Harmon Kardon , worth it?

[dannysmivs]

Good Morning , i have been a lurker for the last few months, i have now sold my 135i and i'm on the hunt for a c63 coupe.

It is worth waiting for an example with the Harmon Kardon upgrade , is it much much better than the standard system?

 

[GP801]

Dont know about the C-class but in the SLK its disappointing. I would not consider it a deal breaker. There are other ways to improve the sound system if you are not happy with the standard set up.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Its alot better, but not amazing.

 

[mark44]

Dont know about the C-class but in the SLK its disappointing. I would not consider it a deal breaker. There are other ways to improve the sound system if you are not happy with the standard set up.

I've got the standard stereo. It's fine, though tbh if there is sound coming from it I must be having a very dull drive.

Generally 6.2 litres of normally aspirated symphonics are all the sound system you'll ever need

 

[dannysmivs]

I've got the standard stereo. It's fine, though tbh if there is sound coming from it I must be having a very dull drive.

Generally 6.2 litres of normally aspirated symphonics are all the sound system you'll ever need

Couldnt agree more with you. But Friday night drive home so deserve some loud music.

Just trying to decide if i want one with lighting package etc.

 

[stevebgt1]

Agreed. You will NEVER play loud music whilst revving a 156 motor.....

 

[stewslash]

I've got HK in my s204 I've found the only real way to get decent quality sound is to use Bluetooth through my iPhone and have my iphones eq set to "bass boost"
using a SD card or HDD playing the same file doesn't sound no were near as good

I still don't think it's as good as the standard none Bose system I had in my previous A6 avant , id hate to imagine what the standard non HK system sound like

 

[John]

If you like loud music - I would do what COMAND suggested to me...

See if the volume of the HK system is enough for you and then swap out speakers.

Otherwise get one without and get amps added.

I didn't like my current HK at first but I've got used to it now. If I keep the car, I will be upgrading it.

 

[StephenSJason]

I have HK but I'm not wild about it for reasons above. The standard system is actually pretty good.

I too came from BMW, where the bottom of the line sound systems are ****e. Merc actually fit pretty decent systems as standard, and I'd put it above the BMW mid-range upgrade which I think they call "loudspeaker system".

Like others, if you want big sound, there's plenty of scope to upgrade. You are nowhere near as restricted as BMW.

P.S. If you are using BT playback from phone/iPod, you can tune it pretty well using the EQ like stewslash says.

 

[dannysmivs]

I have HK but I'm not wild about it for reasons above. The standard system is actually pretty good.

I too came from BMW, where the bottom of the line sound systems are ****e. Merc actually fit pretty decent systems as standard, and I'd put it above the BMW mid-range upgrade which I think they call "loudspeaker system".

Like others, if you want big sound, there's plenty of scope to upgrade. You are nowhere near as restricted as BMW.

P.S. If you are using BT playback from phone/iPod, you can tune it pretty well using the EQ like stewslash says.

Yeah my 135 had the loud speaker system and was very good.

I will using Bluetooth with spotify most of the time.

 

[MrDan]

I had a c class coupe with the standard system and found it a bit lacking, I listen to bassy dance music though and bass is usually the most obvious issue with standard systems as they usually dont have a sub. I've now got a wagon with HK and I'm very happy with it although the BT sound quality isn't great. I find that using an SD card/ aux in makes a massive difference

 

[zenman63]

I have HK in my ML63 with Logic 7 and the sound is fantastic needs nothing, however the quality from the SD card is poor compared to good old CD / DVD, its clipped and not as bright so remember the sound source it vital for good reproduction.
We also have an SLK55 with HK and a SLK350 without and its a fuller sound in the 55 with better stereo image to centre, good base, not mega but enough.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I have HK in my ML63 with Logic 7 and the sound is fantastic needs nothing, however the quality from the SD card is poor compared to good old CD / DVD, its clipped and not as bright so remember the sound source it vital for good reproduction.
We also have an SLK55 with HK and a SLK350 without and its a fuller sound in the 55 with better stereo image to centre, good base, not mega but enough.

Thats down to the bit rate the audio files have been compressed down to on the SD Card, if you keep them the same rate/size as a CDs format it will sound the same - except the files will be 500mb'ish each rather than 10mb or whatever.

 

[Audio Addict]

I had the standard system in my C63 and it wasn't too bad even with psychedelic trance, obviously it was lacking a bit of bass. I looked into upgrading the sound and was told HK isn't worth the money for the improvement.
I ended up having a full system installed with amps, sub and a bit ten processor. It sounds awesome now with so much clarity


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[abar121]

I have the HK system in a facelift C63 saloon. It's one of the better OE systems out there, cetainly better than the top spec system I had in an E90. Which itself wasn't bad.

It's hard to appreciate it though with that lovely M156 music. Plus the added road noise (it's on 19s). Definitely not as quiet as a cooking E90 on the motorway.

Many years ago a mate helped fit a new head unit to my 993C2. It took a few hours as some one had already bodged the wiring. I literally never used it. That air-cooled six sounded sublime

 

[ChrisCLS55]

Its alot better, but not amazing.

I'd agree with this. My Saab 9-3 had a standard set-up and it sounded just as good as the H/K on my Merc. I'm a big music lover and regularly listen to music in my car (until I got the cats recently deleted etc. that is...) and its all about the kind of music and what platform. Radio, CD, mp3 etc. as to the quality IMO.

It wouldn't be a deal clincher for me, personally.

 

[SteveWUK]

No H/K in my CLS63 and it seems the general consensus here is that I'm not missing out on too much.
The standard system I have seems pretty good, I had the optional Bowers and Wilkins setup in the Jag and I wouldn't rate it far behind that at all.

 

[StuartK]

Had it in my C63 and tbh I wouldn't buy a car without it however MB standard system is far superior to BMW standard system which is terrible.

 

[Dave.tam]

Biggest thing to remember is that what sounds good/ok/adequate to one, will sound completely different to someone else.

Best thing to do is have a listen to both with the type of music you listen to and make your decision.

I'm used to £1k worth of sub and amp, so the base in my car is somewhat lacking lol but it's still better than I thought it would be and is totally acceptable

 

[neilod]

Petrol or Diesel

Im struggling to navigate round this site and im probably posting in the wrong place.Im buying a new Cla in May.I do between 8-10 thousand miles per year.Anyone got any idea what sort of money it would cost me per year extra in fuel if i was to buy the Petrol.