WHERE'S THE BASS??!?!
#26
Find a high end car audio place and get their advice. Clearly, you do not want to mess about with changing head units, etc. but swapping speakers should be fine.
Note that in the engineering mode of the COMAND system there are EQ settings, but I have no idea how to change them since they need to be read from a USB stick.
Note that in the engineering mode of the COMAND system there are EQ settings, but I have no idea how to change them since they need to be read from a USB stick.
#27
Not sure what you guys are talking about. I love bass and listen to a lot of rap and the bass sounds fantastic in my car. Although, admittedly, it doesn't sound as strong as the new HK system in the new ML350
#28
#29
Find a high end car audio place and get their advice. Clearly, you do not want to mess about with changing head units, etc. but swapping speakers should be fine.
Note that in the engineering mode of the COMAND system there are EQ settings, but I have no idea how to change them since they need to be read from a USB stick.
Note that in the engineering mode of the COMAND system there are EQ settings, but I have no idea how to change them since they need to be read from a USB stick.
#30
Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 147
Likes: 3
2013 E550 Cabriolet; 2004 CLK500 Cabriolet Designo (sold)
subwoofer
Just got my E550 Cabrio. I agree that the bass sucks and I listen to classical music!
Has anyone replaced the sub? I wonder if this new Pioneer slim fit model would work:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU.../HVT/TS-WH500A
Has anyone replaced the sub? I wonder if this new Pioneer slim fit model would work:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU.../HVT/TS-WH500A
#32
Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 147
Likes: 3
2013 E550 Cabriolet; 2004 CLK500 Cabriolet Designo (sold)
I wonder what they changed. I know the coupe/convertible had a smaller amp and a couple fewer speakers. Maybe they bumped up the amp to the one used in the sedan.
#33
My 2014 E550 Cab with the Logic 7 is really mediocre sounding at best. Roof up or down, the stereo is nothing to write home about. I've got the bass up and fader favors the rear speakers. The preface lift must be awful.
#34
#36
^ If turning to B&O was intended to address the (a?) bass issue, it won't be a whole lot better - using my S5 as a baseline. The hi's are cleaner/clearer, and the mid's are not as intrusive as in - say - a Blose system ... but the bass is still somewhat lacking.
#38
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 744
Likes: 28
From: Houston, TX
2014 E550 Coupe and 2010 E350 Sedan
I wouldn't say you will win any audio competitions, but at least you have a more full bass in the facelifted car. When I get in the prefacelifted car, it's noticeably lighter on the bass. At least that was my experience. I'm comparing the HK systems on both cars if that even makes a difference.
#39
Interesting. I've been consistently disappointed with 'high end' audio in cars. HK in my M3, Bose in my TTS, Logic 7 in my 535d (which wasn't too bad) and now HK in my A207. My brother in Law has the B&O in his '15 S5, and while he loves it I don't think it's that great. I'm starting to think it's just my ears... I spend a lot of time with Bose Noise Cancelling headphones on at work and home, so maybe that's it.
#40
If you have the premium HK with Logic 7. Turn off the Logic 7 surround. The Logic 7 is the worst surround I've ever heard and it screws up the stereo image so bad its almost impossible to listen to...and it reduces the bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
#41
If you have the premium HK with Logic 7. Turn off the Logic 7 surround. The Logic 7 is the worst surround I've ever heard and it screws up the stereo image so bad its almost impossible to listen to...and it reduces the bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
Exactly what I did and the sound quality seems much better.
#43
If you have the premium HK with Logic 7. Turn off the Logic 7 surround. The Logic 7 is the worst surround I've ever heard and it screws up the stereo image so bad its almost impossible to listen to...and it reduces the bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
It's all about that bass...bout that bass!
I'll keep it turned off for a bit to see how some of my other favorite songs sound!
#44
Hi All. I'm new to MBWorld as I recently purchased a 2016 E550 Cab.
My previous daily driver was a 2011 M3 Coupe with the H-K system. In the M3, I spliced into the speaker wires leading to the subs underneath the seats. I ran a cheap and cheerful Sony Class D Mono bass amp into a JBL band-pass box containing one 10" 4-ohm driver. I had the same amp+sub system in my wife's CSX with 6 Honda factor speakers and it sounded amazing.
At first, the M3 sounded blah, with lots of bass. I did some searching and found a blog with suggested 7-Band EQ settings for an H-K system in a BMW 3-Series. I tried it and the result was much much better mids and highs. There were plenty of +3s and -3s. Just a few months ago I discovered a spectrum analyser app. It graphed a white noise signal in real-time so that I could tweak the EQ settings a bit more for my particular car. A small, but noticeable improvement. I have not changed them since. My wife drives the car now. She listens to Hip Hop and Reggae. She is happy.
So... when I ordered my E550, I again turned to the blogs to research wiring diagrams and sub install DIYs - as listening to the factory H-K system in the A207 from listening to my M3 was night and day. At the time of purchase, I was quite optimistic that I could replicate the success I had with the M3.
Here are my findings with the A207 so far. I hope others can build on these and help me get to, or at least closer to my M3 car audio experience.
- It seems the audio clarity and loudness improves with the roof closed. I notice a weird change in loudness/EQ/fader settings when I pull into my parking spot and close the roof just as the leading edge of the roof touches the top of the windshield. I believe at least one other poster mentioned this. Can anyone else confirm? Is there a way to keep the "roof closed" settings even while the roof is open? I have been leaving the roof closed for the last week or so to get a baseline. Perhaps this only applies with LOGIC7 off...
- I turned off LOGIC7 in my M3. I agree with the previous posters that the imaging was so bad that it made listening to audio tracks unbearable. So, logically (pun intended), I turned off the LOGIC7 in my E550 Cab. The audio then turned flat and distant. I have been listening with LOGIC7 back on for the last while. I have not experienced the same bad imaging as I did in my M3. I also have not had the same audio sound difference when closing the roof.
- The wiring diagrams I found for the 2014 E-Class 212s Sedan/Wagons don't apply to the Coupe/Cabrio. My M-B dealer was nice enough to print me off a copy for the 2016 207s, but wasn't willing to fax or email it to me - I had to pick them up.
- The sub amp was deleted for the Coupe/Cabrio. There is now only one amp. There seems to be bass speakers that basically sound good at very low volumes, however bottom out and distort quite easily at mid to high volumes. Before installing my amp+sub, I usually ran the bass EQ "knob" at -3. My spectrum analyser app indicated a large "bump" ~50Hz. Perhaps H-K was trying too hard to get the bass frequencies heard. Obviously I didn't mind the bump, but I couldn't handle the distortion. I believe another poster mentioning having to run negative something on his bass EQ knob.
- I went with my trusted Apline Mono bass amp (which I previously had in my S2000) and a new Apline Type-S 12" driver in a sealed enclosure. The driver has dual voice-coils so I could wire the amp to see 2 ohms to produce 500 watts. Needless to say, I get lots of bass. I'm thinking of disconnecting one of the voice-coils so the amp sees 4 ohms and to produce 300 watts.
Lastly, there seem to be an automatic "loudness" setting that is overly active. For example, the bass levels don't seem to change very much from 1 to 5 clicks, then only marginally from 6 to 10. I have tried to set the gain on my amp to sound good at 10, but then the bass is too loud at 5 or 2 (as I approach my house).
Does anyone have any suggestion as to what to try next? Any more success at hacking the Engineering mode?
Thanks in advance.
My previous daily driver was a 2011 M3 Coupe with the H-K system. In the M3, I spliced into the speaker wires leading to the subs underneath the seats. I ran a cheap and cheerful Sony Class D Mono bass amp into a JBL band-pass box containing one 10" 4-ohm driver. I had the same amp+sub system in my wife's CSX with 6 Honda factor speakers and it sounded amazing.
At first, the M3 sounded blah, with lots of bass. I did some searching and found a blog with suggested 7-Band EQ settings for an H-K system in a BMW 3-Series. I tried it and the result was much much better mids and highs. There were plenty of +3s and -3s. Just a few months ago I discovered a spectrum analyser app. It graphed a white noise signal in real-time so that I could tweak the EQ settings a bit more for my particular car. A small, but noticeable improvement. I have not changed them since. My wife drives the car now. She listens to Hip Hop and Reggae. She is happy.
So... when I ordered my E550, I again turned to the blogs to research wiring diagrams and sub install DIYs - as listening to the factory H-K system in the A207 from listening to my M3 was night and day. At the time of purchase, I was quite optimistic that I could replicate the success I had with the M3.
Here are my findings with the A207 so far. I hope others can build on these and help me get to, or at least closer to my M3 car audio experience.
- It seems the audio clarity and loudness improves with the roof closed. I notice a weird change in loudness/EQ/fader settings when I pull into my parking spot and close the roof just as the leading edge of the roof touches the top of the windshield. I believe at least one other poster mentioned this. Can anyone else confirm? Is there a way to keep the "roof closed" settings even while the roof is open? I have been leaving the roof closed for the last week or so to get a baseline. Perhaps this only applies with LOGIC7 off...
- I turned off LOGIC7 in my M3. I agree with the previous posters that the imaging was so bad that it made listening to audio tracks unbearable. So, logically (pun intended), I turned off the LOGIC7 in my E550 Cab. The audio then turned flat and distant. I have been listening with LOGIC7 back on for the last while. I have not experienced the same bad imaging as I did in my M3. I also have not had the same audio sound difference when closing the roof.
- The wiring diagrams I found for the 2014 E-Class 212s Sedan/Wagons don't apply to the Coupe/Cabrio. My M-B dealer was nice enough to print me off a copy for the 2016 207s, but wasn't willing to fax or email it to me - I had to pick them up.
- The sub amp was deleted for the Coupe/Cabrio. There is now only one amp. There seems to be bass speakers that basically sound good at very low volumes, however bottom out and distort quite easily at mid to high volumes. Before installing my amp+sub, I usually ran the bass EQ "knob" at -3. My spectrum analyser app indicated a large "bump" ~50Hz. Perhaps H-K was trying too hard to get the bass frequencies heard. Obviously I didn't mind the bump, but I couldn't handle the distortion. I believe another poster mentioning having to run negative something on his bass EQ knob.
- I went with my trusted Apline Mono bass amp (which I previously had in my S2000) and a new Apline Type-S 12" driver in a sealed enclosure. The driver has dual voice-coils so I could wire the amp to see 2 ohms to produce 500 watts. Needless to say, I get lots of bass. I'm thinking of disconnecting one of the voice-coils so the amp sees 4 ohms and to produce 300 watts.
Lastly, there seem to be an automatic "loudness" setting that is overly active. For example, the bass levels don't seem to change very much from 1 to 5 clicks, then only marginally from 6 to 10. I have tried to set the gain on my amp to sound good at 10, but then the bass is too loud at 5 or 2 (as I approach my house).
Does anyone have any suggestion as to what to try next? Any more success at hacking the Engineering mode?
Thanks in advance.
#45
Speaker set up for E550
there isn't a subwoofer in the E coupe. I have a 2010 E550 Coupe with the P2 package - > with the upgraded harmon kardon system. I installed a 10 in JL Audio sub for $1200 and it has a knob under the steering wheel to adjust the power from the amp (amazing product and a top of the line amp and pro box). I can post a pic if you want. Thing is amazing. You could do it for as low as $600 if you go with the cheap stuff.