BMW Active Sound: Give us the best sound system?

[RocketBoots]

Anyone think BMW should give us their BEST sound system option, the B & O, since the active sound will be coming from the sound system?? Or something even better?? I would think something like this would matter. Having done a couple of aftermarket sound system installs in the (distant) past, and knowing the sound system of the E36 and E46 M3's, I know how much disparity can exist. Now that the sound quality, which was utterly crap IMO in the E36 and E46 (enter BSW), is actually tied in with the engine, perhaps BMW should get some better sound engineers to optimize the sound system. Just a thought, wish, dream...

Like most of you, I was very off-put by the fact that a "more pure" sports car uses "unpure" enhancements at first. But then, I tried to look at the silver lining. At least it's the actual sound, just amplified, and not a soundtrack or artificial sound. I don't mind that. Also, I have no idea where the mic's are placed, but it might be a good thing to potentially troubleshoot strange noises/problems that may arise and be hard to detect or identify. I guess just another change that signals the wave of the future, along with DCT, Adaptive Suspension, Forced Induction, etc.

[Swancoat]

I know this topic was probably discussed to death in the early stages of the M3 announcement, but the fact that the engine is apparently mic'd and it is ACTUAL sound makes all the difference.

I can't imagine experiencing some sort of pseudo-catastrophic engine failure, while the M5 just keeps merrily playing happy noises for me. At least in an M3/4 the failure will be played to you correctly. Same with an engine mod. Can't imagine the M5 knows anything about that, but new sounds from an M3/4 should find their way into the cabin.

Now, I haven't read, but can the active sound be disabled? Because if it can, it just moved up to being a great feature. I'd love to be able to quiet the car for highway trips or whatever.

[Mr. Grumpy]

Like in the current M5, I believe the only way to disable the active sound will be through coding.

[Beck]

Originally Posted by Mr. Grumpy

Like in the current M5, I believe the only way to disable the active sound will be through coding.

AFAIK the only way people have disabled Active Sound so far has been unplugging the hardware or pulling a fuse. I've yet to read about someone coding it off.

M135i unplugged: http://f20.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786318
M5 unplugged: http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680384

[Mr. Grumpy]

Here is the link of how to disable the ASD trough coding.

Originally Posted by -dr-

Hi all,

I'm new to this community and hope I'm not making any mistakes with this very first posting...

So here's my contribution: As the lucky owner of a new M5 F10 I needed a way to disable the 'Active Sound' module because it really disturbed me. Pulling the fuse was not an option as this disabled the complete sound system and removing the ASD box in the trunk would be to invasive.

That's what I did using E-Sys:
There's a special ASD module that has several preconditions before becoming active (see the 'Aktivbedingung' folder in the screenshot): Only certain models will activate the ASD. Those models are listed as functions, e.g. 'F010 true()'. So I looked a little bit lower in the tree and changed

3000 ASD-Configuration - Funktionen - Baureihe to F021

As you can see on the screenshot, the F21 model won't activate the ASD.

I made several tests and compared to pulling the fuse so I'm 100% sure this little modification really disabled the ASD in my car :-)

BTW, for those willing to change the sound: There's also an option 'Motor' where you can change the installed engine (for Diesel sound try N57D30). I haven't tested all these parameters - I'm glad that nasty module is switched off

[Drift Master]

I really dont see why people are very upset about.

The Noise is an ACTUAL noise transmited through the speakers.

So there is 2 ways you can make more noise come into the cabine less sound insulation or make it louder. Since this is a daily driver i pretty sure most will not welcome the road noise in addition to the engine sound with less insulation.

Making it louder will be an abnoxious solution as i dont want my car to be heard by every cop and people around me. Plus i dont have any ego complex that i need to have everyone to listen to the engine roaring. I like reving my engine and enjoy the sound so BMW solution makes me enjoy it without disturbing everyone else plus keep unwanted cop attention. This is also adjusted based on the setting sport or sport plus for louder.

I am gonna get the HK for sure because i enjoy high quality sound for music and now for the engine sound as well.

[tisme]

Well I hope we can turn this active sound off. If I'm listening to music, I do not want engine noise in mine when it comes.

[dreamsongs]

That's the question - can you disable it from i-drive ? or....will the engine sound get louder as you turn the volume knob. That would suck if it did...

[E36toF30]

Originally Posted by Swancoat

Now, I haven't read, but can the active sound be disabled? Because if it can, it just moved up to being a great feature. I'd love to be able to quiet the car for highway trips or whatever.

I'm guessing the idea is that in comfort mode it won't be piping in much sound, so it should be pretty quiet on the highway (not too different from an f30 I'd guess), but then if you put it in sport or sport plus it will amplify the sound more.

Originally Posted by dreamsongs

That's the question - can you disable it from i-drive ? or....will the engine sound get louder as you turn the volume knob. That would suck if it did...

I don't think you'll be able to disable it completely in iDrive. But it will probably not be much of a factor in comfort mode. I guarantee you it won't get louder if you turn up the volume knob. That would be stupid.

[ixse]

Originally Posted by tisme

Well I hope we can turn this active sound off. If I'm listening to music, I do not want engine noise in mine when it comes.

lol really? you really think bmw engineers are that half assed in making a system?

also to op, they already said having premium speakers do not improve active sound.

[tisme]

Originally Posted by ixse

lol really? you really think bmw engineers are that half assed in making a system?

also to op, they already said having premium speakers do not improve active sound.

I've ordered HK with mine, hopefully we can have the option of on/off. Let's wait and see.

[Benjamin]

I hate gimmicks like this. Does it work when the radio is off as well? I am a bit unfamiliar with this system.

[RocketBoots]

Originally Posted by ixse

lol really? you really think bmw engineers are that half assed in making a system?

also to op, they already said having premium speakers do not improve active sound.

If you've ever heard an E36 or E46 stock sound system, "half-assed" would be a compliment to that sound system.

Whose the "they" that said premium doesn't matter? I mean, it makes sense, and it would follow that the sound is independent of the volume control of the audio head unit. But the only way to accomplish that would be to have an independent system with it's own speaker, or at least something that doesn't go through the amp for the sound system (kind of like the annoying *ding* you used to hear on cars if you left the keys in the ignition and opened the door). While that's understandable, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case, it seems such a waste, and frankly, kind of dumb, to not utilize the sound system of the car when the goal is desireable sound vs annoying alerts. And to that end, have the best sound you can get in the car, given a certain level of compromise. Granted, I know nothing about the Active Sound system, so take that into account.

Just sayin, wish they'd put a decent sound system in the thing, especially if it will convey natural engine sounds.

And from what I've read, it seems there won't be a 'disable' feature.

[Swancoat]

Originally Posted by dreamsongs

That's the question - can you disable it from i-drive ? or....will the engine sound get louder as you turn the volume knob. That would suck if it did...

If it was affected by the stereo volume at all, I would hope it would be inverse. When I turn up the stereo, turn down the engine.

[aus]

What happens when you change out the exhaust. Does it amplify the new sound or is the mic up in the engine bay??

Why didn't BMW just use a sound tune like they've done in the past? I'm guessing weight is the main reason... but then, I have no interested in hearing that lawn mower sound amplified through a sound tube or speakers for that matter. I'm really holing they fix that before full production starts.

.

[UK6]

All the noise that people want and none of the road noise, can't see how it's a bad thing, I went with the HK surround system, might as well have a decent set up for it.

[Technic]

Active Sound Design (ASD) = synthesized sound = pre-recorded engine sound + OEM audio

There is a small OEM module/amp that generates, controls and outputs this pre-recorded engine sound, and depending on your OEM system (Stereo, HiFi, Harman Kardon/B&O) it will mix the engine sound with the iDrive audio either at the ASD module (Stereo system and HiFi) itself or the ASD module sends the engine sound to the OEM amp (Harman Kardon/B&O) and it is mixed in there.

There are 2 ways to disable the mixing without affecting the car diagnostics: coding and hardware bypassing. Coding simply disables the internal mixing function of the ASD without actually disabling the module -car can still be dealer-diagnosed without errors of missing module. Hardware bypass simply reroutes the analog inputs/outputs of the ASD so no engine sound reaches the OEM speakers/OEM amp. The ASD still is connected, still function, still can be diagnosed but it simply outputs nothing.

Example of hardware bypass (100% PnP) in a MY2014 528i ASD:

[/// M sa]

I welcome it, I paid 75k for a sports car to hear the effing engine not aha playing on my radio :-)

[UTZorro]

After finding out that BMW is sending engine sounds through the stereo, it made me wonder if the engine sound inside the cabin would actually sound better (in theory) with the upgraded HK audio system?

Does anyone know if the car sounds different with the different audio system?

[BlackCobra08]

Personally I believe it will sound better all around, bass, mids, and treble should all be richer. For a modest $875 I defiantly checked the HK box.

[TN_3]

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the active sound originate from a dedicated speaker that is not a part of the main audio system?

[mic_crispy]

Originally Posted by TN_3

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the active sound originate from a dedicated speaker that is not a part of the main audio system?

I hope so, that way we can just unplug it...