19 Speaker Harman Kardon® Premium Sound

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Gary Dietz

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Is the
  • 19 Speaker Harman Kardon® Premium Sound worth the extra $? It comes with the Limited level 1 equipment level.
 

Rohlics

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First post!

I just got the 2022 limited Night Edition and that has the Harman Kardon system and I got to say it's worth it! Having said that, if you're capable of installing your own system, that would be the way to go as you'd get exactly what you're looking for.
 

Warlock1

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I have it in my 22 Lariat. When I ordered my truck I decided that I simply did not want to do any stereo mods so I opted for it and have been very pleased.
 

canadiankodiak700

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As long as you're not an audiophile, you'll probably be happy with it. If you are bothered by base roll off and missing frequencies within the frequency curve, do not get any of the premium systems. You are far further ahead to get the basic six speaker system and use the extra money to build an actual good sounding system.
 

SwitcherLP

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As long as you're not an audiophile, you'll probably be happy with it. If you are bothered by base roll off and missing frequencies within the frequency curve, do not get any of the premium systems. You are far further ahead to get the basic six speaker system and use the extra money to build an actual good sounding system.
THIS.

If you have felt like something was missing on your previous factory systems, then avoid any upgrade if you can. Your money is FAR better spent on a custom system and add actual bass to the truck.

On a personal note, the people who "tune" factory amps/eq's and the people who pay them to do this to take away all customization from the purchaser need to be drug out in to the street and shot.
 

woojyee

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Best thing to do is put a variety of music you listen to on a USB drive and take it to the dealership. Sit in the Truck, adjust the eq to your liking and see if it is worth it to you. I have the Alpine in my Ram and it's just mediocre, but I have always installed aftermarket gear in my trucks. I listened to a HK system in a Challenger Scat Pack that I've been thinking on getting and I wasn't impressed in the least.
 

IDSandman

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For the upgrade price, nope. If I didn’t have the ability to build my system that kills any “premium “ manufacturer offered system I would pay someone to build a better system for the cost of the premium. Really not a fan of the HK, way to shrill, probably from all the tweets to get to the ridiculous number of speakers.
 

CanRebel

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Depends on you. I have HK , it come as package with other things. was worth it to me.
As for audiophile part people always mentioned... shrugs. I play streaming music that is compressed and stripped.
 

KoboldTaco

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And then there is Dynamat or knockoff work you can do to enhance the interior performance. Mine has the upgrade and it’s good enough not to run off and purchase a custom system.
 

canadiankodiak700

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Sound deadening helps improve what's there, but it doesn't bring back all the missing frequencies and fix the bass roll-off. It's really sad isee the bass frequencies drop as you increase the volume.
 

IDSandman

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Sound deadening helps improve what's there, but it doesn't bring back all the missing frequencies and fix the bass roll-off. It's really sad isee the bass frequencies drop as you increase the volume.
Agreed! So peeps don’t blow those “premium “ speakers. Lol!! Manufacturers should just put true premium speakers in and eliminate the roll off. One of the main reasons I dislike the “premium “ offerings and build my own.
 

KoboldTaco

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Sound deadening helps improve what's there, but it doesn't bring back all the missing frequencies and fix the bass roll-off. It's really sad isee the bass frequencies drop as you increase the volume.
Yeah, I can’t disagree. Back to the original question of worth the money or not, it was for me. I don’t trust anyone working on my vehicles including sound wiring/upgrades. I know there are good shops out there; and with my recovering broken leg, I wanted decent sound from the start And it checks that box for me. When you are already in a truck for 84K MSRP, that extra upcharge won’t make a dent IMHO. So for me, worth it.
 

CanuckRam1313

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Hey All,
new guy here from Ontario Canada.
I've got a 19 1500 that came with the Uconnect and six base speakers.
I also agree that going custom with upgrade replacements is the way to go if detailed sound quality and some good thump is what you're after overall.
I just installed a full replacement of Focal speakers in all six locations to start and what an incredible sound improvement! The detail and clarity of these speakers is fantastic.
I have just ordered a new Kenwood head unit, the iData goodies, a Kenwood marine grade 5 channel amp, a custom box for under the passenger rear, and a 10" Audiomobile Evo sub.
I'm super stoked to get the deck, amp and sub in and then tune it all properly.
 

SwitcherLP

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Hey All,
new guy here from Ontario Canada.
I've got a 19 1500 that came with the Uconnect and six base speakers.
I also agree that going custom with upgrade replacements is the way to go if detailed sound quality and some good thump is what you're after overall.
I just installed a full replacement of Focal speakers in all six locations to start and what an incredible sound improvement! The detail and clarity of these speakers is fantastic.
I have just ordered a new Kenwood head unit, the iData goodies, a Kenwood marine grade 5 channel amp, a custom box for under the passenger rear, and a 10" Audiomobile Evo sub.
I'm super stoked to get the deck, amp and sub in and then tune it all properly.
Did you get this installed? Write up and pics?
 

canadiankodiak700

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Depends on you. I have HK , it come as package with other things. was worth it to me.
As for audiophile part people always mentioned... shrugs. I play streaming music that is compressed and stripped.
Even streaming compressed and stripped music can actually sound pretty-damn good on modern aftermarket systems. My jvc head unit actually processes compressed music, adding back in much of the missing data. It's not perfect but any means but compared to unprocessed, it's night & day. Want even a feature I wanted, but playing around with it one day and I litterly had a jaw drop moment. Current Technology is amazing, I can only imagine what coming in the future.
 

CanuckRam1313

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Did you get this installed? Write up and pics?
Just got it all installed a little over a week ago. I've got about 20hrs of break in time on the new sub and it's really starting to pound hard and clear! Words cannot express just how clear and detailed this entire system truly is. The six Focal speakers sounded great with the factory head unit and that was maybe pushing 13W-RMS to each of them. The amp is set up 2ohm and now they are getting I believe in the neighborhood of 70W-RMS. Super clean installation from Audio Pros locally to me and tuned to audio perfection. The Kenwood Excelon Reference head unit is pure amazing, and the integration with my Samsung phone is seamless and spot on perfect. All in this entire system was a hair under $5K CDN, and worth every single penny. At 3/4 volume the clarity and bass is phenomenal with zero distortion. I listen to everything from Andrea Bocelli to Chris Stapleton; Metallica to Beatie Boys; lots of classic rock, and old school hip-hop, and the system delivers every single genre with detail, clarity and audio excellence. If you drive a lot and truly appreciate great sounding music of all kinds, this is a set up I'd recommend. Incidentally, I was in my friends 3500 with the crazy big factory multi-speaker system the other day, and truth be told, his didn't sound anywhere near as good as mine with just six speakers and a single sub. He sat in my truck and was absolutely thrown for a loop on how much clearer and detailed mine sounded, and my bass was far better with the tight punch and roll as well. The suppliers / installers told me that they also filled the sealed box with some sort of filler material to trick the sub to operate like it was in a larger volume area. Apparently this is an audio trick used for sealed boxes in very small enclosures to add more punch, clarity, and roll to the subs capabilities.
 

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aaronedmonton

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Just got it all installed a little over a week ago. I've got about 20hrs of break in time on the new sub and it's really starting to pound hard and clear! Words cannot express just how clear and detailed this entire system truly is. The six Focal speakers sounded great with the factory head unit and that was maybe pushing 13W-RMS to each of them. The amp is set up 2ohm and now they are getting I believe in the neighborhood of 70W-RMS. Super clean installation from Audio Pros locally to me and tuned to audio perfection. The Kenwood Excelon Reference head unit is pure amazing, and the integration with my Samsung phone is seamless and spot on perfect. All in this entire system was a hair under $5K CDN, and worth every single penny. At 3/4 volume the clarity and bass is phenomenal with zero distortion. I listen to everything from Andrea Bocelli to Chris Stapleton; Metallica to Beatie Boys; lots of classic rock, and old school hip-hop, and the system delivers every single genre with detail, clarity and audio excellence. If you drive a lot and truly appreciate great sounding music of all kinds, this is a set up I'd recommend. Incidentally, I was in my friends 3500 with the crazy big factory multi-speaker system the other day, and truth be told, his didn't sound anywhere near as good as mine with just six speakers and a single sub. He sat in my truck and was absolutely thrown for a loop on how much clearer and detailed mine sounded, and my bass was far better with the tight punch and roll as well. The suppliers / installers told me that they also filled the sealed box with some sort of filler material to trick the sub to operate like it was in a larger volume area. Apparently this is an audio trick used for sealed boxes in very small enclosures to add more punch, clarity, and roll to the subs capabilities.
Custom box or prefab ?
 
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