BMW and M Power Owners

AiiR · 3 Nov 2019 at 19:14

Got the HK in ours and it sounds superb.

Blackhawk47 · 3 Nov 2019 at 20:52

FL630 said:
Yes indeed. I bought the car used and the previous owner had ticket every box, apart from, strangely, the HK stereo, instead opting for the mid range one. I like the lights though, the hexagons look cool and the split beam thing is mad to watch at first. I drive mostly in London so it's rare I use high beam but when I do it's brilliant to see it in action.

I have the HK on mine, it took a while to get used to it and fiddling the settings, basically turn up the bass to nearly full for it sound decent. I believe though the HK in the 2 series is a lot more toned down then the HK in the other BMWs.

I still think the bang & olufsen system I had in the TT was superb and actually better overall.

Jony27 · 3 Nov 2019 at 22:34

Anyone had a 5speed ZF autobox serviced before? What's the cost roughly? Might get it done with the next oil service.

texasjohn · 4 Nov 2019 at 08:14

arfoll said:
Which is ironic since they're all made by Harman...
HK means different things in different cars/models/years some people find it amazing, I don't think it's worth the money.

As you go up the range the HK gets 'better'. Very happy with it in the F10. It's not the last word in sound quality but it's good enough.

I had Individual in an E90. It was better quality but the car's NVH levels were higher. Sounded good on the driveway, though!

mjt · 4 Nov 2019 at 09:35

texasjohn said:
As you go up the range the HK gets 'better'. Very happy with it in the F10. It's not the last word in sound quality but it's good enough.

I had Individual in an E90. It was better quality but the car's NVH levels were higher. Sounded good on the driveway, though!

I remember the Pro Hifi/DSP in the E39 and the Logic 7 in the E60 were pretty good for the time.
It's frustrating they don't put top-end stuff at the lower-end of the market though, especially in the 3er.

[TW]Fox · 4 Nov 2019 at 09:44

mjt said:
I remember the Pro Hifi/DSP in the E39 and the Logic 7 in the E60 were pretty good for the time.
It's frustrating they don't put top-end stuff at the lower-end of the market though, especially in the 3er.

No need, all you need to make a 3 series sell well is black wheels, black grilles, M performance stickers and low monthly payments. Why waste money on a quality stereo?

FL630 · 4 Nov 2019 at 10:36

I'd actually say that compared to the HK I had in my 435d, the mid-range BMW stereo isn't actually as bad as I had expected. It certainly can't do the volume of the 4's HK, but it's sound quality is certainly passable.

That said, I drove an i-Pace the other day, my god the Meridian sound system is staggering compared to anything I've heard in BMW. Just shows how good in car audio can get. I'd love to try something like Bentley's Naim system.

breathe3asy · 5 Nov 2019 at 10:11

I've calibrated my HK to sound immense, its incredible what it can do after a bit of proper tweaking. Took me ages to find the right setting though

Dangerous Dave · 5 Nov 2019 at 13:17

You can recode the iDrive for the higher end audio systems to get the full EQ settings makes a big difference as you can fine tune it better. On default settings the system has too much top end and not enough bass turning up the bass gives you more but it booms rather than the tight punchy bass from the Audi B&O system. Turning down the top end lowers the brightness but loses you some detail. Some owners have said disconnecting the centre speaker makes the system sound better never tried it.

The HK system in the 1 Series/Mini sounds inferior to the 5 Series system, the 3 Series system sounds comparable to the 5 to me bar the bass which sounds a bit more boomy in the 3 Series not sure if the subs are bigger in the 5.

BananaDunka · 5 Nov 2019 at 15:06

Can the new M2 CS stand alongside the M3 CSL? It certainly looks great as far as modern models go, but the CSL remains untouchable.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/11/05/photo-comparison-bmw-m2-cs-vs-e46-bmw-m3-csl/

texasjohn · 5 Nov 2019 at 15:11

[TW]Fox said:
No need, all you need to make a 3 series sell well is black wheels, black grilles, M performance stickers and low monthly payments. Why waste money on a quality stereo?

This

Alex_6n2 · 5 Nov 2019 at 19:17

ceaton88 said:
I've calibrated my HK to sound immense, its incredible what it can do after a bit of proper tweaking. Took me ages to find the right setting though

Bimmercode?

Blackhawk47 · 5 Nov 2019 at 20:29

mrk said:
Can the new M2 CS stand alongside the M3 CSL? It certainly looks great as far as modern models go, but the CSL remains untouchable.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/11/05/photo-comparison-bmw-m2-cs-vs-e46-bmw-m3-csl/

The price of it is ridicolous considering it isn't that much different from a M2 competition in the grand scheme of things. I doubt it sounds as good as the original M2.

This link has some more pics. I'd rather the M3 CS or M4 GTS.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/11/05/world-premiere-2020-bmw-m2-cs-mean-machine-is-finally-here/

BananaDunka · 5 Nov 2019 at 21:18

The M2 sounds better than both M3 and M4, I highly doubt the M2 CS will sound worse than the standard M2, it can only sound the same if not better. M3 and M4 sound like souped up hairdryers.

theone8181 · 6 Nov 2019 at 07:29

mrk said:
The M2 sounds better than both M3 and M4, I highly doubt the M2 CS will sound worse than the standard M2, it can only sound the same if not better. M3 and M4 sound like souped up hairdryers.

Doesnt the M2 cs use the M3/4 engine?

BananaDunka · 6 Nov 2019 at 08:18

Don't know abiut the emgine but different exhaust setups, and other bits make the M2 series sound different (better) as noted by pretty much all reviews on the tube etc.

Vita · 6 Nov 2019 at 09:00

Is there a massive difference in performance between the F10 versions of the 530d/535d. Are they also hybrid?
I
noticed some have a different steering wheel in m sport trim, mainly years after 2012? Was there a facelift then?

I was looking at e60 lci 535d's, but a couple ££££ extra gets me into a F10.

MacRS4 · 6 Nov 2019 at 09:06

I had the original M2 and upgraded to the M2C. The Comp sounds crap compared to the original M2. N55 in the M2, S55 in the M2C.

Dangerous Dave · 6 Nov 2019 at 09:07

535d isn’t a hybrid

Not a lot in it on the road I always found the extra performance is wasted due to traction at lower speeds, over 70-80 it is a little quicker but not night and day.

The main benefit of the 535d for me is the low down throttle response, the 530d suffers from throttle lag that is annoying at times.

Vita · 6 Nov 2019 at 09:37

Dangerous Dave said:
535d isn’t a hybrid

Not a lot in it on the road I always found the extra performance is wasted due to traction at lower speeds, over 70-80 it is a little quicker but not night and day.

The main benefit of the 535d for me is the low down throttle response, the 530d suffers from throttle lag that is annoying at times.

Thanks for that. I asked about hybrid because I noticed a small battery icon on the Speedo gauges. Is this just brake energy regen labelled as a efficient dynamics now?