[spazmojack]

Originally Posted by raceyBMW

+1 Make sure your internal Ipod EQ settings are set to off or flat. But ultimately the quality of your MP3's will depend on the bitrate they were ripped. Also, it will depend somewhat whether you are using the headphone connection to the Ipod or using the line-in connection.

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

Second.. The IPOD sounding brighter.. The internal EQ of the IPOD must be set OFF. I mentioned that in the original post, but I understand it was a bunch of reading so it could have been missed. But turn the IPOD EQ off. It should not sound any brighter, louder or different than an MP3 CD. Original store bought CD's will always sound better than a burned CD, MP3 or IPOD.

i was pretty sure that the EQ settings in the ipod were flat, i double checked yesterday and they are indeed so. i did a sound test again and there is a difference between the ipod and a usb key/mp3 cd using the exact same file.

using a song encoded at 320kbps (playing through the ipod cable, not headphone jack) the ipod sounded somewhat flat and tinny compared to the file playing off the usb key which sounded full and rich. bass was more pronounced as well as midrange. this could probably be contributed to the ipod's internal sound processing chip which is not exactly the best at reporoducing sounds faithful to the original recording.

oh well, not a huge issue. flash memory is dirt cheap these days so it's not really a hassle to swing by the local tech shop and grab a fatty 8 or 16gb usb stick to dump a truckload of music on.

[Jeff Flowerday]

Originally Posted by spazmojack

i was pretty sure that the EQ settings in the ipod were flat, i double checked yesterday and they are indeed so. i did a sound test again and there is a difference between the ipod and a usb key/mp3 cd using the exact same file.

using a song encoded at 320kbps (playing through the ipod cable, not headphone jack) the ipod sounded somewhat flat and tinny compared to the file playing off the usb key which sounded full and rich. bass was more pronounced as well as midrange. this could probably be contributed to the ipod's internal sound processing chip which is not exactly the best at reporoducing sounds faithful to the original recording.

oh well, not a huge issue. flash memory is dirt cheap these days so it's not really a hassle to swing by the local tech shop and grab a fatty 8 or 16gb usb stick to dump a truckload of music on.

Well from every account I've read the internal DAC is better than letting your Ipod or any MP3 player do it.

[Malek@MRF]

Originally Posted by Jeff Flowerday

Well from every account I've read the internal DAC is better than letting your Ipod or any MP3 player do it.

This is true.

The internal converter does work better than an external units. USB sticks sound a tad cleaner than IPOD.

[Jeff Flowerday]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

This is true.

The internal converter does work better than an external units. USB sticks sound a tad cleaner than IPOD.

Now that I think about it there's probably an A/D converter on that Analog signal so that the head unit can apply it's imaging and EQing in the digital domain. Who know what it samples it at to do it hopefully 16/44. It may not be the DAC in the Ipod that's the problem but the A/D conversion happening in the head unit.

Too many conversion steps happening, muddying things up.

[mc68386]

Originally Posted by Malekreza11

Hey guys,

With the FADER set to 0 or biased toward the rear like how some others recommended, you will get that dreaded rear fading issue, where it sounds like the rear's are cutting in and out.
--Malek

Can you elaborate on the rear fader issue? I've got this on my 330, but I've never seen it discussed on the boards, despite searching for it several times. Have I just been clueless? I took mine to the dealer and asked them to fix it, and of course they said it sounds fine.
For me, the song that brings out the problem the most is "Overkill" by Men at Work, which I've only ever heard over Sirius. I have a feeling that the highly compressed MP3s on Sirius hide some of the frequencies that the rear crossover relies on, making the crossover points erratic. The problem still exists but is less pervasive with quality MP3s & real CDs.

I don't really like pushing the fader biased to the front as a workaround, because then the rear is totally silent 90% of the time, turning my $1500 11 speaker system into a 7 speaker (front only) system.

Has anyone gotten the dealer to admit a problem, or even *GASP* fix it?

[spazmojack]

Originally Posted by mc68386

I don't really like pushing the fader biased to the front as a workaround, because then the rear is totally silent 90% of the time, turning my $1500 11 speaker system into a 7 speaker (front only) system.

Has anyone gotten the dealer to admit a problem, or even *GASP* fix it?

The issue stems from the audio processor within the vehicle trying to synthesize a surround sound effect from what is originally recorded in 2-channel. It's not really a problem with the stereo as much as it is a technical limitation; so I doubt you are going to get any dealer to "admit" to it being a problem, let alone trying to fix something they don't have the answer for. That piece will just have to come in time through research of BMW's audio dept...either that or artists start to make their recordings surround sound instead of 2-channel.

In the meantime, we just have to deal with workarounds. Some shove the fader towards the front, some deal with it as is. Personally, I leave logic 7 off (unchecked) so the music plays in 2-channel mode from the stereo. Sure you don't get the gee whiz surround effect, but I think it sounds better as two channel anyways. Plus you can do what you please with the fader without having to worry about rear sound cutting out.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Malek

Mine sounds good but it sounds like I have no rear speakers with the e90 setting so I left the fader in the middle. Even then it still seems like the rear speakers are not really working. Is this normal?

[Malek@MRF]

Originally Posted by ALPINE6SPD

Malek

Mine sounds good but it sounds like I have no rear speakers with the e90 setting so I left the fader in the middle. Even then it still seems like the rear speakers are not really working. Is this normal?

If you would like to hear your rear speakers more, turn Logic7 OFF. The audio will play in stereo mode throughout the entire car this way and any surround processing will be defeated. The only issue with this is, the sound becomes a little bit obtrusive with respect to some frequencies if you listen to music loud enough.

[temclean1]

Ok, so I tried the settings and they seem to be good, however most of the music I listen to is on my ipod. I find that I have to really turn up the volume on the deck to get it to sound good and loud. What is the max gain on our Logic 7 stereos, there doesnt seem to be a limit on the knob.

Also, I mistakenly didnt get the 6fl and use the Monster low profile input, however I really dont notice any difference in sound between that connection and using the headphone output. Am I missing something?

[RobVe]

Originally Posted by temclean1

Ok, so I tried the settings and they seem to be good, however most of the music I listen to is on my ipod. I find that I have to really turn up the volume on the deck to get it to sound good and loud. What is the max gain on our Logic 7 stereos, there doesnt seem to be a limit on the knob.

Also, I mistakenly didnt get the 6fl and use the Monster low profile input, however I really dont notice any difference in sound between that connection and using the headphone output. Am I missing something?

I've found that for a lot of songs on my ipod, I add a boost to the volume profile for specific songs (in itunes) and that not only helps keeping me from having to crank the car stereo, it helps balance songs overall volume. Some of my older CD's seem to transfer with lower volume.

[ARSAIR]

Originally Posted by RobVe

I've found that for a lot of songs on my ipod, I add a boost to the volume profile for specific songs (in itunes) and that not only helps keeping me from having to crank the car stereo, it helps balance songs overall volume. Some of my older CD's seem to transfer with lower volume.

No, no, no, don't do that. Look up MP3Gain, it will explain how gain works in MP3's and why old cd's were mastered correctly and new music sucks, because of people who think louder is better.

[silvergray545]

hey will the settings work in my e60?

[Jeff Flowerday]

Originally Posted by silvergray545

hey will the settings work in my e60?

The point of these setting are to give E90 & E92 users as close to flat frequency response as possible given our head units, speaker configuration and particular cab layout/size.

[Subsonic]

Thanks a lot MaleKrazy! Sure its a dumb question, but in a non-idrive e90 without an iPod adapter, is there a way I can use an USB stick to play the dumped MP3s? I see y'all laughing...

[MagicWizard]

i have a e92 with idrive , are the settings you have listed pretty good for, if im listening to hip hop and rock ? even if i have concert hall turned off ?

[spazmojack]

Originally Posted by Subsonic

Thanks a lot MaleKrazy! Sure its a dumb question, but in a non-idrive e90 without an iPod adapter, is there a way I can use an USB stick to play the dumped MP3s? I see y'all laughing...

if you have a usb port in your car then you can play music off the usb stick. if not, then you can't.

[darkphantom]

I'll have to try this, but someone mentioned they had an E93....I wonder how it will differ from the previous settings I had...

[Bimmer335i]

Originally Posted by spazmojack

if you have a usb port in your car then you can play music off the usb stick. if not, then you can't.

Does this mean that I can play the music on the usb stick from the car console? It seems to be the case since typically usb sticks are just that, an ext. hard drive to store data with no play/pause/stop/fwd/rev functions, unless you actually have an mp3 player.

[Jeff Flowerday]

Originally Posted by Bimmer335i

Does this mean that I can play the music on the usb stick from the car console? It seems to be the case since typically usb sticks are just that, an ext. hard drive to store data with no play/pause/stop/fwd/rev functions, unless you actually have an mp3 player.

How could you not know that you can play music off usb sticks via the head unit? It's half the reason I bought the car, WMA lossless on usb sticks.

[kennethpetro]

Originally Posted by LRich187

i have a e92 with idrive , are the settings you have listed pretty good for, if im listening to hip hop and rock ? even if i have concert hall turned off ?

When you have concert hall turned off it will sound OK at lower levels but it gets a little distorted when it's blasting. I believe the older e92 with idrive settings had better bass (which can obviously be adjusted) but the newer setting sound PERFECTLY balanced and i haven't gone back to the old setting since. I highly reccomend trying it out as i mostly listen to Hip Hop, Rock & Techno

[phattbam]

Thanks for posting this. I'm gonna configure mine again. as I used the ones from last time. reset and start over will be best.

- Trance, hip hop, jazz all sorts really.

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

I dislike the DSP, it makes the music too meek and directional.

The main advantage of a DSP, for me, is imaging. When you have a good DSP and it is working correctly, you should be able to close your eyes and "see" the face of the singer in front of you. Like his/her head was hovering right there in front of you, about head-high. If you turn the DSP off, you will probably not be able to hear a central source for the voices, and you can probably hear voices coming from the left and the right speakers at the same time, which is undesirable. You don't really know what good imaging can do until you have experienced it first hand. You'll never want to go back, trust me!

Of course, tonality is also important, and we can sort of correct it through the built-in eq, but the adjustability is somewhat limited.

When I bought this car I was expecting much, much more form this audio system. I just scratch my head when I sit there listening to music, and the voices are coming from the left side of the dash. I mean how hard would it have been for them to add another setting that is optimized for the driver only and correctly puts the image right in front of you?

Time to upgrade I guess. I will add an Alpine PXE-H650 digital signal processor and some amps for around $1000 and let the Alpine unit auto-tune my car to give me the sound I would have expected to be there to begin with.