harman kardon stereo abslutly sucks
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Kirkland, WA
97 SL320 Sport, Black. 2003 Denali XL, 2002 Gmc PU, 84 Mustang race car.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
2006 e320 cdi
solution to HK audio problems...
hi there.....im an electrical engineer, but that has nothing to do with the solution to the problem of bad sound from the HK system....
i got my car last week and took a long trip noticing a rasp from somewhere in the front....when the car was parked, it didnt take long to determine that the raspy sound was coming from the front center speaker....
i pulled the cover panel off and found that the cone and spider of the speaker became separated from the frame....heat cooked glue failure....
removing and disconnecting that speaker cleaned up the sound immediately, and im sure replacing it will be another incremental improvement also....lol
if your sub is "poppin" id suspect the same thing has happened to the driver in that position....
the speakers are probably the weakest link in the system being that so many of you are reporting similar problems....but car speakers are subjected to alot of temperature stress, so even the good ones will fail over time...
im gonna replace my center with a small full range driver and not give mb some ridiculous amount of money for another unit that will probably fail eventually also....ill report on my selection when ive made one that sounds reasonably good. Raw drivers in this size range, that are made for hi-fi use range in price from 20-50 dollars....at retail.
Hi end audio has been my hobby for 30 yrs, i own and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of speakers, amps and related gear, and id rate the HK system an 8/10 for audio quality from a factory system....its not worth replacing in my opinion....unless you are just into breaking glass.
i got my car last week and took a long trip noticing a rasp from somewhere in the front....when the car was parked, it didnt take long to determine that the raspy sound was coming from the front center speaker....
i pulled the cover panel off and found that the cone and spider of the speaker became separated from the frame....heat cooked glue failure....
removing and disconnecting that speaker cleaned up the sound immediately, and im sure replacing it will be another incremental improvement also....lol
if your sub is "poppin" id suspect the same thing has happened to the driver in that position....
the speakers are probably the weakest link in the system being that so many of you are reporting similar problems....but car speakers are subjected to alot of temperature stress, so even the good ones will fail over time...
im gonna replace my center with a small full range driver and not give mb some ridiculous amount of money for another unit that will probably fail eventually also....ill report on my selection when ive made one that sounds reasonably good. Raw drivers in this size range, that are made for hi-fi use range in price from 20-50 dollars....at retail.
Hi end audio has been my hobby for 30 yrs, i own and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of speakers, amps and related gear, and id rate the HK system an 8/10 for audio quality from a factory system....its not worth replacing in my opinion....unless you are just into breaking glass.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 19
From: SWFL
E55, E320 CDI , CLA250, Jag XJ Supersport
Now that I have 2 w211s, one with the HK systemand the other with the standard system, I can honestly say I prefer the standard system which seems to have a much flatter EQ curve. Just as loud, just as much low end. Better stereo separation and good midrange.
The HK has that surround processing which makes some music sound good, but really has scooped mids which totally destroys some types of music. Even when you disable surround, the mids are not as good as the non-premium system. I bought all of Van Halens remastered CDs and they sound like crap through the HK. The guitar just sounds horrible. Much better on the cheaper system.
That's my rant!
The HK has that surround processing which makes some music sound good, but really has scooped mids which totally destroys some types of music. Even when you disable surround, the mids are not as good as the non-premium system. I bought all of Van Halens remastered CDs and they sound like crap through the HK. The guitar just sounds horrible. Much better on the cheaper system.
That's my rant!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,311
Likes: 246
From: Virginia
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
hi there.....im an electrical engineer, but that has nothing to do with the solution to the problem of bad sound from the HK system....
i got my car last week and took a long trip noticing a rasp from somewhere in the front....when the car was parked, it didnt take long to determine that the raspy sound was coming from the front center speaker....
i pulled the cover panel off and found that the cone and spider of the speaker became separated from the frame....heat cooked glue failure....
removing and disconnecting that speaker cleaned up the sound immediately, and im sure replacing it will be another incremental improvement also....lol
if your sub is "poppin" id suspect the same thing has happened to the driver in that position....
the speakers are probably the weakest link in the system being that so many of you are reporting similar problems....but car speakers are subjected to alot of temperature stress, so even the good ones will fail over time...
im gonna replace my center with a small full range driver and not give mb some ridiculous amount of money for another unit that will probably fail eventually also....ill report on my selection when ive made one that sounds reasonably good. Raw drivers in this size range, that are made for hi-fi use range in price from 20-50 dollars....at retail.
Hi end audio has been my hobby for 30 yrs, i own and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of speakers, amps and related gear, and id rate the HK system an 8/10 for audio quality from a factory system....its not worth replacing in my opinion....unless you are just into breaking glass.
i got my car last week and took a long trip noticing a rasp from somewhere in the front....when the car was parked, it didnt take long to determine that the raspy sound was coming from the front center speaker....
i pulled the cover panel off and found that the cone and spider of the speaker became separated from the frame....heat cooked glue failure....
removing and disconnecting that speaker cleaned up the sound immediately, and im sure replacing it will be another incremental improvement also....lol
if your sub is "poppin" id suspect the same thing has happened to the driver in that position....
the speakers are probably the weakest link in the system being that so many of you are reporting similar problems....but car speakers are subjected to alot of temperature stress, so even the good ones will fail over time...
im gonna replace my center with a small full range driver and not give mb some ridiculous amount of money for another unit that will probably fail eventually also....ill report on my selection when ive made one that sounds reasonably good. Raw drivers in this size range, that are made for hi-fi use range in price from 20-50 dollars....at retail.
Hi end audio has been my hobby for 30 yrs, i own and use tens of thousands of dollars worth of speakers, amps and related gear, and id rate the HK system an 8/10 for audio quality from a factory system....its not worth replacing in my opinion....unless you are just into breaking glass.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 795
Likes: 188
From: San Diego, CA
2016 E350 Sport; Mom Wrecked the 2008 E350; sold the 2002 C320
For those of you that care, I replaced the stock head unit with an aftermarket (Kenwood DNX995S) with the HK logic 7 system.
It really brought the sound to life - I really like it. I read a thread some years back about how the stock head unit really throttles the stock amp and I can attest it makes a world of difference. My friends thought I had installed an amp and sub.
It requires an Opti-1 or NAV-TV optical to analog module to make it work with any aftermarket head unit
It really brought the sound to life - I really like it. I read a thread some years back about how the stock head unit really throttles the stock amp and I can attest it makes a world of difference. My friends thought I had installed an amp and sub.
It requires an Opti-1 or NAV-TV optical to analog module to make it work with any aftermarket head unit
