Great site here. Lot's of info and helpful, friendly folks.

I just ordered a '10 Camden that will come with the 2010 HK audio system.

I've poked around here a lot.

The consensus seems to be that this is a pretty good system, at least for factory.

I'm inclined to install a sub, probably an Urban Mini stealth box. Does this system need a sub?

RE:interfacing with the 2010 HK system - Can this only (best?) be done @ the X9331 connector or can the audio be intercepted at the amp in the rear? i prefer not to cut or splice the factory wires.

Also, if i get a Class D sub amp, is it still important to drag +12v direct from the battery, or can I use a nearby +12v source, such as the HK amp or the cigarette lighter?

Is it true of the 2010 HK system that the rear speaker pair is not full range? This has been mentioned here regarding other systems. If true, then i would want to intercept audio from the front pair.

Lastly, does anyone have a recommendation for the amp/sub? I'd like an amp with a crossover for the line level audio so that freqs. sent to the sub are filtered from the audio that continues to the HK amp. The alpines look great, but do not do this. What is a good sub for the Urban Mini sealed box? They suggest drivers for the ported, but not the sealed box.

I've searched and looked here for answers for these ?s and have not found them. Sorry if I missed them.

Thanks, Pete

 

Congrats on you new ride. and welcome to NAM

THere is a lot of great information here but as with every internet site some of it is incorrect.

My suggestion is to live with it for couple of weeks to see what you really think of it. do not go on what others think straight out of the box.

[quote=Club Chapin;3065731]RE:interfacing with the 2010 HK system - Can this only (best?) be done @ the X9331 connector or can the audio be intercepted at the amp in the rear? i prefer not to cut or splice the factory wires.[/quote[ Yes this can be done.

That all depends on what amp it is and its power requirements.

This is not true. At the X9331 the audio is full range on all 4 channels. if you take the audio from after the amp each of the 10 channels has varying degrees of frequency response as each channel is matched to it corresponding speaker.

in car audio it does not work this way as it does with home audio. In this instance you just pick off the signal and add the sub, the HK amp needs the full spectrum audio.

Search here with the built in search is not that great. using google site search I find does a much better job.

 

I have a 2010 Clubman with the HK upgrade and I think it hits like a champ I was impressed by the system I dont really think you would need a sub. Hey I was looking for a set of Camden lights but I gotta have a Camden owner order them for me. Can you Call me at 615-426-6933 Ill pay for everything I just really think that it would set my car off.

 

Thanks for the replies. At this point, I will wait until I have the car in hand. I'll live with the factory system before I determine whether I need more punch.

Guess I'm just anxious.

Pete

 

For detailed information on the HK system in the Mini, go to www.mini.harmankardon.com

I have lived with the system for 3 months now and I find it good but not great. The system needs an equalizer. When you turn up the base, the midrange is effected to a great extent. My other cars have better systems so that flavors my opinion some. My MA suggested that I set the fader 3 bars to the rear, in order to create a better surround sound effect, but I find that setting the fader to mid position lightens up the midrange. My other cars have factory sub woofers and the base is much cleaner.
Compared to the base stereo, or the HI-Fi from 2009 back, the HK system is much better, and I dont regret getting it at all.

 

Thanks. Was hoping for more technical details. IE, can the audio be lifted at the amp instead of the X9331 for hitting an aftermarket system.

Can the amp be removed? (I don't think it can.)

Are there other ways into the system or tweaks that aren't so commonly known?

 

I tapped off at the amp rather than the X9331. Here's a pic of the connectors at the amp and a copy/paste of what I used to do it. The colors may have changed but this is what I have in a txt file sitting here. It should help a little - copy/paste as follows:



Here's oPossum's link to the connector pinout The pinout is important, because in some cases (like the rear woofers) the same color wire is used more than once.
If you don't want to cut the wires on the connector, you can pick up a tool at many PC shops to remove them from the connector... like THIS or THIS

Power Input
(Pin - Wire Color - Function)

5 - Red/Gray (This is a 20A circuit that should provide power to a modest aftermarket amp without needing to run a seperate lead)

10 - Power Antenna lead (to turn on your aftermarket amp. I'll check the voltage/operation when I can).

26 - Brown (Ground)

18 - Orange/Green (No idea, but it causes me concern as it's labeled "K_CAN_L")

19 - Green (No idea, but also causes me concern as it's labeled "K_CAN_H")

Audio Input (Speaker level input from headunit)
(Pin - WireColor - Polarity)

Front Left
38 - Black/Red (+)
30 - Black/Purple (-)

Front Right
9 - Yellow/Brown (+)
17 - Yellow/Black (-)

Rear Left
37 - Blue/Brown (+)
29 - Blue/Black (-)

Rear Right
8 - Brown/Orange (+)
16 - Yellow/Red (-)


Output (Speakers)

Front Left Woofer (6 1/2")
41 - Black/Red (+)
42 - Black/Purple (-)

Front Right Woofer (6 1/2")
39 - Yellow/Purple (+)
40 - Yellow/Gray (-)

Front Left Mid/Tweet*
33 - Blue/White (+)
34 - Blue/Brown (-)
*Need help here. The schematic is confusing, but I believe this lead goes to the 3 1/2" mid, with the tweeter slaved off this lead with a capacitor. DyeLooper noted the colors to his (HIFI) mid, and MotorMouth noted the tweeter has a cap. The colors for the tweeter wires should be Brown/Orange (+) and Blue/Red (-)

Front Right Mid/Tweet*
11 - Blue/Black (+)
12 - Blue/Brown (-)
*Need help here as well, as noted above. Colors for the tweet should be Brown/Orange (+) and Yellow/Black (-).

Rear Left Woofer (6x9)
4 - Red/White (+)
3 - Brown (-)

Rear Right Woofer (6x9)
23 - Red/White (+)
22 - Brown/White (-)

Rear Left Tweeter*
31 - Yellow/Black (+)
32 - Yellow/Brown (-)
*There are a couple of manufacturers of component 6x9's, but 5x7 or 6x8 components are more common. These leads aren't necessary if you use a coax or triax 6x9.

Rear Right Tweeter*
13 - Yellow (+)
21 - Brown (-)
*Same note as Rear Left Tweeter.

 

Yes as toolazy did. but by doing it at the x9331 with an adapter (parts easily available) it is very easy to put the car back to stock just plug and play. Also at the x9331 there is only the possibility of damaging up to 10 wires but at the amp end where they are 42 wires many of them smaller and more easily damaged. Plus the x9331 is much closer to the head unit and as such leaves less non shielded cable to pick up problems such as noise, hiss, etc.

As with the HiFi, the amp can not be removed, or if it is removed must be put back before any upgrades can be done to other computers in the car

The amp is programmable for crossover freqs etc but that is all in the main programing of the car and as such BMW/MINI do not put out the data required for anyone else to adjust it.

 

Thanks again. This is really helpful and answers my questions. although I'd rather grab my feed at the amp, it sounds safer and less destructive to make a x9331 adapter and grab my feed there.

It is unfortunate that we cannot tweak the programming. I'd love to be able to change the behavior of other features of the car.

Thanks again, Pete

 

it also means you only have to remove on panel and then stuff some wires to put in a sub where if you were to connect at the amp you have to take about 90% of the rear of the car apart.

What behaviors are you wanting to control?

Some are adjustable some are not and it also depends on other options in the car as well.

 

Sorry, but I think, that unless you are hard parking, there is no point putting in a better stereo. The car is so noisy when driving, and gain in SQ can't be heard. (road noise, wind noise, engine noise, exhaust noise...) lol

 

I'd like to change the behavior of the locks mostly. I noticed that the door lock button if pressed down will lock the doors. If pressed down again, it unlocks them. The same is true for presseing the button up. It would be nice if they behaved the same as the window switches. Down = lock, up = unlock.

Also, it would be nice to configure the locks to lock when the car is being driven.

And, I've ordered the car with comfort access. Seems that you cannot program it to auto lock when you walk away. It would be nice to be able to program this.

Thanks, Pete

 

A nicer stereo is nicer, at least for me. My other car is a '89 Toyota. A great car, but by no means quiet. I've put an after market stereo that sounds good with external amp, component speakers, and a sub and it does make a world of difference.

 

This can not be done because of the way the car is wired. The switch in this case is a momentary switch and both the up and down are wired to the same wire.

not sure about the 2010's but the doors on my 08 can be set to lock after a period of time or movement don't remember which though.

No you can not program it that way again it is due to a limitation of the hardware.

 

Did you ever happen to check the voltage operation on the number 10 pin? It would seem if this is true then you have found the amp turn on that no one else has been able to. This would be great news