[deletedelete]

What settings do you all run for the non logic system? Im using a usb with 160k aac files. Anybody know a good sweet spot for the system. Its not like we got much choice. But I dont think that leaving everything in the default position is best. Opinions from the audiophiles......and please dont tell me to upgrade anything. Thats not an option.

Right now im running base in the middle, treble up 2, rear up 2 and sides at middle.

[VP Electricity]

Before I started my upgrade, I ran the bass up 50%, the treble in the middle, and faded forward 50%.

It still sucked.

[deletedelete]

Wow I cant take the bass off of the middle default setting or it gets my heart thumping too much. I think im definitely bass sensitive.

And I thought that fading toward the rear was better?

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

And I thought that fading toward the rear was better?

Why?

When you go to a concert, do you turn your back to the stage?

Some people seem to have this default assumption about rear sound... I think it's because you grow up in the back seat of a car with by-nines in the back...

[VP Electricity]

Try fading it all the way to the front for one week and after the week, decide what you think of it.

[deletedelete]

Ive aways had my 10+ cars faded to the rear. But Ill try fading it to the front a few pegs and see what happens. Thanks

[VP Electricity]

OK, you've established a trend...

I suggest that you may ahve started doing it in cars with larger speakers in the back than in the front.

Smaller front speakers can't play loud.

Smaller front speakers can't play bass.

So the tonality of those systems may have been better from the rear - not BECAUSE of where the sound was coming from, but because of where the better-sounding speakers were located.

Since our ears hear better from in front of us (both in tonality and in directional determination), if you have the same quality of tone front and rear, the front is more important.

When we hear sounds from behind us, we miss details, and we can't determine direction well, so we lose whatever stereo effects were included in the recording by the engineer.

So keep us posted on your results and also what you listen to music-wise when you try it.

Oh, and I still recommend going 100% forward for your test, and committing to the week. If you've had 10 cars all set up to the rear, it will seem odd at first, and if you give up then (at first), you may be missing a lot of musical details...

[deletedelete]

Ok Ill try it at 100% on the front. And you are correct about the rear speakers being bigger and better quality in my past cars so its just an old habit I guess. And I assumed the same was true about the bmw speaker layout.

[AWM3]

Pardon me for stating the obvious but, since you're on the left side of the car (I hope), you are closer to the left side speakers and it makes sense to adjust the balance +2 or +3 to the right, to compensate for your seating position. That will help a little, along with having most of the sound coming from the front rather than the rear. Personally I found the OEM tweeters to be not bright enough for my taste, and turned up the treble some also. But that's more a matter of what sounds good to you.

[deletedelete]

Does changing the fade on the speakers put more stress on that particular speaker?

[Technic]

What are you trying to accomplish? A decent sound or a stress test?

First, unless you and only you tweak your very limited set of adjustments in your OEM system nobody here will give you the magic touch to make it sound the way you want.

So it is up to you to experiment with the bass, treble, balance and fader.

Now, you can do something with those AAC files to make them sound a little better, but that will also involves you making the tweaks until you are satisfied:

- Get either iTunes or any other software that allows you to bump those 160kps to at least 256kps (320kps is the best, but I think that it is only for MP3). If you still have the original recordings (uncompressed) it will be better to make new copies from them at the 256/320kps format.

- At least in iTunes you have an 10-band Equalizer which you can use to further adjust your songs -either individually or all of them- to your particular taste, including a preamp level. So take one of your songs, convert it to at least 256kps and play with the equalizer settings, save it with the new curve and preamp level and play it. You will notice the difference in sound right away... continue adjusting if needed until you get them the way you want. You can apply one "master" curve to all your songs or individual/group curves to your songs, all depends on what you like.

Yes, it takes a considerable time and effort to improve the sound quality of your system (at least the USB songs) if you do it this way but you already stated that you are not upgrading hardware at all, so you do not have any other option here.

[deletedelete]

I did not know that you could save eq settings to the usb files. Thanks

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

I did not know that you could save eq settings to the usb files. Thanks

I used as well this program with USB sticks and custom equalize the new conversion: http://www.mp3do.com/mp3converter.html

Works much better than iTunes... it has also a "DSP" function of filters.

[deletedelete]

Wow, I changed the fade to the front and it sounds much better. I turned the treble up a notch and faded to the front and like it way better. My passenger also agreed!