Harmon Kardon Audio Quality

[Buz]

There are numerous threads on the 19 speaker HK system, and the consensus is that it's much too 'boomy'.
Those that are saying theirs sounds terrific either 1) have the bass slider on the EQ down into negative territory, 2) disconnected their subwoofer, or 3) they truly don't understand how to evaluate a balanced sound system.

The HK system is FAR from balanced. Balance among ALL frequencies is what makes a sound system 'good'. Balance between the high's and the low's and distinctly hearing individual instruments when the EQ is at or near flat settings.

To approach balance on the HK system, the first thing needed is to lower the bass EQ almost all the way down to -6 or so. Since there is only a 3 band EQ, this snuffs out many of the pleasant low and mid range frequencies. You're then left with some mids and as much highs as your ears can handle. Bass -6, Mid 0, Treble +3 is not how a balanced system looks on a three band EQ. A flat EQ with high's and low's slightly elevated is more in line with balanced. But the HK system sounds like crap with those settings.

Since it appears RAM isn't going to own up to this fail with the HK sound engineering, the best thing one can do to balance their system without having to spend money is to disconnect their sub. This did wonders for my truck, but I still feel cheated that I'm not getting the deeper frequencies I paid for.

 

[mikeru82]

There are numerous threads on the 19 speaker HK system, and the consensus is that it's much too 'boomy'.
Those that are saying theirs sounds terrific either 1) have the bass slider on the EQ down into negative territory, 2) disconnected their subwoofer, or 3) they truly don't understand how to evaluate a balanced sound system.

Well, speaking for myself, it's good that you feel qualified to put us into one of three categories. I feel truely humbled in your presence and knowledge of how every single HK system in every single truck sounds. We are truely blessed. Thanks for being you!

Sorry, couldn't resist that. You make some good points, but in the end I disagree with what you define as the general consensus about the HK system. My HK system does not sound "boomy" at all. My EQ is set at what I feel is about as balanced as any system I've owned. Highs +2, Mids 0, Lows +2. I've never owned a system that was truely balanced. I think it sounds better than the Alpine system that was in my 2020 Laramie. I'd have been upset too if it didn't. There are a lot of variables involved here, such as source, music genre, volume, age of listener, etc. There is no way to know how something sounds to someone else. You can only know how something sounds to you. I'm happy with my system. Please stop trying to convince me I'm not

 

[RedRiverRoyce]

There are numerous threads on the 19 speaker HK system, and the consensus is that it's much too 'boomy'.
Those that are saying theirs sounds terrific either 1) have the bass slider on the EQ down into negative territory, 2) disconnected their subwoofer, or 3) they truly don't understand how to evaluate a balanced sound system.

The HK system is FAR from balanced. Balance among ALL frequencies is what makes a sound system 'good'. Balance between the high's and the low's and distinctly hearing individual instruments when the EQ is at or near flat settings.

To approach balance on the HK system, the first thing needed is to lower the bass EQ almost all the way down to -6 or so. Since there is only a 3 band EQ, this snuffs out many of the pleasant low and mid range frequencies. You're then left with some mids and as much highs as your ears can handle. Bass -6, Mid 0, Treble +3 is not how a balanced system looks on a three band EQ. A flat EQ with high's and low's slightly elevated is more in line with balanced. But the HK system sounds like crap with those settings.

Since it appears RAM isn't going to own up to this fail with the HK sound engineering, the best thing one can do to balance their system without having to spend money is to disconnect their sub. This did wonders for my truck, but I still feel cheated that I'm not getting the deeper frequencies I paid for.

Read my comment before. I had an update that was needed to my amp which was not working until i did so

 

[Buz]

Read my comment before. I had an update that was needed to my amp which was not working until i did so

Your issue was low volume, which was an issue back in 2019 when the 5th gen Ram first came out.
A lot of people had that issue and RAM fixed it.

I saw your issue was fixed.
I posted about a different issue but felt this was the place to do it since the title of this thread is 'Harmon Kardon Audio Quality'.
Are you happy with the sound now? Can you have your bass EQ slider above 0 and not feel the music is overly bassey?

 

[Adrianp89]

There is a difference between volume and sound. The HK does both decently. If you want super loud you will never get it from a factory system, that is never a manufacturers intent. Go aftermarket and get the volume you want.

 

[Rock Crawler]

There is a difference between volume and sound. The HK does both decently. If you want super loud you will never get it from a factory system, that is never a manufacturers intent. Go aftermarket and get the volume you want.

It’s not really about high volume, for me at least. It’s more about the quality and fullness of music even at lower, or normal volume. The HK system seems to be missing that. I don’t know, maybe I was spoiled with my previous system. I guess what I’m mostly bummed about is that I got the 12” screen and don’t have the capability of fully removing all the factory audio equipment and upgrading to aftermarket. My fault for falling for the fancy gadgets. I’ve had that problem for many years.

 

[jimchi]

I've got an HK system in my Limited. Disconnecting the sub did wonders. My music is mostly high quality streaming via Spotify.

I wish I could put some sort of passive equalizer just on the sub. Keep it wired up, but with an independent volume control, just for the subwoofer. Anyone know if that's possible?

 

[RedRiverRoyce]

It’s not really about high volume, for me at least. It’s more about the quality and fullness of music even at lower, or normal volume. The HK system seems to be missing that. I don’t know, maybe I was spoiled with my previous system. I guess what I’m mostly bummed about is that I got the 12” screen and don’t have the capability of fully removing all the factory audio equipment and upgrading to aftermarket. My fault for falling for the fancy gadgets. I’ve had that problem for many years.

Go to crutchfield.com and you can swap out your factory system.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I just got mine with the H-K system a few days ago, and after having an aftermarket 6-speaker system in my 2012 Lonestar (installed by me), I have mixed feelings. My custom system was a JVC head unit w/Infinity Kappas in the doors and an MTX Thunderform w/10" Terminator subs & 400w amp - the 13-band EQ in the system allowed me to tune the freqs that annoyed me to where I felt it was more balanced for my liking. And that truly IS a key part of this whole experience: everybody is different, so results may vary from vehicle to vehicle, tune to tune, and person to person. It's tough to nail down specifics when it comes to such a spectrum of different things at play.

My biggest complaint with the H-K is that I'm not experiencing the bass response as I had in the 2012 (of course, because I had 400w to play with using the gain knob) that I could adjust on-the-fly as each tune demanded for the way I wanted to hear them. I still like it loud and like to feel the bass, which the H-K (so far) seems only mediocre at doing. Some tunes are better than others, but most miss the mark for me.

My kudos for the UConnect 12" H-K system are: 1. having a proper volume knob again (I have to lower the tunes when I roll up to the gate each time, and it's just so much easier than waiting for the steering controls or buttons to bring the volume down each time), and 2. it has the ability to smartly balance freqs between each tune so they almost sound like they were recorded using the same engineering parameters, therefore not needing constant adjustment by me from tune to tune (these are MP3s from a thumb drive, so just about everything is different between each file).

I'm going to give it a chance before I make any decisions to add any aftermarket equipment, but I'm thinking a single powered sub with gain control should do the trick and get me close to what I had with my custom system, albeit with the much refined processing of the H-K.

And yes, Crutchfield is the way to go.

 

[FransK]

I have a 2022 3500 Limited with the HK system and the sound is better than my 2016 3500 Laramie Alpine system, but it’s far from satisfying. I bypassed Bluetooth with an Astell & Kern HC2 DAC via AUX (kludgy!) and that does help when streaming Qobuz lossless VS BT, but… my wife's 2022 Audi Q7 with the Bang & Olufsen system is miles better. Even when using the simple Bluetooth connection. It’s darn close to audio nirvana.

Needless to say I am currently researching options to enhance the sound in the 3500 - to even get 3/4 of the way there. Will keep an eye on this thread.

 

[ramhouston]

My Alpine system on 20 volume is more than enough for my everyday driving in my opinion..

 

[Limited Legend]

I personally like My HK, sounds better then the HK in my 2015 300C. The 300C speakers are not what they were when I bought it in 2016. I wont abuse the Ram like I did the 300.

 

[Dietz5285]

I usually drive, with all 4 windows down, and the radio on 20. When others are in the truck and the windows up, 8 might even be too loud. There is a difference in volume between HD radio and XM or non-HD stations. I notice the volume difference between those are about 4 or 5 on the volume dial.

My favorite Pet Peeve is when others invade my space with their radio up so loud that it drowns out my music. When you drive around with your music blaring do you ever think about others around you who may not appreciate the NOISE?

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

On the road, noise is noise. It bugs me when I am at a gas station and the idiot has to pull up, open his doors and blast his noise for all to have to listen to.

I had a loud system in a past vehicle and just went in and cranked up some "antigangster" bootleg David Allen Coe. That guy looked a little upset. I noticed everyone else grinning though.