Why You MUST Upgrade Your BMW Harman Kardon Audio! | SOUND OFF - EP. 8: BMW M235i
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2022
- In this episode of SOUND OFF we show you why you HAVE to upgrade the Harman Kardon system fitted in BMW 1 and 2 Series cars!
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• Video
In SOUND OFF, we show you exactly what manufacturers fit as a factory sound system, be it the standard system or optional upgrades, and compare those components against aftermarket upgrades.
As part of the comparison we weigh the components, as generally weight gives a good indication of quality, but we also take you through the parts that build each component and the benefits offered in the aftermarket parts, primarily focussing on magnets, cone and speaker construction.
This BMW M235i arrived with us fitted with the Harman Kardon sound system, the same you'll find in any BMW F2x 1 or 2 series car. The system is comprised of;
- A center speaker
- A tweeter and 4" mid-range in each door
- An 8" underseat sub
- A 4" Co-Axial speaker in each rear quarter (or door)
- A Harmon Kardon amplifier in the boot
The speakers are the same poor quality, low powered, mass produced components you will have become familiar with seeing in previous episodes of SOUND OFF. They utilises cheap paper cones, poor quality plastic framework, a lack of automotive focussed sound design, and ferrite magnets.
Why are these things important? The build quality of components, and the way they are designed, is crucial for the performance of the speaker. The structure of each speaker affects they ways in which air is moved and sound waves are dispersed into the vehicle, while elements like the grill design on tweeters help direct soundwaves in the best way to ensure you get an improved listening experience.
The magnets fitted are also a key detail. A lot of components, especially from factory, use ferrite magnets. Ferrite is a naturally magnetic material that is cheap to mass produce, however the size to power ratio is very poor - you need a HUGE ferrite magnet to output a high enough level of magnetism to achieve the performance required for high end components. Size obviously becomes a problem, due to fitting components in a car, but also due to weight and physical structure.
The Audison Prima components use a Neodymium magnet, which is a rare earth manufactured magnet, that posses a far greater magnetic strength, meaning a much small magnet is able to perform in a far superior way to a comparative ferrite magnet. This means the aftermarket components can follow the same form factor for a stock location fit, while providing far more power creating a hugely improved sound output.
The Audison Prima range of components used here are a direct fit replacement for BMW F2x vehicles, meaning they are designed to be exact fitments to go into stock locations. If your car doesn't have Harmon Kardon as standard, we can also replace the tweeter blank with the Harmon Kardon part to allow a tweeter to be added to your system.
In the boot you find the Harmon Kardon amplifier, which is a very low quality part, mostly consisting of a metal design to act as a heat sink, and a single plug with a small DSP unit attached. In this instance, we find that the amplifier has failed, which seems to be a very common occurrence. This means we are replacing the amplifier with the Audison Prima Forza 8.9bit class D amplifier. The Prima F8.9 has a very small form factor allowing it to be located in a factory position, but provides much more power - 85w per channel in a 4 ohm system. This is a significant increase over the factory amplifier, while also providing the ability to tune the system using built in processing power. We even have a 9th channel of processing power that allows us to tune an external active subwoofer alongside the main amplified system.
If you would like more details on the install of this system into the BMW M235i, you can check out Behind The Sound on the build here:
• Upgrading A Harmon Kar...
Thanks for watching our video.
If you are interested in a similar install in your vehicle, please feel free to get in touch!
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Авто/Мото
Awesome video bro.
Your explanation was top notch!!!!!!!!!
I just subscribed
Wish I found this video earlier.
I just bought 4 Alpha One midrange door speakers.
Was looking at the tweeters and subwoofers and saw that all of the prices have increased so I'm not buying them anymore.
Thanks for the sub!
Professional video. I love it
Thank you :)
I think your really good presenter, good information and well explained
Thank you, really appreciate the support 🙏
Dude always love your videos!!!! I am in the process of getting a 2 series convertible. What is the differences in quality between the Audison and Focal series for BMWs and with the package you are showing would you recommend adding in an Audison powered sub??
Audison all the way. Check out some of our packages on our website
Another awesome video. In the states, we get threatened that swapping out amps etc. may void factory warranty. Do you hear threats like that in the UK?
We do sometimes, but we work directly for the manufactures so they normally okay with us
I've always preferred the sound of soft dome tweeters, i find metal dome usually sound a little harsh
Nice input, thank you
@@CambridgeCarAudiothat’s what she said
Nice video, would be helpful if you can video before and after so audience can hear the comparison 👍
Thank you, it is something we are trying to do in new videos, make sure you have subscribed so you can see more :)
What do you have for a 2017 E300 with the upgraded audio. It’s not bad and the sound stage is on the dash which is nice but it’s missing the low lows and the tweets are harsh.
I’ve always run things like SEAS tweeters and Focal or other higher end audio in past vehicles but I don’t want to cut this car up as it’s my commuter.
I would love a drop in solution that really enhances my sound.
There isn't a drop in solution, all require a professional installation. Have a look at this vide: ruclips.net/video/-S3OLQff-Ck/видео.html
What amp would I need for a F80 m3 with 12 speakers?
Center -front doors - rear doors- rear shelf - under seat subs. I would want an rca output also to run a separate subwoofer
Drop us a message on insta or on email and we can send over some options 🙏
@@CambridgeCarAudio pm sent via Instagram
Being that I was a previous car audio installer and audiophile I want the software to control the active crossover points and level of filtering 6/12/24 db per octave and time alignment. Does the dsp have a 30 band parametric eq? Of course I need two microphones to adjust the eq watching the real time analyzer in the software with pink noise to also to adjust the sound stage on both front seats.
Hi,
Hope you are well,
I am not sure why you are asking these questions if you are such a pro. Yes, we can do that as part of tuning. Thank you
Do you do the same upgrade for the 2021 G01 X3
Yeah we do 🙏
Can you easily add a boot subwoofer to this system?
Yes, we have options on our website
Awesome set up, what’s the cost of this upgrade on the 1 series and 2 series
Drop us an email or come by for an audio consultation so we can price this up for you
That sound expensive
Do you use an off the shelve wiring harness to plug into the the Audison amp as the harmon kardon amps use different connections?
Sometimes, depends on the exact system that is in the vehicle.
I have a standard g30 speakers howmuch would be cost of upgrading to harmon kardon or audison
We have packed on our website, best to check them out, level 3 and upwards is where the massive difference is
I have an i4 but if you upgrade to HK the sub goes in the trunk. If I don’t upgrade js the default hifi speakers sub Under the driver seat?
Not to worry, we can still Upgrade the i4, it’s just a different set up
i4 is one of the only bmws without underseat subwoofers because of the battery being in the floor. I assume same goes for ix3
I had it, and the speakers were great but the under seat subs were crap. Ended up putting the original ones back in.
Did you amp them?
@@CambridgeCarAudio yes with the 8.9 Forza.2 channels bridged to each
@@pj7008 Then it was something else wrong because the products are far superior but all decent audio systems do require correct tuning and installation. We have never had to swap back or thought the factory ones were better
@@CambridgeCarAudio yes we did all that, the originals have a more subwoofer feels, the Audison just sounded like speakers with good lows. But I needed a sub in the boot to compensate.
@@pj7008 I just can’t see that at all. Most people do go for a designated sub as no underseat solution gives much bass but it definitely gives more than the factory ones. I can only comment on our installs and work but I have never had this issue and we do a lot of BMW’s
How much will this upgrade cost for an 2019 X5?
We have some packages on our website
SCARLET
FIRE
:)
magnet size, neodymium and thus weight is the big difference.Bigger is better for SPL and SQ. I just removed Bmw stereo junk (...) and replaced with Focal. HK means Hong Kong, lol...
:)
HK speakers are aight, just require more power
So which one win for speaker system??
Audison :)
How much for a 2 series 240i?
Email us or drop a message on Insta and we can send over pricing
Can we pay by installments ?
Kind of, please call us so we can talk you through options
the harmon kardon is extremely loud it’s just not that good
So many people complain to us about the volume too on them
Why won't anyone make these systems for the G30s?
We do make them for the G30, we have a G31 as our demo car, also we have packages for the G30 on our website 🙏
@@CambridgeCarAudio when I tried to spec it out on your website it said it was not an option. 2018 540i with HK sound.
@@colbyscott9822 www.cambridgecar.audio/bmw-all-series-audio-upgrade-packages
You need to go for Level 4 upwards if you have HK
🥰😍❗
:)
No prices boss
Prices are now on our website :)
How much?
Pricing is on our website for packages 🙏
talked a lot ,,, but didnt say much . speaker weight lol who cares talk about efficiency thats way more important , some of the best systems ive listened to have had alnico magnets , ndyme improves flux density but its not the be all and end all of everything.
Check out our latest BMW video
@@CambridgeCarAudio although you are totally correct , the base system is garbage ,,
Weight matters everything in speakers, obviously you don’t have any knowledge what you talking about, lighter speakers will be always less quality
@@needleanabolscik5931 beryllium ,, I dont need to say any more.
Yep ,, I know nothing , but I know what sounds right ,, then again after 40 years in the professional sound game I sort of have a bit of an idea.
@@needleanabolscik5931 can you explain how does weight matter exactly?
And if it actually does, doesn't that mean tha sub woofer he replaced was worse than original?
Why people keep saying HarmOn instead of HarmAn ?
Noted and changed where we can :)