Boomy, boomy bass - please help before I send my new car back

[Phil B]

Hi Guys

Collected my new JCW convertible yesterday, having run a JCW tin top for the last year. I'm loving it, but have a question about the audio. I specced the HK system, having been underwhelmed with the standard system in my old car, but I'm getting shocking bass boom from the rears, and a it sounds like there's loose stuff in the rear panels as I get a strong "vibration" sound and feel with the bass, almost as though the speakers are topping or clipping out, but even at relatively low volumes. Anyone got any ideas???? I'll have to send the car back as the sound is unacceptable.....Thanks in advance Phil

[Flu]

Sounds to me like the speakers are blown. The tall tale sign is if at low volumes you still get pops and speaker distortion, then they are done for.

[DaFlake]

Boomy base is HK I highly doubt that anything is blown. You will have to play with the presets to see if you can find one that pulls the base out and also turn it down a bit. I don't know about the new models but on the 1st Gen we have presets like H/K or Spatial that we can switch between. I preferred Electronic myself and found that it dropped a lot of the base out.

[timp]

No presets on the recent HK that I've found - love to be proved wrong though!

[Phil B]

Thanks guys. Haven't been able to find any presets or adjustability beyond bass / treble - balance / fader. It will be a royal pain in the ass if I have to keep adjusting tone for different sources or even different tracks on my ipod. I think I'm gonna run it into the dealer here and have them listen to it, though I don't hold out much hope........

[timp]

You could ask to play some of your music in a similarly equipped vehicle to see if it's the same in another - might narrow it down a bit.
I've got HK in my 59 Dooper and have nothing but praise for the sound, so maybe yours is faulty.

[rumblestrip]

In my 2010 Cooper with HK audio I find the bass just a little more prominent than I would like; I usually have the bass set at -1 or -2 with the treble lifted maybe +1. But I wouldn't call the bass boomy at all, even when bass is set in the middle at zero. However I believe the audio is tuned differently for each model (open top, hard top and Clubby). I bet that in the convertible the bass is tuned higher because the bass drivers are not working into the closed environment, that a hard-top offers, which naturally boosts the bass.