I found HUD really annoying. Looking at the speedometer constantly in sight wanted to make me stroke . It’s like I couldn’t focus on anything else.
HK is nothing crazy but you’ll def notice a difference over the stock radio. The bass is more clearer and will thump. Had it in my last 3 series and is def worth it.
There’s a way to hack the HK by specially coding it to the Bowers and Wilkinson system where it gives you all the options of that system. There’s a local shop nearby here in NJ that does it for a few hundred bucks.
I had HUD in my last few cars but not my current one. Before Apple CarPlay I used heads Up for Nav but mainly for the speedo.
If I understand correctly, BMW doesn’t display Google maps on HUD so if you’re using Apple car play for directions, you’re going to have to look over to your center screen anyway.
I’m not an audiophile but I can tell that Harmon Kardon gives you the “surround sound” feel. There are more speakers so you’re getting hit with sound from more angles. I have the base system now and when listening to music, it’s not same experience as having HK in my past cars.
I love both the HUD is unlike any other car. It’s full color with nice graphics. But it certainly isn’t a must have. The Harmon is amazing but it all depends on you. Are you someone that is at least an amateur audiophile? Most people are fine with an AM radio with one speaker. With regular Spotify it sounds good. With lossless Apple Music it sounds killer.
There’s a thread I had made in the Tech Lounge about how to do this on your own in Expert Mode (assuming you’re talking about the EQ Settings), but better yet, it was later added to Bimmercode Standard Mode, which is easy enough for most to use with an iPhone and a 60$ OBD Bluetooth dongle off of Amazon.
I’ve got HK in my 5 and it beats the base system in my sisters 3 series, but falls super short of the B&W system in the upper end models like the 8. It’s funny we literally have every sound system offered by BMW in the garage lol
Ha! Not really, this isn’t theory you are enabling setting for hardware that doesn’t exist in the car. There is no way it does anything. But if it makes people happy by all means do ti.
Don’t know about apple but Android auto definitely comes up on HUD at least in 21 x3, can’t speak for other cars but I’d guess hardware software would be similar
I am a firm believer that even the Harman Kardon “upgrade” in BMW vehicles is a rip-off, for both BMW, and for the customer. But if you don’t do it, you’ll get the OEM BMW speakers which are even worse.
The HK in the previous generation F series 3’s and 4’s was just something else. The current generation G series doesn’t sound nearly as good, but still better than stock speakers.
? Are they all leased?