2019 1500 limited Harman Kardon sub issues

[MZZZZ]

Hi guys, like others I’m not impressed with the HK system overall. I’ve had a lot of others including a 2016 Durango rt that sound better...sad for such a hyped option. Main issue is the droning, muddy bass that’s too loud even when bass turned all the way down on eq. Is there a way to set it up so the sub box can be adjusted independently? This way I may be able to turn up the eq bass and get a more punchy low end sound. Hoping somehow the adjustment could be integrated into the 12” screen(wishful thinking), but if not a separate switch/knob would be fine.

 

[brewman]

Hi guys, like others I’m not impressed with the HK system overall. I’ve had a lot of others including a 2016 Durango rt that sound better...sad for such a hyped option. Main issue is the droning, muddy bass that’s too loud even when bass turned all the way down on eq. Is there a way to set it up so the sub box can be adjusted independently? This way I may be able to turn up the eq bass and get a more punchy low end sound. Hoping somehow the adjustment could be integrated into the 12” screen(wishful thinking), but if not a separate switch/knob would be fine.

Mine sounds exactly like you described, and the EQ basically has very little effect. Horrible sounding.

 

[rotts4u]

that's odd because my 2019 Longhorn sounds great. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile with a home theater system in the 5 digit price range. I do find that I have to turn down the bass but none of the other issues you listed. There is a TSB on the sound system so you may want to ask for that to be done.

 

[MZZZZ]

that's odd because my 2019 Longhorn sounds great. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile with a home theater system in the 5 digit price range. I do find that I have to turn down the bass but none of the other issues you listed. There is a TSB on the sound system so you may want to ask for that to be done.

I took it in to the dealer 2x one month after purchase (July 2019), the first was a standard audio TSB update and the second was one they had to research and download (they’d never done it before). I think it sounds a little better but still nothing near what I’d expect from a 19 speaker HK system. Keep in mind Sirius XM is the source I’m using which isn’t very good, but I’m comparing it to other vehicles using the same so it shouldn’t matter. 2006 armada, 2016 Durango RT with beats, 2020 Range Rover sport all sound better.

 

[MZZZZ]

Bump

 

[brewman]

I've managed to improve the bass a bit in my truck (Laramie, 8.4" 4C Nav, HK stereo).

First I packed some shipping blankets behind the rear passenger seat over the sub which helped mute it a bit, but not enough.

The bass has a strong boost in the mid-bass frequency range (maybe 60Hz - not sure don't have a scope) that overwhelms the rest of the bass response making it very boomy without clarity, and the EQ seems to have no affect. This is with the mid/treble at their nominal setting (0) Basically all you seem to hear is the dash speakers and the boomy sub with very little from the door speakers providing midrange.

Sound output is driven through a DSP and the EQ does not behave like a traditional analog EQ. I've done a lot of experimenting with the EQ settings to see if there's any way to manipulate the DSP to reduce overall bass levels, and I found that by boosting mids to +5 and treble to +3 it seems to reduce the bass gain and bring the door speakers into play. It also makes the bass EQ more effective such that I now have it at -3 rather than -8.

Sounds much better, but still not as good as it should. Next I'm going to try adding some polyfill to the subwoofer box which hopefully mellow it even further.

 

[MZZZZ]

I've managed to improve the bass a bit in my truck (Laramie, 8.4" 4C Nav, HK stereo).

First I packed some shipping blankets behind the rear passenger seat over the sub which helped mute it a bit, but not enough.

The bass has a strong boost in the mid-bass frequency range (maybe 60Hz - not sure don't have a scope) that overwhelms the rest of the bass response making it very boomy without clarity, and the EQ seems to have no affect. This is with the mid/treble at their nominal setting (0) Basically all you seem to hear is the dash speakers and the boomy sub with very little from the door speakers providing midrange.

Sound output is driven through a DSP and the EQ does not behave like a traditional analog EQ. I've done a lot of experimenting with the EQ settings to see if there's any way to manipulate the DSP to reduce overall bass levels, and I found that by boosting mids to +5 and treble to +3 it seems to reduce the bass gain and bring the door speakers into play. It also makes the bass EQ more effective such that I now have it at -3 rather than -8.

Sounds much better, but still not as good as it should. Next I'm going to try adding some polyfill to the subwoofer box which hopefully mellow it even further.

Thx for the help, I’ll be trying this.