MBfan21

I know this is a silly question. But in the manual, it says to keep the setting on the middle for the optimal sound. Not sure if the middle is referring to the balance fader.

Should the treble and bass be set to the middle line? When I received the car, it was set to the top line of each. I want to know what the best setting is for each.. maybe the top is the maximum bass? Or should they both be set on the middle line...

Savage c-300

the top is the max bass, similar to regular car stereos. the higher you put it, the more bass you get.

PoaMike

^+1

Kieffer

This thread made me wonder - is anyone else having to CRANK the bass to about +8 or +9 to make the multi-media sound-system sound really "full"? I've been listening to some DVD-Audio / DTS stuff and was surprised that I had to crank the bass up on that as well. Just curious.

chilledbenz

This is one of those questions where everyone will have a different answer depending on how their ears hear the music. I myself turn the treble up as far as it will go and turn the bass as far up as it will go but then drop it two bars down (I have the stock system, doesn't blend the bass all that well). As for the fader I leave the left and right in the middle, but I push the sound to the back by one to stop that blaring effect.

Kieffer

Good point. I will turn up bass until it distorts, then turn it down just a couple notches. I don't like the "boom," but I like a lot of crisp bass. To each his own....

Lakerz4sho

hmm.. i don't even touch the treble. i just click the bass up 4 clicks from the middle. sounds good to me.

PoaMike

It also depends on the song how the bass "rumbles" maybe your listening to songs with low bass?

amdeutsch

Since you've got MM you might want to STFF for Kal Rubinson's post. He did a review on the BOSE in the W203. He also is over on avsforum and knows what he is talking about based on the constraints imposed.
In essence; when that HK system was designed it was done to a budget, with guidance from MB, etc. It therefore is a compromise. Now if you need to turn up the treble all the way you might have a hearing deficiency. It usually manifests itself in the upper ranges first. If you think that full bass sounds the best so be it. But the type of music you listen to and how it was recorded also comes into play. A club mix of a song is usually recorded differently that a radio mix; bass heavy to get you to indulge a little more.

The actual system was designed to have the best imaging, linear response, etc at the neutral settings.

EmCeeSmith

I have mine set to Balance and Fader = "Center" (0,0), Bass = +3 and Treble +7...

Sirius does not sound any better than normal FM if you do not spring for the "CD quality" option... I converted from XM and wanted to get through the six month trial before I committed...

Just my 2 cents...

oblu

Huh? What is this 'cd quality' option you speak of? Is that a MM setting or something? The only mention I can find on sirius.com for 'cd quality' is for internet listening.

oblu

According to my wife, I have a hearing defiency. That must be why my treble is always set higher than my bass.

aowhaus

I always set the fade more towards the rear and balance more to the passenger side since 95% of the time it is just me in the car, which better balances the sound from the driver's seat (since you will hear the closest speakers more if they were all balanced).

There is a sound system which has different balance settings depending on how many is in the car -- I forgot which car has this feature.

amdeutsch

Oh, Oh! Husband syndrom.

430752

QUOTE]"the top is the max bass, similar to regular car stereos. the higher you put it, the more bass you get."[[/QUOTE]

Umm, sure, but I'd say its more like max distortion, not max bass! I don't think any stereo sounds good with max or near max bass, but I've got mine notched up +2 or +3

I hope he didn't rate the Bose highly, you know what they say about Bose: no highs, no lows, must be Bose! A joke well earned by that poor excuse for an audio company. Anyway, the Harmon Kardon system is a compromise, but I challenge you to name a system, any system, even in the home, that isn't. ****, a set of 4 Cary tube monoblocks together with a pair of Nautlius' are a compromise!

I actually think the HK is pretty darned good. But with the largest speakers being only 168mm (~6.5") and being "wide band transducers" with only a single sub-woofer (mounted in the ceiling?) at only 200x270mm (~7.75"x~11.5") (and what is a "racetrack double voice coil subwoofer" anyway???) it could use a bit more oomph down in the low ranges. Mids are good, highs get a little lost, upper bass not too bad, but lower bass needs some help. For me +1 or +2 treble, +2 or +3 bass, but I do have the fader -3 (towards rear) and balance -1 (towards left). Just me. And why doesn't this have a real equalizer???

amdeutsch

What is a real equalizer? Parametric?

430752

sorry, was referring to the good ole graphic equalizer. they could even do some cheezy 80's rack system motif from kenwood!

But, now that you mention it, a master parametric equalizer to adjust various levels across all sources and to equalize specific levels between sources would be nice. Especially gain between the satellite, fm and cd player. I dunno about you, but each seems off from the next, and ifI remember correctly I had to adjust balance, fader, etc. for each source.

ahh, better than most I've had so guess I can't complain too much.

Kieffer

Interesting... I guess we shouldn't be surprised about the budget restraints and how that impacted H/K's final product. Thanks for the info on Kal's posts - pretty interesting!