Disappointed with Harmon Kardon sound

[LaxDfns15]

That volume level can be a little hard to sustain (for my ears, not the truck)

Agreed. Coming from a quad cab truck that I had 3 subs in, and you're saying volume above 25? Can you hear anything when you get out of the truck? With AA, 20-22 is windows down on the interstate volume.

I will say that the HK sub is boomy and does not hit the lows enough. I will also say that SUV and truck acoustics are going to be different, even if you had the same Bose system in the truck.

 

[NewLove]

Sooo much vibration in the rear.


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[NewLove]

The TSB made a world of difference for mine when i picked it up, but only listened to the before for magbe 15 or 20 minutes.

TSB? For the system?


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[Buz]

That volume level can be a little hard to sustain (for my ears, not the truck)

Guess it depends on one's musical taste and tolerance for noise. I like good clean sound as high as it can go without breaking up and without making my ears feel like they're going to bleed.
I mostly listen to classic rock, blues, country, some alternative etc. So maybe I'm being a bit partial with my observations on the HK system. If you like classical, rap or hip hop then maybe the ideal EQ settings and volume combo would be different. I haven't tested those.

 

[SpeedyV]

Guess it depends on one's musical taste and tolerance for noise. I like good clean sound as high as it can go without breaking up and without making my ears feel like they're going to bleed.
I mostly listen to classic rock, blues, country, some alternative etc. So maybe I'm being a bit partial with my observations on the HK system. If you like classical, rap or hip hop then maybe the ideal EQ settings and volume combo would be different. I haven't tested those.

I think you’re spot-on with most of the settings. But I will typically listen at a (background music) volume level of 8 on the highway, 6-7 in town. I’ll turn it up to 10-12 if it’s a song my wife and I really like. Anything louder and I have to wait until she’s out of the truck. It’s not realistic to have a conversation above 15, and anything above 20 is pretty much “just how loud do you want your loud?”. Mine has seen 38 maybe twice ever. Granted, I had the amp TSB applied early on to my ‘19, so maybe my volume is calibrated differently.

 

[Buz]

I think you’re spot-on with most of the settings. But I will typically listen at a (background music) volume level of 8 on the highway, 6-7 in town. I’ll turn it up to 10-12 if it’s a song my wife and I really like. Anything louder and I have to wait until she’s out of the truck. It’s not realistic to have a conversation above 15, and anything above 20 is pretty much “just how loud do you want your loud?”. Mine has seen 38 maybe twice ever. Granted, I had the amp TSB applied early on to my ‘19, so maybe my volume is calibrated differently.

Agree about conversations above 15 being difficult, but I'm usually alone and usually playing tunes that I really like, so 20-25 is PERFECT for me.

For those saying 20-25 is too loud, have you lowered your bass to the -6 neighborhood? If not I can see why you would think 20 is too loud.

 

[SpeedyV]

Agree about conversations above 15 being difficult, but I'm usually alone and usually playing tunes that I really like, so 20-25 is PERFECT for me.

For those saying 20-25 is too loud, have you lowered your bass to the -6 neighborhood? If not I can see why you would think 20 is too loud.

I typically run -4 to -6 on bass, ever since @ExcursionDiesel did an audio test a year or two ago. But if you’re flying solo and have attended enough heavy metal concerts, I get it

 

[bwsRam19]

I find the HK system adequate for a stock system, but I enjoyed the alpine in my 4th gen just the same, I find the bass a little boomy in the hk

 

[iLikeTurtles]

TSB? For the system?


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Before i bought it dealer stated there was a TSB for sound system. I drove it before the updste for the test drive and felt it was rather quiet. After update volume seems more appropriate and more bass. Subjective though

 

[NewLove]

As stated earlier, I have found the absolute sweet spot for the HK system in our trucks is when the volume is in the 20-25 neighborhood and you do the following:
-Center the fade/balance
-Enable Surround Sound
-Set the EQ roughly as follows: Bass -6, Mid -2, Treble +2 to +4 (depending on your preference for highs)
-Plug music source into a USB (bluetooth compresses sound)

It really is a decent system at these settings unless the actual recording you're playing sucks.

Are these settings good for SiriusXM? Or just for usb music from phone?


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[SpeedyV]

Are these settings good for SiriusXM? Or just for usb music from phone?

I listen to SiriusXM 90%+ of the time. They seem to work well for me.

 

[Buz]

Are these settings good for SiriusXM? Or just for usb music from phone?


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NOTHING is going to make SiriusXM sound good on the HK system, or any other system for that matter.
I can think of no worse source to run through a sound system than digital satellite radio unfortunately.
FM Radio is better. But I'll give SiriusXM a run and report my own findings on best settings for that crappy medium. You have me curious now.

 

[NewLove]

NOTHING is going to make SiriusXM sound good on the HK system, or any other system for that matter.
I can think of no worse source to run through a sound system than digital satellite radio unfortunately.
FM Radio is better. But I'll give SiriusXM a run and report my own findings on best settings for that crappy medium. You have me curious now.

Thanks! Let us know


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[LaxDfns15]

NOTHING is going to make SiriusXM sound good on the HK system, or any other system for that matter.
I can think of no worse source to run through a sound system than digital satellite radio unfortunately.
FM Radio is better. But I'll give SiriusXM a run and report my own findings on best settings for that crappy medium. You have me curious now.

I know sound is subjective, so take this as you will, but I set my EQ to your recommended settings to try them. Because they were so low I did turn the volume up to 24 without issue (read pain), but I literally felt like I was listening to a BT speaker sitting on the center console. In fact, I have a BT speaker that has more low end than what I was hearing on those settings. Granted, I don't want to be drowned out in bass on every song, but I do want to at least hear SOMETHING in that range. This was with my phone plugged in using USB-C.

 

[Aseras]

I seldom turn mine past 14, guess my ears are used to listening to the v10 in my other car.

Same over 14, it will boom out the windows and split your ears in half. People saying to crank it to 20-25?

 

[Buz]

I know sound is subjective, so take this as you will, but I set my EQ to your recommended settings to try them. Because they were so low I did turn the volume up to 24 without issue (read pain), but I literally felt like I was listening to a BT speaker sitting on the center console. In fact, I have a BT speaker that has more low end than what I was hearing on those settings. Granted, I don't want to be drowned out in bass on every song, but I do want to at least hear SOMETHING in that range. This was with my phone plugged in using USB-C.

Absolutely there are times you'll need to turn the bass up from -6 sometimes to 0 to get proper sound, but generally the HK system is most balanced when the bass is at -6.
There are plenty of recordings with super weak bass to begin with making you have to pump the bass up.
Also, the settings I've been recommending are for listening at moderate to higher volume levels. If you are one to mostly listen at softer, sub 15 volume levels, then you can probably benefit by increasing your bass & treble settings a bit.
Remember the 'loudness' button a lot of stereos used to have? (and some still do). That button bumps up the low (bass) and high (treble) settings to compensate at softer volume levels making the overall sound similar to having the volume up to a 'decent' level at proper settings (loudness off) without having to fiddle with your EQ. Hope that made sense.

 

[NewLove]

Is there an App for calibrating the EQ?


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[Buz]

Is there an App for calibrating the EQ?


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I'm not sure, but wouldn't trust an app better than my own (or your own) ears.

I have found the below method is the best way to coax any sound system to perform it's best for the listeners ears.

For our HK system try this:
-Center the balance & fader.
-Surround setting: up to you. I prefer it on.
-Lower all three bands (bass, mid, treble) all the way down to the lowest settings (-8 i think)
-Put on one of your favorite songs at a decent volume level.
-Now bring just the treble up to a level that makes the sound nice and crystal clear, but not too tinny and leave it there.
-Now bring up the bass to where it compliments the treble, but isn't overly boomy and leave it there.
-Now bring the mid up to where it nicely compliments the bass and treble. You'll know when you've gone too far with the mid, the sound blend just becomes awful.

And that's it.
The goal is you want to hear ALL the instruments individually, not just a bassey blend of stuff.

 

[STR]

I have the Bose Premium in my C7Z and had it in my Silverado, and thought it was mediocre at best. I know the acoustics in a SUV is different than a Corvette, but I was underwhelmed. I have the H&K in my Ram and it sounds way better than the Bose in both... Perhaps you need a reflash, or there is some type of system issue.

 

[Rebelguy2020]

I listen to SiriusXM 90%+ of the time. They seem to work well for me.

I’m in the same boat as you, but 100% of the time it’s SiriusXM. We are very limited for fm stations up north in Canada, We don’t even have a country station. I never even tried to listen to the radio station! And I’ve been driving my new truck since July. I have a pair of SONOS player 5 and they sound amazing, that system runs on wifi or a line in and not Bluetooth, I did find that when I listen to SiriusXM the sound quality is not as good as the cable provider digital music channels. I’m old school and don’t store music on my phone. As far as the HK sound, for me it’s terrific, I love the base, the Pandora now station has a lot of deep base music, for me it sounds better than my 2019 Trailhawk Elite system.