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02-11-2013, 05:13 PM | #1 |
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Can Premium Sound be this bad?
I have premium sound in my '12 35i. The sound is atrocious. When playing a classical piano deutsch gramophone recording, the speakers in the front center dash distort like a bad clock radio. The EQs are setting zero as well as treble and bass. The sound has been this way since I picked up my special order. If I play bass heavy pop or hip hop, they sound is fine, but anything that has more treble and mids sound pretty terrible at a medium volume. No matter how I adjust, the front tweeters and center dash speakers distort depending on the track. These are iTunes music store encodes I'm playing.
Are my speakers damaged or does yours sound this way. |
02-11-2013, 05:48 PM | #2 |
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Have you tried a "lossless" source to rule out compression artifacts?
That said, I don't think the premium sound is that great in the E89 to begin with. The stock 10 speaker base stereo in my '08 328 sounded better using the same sources. |
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02-11-2013, 05:56 PM | #3 |
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Unfortunately it is. And you are by far not alone:
http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthre...=premium+audio If you are willing to invest into a good and clean solution check their stuff out: http://www.jehnert.de/?lang=en_US Will have mine installed in April, my brother has their stuff in his 530, it is really good. |
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02-11-2013, 10:42 PM | #4 | |
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I can't believe BMW would put out a "premium" system that sounds broken! This is the most disappointing thing. The sticker on the car was 70k! My 3 coupe had a much more robust and clean sounding system. |
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02-12-2013, 06:22 AM | #5 | |
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There is a thread about the settings, how you can minimize the distortions. Still in my opinion it will never sound statifying. Thats why I´ve chosen the aftermarket option. All in all I will pay around 2400$ for the "Jehnert" system along with amp and installation. |
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02-12-2013, 07:56 AM | #7 | |
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02-12-2013, 08:02 AM | #8 |
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Actually iTunes bitrates are set to 256k AAC, not 320k and some even lower, like 192k. Check the properties on your MP3 file...should say bitrate.
There are a couple of sites in the US (us.7digital.com) and more than 95% of their catalogue is encoded at 320k. Dave
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02-12-2013, 08:48 AM | #9 |
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02-12-2013, 10:22 AM | #10 | |
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02-12-2013, 10:26 AM | #11 |
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The consensus seems to be that the premium sound in the e89 is really not up to anyone's standard. Distortion at normal volumes in a car stereo is almost unheard of in this age.
Has anyone had any luck at the dealership? |
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02-12-2013, 01:22 PM | #12 |
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Hello again, are you playing back via a USB stick or via your phone/music player? If the latter, make sure you have any/all EQ settings turned off and let the car manage it.
Admittedly, I'm not an audiophile, but I do know what sounds "good" in my ear. I have two 2011 BMW's (Z and X3) and they both have the Hi-Fi version installed and quite frankly, my music sounds awesome. Rock, pop, Classical etc...bass, treble etc all sounds good to me and all encoded at 320k, no lossless stuff and zero distortion... Granted the supplied system is no set of B&W speakers...but hey, it's a car. How good is going to sound anyway, bouncing off all that glass....and no roof when the top is down! Also playing off a USB stick in centre armrest. Dave
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02-12-2013, 01:50 PM | #13 | |
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@laz4 I think one factor is whether the recording has a variable bit rate.. I custom set itunes to 320kbps non variable and that seems to be better I agree with you though, the 3 sounds a lot better to me as well. It is annoying that we have to make tweaks to things like cooling system and stereo to get the Z up to the same level as 335is |
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02-12-2013, 03:26 PM | #14 |
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Actually, my wife drives an RX350 with a Mark Levinson system. It's fine as well, no doubt about that, but find it's just as good as what's in my Z or X3. But, as I said, I'm not an audiophile.
Dave
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02-12-2013, 04:33 PM | #15 |
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You mean you didnt pay extra for the distortion and popping and hissing like i did? I must have gotten ripped off them.
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02-12-2013, 04:40 PM | #16 | |
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I wonder if my generalization is off.. I experienced those nakamichi / mark levinson stereos in the LS models and was blown away! Z4 on the other hand... not so much.. |
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02-12-2013, 05:41 PM | #17 | |
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02-12-2013, 05:42 PM | #18 | |
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02-12-2013, 05:47 PM | #19 |
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As a last resource, take a look at the songs that are distorting, it has happened to me with some files that I encoded my self. For some unknown reason, the AAC file is encoded at a very high sound level and the file clips (distorts) by itself. There is an application (google MacMP3Gain) that analyzes the entire file and normalizes the volume to avoid clipping.
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02-12-2013, 05:52 PM | #20 | |
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Very much appreciate the suggestions though. Just frustrated. |
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02-12-2013, 08:17 PM | #21 |
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02-16-2013, 03:55 PM | #22 |
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Ok so I realized something. The center dash speaker is not actually producing distorted sound. The culprit is the grate I've the speaker. When pressing down on the grate while playing music, the distortion is no longer present. Seems that it's not distortion but a really horrible vibration that sounds like a broken speaker. I'm still pretty amazed that BMW would put a speaker in a location where the grate could not be secured more solidly.
I guess my next step will be to visit the service center to see if they will tighten the grate. I suggest others on here with the same experience with distorted sound attempt pressing on the grate and reporting back their experience. |
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