I have a 2021 Clubman JCW, and this may be common knowledge to others, but wasn't to me. So I figured I'd share my recent experience and discovery w/ the group because it was a game changer for me.

I have the upgraded Harman Kardon stereo and was really very disappointed with it. As I turned up the volume, it quickly became muffled, bass was flat and treble was not crisp. I was told there were sub's under the front seats, but couldn't feel any sort of reverberation, muffled or otherwise. There was absolutely no sound separation at all since most of the audio was coming out of the front center channel. It just wasn't even close to what I was expecting out of an upgraded 13 speaker system, even after trying to make adjustments in the head unit.

After reading an old thread, I saw someone mention how disabling ASD with Bimmercode helped improve their audio, so I gave it a go. First off, I didn't even realize ASD was on to begin with, but after turning it off, I was like, oh man, yeah that other sound was weird! The engine/exhaust/cabin sound much more natural now. I will say, you also notice much more road noise too though. However, the big thing that happened was, the HK system came alive! Bass, treble, subs, all sound friggin amazing now! Turning up the volume no longer gets muffled or distorted. I can finally hear a clean and crisp soundstage with all the speakers and tweeters working together, and the subs have great punch! I highly recommend this change, especially if you were like me and thought the stereo sucked.

 

Thank you for the information! I’ve done a couple of long distance trips this past month and I too have the HK in my 2017. I’ve been meaning to play around and do some changes with the bimmercode app, now I’m more motivated! Let you know what I discover when I get to do it.

 

Which OBD adapter should you get if you want to use Bimmercode?

 

I got this one off Amazon, but there are a ton out there. I'm able to use mine on my Mini, BMW, and Jeep. I would just try and get one with Bluetooth 4.0 and that works with Bimmercode(or whatever app you'll be using):

 

Thanks!

 

I am surprised to hear that is I found the HK system in my F54 JCW to sound pretty solid. I prefer it to how it was in my 2017 model for sure. I know it has the fake engine noise but I am ok with it at the moment.

 

You should give it a try! If you have the bimmercode app, it literally only takes 2 mins. It was night and day for me.