[mexxdude]

I took delivery of my X3 yesterday. So far I am very happy with the car. It is a beauty inside out. I went to a restaurant last nite and saw quite a few people checking out the car at the parking lot. Yeah my friends and I sat at the patio to keep an eye on the car so we witnessed everything. haha. I know I am crazy!!

One question: I got the premium sound system option. How do I verify that it is installed? I counted the number of speakers... 4 at the front doors, 4 at the rear doors, 2 at the trunk, and 1 on the dash. So that's 9 in total. But shouldn't it be 16 in total?

Thank!!

[walendvay]

Originally Posted by mexxdude

I took delivery of my X3 yesterday. So far I am very happy with the car. It is a beauty inside out. I went to a restaurant last nite and saw quite a few people checking out the car at the parking lot. Yeah my friends and I sat at the patio to keep an eye on the car so we witnessed everything. haha. I know I am crazy!!

One question: I got the premium sound system option. How do I verify that it is installed? I counted the number of speakers... 4 at the front doors, 4 at the rear doors, 2 at the trunk, and 1 on the dash. So that's 9 in total. But shouldn't it be 16 in total?

Thank!!

If you have the center speaker and the cargo pillar speakers, you have it installed.

You have two speakers under the seats (subwoofers). Each other site has two speakers (wooker/midrange + tweeter). So, 4 doors + two pillars + center = 7*2=14 + 2 subs = 16.

Also, you should have a surround option in the sound TONE settings.

[mexxdude]

Originally Posted by walendvay

If you have the center speaker and the cargo pillar speakers, you have it installed.

You have two speakers under the seats (subwoofers). Each other site has two speakers (wooker/midrange + tweeter). So, 4 doors + two pillars + center = 7*2=14 + 2 subs = 16.

Also, you should have a surround option in the sound TONE settings.

Great, I do have surround option. Thanks for the quick response.

[YOYO1111]

How do you think it sounds? I'm not impressed.

[Niva]

Originally Posted by walendvay

If you have the center speaker and the cargo pillar speakers, you have it installed.

You have two speakers under the seats (subwoofers). Each other site has two speakers (wooker/midrange + tweeter). So, 4 doors + two pillars + center = 7*2=14 + 2 subs = 16.

Also, you should have a surround option in the sound TONE settings.

Anybody know if this is the same system that comes standard on the Canadian spec 35i?

[aussiem3]

I have the premium/professional sound system and it is absolutely with the extra you pay. It's perfect for the SUV with the image and the sound stage just like my individual system in my ///3. If you like your music it is a must have option. I have the same setting for the amp on both cars.

[mexxdude]

I am impressed with the sound so far. I adjusted the tune according to one of the posts on here and increased the bass (+3) and treble (+4). The sound is much more 3 dimensional (if that make sense) than my 2008 328i. And I am sure it will get even better after the break-in period. I highly recommend it!!

[Radioactive]

Originally Posted by mexxdude

I am impressed with the sound so far. I adjusted the tune according to one of the posts on here and increased the bass (+3) and treble (+4). The sound is much more 3 dimensional (if that make sense) than my 2008 328i. And I am sure it will get even better after the break-in period. I highly recommend it!!

Holy Cow! +4 on the treble. Most here found the premium sound a bit bright before the system brake-in. Man, the dogs must be howling when you drive down the street. A wild guess here; is that you set the bass before the treble. The sound is clearer when the surround is set to off. Happy listening!

[Radioactive]

Originally Posted by YOYO1111

How do you think it sounds? I'm not impressed.

Sounds better after break-in. Not tubes, but sensitive to source material. In the end, I don't think the CD driver is that good.

[walendvay]

sounds awesome all of the time, pre and post break in. there is really no "break in" with respect to silicon based amplifiers and paper/poly speakers. sound is subjective. you either like it or dislike it. Mamma likes Premium Sound!

[mexxdude]

Originally Posted by Radioactive

Holy Cow! +4 on the treble. Most here found the premium sound a bit bright before the system brake-in. Man, the dogs must be howling when you drive down the street. A wild guess here; is that you set the bass before the treble. The sound is clearer when the surround is set to off. Happy listening!

lol. I like my bass and treble, what can i say. Since X3 doesn't have seat massager like the 6-series, I thought the vibration from the bass is a good substitute. I am glad that the system is able to handle it.

[Evlengr]

Originally Posted by mexxdude

I am impressed with the sound so far. I adjusted the tune according to one of the posts on here and increased the bass (+3) and treble (+4). The sound is much more 3 dimensional (if that make sense) than my 2008 328i. And I am sure it will get even better after the break-in period. I highly recommend it!!

Those settings are not good for the system. What you should do is turn the treble up to +1 and then use the volume control.

It amazes me when I get into a rental and people have the setting cranked up, even beyond this. All your doing is allowing for more oppurtunities for distortion.

[NYC_340i]

I have Premium sound and I'm not impressed either. I traded in my 2006 ML350 with had Haman Kardon premium sound and I LOVED it. I'm beginning to miss my Benz right now.

[Mako]

Originally Posted by Rajgavoury

I have Premium sound and I'm not impressed either. I traded in my 2006 ML350 with had Haman Kardon premium sound and I LOVED it. I'm beginning to miss my Benz right now.

It's funny how car companies advertise speakers and watts but usually hide the brand and type of speakers. My Mercedes C63 premium sound is 600 watts and the Land Rover LR2 premium is 500 watts but the systems aren't even close in quality. The Mercedes is one of the best I have ever heard. I suspect the X3 premium sound is more like my current LR2 and better than standard but you still get what you pay for, it's not going to rival the M3 premium sound $1900 option.

Another reason I am thinking of waiting for the X3M.

[ovrdriv]

Tweaking the Logic 7 Premium Sound

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to break down and finally buy a Radio Shack Sound Meter. I ran a CD frequency sweep through the Premium Sound System and found some surprising measurements. First the bass output is below 30Hz. Second the higher frequency roll off begins after 2000 Hz. Personally I like the surround off. I believe that there is greater clarity which leads to greater instrument separation, better sound staging and more "air". So based on my measurements I did the following changes to smooth out the curve.

Surround Off
Treble +2
Equilizer 100 Hz +2
200 Hz -2
500, 1000, 2000 Hz no change
5000 Hz +2
10000 Hz -1

The system probably needs at least 100hrs to break in. So these could change. Already the treble is starting to smooth out.

I did increase the bass +2 put that's subjective. Update=Bass at 0

[ZipSpeed]

Originally Posted by ovrdriv

Tweaking the Logic 7 Premium Sound

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to break down and finally buy a Radio Shack Sound Meter. I ran a CD frequency sweep through the Premium Sound System and found some surprising measurements. First the bass output is below 30Hz. Second the higher frequency roll off begins after 2000 Hz. Personally I like the surround off. I believe that there is greater clarity which leads to greater instrument separation, better sound staging and more "air". So based on my measurements I did the following changes to smooth out the curve.

Surround Off
Treble +2
Equilizer 100 Hz +2
200 Hz -2
500, 1000, 2000 Hz no change
5000 Hz +2
10000 Hz -1

The system probably needs at least 100hrs to break in. So these could change. Already the treble is starting to smooth out.

I did increase the bass +2 put that's subjective. Update=Bass at 0

Thanks for the settings. I tried tweaking it on my own and I couldn't for the life of me get it to sound right. With your settings, it now sounds much better. Looking forward to better sound as these speakers break in!