BMW call this "Premium Sound?"

[drsnooz]

God damn!!! Your neighbors must hate you!

[HK_M3]

Taking it back to the old school with the Dragon!

I am familiar with almost all of that equipment but I have yet to hear the Carver mains....thats a lot of time and money vested in that gear!

I am still looking for a good front stage that has an acceptable girlfriend acceptance factor....I like some of what Totem has to offer and that Anthony Gallo Reference tower sounds pretty damn good.

I have a Proceed HPA3 for sale if you know anyone!


As far as the sound settings on the M go...was there a way to cut those frequencies to achieve the desired effect or did you have to boost it?

-Nate

[booforty]

Top thread and top stuff PencilGeek! Thank you!

[Sedan_Clan]

Very informative thread!

[e36jakeo]

When is the party at your place?! No, seriously, I live close enough to you and I expect you to throw a party so I can listen to all your sound stuff, including the quad speaker (exhaust) on that red stereo on wheels

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

fuck what's with the +1's and -1's??? what's the score now???

[BarryC]

PG - thanks so much for posting this info! I was really disappointed in the "enhanced audio" in this car. Started with your recommended settings and tweaked them to my personal taste and I'm much happier now.

Also, I tried Thomas Dolby's "Aliens Ate My Buick" CD and it sounded frickin' awesome! I chose this disc because it has the tightest deepest bass lines of any CD I've heard and IMO a very good recording overall. Back during my "audiophile" phase, I came to realize that there are a lot a crappy recordings out there and that more "revealing" audio systems don't always live up to expectations because they show the shortcomings of a recording. I guess an analogy is a great street car is not a good track car and vice versa - just like a great tube system is probably better suited for jazz than hard rock. My experience tonight reiterates this point. This system sounds very good with the right/good recording and pretty crappy with a terrible recording! Moral here is the content you listen to plays a big part in determining your level of satisfaction with an audio system and of course the "settings".

Thanks again!
Barry

[Tosh]

One of my early passions that continues today is audio and home theater. I used to sell quite high-end speakers, amps, etc. I have heard some of the best sound systems around and I think the BMW premium sound system is just fine.

Now, I normally don't expect too much out of car audio systems, but this system is nice. For those complaining of the poor low-end response... I don't know what to say. I am sure you are proper audiophiles, but you sound like people who want to blast 'Soulja Boy' down main street.

At any rate the premium sound is a sound investment and while it may not be the best stock system out there, it certainly doesn't disappoint.


ed: Not a bad system you have, Pencil Geek. What model Sub do you have--Velodyne makes some nice ones.

[GatorGreg]

Thanks PG for the info. Were you able to determine which frequencies the bass and treble adjustments are effecting?

I am guessing 100Hz and 8K. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Greg

[Sedan_Clan]

PencilGeek, what do you think of this package? I'm just looking to improve the low tone frequencies in my base system.

Something else you mentioned in your first post was really made apparent to me this past weekend. My best friend, my g/f and I were in Vegas for the Olympia event, and we happened to ride to lunch in a rental Camry. The stereo system in that Toyota is phenomenally better than any system I've heard in a BMW. WTF?

[valeram]

Having a really good home system will surely dwarf any expensive auto audio system. That is why I just opted to the base audio and just listen more to the sweet sound of the V8 engine. If I want to listen to a nice music, I will just tuck myself at home and listen to my fairly good system. I mostly listen to a stereo sound even though I have those surround system. My front speaker is the B&W 802 and my source is the Pioneer SACD Elite and powered by Parasound. No MP3's but unfortunately also no vinyl.

[Singletrack]

Thanks a lot of the settings PG. I'm not an audiophile, but I have a decent ear for music. I couldn't believe how bad the stereo sounded stock. First thing I did was boost the bass, then I adjusted with your settings when I got home - MUCH improved. I still need to tweak some, but this is a great starting point.

[AParsh335i]

I think you're on crack! Joking...but seriously man I work at a dealership and I've been in a lot of different M3 configurations. I went on a 6 hour dealertrade, 3 of those hours in a brand new M3conv w/ every option (including the prem. sound). I have a 335i w/ premium sound (logic 7 13 speakers) and the M3's system blew my 335i's out of the water. The Hardon Kardon (sp?) on the e46 M3s is horrible in my opinion.

[e36jakeo]

I just got around to implementing pencilgeek's settings on my enhanced premium sound and now just wonder why I did not do it sooner!! The full-ness of the bass is so much better and, as he mentioned, the freq response is as flat as the system will allow. Up until now I thought my logic 7 system in my 335i sounded better. Not any more.

BTW, if you haven't tried these settings you should. Also, just for giggles try sitting in the back seat. The DSP makes it sound nearly as good as in front with perhaps richer bass. Impressive sound experience for all 4 passengers!

[1º]

maybe, but if thats true why the hell is he lurking into this thread? i say he is jealous that he does not have the equipment nor skill to be able to give intelligent opinions and back them up like you have done before. his comments were out of line and if i were admin i would ban his ip, but w.e

[foosh]

PG,

Thanks for the work you did on the audio settings. I just took delivery of my E93 last week and also did not find the premium system very satisfying, having just come out of what I considered a very impressive system in the RS4.

I used your settings, and it does sound vastly improved to my ears, which is all that matters.

[1º]

lol i know but i felt that you should have been more harsh on this one, so i attempted to do the favor for you with out trying to be banned myself!

[spyderco10]

basic stereo sounds pretty good. I guess ignorance is bliss

[kmac1980]

OT, but PG, have you ever heard/demo'd any speakers by Wilson Audio? I had the opportunity a few years ago to hear a pair of Wilson Audio's "grand slam" speakers in a fully built acoustic listening room/home theater (can't remember amplification...could have been parasound).... still to this day blown away by the experience.

[2008e93M3lease]

I agree. I own the premium sound system, and I admit that I have no idea about audio, but I do know that this sh*t sucks. My right speaker sounds blown out at some frequencies. I also think I hear my right speaker rattling. Took it into the dealer and he pulled the typical, "I don't hear anything wrong"...

[VanM3Lover]

The default settings on the Equalizer sounds very bad. I have used PG's setting and it's a lot better now. There are better systems out there sounds better out of the box, such as the Bose system on the Porsche Cayenne.

My Audio-Technica ATH-A900 headphone that I plug to my computer sounds better than any car system I have ever heard.

[2008e93M3lease]

Originally Posted by VanM3Lover

The default settings on the Equalizer sounds very bad. I have used PG's setting and it's a lot better now. There are better systems out there sounds better out of the box, such as the Bose system on the Porsche Cayenne.

My Audio-Technica ATH-A900 headphone that I plug to my computer sounds better than any car system I have ever heard.

Yes, PG's settings have greatly improved the sound in my car!