Hi,

Dealer recently replaced my Harman Kardon head unit due to the display malfunction (pixels missing) on my 2006 Cooper. What they did is replaced my Harman Kardon unit to the non-HK unit. I am getting sound and everything. But my 1st question is will this affect the HK amp? And 2nd, will the sound quality be degraded? I think it does, but I am not sure.

Thanks!

 

It is my understanding that the head-units are not H/K specific; what makes you think that they are?

 

Correct, there's no such thing as "non-HK" - except the very early pre-2003 HUs that didn't support HK, before it was released.

 

Thank you for your replies. Sorry about the non-HK reference. I did a little more research. My new radio looks different than the one MINI replaced. My original radio looks like this:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...01&hg=65&fg=05

My new one looks like this:

http://www.intravention.co.uk/files/...ost_CD_New.jpg

It looks like I have the new version of the radio, correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks!

 

Your new radio is just the updated version of your old radio, but they're essentially the same thing, have the same functions and use the same wiring harness. The changeover occurred in mid-2006. My wife's April-build 2006 has the older style, while my September-build 2006 has the newer style.

Also, your old radio was made by Alpine, while your new one is made by Siemens.

 

Is there any sound quality difference between the Alpine and Siemens units?

They both have mp3 and text capabilities, right?

 

Since his car is a 2006, his original radio had MP3/text capability, and the newer Siemens units have it as well.

Both my wife's MINI and mine have the H/K audio system, and I really can't tell any significant difference between the Alpine and Siemens units.