Harmon Kardon Sound System

[RandallK]

The JL C7 is a 3.5..

And I absolutely left out Focal.. honestly, if it’s not Focal Be, I am not a fan.. but that’s just personal preference..

JL is 4 inch. Would not fit the 3.5 inch space. Could not get hybrid audio or audiofrog here in australia. 3 way Focal access would fit right in. What do you think? should I try?

 

[RVance]

That's easy to explain. You like the KIA's digital analogue converter better. Also you will get degradation of analogue signal through USB which is back converted to digital signal for digital signal processing which then converted to analogue again. If I am not wrong the KIAs Bluetooth supports lossless transmission APTX. So it's much better to stream through Bluetooth.

When I play my lossless files on my home system, the Cambridge audio iD50 dock bypasses the iPod's DAC for its own. Do you thing the Stinger does this with the USB port when connected? Additionally, I am usually unimpressed with most DSPs, but the Clari-Fy circuit doesn't seem to degrade the signal for my ears. As to how much fidelity/resolution it can "restore" to weak, lossy digital files, I can't verify. But bluetooth play has been excellent, IMO.

 

[andrew tay]

The JL C7 is a 3.5..

And I absolutely left out Focal.. honestly, if it’s not Focal Be, I am not a fan.. but that’s just personal preference..

That's what my mate at the shop said. I am getting some vifa speakers from aliexpress. Should be pretty good.

 

[andrew tay]

The JL C7 is a 3.5..

And I absolutely left out Focal.. honestly, if it’s not Focal Be, I am not a fan.. but that’s just personal preference..

did another measure. The midrange is more like 2.5 inch driver.

 

[andrew tay]

Completely agree on having a equalizer. I'm going to pull out my dB meter this weekend if I have time, to find out where the dip is in frequency response. I'm now even thinking that the woofers, those on the doors that are in front of the door pockets, not the sub under the front seats, may not be working or wired out of phase. Will share my findings.

You are right. I can confirm that one of the speaker is out of phase. I just changed all the woofers just to discover that one of the woofers is out of phase of the other three (Front left, passanger side in Australian version). Curse Kia.

 

[MerlintheMad]

"Out of phase". Heh! Complete forgot about that phenomenon. How do you tell just by listening? Can you even? Or do you discover it technically, and then have it mess with your geeky head?

 

[RVance]

You are right. I can confirm that one of the speaker is out of phase. I just changed all the woofers just to discover that one of the woofers is out of phase of the other three (Front left, passanger side in Australian version). Curse Kia.

Since the speakers are connected with a uni-directional snap in connector, how does polarity get reversed?
https://www.stingerforum.org/threads/1483-How-to-replace-the-door-speakers

 

[andrew tay]

"Out of phase". Heh! Complete forgot about that phenomenon. How do you tell just by listening? Can you even? Or do you discover it technically, and then have it mess with your geeky head?

I use the phone. First l check with 'polarity check' apps. then I play a sine wave. If they are in phase there will be a decibel db gain of at least 3 when two speakers are playing. When out of phase there will be a dB drop of a few db usually around 5 or 6 compare to single speaker. You have to disable the under seats subs to do that.

 

[RVance]

I use the phone. First l check with 'polarity check' apps. then I play a sine wave. If they are in phase there will be a decibel db gain of at least 3 when two speakers are playing. When out of phase there will be a dB drop of a few db usually around 5 or 6 compare to single speaker. You have to disable the under seats subs to do that.

What about my question? The connectors. In the picture. Please....

 

[andrew tay]

What about my question? The connectors. In the picture. Please....

Yes the connectors are unidirectional. Must be mistake of wiring somewhere else along the way.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I use the phone. First l check with 'polarity check' apps. then I play a sine wave. If they are in phase there will be a decibel db gain of at least 3 when two speakers are playing. When out of phase there will be a dB drop of a few db usually around 5 or 6 compare to single speaker. You have to disable the under seats subs to do that.

If you have to use an electronic measuring gizmo to determine if your subs are out of phase, then why bother? That's just the geek in you getting the best of you. And no, I will not be disabling anything, not now, not ever.

 

[andrew tay]

It's my car, not saying that your car is the same. Check with phone apps. The door woofers does not connect to any inductor or capacitor to cause phase change so should be quite reliable. Test with 80 hz.

 

[andrew tay]

If you have to use an electronic measuring gizmo to determine if your subs are out of phase, then why bother? That's just the geek in you getting the best of you. And no, I will not be disabling anything, not now, not ever.

I do have a decibel meter and tone generator but these days I just use my phone .PS I am totally a geek with OCP who traded in my Mercedes SLK for a purple KIA and like Diana Krall to sound like Diana Krall in my car .
I have modified car sound system for exactly 10 cars now since I was a teenager. I have 7 sets of sound system at home, all the speakers are either built by me or modified or repaired by me. 3 turntables, one valve amplifier all of which are modified and improved......

 

[J Dub]

So here's my experience with my 2018 Kia Optima and I know this isnt the right forum I'm just here to help. First of all the premium system with HK speakers sound good. To an audiophile they are just ok. There is a certain clarity and brightness with a nice big soundstage that is missing from all high end cars with factory systems. Unfortunately, you can't find anything online or from the dealership about the wiring, speaker sizes, specs nothing about the factory setup. So here's what I found out:

-Paper speakers. All of them. Even after many hours of "break in" it did not improve much at all.
-The factory unit does its best to compensate for the high volume and equalization of sound but it can only do so much.
-You have to take into consideration what you're playing as well. If the music you play has a 320 bit rate like spotify premium the music will sound good but not great. Try listening to a lossless or FLAC service like Tidal. I only recommend Tidal because they have the most songs available. I use my iphone with a DAC (AudioQuest Dragonfly) and I now hear sounds I have never heard in songs I've listened to a thousand times. Same goes for a sound processor. High end after market stereo systems will often have a DSP to fine tune those drum beats, vocals and high hats.
-Speakers. The HK system uses speakers at 2ohms in order to take advantage of the low wattage from the stock amplifier.

I removed every speaker all 10 and replaced with new aftermarket ones. The problem was finding a great speaker that would fit. The tweeters in the front were 3-3.5" and neither Focal, or JL or anyone other than some no name brands make speakers in that size. Same for the rear decks. The doors are 6.5" with an 8" sub and a 4" center channel.

I had to improvise so here's what I did: I went with Morel Maximo Ultra components for the fronts which I had never used before but the guy at Crutchfield said they were what I was looking for which was silk domed tweeters that gave beautiful clear but not sharp highs. Brightness. I found out and I would imagine the Stingers are the same which is I tried to use the factory wiring to connect the tweeter in the same place as the 3.5" speaker and the sub in the 6.5" part of the door. I found out these speakers are not connected so I could not use the crossover. So I just connected the speakers to the factory wires and moved on. Same for coax speakers in rear door and replaced the 3.5" speakers in rear deck with 4" speakers but had to pull the bracket that holds the speakers and trim the inside of the bracket to fit the 4". A daunting task but worth it. I used the subwoofer stock wires and connected to a Line output converter (Audiocontrol) and fed that into an amp that would power the 10" sub in a box. After all of this I can honestly say the system sounds much better. But not great. I know once I get another amplifier installed with a DSP (Audison bit Ten) and do some tweaking it will sound fantastic. However. Keep the following in mind. I have 9 speakers I need an amp for. If you have any more speakers, besides the sub, a 4 or 5 channel amp won't be enough. most component speakers and tweeters can only handle 30-90 watts RMS. So I have calculated I could run 1 channel to each side of the front components and split another channel on the amp to use on 2 speakers meaning if I have a speaker that max RMS wattage is 30 and each channel of my amplifier outputs 60 watts I can run 2 wires from 2 speakers into one channel on the amp. After running calculations and researching amps I realize I need a 5 channel amp that outputs 60 watts to each channel and none exist. The only 5 channel amps that come close output 4 channels but the fifth always is for the sub and is too much power. So I have come to realize my only option is a marine sub. I have settled on one that outputs 60 watts per channel at 4ohms which is what all the after market speakers run at. I checked with Rockville who confirmed I can do this with not problems and so that's what I'm going to do. Now some may say if you have nice speakers all you need is 4 channels and I would agree with that. But I love loud music and to me the more speakers the better. Within reason. So I say to OP I hear you, I get you and if you want to have a great system you're going to have to do something like this. You can keep your factory head unit and you should. Just get an LOC and a couple amps and after market speakers and be happy. Good luck.

 

[MerlintheMad]

But I love loud music and to me the more speakers the better. Within reason.

Lol. I think that FIFTEEN speakers is almost unreasonable. And I don't love loud music (although my overly sensitive wife would totally disagree!). My normal listening volume range is 8 to 10. Occasionally I'll turn it up to twenty-something: but only to boost quiet parts so that I can hear them above the inescapable noise of being inside a running vehicle. So someone like me isn't even in the conversation. I do appreciate your information. And I could actually comprehend the gist of where you are going with this (without understanding most of your acronyms or numbers).

Same for the rear decks.

and replaced the 3.5" speakers in rear deck with 4" speakers but had to pull the bracket that holds the speakers and trim the inside of the bracket to fit the 4".

What is this "rear deck" of which you speak?

PS please eliminate the duplicate post (or, Mods, get rid of it, if you would).

 

[J Dub]

Lol. I think that FIFTEEN speakers is almost unreasonable. And I don't love loud music (although my overly sensitive wife would totally disagree!). My normal listening volume range is 8 to 10. Occasionally I'll turn it up to twenty-something: but only to boost quiet parts so that I can hear them above the inescapable noise of being inside a running vehicle. So someone like me isn't even in the conversation. I do appreciate your information. And I could actually comprehend the gist of where you are going with this (without understanding most of your acronyms or numbers).


What is this "rear deck" of which you speak?

PS please eliminate the duplicate post (or, Mods, get rid of it, if you would).

My apologies for dupe I was not sure how to delete. Rear deck meaning the rear window sill where most speakers are placed. I was posting this pretty late.

 

[Kazz]

I've been listening to music via Spotify, having downloaded the music I select to my phone at highest quality. I've been using Clarify off and the on-stage setting (I think it's called?). I turned the spatial (on-stage) off completely and turned Clarify on and am enjoying that. The on-stage had voices and instruments coming from all over the car, changing how the music is heard.

 

[MerlintheMad]

My apologies for dupe I was not sure how to delete. Rear deck meaning the rear window sill where most speakers are placed. I was posting this pretty late.

You're putting speakers back there? Installed in the deck cover??

 

[MerlintheMad]

The on-stage had voices and instruments coming from all over the car, changing how the music is heard.

Isn't that the whole idea? You are positioned in the midst of the performers. It's the surround sound "showing off" mode.

 

[RVance]

Isn't that the whole idea? You are positioned in the midst of the performers. It's the surround sound "showing off" mode.

Dr. Mark Waldrep, Ph.D., who owns AIX records, has been recording in surround for many years. I have many of his DVD-Audio and Blu-rays of various artists, which sound spectacular on my 7.2 home system. He always includes a "stage mix" along with the usual audience mix. The differences are pretty subtle. One of my only disappointments is that the HK Stinger system is not true discrete multi-channel surround, capable of playing true high resolution discs. I guess physical media is passe. But for a synthesized DSP program/system, I think the Stinger's is more than capable considering the car's cost.