Lol. Its amazing how many times this conversation can go in circles, but its a shame people keep blaming the HK system... Its become a chore trying to defend it from uninformed or non-audiophile users, but I'll try to clarify one more time and apologize in advance for the lengthily explanation.
I admit I'm only a beginning level audiophile, but I was a distributor of mid-high end car audio systems and have a decent amount of experience with car audio. I also know that everyone's "ear" or preference for music quality varies so its difficult explaining to a variety of experience levels. However its become clear that there are three general groups of users that post about the HK system, so I'll try to summarize for each group.
I'll preface this by saying no disrespect to anyone at any experience level, but this is the best way I can think of to explain or relate to different audio preferences.
1) Casual listeners; minimal audio experience; bass heads, etc.—This seems to be the most common user, and also posts the most complaints. Majority of this group is unaware of the drastic differences between audio quality bitrates, and how important that factor is when comparing audio systems. They usually don’t know to use high fidelity "FLAC/lossless" audio sources, or might not have the ear to appreciate the differences. These users typically think Sony or Bose are top tier audio systems, and/or prioritize the SPL(sound pressure level) related to bass. The latter expects the under
seat sub-woofers to directly vibrate the seats, which is NOT how they were designed. There are too many details to try to explain "soundstage" or "sound imaging" to this experience level, but basically the subs are downward firing and use the metal frame of the car to amplify and project the bass throughout the whole cabin(omnidirectional bass). You wont "feel" the bass under your
seat, but it will seem like the bass surrounds the cabin & goes through you. For example, most songs from the "Disclosure-Settle" album in FLAC/320kbps+ audio format will shake all my mirrors and chatter my teeth together! Now I'm only talking about nice tight bass that you can feel in your chest, not booming 12"s that shake the whole block.
2) Beginner audiophiles(myself); years of experience; prioritizes audio detail, transparency, imaging, etc; enjoys the ability to fine tune EQ & sound modes.—This is a smaller group and typically the users that defend the HK system. We typically use high quality sources(usb) & high fidelity recordings(FLAC/320kbps) to appreciate music & our HK system. In most of our opinions the 15 speaker HK system is on par or close to the offerings from Bang & Olufsen, Burmester, Bowers & Wilkins, etc.
3) Expert audiophiles; highly trained & decades of in depth experience; appreciates $50k+ high fidelity home theater systems ; uses terminology I can’t follow and probably forgot more details about audio than I will ever learn!—Smallest group of users that usually won’t waste time trying to explain to us uneducated peasants.
The few that I’ve heard from appreciate the HK system and rate it above average, but will pick apart flaws in specific aspects of audio quality.
Overall, most experienced users agree the HK system is well engineered, sounds impressive, and can be customized to fit individual tastes. After a lot of tuning I feel it usually sounds best with “On Stage” surround mode, Clari-Fi off, and EQ set to bass +8, mid +4, treble +1. Since the system is naturally bright that’s usually a good balance to feel tight bass in my chest, and still get clean vocals with crisp highs on a wide range of music.
I know everyone’s taste is different, but I plead that people take a little time to read some informative threads before complaining & disrespecting the Stingers awesome HK system!
Currently I am set at +3 for all three tones, and using "on stage". Recently I tried bass at -2 and treble at +2 and midrange at zero, and the surround "off". They all sound good regardless. But I have noticed the "harsh" quality of the treble on some music tracks. I'm seeking a compromise that works across the board, and I haven't decided yet what that is. Maybe next I'll try treble -2, mid zero and bass +2 or 3. I even tried all at +10, just for grins. And of course, you can't listen to any volume level above 4 or 5, or else it all goes to crap in my middle aged ears!
