In this episode of SOUND OFF we show you why you HAVE to upgrade the Harman Kardon system fitted in BMW 1 and 2 Series cars!
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• Video
In SOUND OFF, we show you exactly what manufacturers fit as a factory sound system, be it the standard system or optional upgrades, and compare those components against aftermarket upgrades.
As part of the comparison we weigh the components, as generally weight gives a good indication of quality, but we also take you through the parts that build each component and the benefits offered in the aftermarket parts, primarily focussing on magnets, cone and speaker construction.
This BMW M235i arrived with us fitted with the Harman Kardon sound system, the same you'll find in any BMW F2x 1 or 2 series car. The system is comprised of;
- A center speaker
- A tweeter and 4" mid-range in each door
- An 8" underseat sub
- A 4" Co-Axial speaker in each rear quarter (or door)
- A Harmon Kardon amplifier in the boot
The speakers are the same poor quality, low powered, mass produced components you will have become familiar with seeing in previous episodes of SOUND OFF. They utilises cheap paper cones, poor quality plastic framework, a lack of automotive focussed sound design, and ferrite magnets.
Why are these things important? The build quality of components, and the way they are designed, is crucial for the performance of the speaker. The structure of each speaker affects they ways in which air is moved and sound waves are dispersed into the vehicle, while elements like the grill design on tweeters help direct soundwaves in the best way to ensure you get an improved listening experience.
The magnets fitted are also a key detail. A lot of components, especially from factory, use ferrite magnets. Ferrite is a naturally magnetic material that is cheap to mass produce, however the size to power ratio is very poor - you need a HUGE ferrite magnet to output a high enough level of magnetism to achieve the performance required for high end components. Size obviously becomes a problem, due to fitting components in a car, but also due to weight and physical structure.
The Audison Prima components use a Neodymium magnet, which is a rare earth manufactured magnet, that posses a far greater magnetic strength, meaning a much small magnet is able to perform in a far superior way to a comparative ferrite magnet. This means the aftermarket components can follow the same form factor for a stock location fit, while providing far more power creating a hugely improved sound output.
The Audison Prima range of components used here are a direct fit replacement for BMW F2x vehicles, meaning they are designed to be exact fitments to go into stock locations. If your car doesn't have Harmon Kardon as standard, we can also replace the tweeter blank with the Harmon Kardon part to allow a tweeter to be added to your system.
In the boot you find the Harmon Kardon amplifier, which is a very low quality part, mostly consisting of a metal design to act as a heat sink, and a single plug with a small DSP unit attached. In this instance, we find that the amplifier has failed, which seems to be a very common occurrence. This means we are replacing the amplifier with the Audison Prima Forza 8.9bit class D amplifier. The Prima F8.9 has a very small form factor allowing it to be located in a factory position, but provides much more power - 85w per channel in a 4 ohm system. This is a significant increase over the factory amplifier, while also providing the ability to tune the system using built in processing power. We even have a 9th channel of processing power that allows us to tune an external active subwoofer alongside the main amplified system.
If you would like more details on the install of this system into the BMW M235i, you can check out Behind The Sound on the build here:
• Upgrading A Harmon Kar...
Thanks for watching our video.
If you are interested in a similar install in your vehicle, please feel free to get in touch!
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