[Christos]

I thought it was kind of lame when I first got my car, however, like others have stated, after playing with the equalizer I got it sounding pretty good. It's a convertible, top up sound is absorbed, top down sound goes into space. For #3, for your leg to be resting on the door handle, are you sitting to close to the steering wheel?

The best car stereo I've ever had, in any car, was in my Tesla Model 3, absoutley brilliant!

[M4_444]

Originally Posted by Christos

The best car stereo I've ever had, in any car, was in my Tesla Model 3, absoutley brilliant!

As someone with a Tesla Model 3, I'm not sure if you're joking. It's a mid tier sound system at best but you may just be perceiving that it's better than it actually is because the cabin is so quiet because no engine noise.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by getbfuller

I agree. This is a lot like my HD Street Glide. Sounds amazing sitting still not so great at highway speeds. After doing some sound tweaking my Z4 is pretty good but not great. I do have the HK upgrade. My GMC has a factory Bose system and it sounds much better than my HK in the Z4. Of all my different vehicles my Z4 is by far my favorite. So the feeling I get while driving it overshadows the so so sound system. My advice as far as the sound system goes is teak the settings and enjoy the ride.

I have owned convertibles since 1994 and have always ordered them with whatever the top of the line sound system that was offered by the car manufacturer was. In my case it was for two Mercedes and a 1994 BMW 325i ragtop before my Z4.

In my experience you always have to tweak the settings which are very subjective to each individual that is listening and you can never expect the same quality of sound when driving with the top down at high speeds on a highway as you would hear at slower speeds driving on a street. Also don't forget that the road's surface you are driving on coupled with the type of tires you have on the car can amplify the surrounding noise and unfortunately affect the quality of the music that you are listening to. If you are driving on smooth asphalt you definitely have a better listening experience.

That being said I have played with the settings on my Z4's HK system and have increased the volume to what I deem to be the maximum without distorting the sound while sitting still and went with those settings while on the road.

Finally the music source also plays a factor and I have ripped many CD's from my music collection to my iPhone using the ALAC format from Apple which is a lossless audio compression protocol and I truly believe that has helped improve the quality of sound coming from the HK system and is superior to any music I have played on my radio. You can also download music from the Apple Music catalog in ACC which is a lossy digital audio coding standard and most people will not hear a difference.

There are other streaming services like Tidal, Amazon, Qobuz and Deezer that are offering lossless audio to their subscribers which I don't use.

SiriusXM which many of us have lacks hi-res audio although they did experiment with a Neil Young hi res station last year.

[RigaTony1982]

The HK is miles better than the Hi-Fi sound system. Previous car had Hi-Fi, Z4 has HK. As someone else mentioned, I had to really turn the volume up on the Hi-Fi as it was really underpowered. That car was a sedan, so I’d imagine driving with the top down with Hi-Fi would be rough.

[Christos]

Originally Posted by M4_444

As someone with a Tesla Model 3, I'm not sure if you're joking. It's a mid tier sound system at best but you may just be perceiving that it's better than it actually is because the cabin is so quiet because no engine noise.

The model 3 with premium interior and upgraded stereo is industry known for being one of the best car stereos. Do you have the premium interio and upgraded stereo? Mine was a 2020 version

[M4_444]

Originally Posted by Christos

The model 3 with premium interior and upgraded stereo is industry known for being one of the best car stereos. Do you have the premium interio and upgraded stereo? Mine was a 2020 version

Yes

[tallslenderguy]

i just got a 2021 Z4 M40i, traded a 2014 Jaguar F Type, which i loved, but i live in an area where i have to drive 70 miles to the nearest Jag mechanic, work in the medical profession and cannot just call in for a broken car. i figured in a pinch i can take the Z into a nearby Toyota dealer :-).

This is my second Z, had a 2009 awhile back and loved it, the inline 6 is my favorite engine of all time. For some reason, the previous owner on my current M series got all the extras, except the sound system? Really?

So i have the base system, which i think is Bose? IDK for sure, i have it getting the front bumper painted right now, so i can't go look. It's not HK because there isn't any id on any of the speakers, but the sales person said it was Bose? The only sound adjustments are bass, treble and balance, no equalizer at all. Sounds mediocre to fair if it's parked and the engine is off, but really lousy if cruising, and awful with the top down. Have to crank the volume up 4/5 just to hear it. my 2009 Z had much better sound, and my Jag had Meridian and great sound, all were convertibles, so i know i can do much better.

i use my iphone 11 with Pandora (i've had my music with them forever and they are custom tuned perfectly, would rather not switch over if possible).

Open to any and all suggestions, seems a plethora of info out there, but looking to refine the info? Been watching vids on the Alpha One upgrades? Would really appreciate any and all suggestions for fixing this?

[tallslenderguy]

After reading through the thread and other info, gonna pull the trigger and go with the Alpha One amp for my 2021 Z M40i with the base HiFi speakers. All i've read, in addition to BimmerTechs claims, it's tuned to work just fine with factory speakers, and could always upgrade those in future if i want. Meanwhile, from what i'm reading just the amp is a huge upgrade, so gonna try that first.

Will give updates after the install, which looks really easy. Here's a link to the Alpha One install vid for those interested:

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by Christos

The model 3 with premium interior and upgraded stereo is industry known for being one of the best car stereos. Do you have the premium interio and upgraded stereo? Mine was a 2020 version

It’s pretty good. I’ve had the premium stereo in the 3 and the Y. Not the best for clarity, in my opinion - but it’s better than most systems. I’m looking forward to the Y refresh with a better system (and ventilated seats, etc).

[hilld]

Originally Posted by tallslenderguy

After reading through the thread and other info, gonna pull the trigger and go with the Alpha One amp for my 2021 Z M40i with the base HiFi speakers. All i've read, in addition to BimmerTechs claims, it's tuned to work just fine with factory speakers, and could always upgrade those in future if i want. Meanwhile, from what i'm reading just the amp is a huge upgrade, so gonna try that first.

Will give updates after the install, which looks really easy. Here's a link to the Alpha One install vid for those interested:

I just installed the Fisher Match UP 8DSP (original) version of this amp in my 23 Z4 along with all new speakers. I have a sound file in the thread attached if that should interest you.

https://g29.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1&postcount=39

[BMWGirlFL]

Originally Posted by tallslenderguy

i just got a 2021 Z4 M40i

Sound should dramatically improve if you use the native Spotify app (premium account required) or play quality USB files. Encourage experimenting before mods.

[Danyal.N55]

For the HK Settings I’ll provide my Equalizer settings: Harman Kardon Sound Settings here you go:
Bass + 5
Treble + 5
100 Hz + 5
200 Hz + 4
500 Hz - 1
1 Hz - 1
2 Hz - 1
5 Hz + 4
10 Hz + 5
Logic 7 Surround On
Running iDrive 5 with 600w