Hello all! I have a 2003 R53 with the H/K System. I swapped the radio for a later 2006 factory HU to get the MP3 CD capability. It works but the sound seems like it's coming from the passenger side mostly. If I open the door and get my ear near the tweeter and mid on the driver's side, it is playing, but not at the volume on the right. I have played with the eq settings, switched "driver only" on and off and it's still the same.

I have been considering adding the GROM bluetooth to the system but if the H/K amp is going bad, then I would just replace the entire system. So my question is, does this sound like a HU, AMP or Speaker issue? I could replace the HU with my original and see if that solves the problem. If it doesn't then what?

 

 

Not an expert, but there is a little troubleshooting you can do (and may have done already): Set the radio to something other than Mini H/K. Mini H/K uses the rears like subwoofers, so you don't want to use that to check your speakers.

Then, adjust the balance and fade to the extremes - all the way to the left and all the way to the front, then left/back, right/back, right/front.

This will at least help determine exactly where sound is being produced.

(maybe you've already done this)

To test if it's a speaker issue, you could pull out the front speakers and swap them side-to-side. If the issue persists, then you know it isn't the speakers.

I'm having an issue like yours where the front-left mid is barely audible, but I've taken the lazy and free way out and just adjusted the balance/fade to compensate.

 

I like the idea of swapping the speakers from one side to the other. One thing that dawned on me is that it could be the mp3 file itself. I will try a real OEM CD (if I can find one) and see what that sounds like first. As far as balancing, I switched out of H/K mode on the EQ and adjusted the balance left to right. I had to move it almost completely to the left to hear the left side speaker.

 

Almost confident to say your amp is going south.