Groveruk Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 Hi all Ive been offered a full harman kardon set up from someone who is totally gutting the inside of his car as he is going full on track car. What are these worth and is it a big job doing the swap? Is it even worth doing, are they much better in sound quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 My last E46 had HK and my new one doesn't. Aside from the HK sub in the parcel shelf (which worked for about 5 minutes), there isn't a difference as far as I can tell (although there's been a year between the two cars so maybe I forgot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 I went in a friend's (saloon) with HK, and the difference between his car and mine was night and day. His was much, much bassier, although it wasn't quite as clear high up, from what I can remember. I've got the standard HU with an amp, and Hertz speakers all round, and I think I'd rather have his HK setup! If it was HK or standard: HK, without a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammo Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 But...I wouldnt go through all the effort to wire the HK system in. It would be easier to go after market. stutart and momo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan k Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 Not worth The hassle just upgrade your speakers very easy and better result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groveruk Posted August 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 Yeh been reading up on it and its not plug and play by any stretch. You need to change all the looms and other stuff and its supposed to be not much better for lots of effort. Apparently its easier and cheaper to go aftermarket and you get 10x better results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted August 31, 2015 Report Share Posted August 31, 2015 HK is massively better than a non HK system, but a ballache to retro fit and not worth the hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 I'm new to the land of e46 I've had many other bmws, I'm just wondering what kind of sound quality you can get with the factory option? And weather it's worth retro fitting, I've also got the option of having the Oem car phone kit too, what should I be looking to pay for all this as I'm not sure what a reasonable offer would be to make! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troublesome84 Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Basic BMW audio system is crap. Like... really crap mate. If you can change it, do so. Won't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 I wouldn't bother, but yes, base system is totally crap. If you can afford it, i would totally redo the audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Cool thanks for the info Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCooper Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Hi, A previous Alpina B3S in our family had the HK setup, I though it was quite feeble. Others are happy with it. For me, if the car had been kept, I'd have absolutely gone with an excellent quality head unit, a decent 5 channel amplifier, 2 way component speakers in the front, some modest 2 way co-axials in the rear and an excellent performing 8 or 10 inch subwoofer firing through the ski hatch route. The sound quality increase with this 'simple' setup would blow away any of the oem audio setups. Cheers, Dennis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 I had a 328Ci with Harmon Kardon and a professional nav unit (not the full size screen, the earlier version with a smaller screen and a tape slot to one side - still double din size) It was complet rubbish. Lots of distortion, rattles, buzzes, cut out all the time, CD player jumped with even the smallest bump, it was basically just really poor and I couldn't understand why people rated the Harmon Kardon upgrade. My 328 was written off recently and I replaced it with a 4 years newer 330Ci which also had Harmon Kardon and professional Nav - full size screen, later spec head unit this time. Its fantastic! You can play it nice and loud, there's plenty of bass with next to no distortion, it all works perfectly, the CD player doesn't jump - I'm really pleased with it and wouldn't have any reason to consider changing anything. So I think it really depends on how well its been treated by previous owners. Obviously you won't know this until purchased but I do believe the HK system is a great option providing its working properly. Keeps the OEM look too. 2clubsp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCooper Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Hi, As per above, some like the HK ! I looked/listened at the setup in the Alpina and then did the same in other E46's with the same setup - and each time the outcome for me was the same - I thought it wasn't very good at all. For an 'oem' setup, for those not to heavily into excellent sound quality, I can appreciate it's 'good' and in some peoples descriptor's 'fantastic' as per above! However, the 'general' consensus is that it's not. It depends on what you want really as I mention above ! Cheers, Dennis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuBeeDoo Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Basic BMW audio system is crap. Like... really crap mate. If you can change it, do so. Won't regret it. I wouldn't bother, but yes, base system is totally crap. If you can afford it, i would totally redo the audio. Hi, As per above, some like the HK ! I looked/listened at the setup in the Alpina and then did the same in other E46's with the same setup - and each time the outcome for me was the same - I thought it wasn't very good at all. For an 'oem' setup, for those not to heavily into excellent sound quality, I can appreciate it's 'good' and in some peoples descriptor's 'fantastic' as per above! However, the 'general' consensus is that it's not. It depends on what you want really as I mention above ! Cheers, Dennis! I'm probably in a minority of one but I don't think there's anything wrong with the BMW Professional audio in my 4-door. I actually find the sound quality better than the Sony headunit/Infinity amp & speakers set-up I had in my E30. I'm a long way from being an audiophile, but it's a fact that a moving car is about the worst possible sound-stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 But Stu.......you're ancient and you hate technology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuBeeDoo Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 But Stu.......you're ancient and you hate technology mjn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 As someone with a working HK setup, I definitely wouldn't go to the trouble of retrofitting over installing some decent aftermarket kit. The HK stuff isn't really much to write home about compared to other good optional kit (Volvo, Lexus, Audi), so spend the money and time on something that will actually sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 I'm probably in a minority of one but I don't think there's anything wrong with the BMW Professional audio in my 4-door. I actually find the sound quality better than the Sony headunit/Infinity amp & speakers set-up I had in my E30. I'm a long way from being an audiophile, but it's a fact that a moving car is about the worst possible sound-stage. You have PROFESSIONAL?!? Wasn't that over and above HK? Business is standard spec.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuBeeDoo Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 You have PROFESSIONAL?!? Wasn't that over and above HK? Business is standard spec.. When I had the BM54 out a while ago it's got a sticker saying "BMW Professional BM54", or something similar. My build list refers to it too - option code 609, IIRC. momo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuBeeDoo Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 You have PROFESSIONAL?!? Wasn't that over and above HK? Business is standard spec.. When I had the BM54 out a while ago it's got a sticker saying "BMW Professional BM54", or something similar. My build list refers to it too - option code 609, IIRC. ....... The car appears to have spent the first year of its life on BMW GB's press fleet, and for an SE it is spec'd-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Isn't "Professional" just the nomenclature for the standard kit, or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
