Harman Kardon and HUD. Worth it?

Hi everyone!

Just wondering if anyone had experience with these features and what they think of them. Found a M340 at a dealership with the HK and was very surprised (thought they were all gone). Obviously not everyone is an audiophile, but curious on opinions. Pretty sure these features aren’t worth paying full MSRP, but I’d like to hear from anyone who had em. And experiences with HUD.

Thanks!

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Worth it if you code the BW DSP into it w bimmercode.

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I test drove other cars with HUD and thought it was more distracting than useful.

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HUD is nice but not necessary. HK is absolutely worth it

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HUD you can probably live without. HK IMO is a must-have. Stock speakers in newer BMWs are HORRIBLE.

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the stock speakers in new BMWs are flat out embarrassing, my 2018 5 series sounded terrible.

the HK won’t win any awards but it’s a night and day difference over stock and well worth the extra money.

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I think HUD is never worth the money, but that’s just my personal preference. If you’re a big music fan and the upgraded stereo system is noticeably different, than probably worth it.

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I have HK and I’m not that impressed, I can’t imagine how bad stock us. I also coded it using Bimmercode and it does sound better but I definitely expected more. I didn’t care about having HUD, but I must say, I do like it. I rarely ever look down at the dashboard.

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I thought it was absolutely mesmerizing. But that’s probably not a good thing while driving…

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HK audio is great. You will appreciate having it.

HUD is cool but one of the features you can live without. But if the car comes with it you will more likely use it than turn it off.

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Both are gonna be subjective (as this thread already points out), but I say yes to both. I had a 2016 M3 and loved the HUD, I miss not having one now. I’m sure this is still the case but if you don’t like it or find it distracting you can fully disable it.

Really surprised at the replies so far. The HUD is a must have feature for me - when I drive my wife’s car without it I find it so distracting to have to look away from the road.

Especially in a world where most are going touch screen and you have no tactile feedback.

As for HK, i wouldn’t call it a must have but it is a significant upgrade over stock.

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Does your HUD project android auto/Carplay navigation? My Accord’s HUD did. My XC90s doesn’t - just the Volvo native nav and even than it doesn’t work well. Having navigation in line of sight is incredibly helpful.

I didn’t think about the HUD not projecting navigation with the XC90 but it’s definitely something I will at least consider in all future leases.

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For me HUD is the best thing ever for navigation prompts alone. The sound system on the other hand is largely irrelevant. The reason being is baby shark and other children’s songs sound just fine on either system, when the dog is in the car I’m not going to blast music either. For the other 3 minutes a month I’m alone in the car… You get the idea.

The HUD for me is a must because for one when everyone is making noise in the car I just want to see the navigation prompts. I also like seating higher up so the dash is much lower in my field of view, the HUD winds up perfectly aligned. I actually wish more of the dash was in the HUD display.

But ultimately as others have said both features are highly subjective and situational.

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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.

They’ll give you gesture control, M// Cluster etc

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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.

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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.

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This doesn’t actually do anything. You are enabling software features the amplifier can’t support.

That B&W coding is for a MOST OEM amp (digital inputs). The G20 has no MOST in any audio system.

It’s like changing your spedo to display 200MPH. It doesn’t make the car faster.

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That may be the case, but the sound is definitely different in my experience. Have tried it on multiple F and G cars with HK including the G20.

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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.

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