[Ramos]

Reason I ask is that I test drove an M235 with the Harmon Kardon and wasn't that impressed. I know about the 16 vs 12 speaker fiasco but was still expecting more. The sound wasn't all that crisp in my humble opinion.
I'm wondering how much worse is the stock system from anyone who has heard both and wether the HK is worth the price premium?

[modeboy]

I find the current HK in the 235 to be quite crisp. A definite improvement over the HK system in the 2012 135 I just got out of. While I would have preferred the beefier system with more speakers that was originally advertised, I'm please with the sound and find it quite detailed and punchy after tweaking the bass/treble controls to my liking. I think the center speaker has a lot to do with that, reflecting off the windshield...

JB

[Ramos]

But the real question is comparing the M235i base system to the HK system in order to justify the price premium.

[BEM-S4]

Check the thread on speaker upgrade. Think stock with $300-ish investment gets you a pretty good system. That said I have HK but got it back when it was falsely advertised so I got the refund.

[DanG]

I upgraded speakers. The stock speakers are four inch paper speakers. Very tinty sound. My Focals sound better than the HK using the stock amp.

[tccox]

HK system in my 228 is better than the HK system that was in my 128

[dmboone25]

Stock system is pretty poor IMO - not very loud and no bass.

Haven't heard the HK in the 2er, so not sure how much of an upgrade it is - my guess is that you can do a lot better for $875 on your own.

[kerm1t]

well i didn't expect much from the hk system on my m235i, but got to say im pretty damn impressed. maybe its because i expected it to be utter crap, but its pretty crispy and punchy. definitely a good investment for $575 since i got money back :d

[///M235i]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Reason I ask is that I test drove an M235 with the Harmon Kardon and wasn't that impressed. I know about the 16 vs 12 speaker fiasco but was still expecting more. The sound wasn't all that crisp in my humble opinion.
I'm wondering how much worse is the stock system from anyone who has heard both and wether the HK is worth the price premium?

I do not have my M235 yet, however, a really good point of reference is my stock stereo in my 3 series. I listen to all kinds of music and talk every single day. The stock stereo at least in the 3 series sounds fantastic.

[wazzza]

I had the opportunity to listen to both, the stock and the h/k system when I test drove the M255i at different dealers. At first listen, h/k sounded much crisper and paunchy. But I will also add that at that moment, I was under the impression that the h/k I was listening to was the "full fledged" h/k, so psychology may have played a trick or two there.

I listened to the h/k system on my fiance's E92 and now, I feel like my h/ks sound like crap. Again, psychology may have played a trick there, now that I know that this is a sub-par system

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Reason I ask is that I test drove an M235 with the Harmon Kardon and wasn't that impressed. I know about the 16 vs 12 speaker fiasco but was still expecting more. The sound wasn't all that crisp in my humble opinion.
I'm wondering how much worse is the stock system from anyone who has heard both and wether the HK is worth the price premium?

I wonder what impact if any is pumping the engine sound through the speakers has on the sound quality?

[wazzza]

Originally Posted by nachob

I wonder what impact if any is pumping the engine sound through the speakers has on the sound quality?

From what I have observed, the engine sound is only noticeable in Sport/Sport+ mode. I can barely notice it (unless I roll the windows down to hear the actual sound) on Comfort and it's non-existent on Eco Pro.

But then again, who cares about the music when on Sport mode right?

[DanG]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

Stock system is pretty poor IMO - not very loud and no bass.

Haven't heard the HK in the 2er, so not sure how much of an upgrade it is - my guess is that you can do a lot better for $875 on your own.

+1

[PoutineMachine]

I'm coming from an e92 M3 with the premium sound option and I think the H&k setup in my new m235i sounds fantastic. I miss the multi band eq but out of the box I prefer the sound of the H&k in the m235i.

[Bahuba]

I have the stock HiFi (BMW Professional) system in my 135 and the HK system in my 235. I have both cars still and the HK system is noticeably crisper across the spectrum. It also depends on the production values. Some songs sound only marginally better while others are night and day. The HK system also seems to be more consistent across all the sources (Radio, Bluetooth Audio, Sirius, Internet (TuneIn app)) whereas in my 135 USB (IPhone) and CD sound noticeably better than the radio. However, if you are not a audiophile, I would pass on the HK.

[cbbplanet]

Stock speakers are horrible... it felt like it was coming out of those small bluetooth speakers (exaggerating a bit but you get idea)

My e92 stock speakers sounded way better.

[DanG]

I think we can all agree that the stock system with no tweeters is not very good. It is very disappointing in a $50K car.

Maybe they will add tweeters in 2015 or so like they did in the 1 series.

[Squddie]

I actually listened to the non-HK US system (which is the mid-level system in Europe) in a F30.

It sucked. However had the HK is, don't get it. It didn't seem to have any tweeters at all.

To make things worse, the HK stuff might have at least full frequency range speakers, but the quality isn't great either compared to e.g. BSW. But if you don't get the HK then many BMW models miss positions for speakers in the side. Not sure about the 2-series.

[symple84]

Originally Posted by PoutineMachine

I'm coming from an e92 M3 with the premium sound option and I think the H&k setup in my new m235i sounds fantastic. I miss the multi band eq but out of the box I prefer the sound of the H&k in the m235i.

How do you like the 235 compared to the M3?

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Squddie

I actually listened to the non-HK US system (which is the mid-level system in Europe) in a F30.

It sucked. However had the HK is, don't get it. It didn't seem to have any tweeters at all.

To make things worse, the HK stuff might have at least full frequency range speakers, but the quality isn't great either compared to e.g. BSW. But if you don't get the HK then many BMW models miss positions for speakers in the side. Not sure about the 2-series.

The stock system does not have tweeters in the window corners like the HK system does. It is easy though to add some but takes wiring and cutting the panel. Or you could get new speakers which include a tweeter like the Focals I purchased.

[cbbplanet]

Originally Posted by DanG

The stock system does not have tweeters in the window corners like the HK system does. It is easy though to add some but takes wiring and cutting the panel. Or you could get new speakers which include a tweeter like the Focals I purchased.

Did you need a new amp? How was the installation and wiring?

[DanG]

Originally Posted by cbbplanet

Did you need a new amp? How was the installation and wiring?

Didn't need a new amp. I used the stock wiring.

Link to pictures of stock speakers and my replacements. http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=970561