Advice on Harmon Kardon...what do YOU think of it?

[Palmball]

I must admit that I have been spoilt when it comes to my recent in-car sounds...two out of my three BMW's had upgraded Logic-7 and the M3 had the premium 850 watt 'Individual' system and was fantastic.

I actually thought the HK system in the C63 would have been similar to the Logic-7 in the BMW (they are both made by HK after all) and initially I was very impressed with the unit in the MB. Indeed, it appears to be a crisper sound to BMW's Logic-7 and the surround sound effect is better.

But, and it's a big BUT...when you turn the sound up, I think the tweeters provide a very harsh sound which can occasionally make it uncomfortable to listen to at medium to high volume. If it wasn't for this flaw, and again this is just my opinion, then it would be perfect.

So, for those who have HK or have experience of it, what are your thoughts?

And, if there are any experts out there, some questions....

• What can I do to get rid of the harshness?
• Can I simply change the tweeters for a less harsh type?
• If so, any recommendations and how easy would these be to fit?

Any advice and/or opinion greatly appreciated!

 

[whitenemesis]

I don't have HK but I also find the standard tweeters very harsh at med/high volumes.

Are they common to both standard and HK systems?

 

[219]

I used to work in the hi-fi industry : Harman-Kardon were good back in the days when the kit was made in the USA ( Citation series amps etc ) , general feeling was they went downmarket when production was moved overseas .

 

[Smatt]

H-K in our B class is a definite improvement from standard system & pretty good for driving, but it's no home separates system!
(I presume you have tried altering the tone settings?)

 

[Gene]

Hi Palmball,

I have the H/K L7 (in a W204) sounds superb especially with the demo 5.1 CD.
I have tested mine at high volume with no harshness.

It may be worth paying your dealer a visit, there may be a problem with your tweeters. Good luck.

 

[Palmball]

Mmmm....thanks for the comments so far. I guess its a personal preference and you kind of get used to a certain type of sound. I know if anything the Logic 7 in the M6 lacked top-end so it's probably something I'll get used to.

It does depend on the type of music with 'older' recordings (you know...80's stuff and the like ) being worse than newer, more bassier sounds.

 

[cleverdicky]

I used to make a lot of my own speakers. Cabinets, crossovers etc. And think I know where your coming from.
You can easily get some sound sampling software, where you can feed in known signals either from a sig gen or audio test cd and 'sample' the response.

I think from your description and what little I remember about speakers (and bear in mind car speakers (4ohm anyway) are never going to be audiophile quality whoever makes them) is an easy fix. That said you could try simply soldering a slightly different capacitor across the tweeters (cap in parallel) to filter any spurious low - mid frequencies getting through.

Audio crossover - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or go the whole hog and replace the crossover network.
Or better still fit an 'active' crossover. Then you will get the precise frequencies amplified for each dedicated speaker.
A lot to set up -better from scratch. But worth it !

 

[masterross]

I have HK in my E-klasse and it's miles ahead from Bose competitors in Audi for example.
The 7L is really amazing.
Only the bass is not so deep and have vibrations at high volume but it's really worth.