[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by alex2364

You may think you know but I doubt it. This is a symptom of blown speakers. This could be a defect from the factory, or the original owner took it in for service and the porter could have decided to blast the music while moving the car around. Point is you don’t know the entire history especially as a 2nd owner.

Hopefully that is not the case but I could be wrong. I need to do some further digging on this.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

It’s easy enough, but I can’t mention where on here.

Possible to PM me please?

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by carchrism5

I've heard of this crackling/popping in HK cars on other platforms and my F87 has it too and I believe it is the amp. Here's one from a quick search (https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?t=1781851) which also says it's an amp. Trouble is that's not an easy thing to swap out and try, you'd have to get a dealer to be willing to try it.

My dealer wouldn’t go to such lengths to diagnose.

Just to get my ambient lighting fixed, I had to visit them 5 times and then 6th because the door started rattling like crazy which now at a point of no return so I’ve given up. I’ll fix that myself once the time comes with some sound deadening tape.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

There was a PUMA issued a while ago in Germany for a batch of faulty ID7 HK Booster DSP/Amp units, but this really only affected bass, as it only drives the underseat woofers.

If the OP’s car is ID7, the mids and tweeters are driven by the RAM (receiver audio module), which handles all sound, so distortion should be evident across radio, telephone etc played loud.

Maybe worth double checking the harness connections to the unit in the trunk just to rule it out.

At the OP is the distortion present on all types of audio sources played loud ? Also what are your audio/eq settings as you mention “certain songs” which may relate to certain frequencies.

These are my EQ settings.
Surround sound is ON and at +2

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

A couple of titles to check if they create the same issue when 70% vol -

David Guetta - 7 - I’m That Bitch
David Guetta - I’m Good (Blue) - Stage Mix

I will definitely try these tonight.

And yes, it’s certain songs. Maybe all? And usually I don’t go 70%+ volume on all songs, just sometimes on certain ones.

I can make a video for the ones you mentioned as well as couple of other random ones.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by gym_carrey

These are my EQ settings.
Surround sound is ON and at +2

Try setting the EQ/Surround to neutral for all freqs and bass/treble at 0. Obviously this will sound different, and maybe not to your liking, but do you still hear the distortion at 70% ?

[spangle1980]

Did you try moving the balance completely to left rear, check, then right rear, check, then left front check etc..?

To rule out certain speakers? Maybe list what logical problem diagnostics you did already?

[avi66]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

Did you try moving the balance completely to left rear, check, then right rear, check, then left front check etc..?

To rule out certain speakers? Maybe list what logical problem diagnostics you did already?

I’m not 100%, but I suspect the speakers are probably ok.

The OP’s EQ, bass, and max surround setting etc maybe the culprit, as extreme changes to EQ can leave sound artefact, especially when certain freqs are played loud.

I’d start by setting the EQ, bass, treble and surround to neutral, and then play the same titles, ideally at least CD quality FLAC, to observe the result on loud sound distortion. If it’s the same then it’s probably a hardware issue.

I’m not suggesting the OP will like the sound at these settings, but it may narrow down the culprit.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

Try setting the EQ/Surround to neutral for all freqs and bass/treble at 0. Obviously this will sound different, and maybe not to your liking, but do you still hear the distortion at 70% ?

Sorry for the late response. It appears that EQ might be the real reason for this.

During my absence, just to void out the fact that it is my phone, I borrowed my cousin’s phone who is an avid fan of rap music.
We played the song titled “Thought is was a Drought” by Future and that song has quite a bit of “3D surround” like effect.

The vocals didn’t even chime in but the 1st 15 seconds alone made my rear speakers starting popping like popcorn being made. However once drums/bass etc. rolled in, the popping/crackling sound faded away.

What I carefully observed was that this crackling/popping sound comes in songs that have “surround sound effect in vocals”.

Not sure how to explain but I tried some songs with vocals only and they had surround sound effect. 70%+ volume i could hear the pop and crackle resonating from back to front speakers. I turned off surround sound on the iDrive and increased volume to 90% and I could barely hear the pop and crackle.

I’m yet to test it out on the Post Malone song since that is our baseline.

However, another thing that I have noticed is that since I have disconnected the battery and reconnected it after 6-8 hours, this issue seems to have loosely fixed itself.

Oddly enough, I was told Tory Lanez has tons of 3D surround effect in songs so I played “Last Kiss of Nebulon” at 80%+ volume and heard ZERO popping/crackling sound (apart from ears ringing).

I’m yet to do a full on test however it is incredibly strange that only a handful songs show this issue and most of my playlist does not but that battery/sleep cycle appears to have helped a tad bit?

[avi66]

Originally Posted by gym_carrey

Sorry for the late response. It appears that EQ might be the real reason for this.

During my absence, just to void out the fact that it is my phone, I borrowed my cousin’s phone who is an avid fan of rap music.
We played the song titled “Thought is was a Drought” by Future and that song has quite a bit of “3D surround” like effect.

The vocals didn’t even chime in but the 1st 15 seconds alone made my rear speakers starting popping like popcorn being made. However once drums/bass etc. rolled in, the popping/crackling sound faded away.

What I carefully observed was that this crackling/popping sound comes in songs that have “surround sound effect in vocals”.

Not sure how to explain but I tried some songs with vocals only and they had surround sound effect. 70%+ volume i could hear the pop and crackle resonating from back to front speakers. I turned off surround sound on the iDrive and increased volume to 90% and I could barely hear the pop and crackle.

I’m yet to test it out on the Post Malone song since that is our baseline.

However, another thing that I have noticed is that since I have disconnected the battery and reconnected it after 6-8 hours, this issue seems to have loosely fixed itself.

Oddly enough, I was told Tory Lanez has tons of 3D surround effect in songs so I played “Last Kiss of Nebulon” at 80%+ volume and heard ZERO popping/crackling sound (apart from ears ringing).

I’m yet to do a full on test however it is incredibly strange that only a handful songs show this issue and most of my playlist does not but that battery/sleep cycle appears to have helped a tad bit?

Does disconnecting the battery reset iDrive values like audio ?

I don’t know, but if not, did you reset all the EQ and other audio settings to neutral while doing the above ?

The ALEV3 HK system does support discrete multichannel source content, and the target channels are not affected by Logic 7 ambience surround sound. It doesn’t support Dolby ATMOS or similar decoding, and if you’re using CarPlay in the G01, this isn’t employed anyway, even if it’s an Apple ATMOS title, with ATMOS set on in the connected iPhone.

The perception of 3D in the G01 is just that on stereo content, unless you're using a true multi channel source, such as MC DVD-A music converted to MC FLAC or similar etc. Apple CarPlay in the G01 is stereo lossy AAC.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

Does disconnecting the battery reset iDrive values like audio ?

I don’t know, but if not, did you reset all the EQ and other audio settings to neutral while doing the above ?

The ALEV3 HK system does support discrete multichannel source content, and the target channels are not affected by Logic 7 ambience surround sound. It doesn’t support Dolby ATMOS or similar decoding, and if you’re using CarPlay in the G01, this isn’t employed anyway, even if it’s an Apple ATMOS title, with ATMOS set on in the connected iPhone.

The perception of 3D in the G01 is just that on stereo content, unless you're using a true multi channel source, such as MC DVD-A music converted to MC FLAC or similar etc. Apple CarPlay in the G01 is stereo lossy AAC.

Sorry for the late response. I tried quite a few things.

At this point I have disconnected battery several times to see if the issue goes away (not really for this particular issue).

I even tried resetting the sound settings but no. It is certain songs that do this crackling like sound.

I tried the songs you mentioned and everything was perfect. However, the songs that I have, the same ones and some more are doing this crackling audio effect.

Since the dealer won’t do anything regarding this, I’m assuming i should simply replace speakers with some better ones at my own dime?

Would you recommend going that route? I’d love a better plug and play kit that gives me more clarity and surround.

[TXGrey]

If you have the funds, I would 100% just get new speakers and an amp. For plug and play though, it’ll cost you…. However, you will NOT be disappointed with the results (unless the issue is somewhere in the head unit or wiring). Not one person who has swapped to better speakers and an amp has complained they made a bad decision. Unfortunately- our HK system is that pathetic…

[avi66]

Originally Posted by TXGrey

If you have the funds, I would 100% just get new speakers and an amp. For plug and play though, it’ll cost you…. However, you will NOT be disappointed with the results (unless the issue is somewhere in the head unit or wiring). Not one person who has swapped to better speakers and an amp has complained they made a bad decision. Unfortunately- our HK system is that pathetic…

Did we ever have confirmation from the OP about the version of iDrive ?

If iD7 you can’t replace the amp as it’s integrated into the RAM and booster, hence if there’s an issue here, a strap on amp won’t help as it using the speaker output from the RAM & Booster.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

Did we ever have confirmation from the OP about the version of iDrive ?

If iD7 you can’t replace the amp as it’s integrated into the RAM and booster, hence if there’s an issue here, a strap on amp won’t help as it using the speaker output from the RAM & Booster.

And you’re right. I have iD7.

Oddly enough, it’s just the rear speakers, front speakers are 100% fine.

Deep diving into wiring would be slightly cumbersome but I guess we do what we have to do.

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by gym_carrey

And you’re right. I have iD7.

Oddly enough, it’s just the rear speakers, front speakers are 100% fine.

Deep diving into wiring would be slightly cumbersome but I guess we do what we have to do.

And just to add to that, it’s iD7 with the SP15 module not the SP18.

In simple terms, my iD7 cannot fetch automatic OTA updates or has the option to change temperature with voice.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by gym_carrey

And you’re right. I have iD7.

Oddly enough, it’s just the rear speakers, front speakers are 100% fine.

Deep diving into wiring would be slightly cumbersome but I guess we do what we have to do.

Can the issue be exaggerated or localised using the fader/ balance settings or is it all rear door and D pillar speakers?

AFAIK the actual BMW speaker drivers are the same spec front and rear in the ALEV 3 option. It's probably easier to try a replacement speaker in the D pillar rather than a door if you want to rule out the speaker.

Do you already have the RAM harness connector pinouts and cable colour schematics?

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by avi66

Can the issue be exaggerated or localised using the fader/ balance settings or is it all rear door and D pillar speakers?

AFAIK the actual BMW speaker drivers are the same spec front and rear in the ALEV 3 option. It's probably easier to try a replacement speaker in the D pillar rather than a door if you want to rule out the speaker.

Do you already have the RAM harness connector pinouts and cable colour schematics?

Unfortunately, I do not have the schematics.

Thanks for the fader tip, confirmed it is the rears. The speakers by the boot area/either side of the backseats are 100% crackling, however, with the rear doors it’s the speakers by the door handle. Lower ones are fine.

I really appreciate you guiding me in the right direction.

Reading more about QC issues with HK sound system, I believe it’s just my defective speakers. But then if they are truly defective, why do other songs not produce the same crackling sound? It should be consistent rather than 50/2011 songs having this issue.

[spangle1980]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

Did you try moving the balance completely to left rear, check, then right rear, check, then left front check etc..?

To rule out certain speakers? Maybe list what logical problem diagnostics you did already?

Logical analysis always gets there :-)

[avi66]

Originally Posted by gym_carrey

Unfortunately, I do not have the schematics.

Thanks for the fader tip, confirmed it is the rears. The speakers by the boot area/either side of the backseats are 100% crackling, however, with the rear doors it’s the speakers by the door handle. Lower ones are fine.

I really appreciate you guiding me in the right direction.

Reading more about QC issues with HK sound system, I believe it’s just my defective speakers. But then if they are truly defective, why do other songs not produce the same crackling sound? It should be consistent rather than 50/2011 songs having this issue.

It's very odd for numerous speakers in the rear to be faulty, particularly as it only applies to certain content, yet the front is fine. The speakers are each fed by a single channel from the RAM, so if there is a mid and tweeter speaker this is a single channel split using passive crossover at the speaker end. Hence, the speaker that works and the speaker that doesn't in the door is the same channel, just the freq is split by the passive crossover.

If you want to check connections/wires at the RAM that feed your speakers, here is the pinout for the primary connector.

[Leem40i]

I agree with what many have stated here. Try playing from the source that isn't your phone. If it sounds fine with none of that noise then it's the music coming from your phone. From there I would start adjusting settings. See if it does it when you turn off the factory surround setting in iDrive. I forget what it's called because I don't use it

[gym_carrey]

Originally Posted by Leem40i

I agree with what many have stated here. Try playing from the source that isn't your phone. If it sounds fine with none of that noise then it's the music coming from your phone. From there I would start adjusting settings. See if it does it when you turn off the factory surround setting in iDrive. I forget what it's called because I don't use it

Sorry but I have already tried using the USB and iDrive system yet the issue exists on the same songs.

It’s probably time to deep dive.

[Jolbex]

Did not read the whole thread but i got rear sound distortion when coded BW profile....