Harman Kardon Sound System painful sound

[LiptonGT]

Hi guys,

New to the forum, I recently bought a Stinger GT 2 and I have loved the car so far except I can't stand the Harman Kardon sound system.

I had really high expectations, and with certain songs its way better than the sound system in my old car, but other songs that have higher pitched sounds similar to that of a drum cymbal it sounds extremely tinny and makes my ears want to bleed.

I've tried ever single combination I can think of including turning Quantum Audience on/off, On staging on/off and trying to tweak the bass/mid/treble in 20 different ways.

The closest setting I can get to mitigate this is setting Quantum to off setting the extremely limited tone options to:
Base: -2
Mid: 0
Treble: -7

This with a lower volume is tolerable, but I lose all fidelity and volume with the songs that dont have as many of the higher frequencies parts.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with their Harman Kardon and if so have you found a solution?

 

[mldavis2]

No problem here. Do you wear a hearing aid?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Hi. I have a feeling that you are going to get some good info as this thread develops: Post your Harman/Kardon sound settings.

I think that your settings are not helpful. The Bass and Midrange need to be boosted while you lower the Treble. Also, if you are not using compressed files, turn off ClariFi. Try Audience and On Stage to see if one is more comfortable/satisfying.

 

[SteveCo]

You haven't said what you are listening to for source material - it makes a huge difference to the audio fidelity. I use lossless FLAC files played through either the USB port directly, or via Android Auto, and I think they sound spectacular. Nice clear highs and a solid, punchy and musical bass.

OTOH, I've listened to some Sirius XM radio stations that sound miserable (some are passable), and compressed MP3 files that do not sound at all good either. I haven't used sources like Spotify or Pandora, but I've seen people reporting mixed results with those as well.

 

[Dummyinacan]

It’s crazy how the system varies from vehicle to vehicle. It could be the source material, but even then, I don’t think it should vary that much. I listen to a lot of bass heavy music (hip hop, edm, Spanish), on Apple Music and I’m loving it.

 

[LiptonGT]

Thanks for everyone's reply

No problem here. Do you wear a hearing aid?

Nope I don't

You haven't said what you are listening to for source material - it makes a huge difference to the audio fidelity. I use lossless FLAC files played through either the USB port directly, or via Android Auto, and I think they sound spectacular. Nice clear highs and a solid, punchy and musical bass.

Right now Im listening to Youtube App with "High Quality Audio" Im not sure what bitrate that means, but its obviously still compressed. I can try a higher quality audio file, but that would be disappointing since I don't necessarily care about high quality I just dont want my ears to bleed when listening to random sources with high frequencies.

Hi. I have a feeling that you are going to get some good info as this thread develops:

I think that your settings are not helpful. The Bass and Midrange need to be boosted while you lower the Treble. Also, if you are not using compressed files, turn off ClariFi. Try Audience and On Stage to see if one is more comfortable/satisfying.

Thanks I'll check that thread out.

It’s crazy how the system varies from vehicle to vehicle. It could be the source material, but even then, I don’t think it should vary that much. I listen to a lot of bass heavy music (hip hop, edm, Spanish), on Apple Music and I’m loving it.

Yea I wonder if its just a matter of quality control. This may be a problem on my stinger alone. I might go back to the dealership to try another one because honestly other than just keeping my audio off or replacing with an aftermarket system Im half considering replacing the stinger which is a car thats amazing in ever other way. I have a headache today and my ears are hurting just from trying to listen to music to it at a volume of 10.

 

[AV8R]

The volume will vary with the source of the sound. Higher bit rates will give an amplified effect. Can you explain to us how you save the music and what players do you use?
Spotify , Google play music or what?

 

[AV8R]

Also if you are playing from the phone are sure you haven’t got the phone volume up when it’s passing thru the stinger system as all you are doing is amplifying a loud signal output from the phone. Keep the phones volume down lower and then you can increase the car volume without your ears bleeding. I can assure you it’s not the car.

 

[LiptonGT]

The volume will vary with the source of the sound. Higher bit rates will give an amplified effect. Can you explain to us how you save the music and what players do you use?
Spotify , Google play music or what?

Right now Im using the Youtube music app. To be fair I do have my phone source turned up higher so I can try using a lower volume and raising the in car volume.

I sometimes use Spotify and same result with that unfortunately.

 

[AV8R]

Right now Im using the Youtube music app. To be fair I do have my phone source turned up higher so I can try using a lower volume and raising the in car volume.

I sometimes use Spotify and same result with that unfortunately.

Please advise if turning down the volume on ur phone fixes issue.

 

[LiptonGT]

So I just wanted to give a final update and also assist anyone that encounters what appeared to be a problem with the sound. So what other people were saying is true the sound quality on this system makes a difference. It was suggested I try to use some flac formats just to test lossless audio.

I did a search and I found that the app Spotify had some higher quality music than most apps at 320kbps stream for premium users.

After testing with this app and this bitrate music the tin and sharp tones of the mid-high range have gone away. I think essentially what was happening was that my previous car had such an inferior sound system it didnt even pick up some of crappy quality of the source I was using. With this system since its better its picking up all the artifacts and problems with low quality sources including the sharp tin sounds. I think this combined with the fact that lower quality sound was causing me to increase the volume to hear the vocals exacerbated the issue with the sharp sounds.

For those like me that don't feel like having a USB with a bunch of FLAC files, Spotify has been great alternative and since switching sources it is probably the best sound system I've ever had in the cars that I've owned.


Thanks to everyone that replied.

 

[AV8R]

So I just wanted to give a final update and also assist anyone that encounters what appeared to be a problem with the sound. So what other people were saying is true the sound quality on this system makes a difference. It was suggested I try to use some flac formats just to test lossless audio.

I did a search and I found that the app Spotify had some higher quality music than most apps at 320kbps stream for premium users.

After testing with this app and this bitrate music the tin and sharp tones of the mid-high range have gone away. I think essentially what was happening was that my previous car had such an inferior sound system it didnt even pick up some of crappy quality of the source I was using. With this system since its better its picking up all the artifacts and problems with low quality sources including the sharp tin sounds. I think this combined with the fact that lower quality sound was causing me to increase the volume to hear the vocals exacerbated the issue with the sharp sounds.

For those like me that don't feel like having a USB with a bunch of FLAC files, Spotify has been great alternative and since switching sources it is probably the best sound system I've ever had in the cars that I've owned.


Thanks to everyone that replied.

You will,find high quality 320kbps mp3 files will do the same but take more memory.

 

[RVance]

So I just wanted to give a final update and also assist anyone that encounters what appeared to be a problem with the sound. So what other people were saying is true the sound quality on this system makes a difference. It was suggested I try to use some flac formats just to test lossless audio.

I did a search and I found that the app Spotify had some higher quality music than most apps at 320kbps stream for premium users.

After testing with this app and this bitrate music the tin and sharp tones of the mid-high range have gone away. I think essentially what was happening was that my previous car had such an inferior sound system it didnt even pick up some of crappy quality of the source I was using. With this system since its better its picking up all the artifacts and problems with low quality sources including the sharp tin sounds. I think this combined with the fact that lower quality sound was causing me to increase the volume to hear the vocals exacerbated the issue with the sharp sounds.

For those like me that don't feel like having a USB with a bunch of FLAC files, Spotify has been great alternative and since switching sources it is probably the best sound system I've ever had in the cars that I've owned.


Thanks to everyone that replied.

Thanks for sticking with the recommendations before losing faith Source quality is everything on this system. I have an iPod Classic 160gb loaded with with Lossless, which should sound great. But I'm surprised how well most of the Amazon Music low res files on my Samsung phone transmit via Bluetooth. My hearing responds best to Clari-Fi on, Audience mode, tone controls at or near "flat" response, but yours may differ. I can attest that Sirius/XM and low res Pandora and Spotify are the WORST sounding audio channels on the planet- just as you described in your initial post. I can listen to news programs on Sirius, but not music.

A couple of years ago I read an article in Sound & Vision that an audio reviewer had returned a new luxury car purchase because of the Sirius/XM fidelity issue. He traveled a lot, depended on it, and thought it was defective. The dealer told him that, strangely, Sirius sourced two different control boards (ostensibly from different manufacturers) for their receivers that were completely different in quality. But there was no way to determine which had been installed in a vehicle without actually listening to them. I have not spoken to anyone who has been happy with the Sirius fidelity in their cars. I have re-upped my subscription, but only after negotiating a $6/month fee on their best package so I can listen to non-music content on long trips.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[LegacyGTv2.0]

I have almost all the music stored as FLAC on a 64GB USB drive.
There are a couple of tracks that hit some high-pitch tone, that's very unpleasant. Most things sound great. I'm trying to slightly turn down the treble to see if that helps.

 

[app_master]

I tried the setting for Surround=On-stage for about a week, but it doesn't help me for my hip-hop, rnb tastes. Might be ok for more instrumental type music, like rock country etc. Other than that system is awesome.

 

[Waynerm002]

Based on my experience with the 2019 HK system, once the system breaks in, the sound improves. I can tell you that I also experienced that piercing high frequency issue when the system was new, while using Spotify with the high quality setting, as well as music stored on my iPhone that are at a high quality setting. The 2018 didn't exhibit this, but then the 2018 also played at a lower volume than the 2019 and while clear, it could be plated at max volume and you could still have a conversation in the car. Give it some time and things will get better.

 

[WWNJ Stinger]

Hi guys,

New to the forum, I recently bought a Stinger GT 2 and I have loved the car so far except I can't stand the Harman Kardon sound system.

I had really high expectations, and with certain songs its way better than the sound system in my old car, but other songs that have higher pitched sounds similar to that of a drum cymbal it sounds extremely tinny and makes my ears want to bleed.

I've tried ever single combination I can think of including turning Quantum Audience on/off, On staging on/off and trying to tweak the bass/mid/treble in 20 different ways.

The closest setting I can get to mitigate this is setting Quantum to off setting the extremely limited tone options to:
Base: -2
Mid: 0
Treble: -7

This with a lower volume is tolerable, but I lose all fidelity and volume with the songs that dont have as many of the higher frequencies parts.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with their Harman Kardon and if so have you found a solution?

I too have noticed that the "highs" are much more pronounced with the HK sound system. My theory is that the location of the tweeters on the rear doors are very close to your ears if you are 6 foot or taller and like me keep the seat way back. Basically, if your seat back is past the B pillar, you are going to experience this sensation of sound with the highs. The solution is to use the fader to push more sound to the front speakers, this works for me and the sound is GREAT with the HK system. My previous ride was a 2016 Optima SXL which had great sound, this HK system took me about 2 months to appreciate just how good it is.

 

[WWNJ Stinger]

Based on my experience with the 2019 HK system, once the system breaks in, the sound improves. I can tell you that I also experienced that piercing high frequency issue when the system was new, while using Spotify with the high quality setting, as well as music stored on my iPhone that are at a high quality setting. The 2018 didn't exhibit this, but then the 2018 also played at a lower volume than the 2019 and while clear, it could be plated at max volume and you could still have a conversation in the car. Give it some time and things will get better.

I don't believe the system breaks in but rather you get used to it, its a MUCH different system than what most have experienced in a car. Being able to hear the highs in such clarity and so close to your ears is what makes the difference IMO

 

[EXCLNCEOFXECUTN]

I purchased a 2020 Optima and am experiencing the exact same thing with high frequency piercing my ears and giving me tinnitus. It is not even an issue of high volumes because I can't turn it up past 7 or 8 even on the highway. Granted all of my MP3 files are 192-320kbps depending but I have tested using FLAC and WAVs (even early on) thinking file quality might be the difference but they all sounded equal which should not be the case. Couple that with USB, AUX, & Bluetooth producing the same sound field regardless of which source I'm using leads me to believe these newer head units (my prev car was a 2012 Sonata) are using piss poor or non-existent DACs. I can't gut the head unit and I have been playing with variations of the settings for the last 4 months. This has depressed me beyond anything and I am at a loss of what to do. However these things are now wired to sound have made my entire digital library sound like garbage which is not the case when playing on any other source. If anyone else has experience with what I am talking about, I would love to hear some solutions. I am considering trading up in a year and taking a loss on this one unfortunately.

 

[RVance]

I purchased a 2020 Optima and am experiencing the exact same thing with high frequency piercing my ears and giving me tinnitus. It is not even an issue of high volumes because I can't turn it up past 7 or 8 even on the highway. Granted all of my MP3 files are 192-320kbps depending but I have tested using FLAC and WAVs (even early on) thinking file quality might be the difference but they all sounded equal which should not be the case. Couple that with USB, AUX, & Bluetooth producing the same sound field regardless of which source I'm using leads me to believe these newer head units (my prev car was a 2012 Sonata) are using piss poor or non-existent DACs. I can't gut the head unit and I have been playing with variations of the settings for the last 4 months. This has depressed me beyond anything and I am at a loss of what to do. However these things are now wired to sound have made my entire digital library sound like garbage which is not the case when playing on any other source. If anyone else has experience with what I am talking about, I would love to hear some solutions. I am considering trading up in a year and taking a loss on this one unfortunately.

Sit in a Stinger and play the same files to compare, I guess. I wouldn't make a correlation with the Optima until you do. BTW, many Stinger owners on these threads report an issue with Sirius/XM poor quality, which is ubiquitous. My Amazon Music Bluetooth connection is only slightly less mellifluous than Apple AAC Lossless from my iPod Classic. Very good sound.