering or purchasing your car. This would have saved you some cash and some posting time.

Now, for those of us with a unseasoned audio ear, I am still interested in seeing settings and how the settings were chosen so that I can continue to ENJOY my purchase and possibly make it even better.

[JMN]

Originally Posted by smedin

I've been tweaking my EQ since I got the car in October. I haven't been happy with it at all... until this morning, when I hit upon this nutty config:

Call me crazy, but I need my awesome sound, going on 30 years now, and this seems to work. Decent punch and balance. I may slightly tweak it still, but this is very close. For my ears, anyway.

I like it, best I've tried this far!

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by audihere

Well, tried out new settings on way to work and HK still sounds like complete shit.

Hopefully someone can figure this thing out.

Chris

Do yourself a favor and replace those wimpy HK speakers with BavSound Stage 1. Step 2 is 0 out all your EQ setting. A clear / full / warm sound system should not require EQ intervention, as long as you have a good audio source (320kbps). The studio uses million dollar equipment to tune the sound of your audio source (song/CD), your EQ setting is just screwing it up.

Man, I wish BavSound would pay me. I've been telling everyone how great my BavSound is.

Photo below should give you a perspective of BMW OEM F80 speakers vs BavSound.

[MWcoupe]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Do yourself a favor and replace those wimpy HK speakers with BavSound Stage 1. Step 2 is 0 out all your EQ setting. A clear / full / warm sound system should not require EQ intervention, as long as you have a good audio source (320kbps). The studio uses million dollar equipment to tune the sound of your audio source (song/CD), your EQ setting is just screwing it up.

Man, I wish BavSound would pay me. I've been telling everyone how great my BavSound is.

Photo below should give you a perspective of BMW OEM F80 speakers vs BavSound.

Wow it's a fair price for such good review. Are you done with installation yet? How's it working so far

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by MWcoupe

Wow it's a fair price for such good review. Are you done with installation yet? How's it working so far

Yes. See this thread. Others have made the install as well.
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1061790

[smedin]

Originally Posted by JMN

I like it, best I've tried this far!

Cool. I have tweaked it a little. I boosted the 500 by one click, and boosted every one 1k and up by one click each. But, so far, this setup is holding up nicely.

[F80M4ROCKS]

Originally Posted by smedin

Cool. I have tweaked it a little. I boosted the 500 by one click, and boosted every one 1k and up by one click each. But, so far, this setup is holding up nicely.

Just tried your settings out, best I've heard yet, thanks man!

[audihere]

Originally Posted by cctm4me

You are so fricken over dramatic in this thread.

[smedin]

Originally Posted by F80M4ROCKS

Just tried your settings out, best I've heard yet, thanks man!

Real cool, man.