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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics Navigation, iDrive, Audio, Video, Bluetooth, Phone, Coding Equalizer settings? Can anyone help?
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      11-20-2013, 02:02 PM   #1
Piers
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Equalizer settings? Can anyone help?

Hi there, I have HK in my F10, and wondered if anyone could guide me on the best eq settings?
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      11-24-2013, 12:47 PM   #2
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Hi - Start with these and adjust to your personal preference/ music styles:

100 Hz: +0
200 Hz: +1
500 Hz: +5
1000 Hz: +3
2000 Hz: +8
5000 Hz: +5
10000 Hz: +5

Front/Rear Balance:
Rear: +3
Left/ Right balance:
Right: +2
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      11-24-2013, 05:10 PM   #3
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I had mine done by a sound engineer… here are the settings:

Fader: +2 Towards rear
Treble: +4
Surround: OFF
100Hz: -2
200Hz: -1
500Hz: 0
1KHz: +2
2KHz: -3
5KHz: +4
10KHz: +6
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      01-08-2014, 08:19 PM   #4
apovkov
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Settings

Hello,

What music type are these settings geared towards?

I have tried the above configuration, and the music still does not seem tight and clear, still lacking tuning.
I have a 2014 535i with Harman Kardon..

Mostly listen to electronic dance music, pop, and hip-hop

Does anybody have settings that allow tight and hitting bass without being muddy and highs that are clear but don't tear your ears?

I have Lossless audio tracks in highest quality for testing.
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      01-30-2014, 04:56 PM   #5
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Common Sense

My 2 cents:
I agree that my E46 premium HK sound was much "tighter" (bass compact, precise, not overextended). What is called a "British" speaker sound. (Like B&O home speakers)

But now everybody wants sloppy BIG bass, and HK has bended towards that desire. As a result, I don't think our F30 premium can EVER achieve that British sound (my son now has that E46), but you can compensate a bit.

Start with everything at zero. To cure bass muddiness, try dialing down 500Hz one or two notches. Still muddy? Dial down 200 one step or two, then boost volume to comfortable level. I like to boost 100 a step or two. The interaction with the 200 reduction will boost low bass but (hopefully) erase silly muddy mid-bass.

You can boost the 1K and 2K settings to your taste for vocals. But be careful; the system is fairly bright to begin with, and boosting these levels can cause listener fatigue. Two steps may be too much.

The two highest sliders can be boosted for those shimmering highs of cymbals etc, but again, do to taste.

Don't believe the (many) guys who boost all lows and all highs- these settings will cause your eardrums to bleed, and the system is already punchy and bright. Also don't believe the self-proclaims experts who boost the general bass and treble settings, then set sliders. These controls are "grand" and move many levels at once. It is much more precise to leave those neutral and use the more precise sliders.

New radio channel with its own different emphasis? You have to start from scratch! But it is a tribute to the HK system that it reveals those flaws, which on another system you might not hear.
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      02-03-2014, 12:03 PM   #6
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To each their own, but IMO those settings above create a sound that is WAY over eq'd. The HK system is what it is and applying big boosts on a limited band graphic equalizer is only going to make it sound worse. Settings like those create a very peaky sound because you're over boosting (or over cutting) certain frequencies while leaving adjacent frequencies either slightly boosted or not at all.
Subtle is best, so a -1 cut at 200hz to get rid of some bass boominess, a -1 cut at 2k to take edge off snare drums, and if desired, +1 at 5 and 10k.
High quality source material is key as well.
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      02-09-2014, 02:40 AM   #7
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Agreed, to any settings that I try, i end up resetting them as it seams the more you mess with it, the worse it can only get. I don't know if they changed the speakers or not for 2014, but definitely needs more experimenting with, and more input from the forum members!
Im waiting sure that more and more people with notice these problems and a good setup will be discovered....
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      02-11-2014, 10:59 PM   #8
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One thing to remember is that one persons perception of a frequency may differ from another's. Just my opinion.
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      03-16-2014, 03:50 AM   #9
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nobody?
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      03-17-2014, 10:28 AM   #10
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EQ settings are subjective and can vary based on the quality and type of source material. I've stated before that for me, heavy EQ produces unacceptable tonal coloration and therefore I use the iDrive equalizer only for small adjustments. Others dont mind the coloration and would rather have the system sound bright, while others want heavy bass.
I would first define what you subjectively feel is lacking using source material you're very familiar with then adjust the sliders in small increments until the sound is to your liking. Once that is set, try other types of music to see if those tracks sound good and adjust accordingly until you find a compromise that works across your music collection.
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      11-29-2014, 11:25 AM   #11
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Here are my findings (F10, Dakota leather, 2014 HK sound).

Bass and Treble at zero, Logic7 off, couple of notches towards the front.

There really is not much scope to improve things with the limited EQ, and you really don't want to apply too much EQ. So just a nudge in the right direction.

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The ideal curve is a boost in bass of 6 or 7 below 200 Hz, and a cut of 3 or so above 8 kHz.

Here is the before and after. I have dragged the bass down a little, eased the treble up, and tried to quell the nasty step at 1.5 kHz:

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Finally, a full res image showing the extent of the issues (after EQ). Note the peak at 1.5k (still) and the nasty dip at 3k:

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Done using a calibrated iMM-6 mic and Audiotool. Not perfect, but pretty accurate.

If BMW had made it a 5 channel parametric EQ we'd be done in a flash!
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      11-29-2014, 12:27 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pottsy View Post
Here are my findings (F10, Dakota leather, 2014 HK sound).
Thanks! That's almost exactly how I have my EQ set up, except I don't cut quite as much at 1K (but there is occasional harshness that your setting would reduce, however I live with that in order to keep vocals, guitars, etc. from sounding a little dull from a tonal perspective). I also don't cut at all at 100hz.
Yes, a parametric EQ would absolutely be a welcome addition.
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      06-30-2015, 05:05 PM   #13
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OMG useful thread. But ok - are we not compensating for it being um, well almost rubbish.

Normally a beautiful sound will be almost attainable from a flat signal. I have a feeling there are major frequencies lopped off and the speakers are really not very good.

Certain songs, it is clear that the speakers have a loudness and power clarity, but there is zero warmth, and some vocals are quite shrill and over modded.

Had it not been for the fibre nature of the amp and the daft 9 speakers... I mean WTF? I would be hurling it all out.

Speech is just dreadful.

The 7 series standard speaker system is leaps and bounds better 2014 year. Hence I have been posting around to see if anyone has managed to get a nice sound across all music types.

In previous F10 cars I have added rainbow 8 inch subs under each seat and focal components to the front and that is all you need. Just so amazing.

The characteristics of the speakers seems really mid rangey and plastic sounding.

If you know anyone who has made amendments, clean signal, etc please post.

One customer added a Sub and new amp only and seemed happy - it makes kind of sense but the other side of me is like... hm... no.
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      04-29-2019, 08:45 PM   #14
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Posting to a thread from ages ago, but my F10 with HK is still new to me and I've spent a good month messing with eq, reading forums and finally have a sound I'm pretty happy with. Clear vocals, separation of instruments and enjoyable to listen to. Normally I would nudge eq just a hair one way or another to get a good sound. Usually EQ out bad sound by nudging those frequencies negative. That didn't work so well here and I couldn't find a good balance that worked with many different genres of music. The other odity I found with the HK, is the more volume the flatter the eq, less volume more V shaped it is, and there is no way to adjust low frequency bass.

I tried something ridiculous the other day, counter to everything I've been taught as a sound engineer, but I'm happy with the sound. As clear as I can get the HK system on my 2015 535d, and I tap my foot at low volumes without blowing my eardrums out (I'm getting old apparently) and I like this eq with all genres of music so far.

Bass and trebble +3 (first thing that makes me cringe but think of this as a preamp of the digital signal from the head unit going to the HK amp) this helped keep the rest of the bass range equal to the unadjustable low bass.

100Hz: +2
200Hz: +3
500Hz: 0
1KHz: +7
2KHz: +4
5KHz: +5
10KHz: +4

95 dB gets fairly flat response and less V shaped at lower volumes but still V shaped. I listen at about 65db and am very happy. If this works for you, glad I could help, if not to each their own.
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