Harmon Kardon

[M3 DCT]

Have you noticed how the sound system sounds outside your car? Inside it sounds awesome - extremely clear and no distortion, but even at low volume the sound system sounds distorted from the outside of the car.

Is this normal?

[mdosu]

Sound deadening....with the windows up, I wouldn't want others outside know I'm listening to Bee Gees.

[MKE_M3]

this thread = strange

not even sure where to start?

[1MOREMOD]

3 posts ago!

[MKE_M3]

LOL

[Michaeljh2000]

How bout' when you go inside your home.... can't hear it all. Just sayin'.

[Mike van D]

Originally Posted by mdosu

Sound deadening....with the windows up, I wouldn't want others outside know I'm listening to Bee Gees.

Too funny...hope you don't follow that up with some Air Supply!

[VMcV3y]

No, you don't get "Air Supply."

With every Premium Sound upgrade on a German car you get a demo copy of David Hasselhoff's top hits.

[VMcV3y]

Oh, for the younger audience that don't know to what that refers...

[FVM3]

what does it have to do with how it sounds outside? Even it sounds like shit doesnt bother , you are sitting in the car

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by christopherchenm

what does it have to do with how it sounds outside? Even it sounds like shit doesnt bother , you are sitting in the car

unless ghostriding op is ghostriding

[rdollie]

The lack of sound deadening materials in this car makes it sound like you've got a ghetto system in the car from the outside even when listening to music at moderate levels. My wife and son would comment that I was blasting music as I pulled into the garage because they could hear me until I finally got them to understand the car sounds loud because of the lack of sound deadening material (easiest way to demo it is to take someone on an older highway and listen to how loud it is in the cabin since the lack of deadening material works both ways.)

I hate driving by people in a parking lot while I'm listening to music with my windows up as I look or sound like some young punk trying to make myself deaf...you can see people turning your way to look at you and it's not because of the inviting engine sound.

[M3 DCT]

Originally Posted by rdollie

The lack of sound deadening materials in this car makes it sound like you've got a ghetto system in the car from the outside even when listening to music at moderate levels. My wife and son would comment that I was blasting music as I pulled into the garage because they could hear me until I finally got them to understand the car sounds loud because of the lack of sound deadening material (easiest way to demo it is to take someone on an older highway and listen to how loud it is in the cabin since the lack of deadening material works both ways.)

I hate driving by people in a parking lot while I'm listening to music with my windows up as I look or sound like some young punk trying to make myself deaf...you can see people turning your way to look at you and it's not because of the inviting engine sound.

Thank you! At last someone who knows what Im talking about! The M3 is such a great car in almost all aspects - but from the outside - when you listen to music it really sounds like you are from the ghetto

[jonasaurus]

Its very civil from the inside implying to me that there is reasonable sound deadening material employed. Perhaps it only works one way

[crabman]

Just need to roll with it. Recline your seat about halfway back, if not wearing a baseball cap put one on and cock it over about halfways sideways, install large diameter mufflers that hang about 2 inches above the pavement and sound like crap, boost the base to 10, then crank up that hip-hop. Total cred, the homies will welcome you as one of their own.

[SD-E93-11]

As a convertible owner, I'd agree with the OP's point. I prefer the engine noise to the stereo but when I'm rocking some Hasselhoff I have noticed the sound quality from outside the car is degraded more than you'd expect.

That's when I turn the volume way up, so the drivers around me can enjoy my music library as if they were a passenger.

BTW, the post title is "Harmon Kardon"... has it ever been confirmed that HK makes the premium sound package? I thought this had been discussed and shot down.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SD-E93-11

As a convertible owner, I'd agree with the OP's point. I prefer the engine noise to the stereo but when I'm rocking some Hasselhoff I have noticed the sound quality from outside the car is degraded more than you'd expect.

That's when I turn the volume way up, so the drivers around me can enjoy my music library as if they were a passenger.

BTW, the post title is "Harmon Kardon"... has it ever been confirmed that HK makes the premium sound package? I thought this had been discussed and shot down.

OP's in South Africa.

[SD-E93-11]

Originally Posted by Technic

OP's in South Africa.

Technic, have you heard or read definitively who makes the domestic enhanced sound unit? I haven't seen anything conclusive.

[767IJP]

I find the same thing. When I park it in my garage I find the stereo to be almost imperceptible. Especially when I'm having a shower.

WTF

[VMcV3y]

I used to work for Harman in an administrative department.

Often, I'd visit with the acoustic engineers.

They place their ears and sophisticated electronic devices everywhere inside test vehicles that are sent to their research centres by the automobile OEMs. Then they painstakingly analyze a multitude of various frequencies, waveforms, EQ's, etc. etc. etc. for speaker placement, speaker size, crossover, and on and on.

And probably every other to automobile audio manufacturer does the same exact thing.

Does anyone think that the design criteria includes something like: "Place sound receiver twelve feet distant from vehicle, at 210-degrees from centerline forward, and optimize audio quality for a pedestrian walking adjacent to a five-foot high brick wall on an asphalt surface." ???

No. They have to design for what they can determine is a constant.

They do not design these for out-of-vehicle listeners.