[agarbati]

Sorry guys, I wasn't impressed with the Logic 7 on my test drive of the E90 last week. It did start to distort at higher volumes and the sound just didn't fill the car properly. It sounded cheap and was very disappointing for such an expensive car. Granted, I didn't fiddle with all the settings so that may be the cause - at least I'm hoping so. As for the Logic 7 being great in the 5 series, I think the extra 6 speakers definitely makes a difference. On the way back from the dealership, the Bose in my friends Maxima sounded a lot better.

[SCA]

I had several Cds with me on my two hour test drive. My 0.02, if you are ordering a 325i I seriously do not think it worth the money. Spend the money elsewhere.

[vivid]

Originally Posted by agarbati

the Bose in my friends Maxima sounded a lot better.

wow that’s not good... I think Bose is the most god awful manufacture there is, no matter if its a car or home system, they are just crap... That was the fist thing I did to my FX, gutted the Bose...

I hope Logic 7 is not that bad other wise that will have to be gutted too and I was kind of looking forward to spending that $ on performance Mods...

[ogrady]

I dunno, the vast majority of people's reaction to Logic 7 so far seems to be very positive. I haven't heard it myself but it sounded like the real thing.

[vivid]

I'm going to take a look this afternoon and I'll post them... good I hope it good or at least acceptable but has to be better than bose

[ogrady]

Cool thanks vivid. make sure to bring some high quality cd's. Will this be your first test drive?

[vivid]

don't think my sacds will work but I know what you mean and I will..

[MarkA]

Isn't Logic 7 just Harmon Kardon's competing decoder standard against Dolby Labs PrologicII ?

Does anyone other than Harmon Kardon have the rights to manufacture a system consisting of Logic 7? And thus if it's proprietary to HK, isn't it all just the same as the previous Harmon Kardon upgrades on older BMWs ?

[Armen52]

I don't see how you make the connection Mark. Logic7 is a technology/brand by or from HK but I don't see how that makes this new system on the E90 the same as the HK system on the E46? HK makes many many different kinds of systems and this is just another one.

[MarkA]

Sorry.. no connection.. just wondering if the Logic 7 system is A) a Harmon Kardon system. B) If previous HK systems in previous BMWS didn't also use Logic 7?

While the single processor is ofcourse a factor, surely the most important factor is the quality and sighting of the components and their manufacture?

I suppose another factor in quality reproduction is how stiff and strong the car is. Since the E90 is stiffer and stronger than the E46.. shouldn't that also help any system?

If people were previously impressed with the quality from their HK systems.. then buying a car with another HK system isn't going to be too risky.

I'm just wondering why BMW don't just say it's manufactured by HK.. like they used to?

[roburado]

Well, I hope it sounds better than the HK systems that I've heard. My friend has had two 325Cis and they both had the HK system. I didn't like them at all. Unfortunately, the problem is that people's perceptions of sound quality are wholly subjective. Personally, I like my Monsoon system in my Passat a lot more than the BMW HK systems I've heard. Though I love BMWs and have been well-acquainted with them since the 1970's (in the family there were two E21s, an E28, an E30, two E34s--almost an E46 or two), I've never been impressed with any stereo system they put in any of the cars since I've been old/fussy enough to care, which started around the time of the E30.

That having been said, I look forward to putting the E90 Logic 7 through its paces, but I'm not holding my breath. Whether Logic7 sucks or not, the E90 will be my next car, because it :rocks:

[BMWAustin]

Originally Posted by SCA

I had several Cds with me on my two hour test drive. My 0.02, if you are ordering a 325i I seriously do not think it worth the money. Spend the money elsewhere.

Hold on a sec, Bose distort the mid range frequence to make you feel better. I can't believe you feel for that. If you hear the same music in a good audiophile system (there are several of them), you will understand what I am talking about so do lots of audiophilers out there.
The debate here would be is Logic 7 any better than the old HK....

[Nu 3 in Sin City]

Originally Posted by MarkA

Sorry.. no connection.. just wondering if the Logic 7 system is A) a Harmon Kardon system. B) If previous HK systems in previous BMWS didn't also use Logic 7?

While the single processor is ofcourse a factor, surely the most important factor is the quality and sighting of the components and their manufacture?

I suppose another factor in quality reproduction is how stiff and strong the car is. Since the E90 is stiffer and stronger than the E46.. shouldn't that also help any system?

If people were previously impressed with the quality from their HK systems.. then buying a car with another HK system isn't going to be too risky.

I'm just wondering why BMW don't just say it's manufactured by HK.. like they used to?

Actually, the Logic 7 system available to BMW has been developed by a company called Lexicon. Lexicon is a division of Harmon Group International, which Harmon Kardon is part of. Lexicon produces Ultra-High End Audio/Visual equipment which are highly praised in the High End Audio industry. From my experience and my opinion, you will not find a more quality sounding stereo system in a car today, except for maybe the ESS system developed by Panasonic in the Acura TL. That system uses DVD-Audio, which is basically 5.1 Surround and a higher resolution recording which sounds great.

Hope this answers your question. Note: please ensure that all settings on the Logic 7 are set you your personal tastes before evaluating the system. It's easy for one to not like it if they have not fully explored the variety of settings that it has.

[vivid]

I went to do my test drive and damn it both the E90s only had the professional systems so no test listen But if Lexicon is making the logic7 is should be Fing good because, as previously said, they make audiophile level home equipment... I think we should be asking how it compares to the Mark Levinson systems in Lexus which IMO are hands down the best car stereos out there. As long as we don’t compare it to the crap bose systems that so many seem to love for some unknown reason.

[Armen52]

Vivid, if you drove a 330i it had a Logic7 system in it. Its standard in any 330i.

[vivid]

shows how much I and the sales person knew... I asked if it had it and was told no and that the Logic7 system was visually identifiable by logos on the speakers... Also the head unit has professional written on it...

oh well next time I'm up that way I will check it out again.

[ziv]

so can someone please explain to me the diff between Cinema and Music Logic 7 modes?

Also, something that is a bit annoying with the EQ (not serious though) -- if you adjust some of the slides, and go to the negative regions, on the overall picture, it shows them as 0. That's wrong. So you can't see the overall pattern of the EQ. You have to make a mental picture of it :-(

[vivid]

Ok so at the BMW Performance Driving event I got to play with the Logic7 (not for long and not with my CDs, I was using Sirius) and I have mixed feelings... my main gripe is that it is very bass heavy and no matter how you change the Treble and Bass it does not improve much (I noticed there were eq setting but did not have time to play with them)... But the bass is very good; it’s loud, tight and accurate. But it just over powered the mids and highs. The Mids and Highs were very nice too it was just hard to hear them...

So over all I liked it and would not spend the extra money on swapping it out... And it’s far better than most stock systems... Now if I had time to play with the EQs I might have had an better experience but it was still not a bad one.

[Armen52]

Personally, I wouldn't evaluate a stereo's performance based on any radio signal. Not even satelite radio. Try evaluating using a CD that you really know inside and out how it should sound. Otherwise, you don't know if the satelite radio signal maybe had the bass boosted? Or maybe its a song you never even heard before? My $.02.

[DHC]

Originally Posted by MarkA

Isn't Logic 7 just Harmon Kardon's competing decoder standard against Dolby Labs PrologicII ?

Does anyone other than Harmon Kardon have the rights to manufacture a system consisting of Logic 7? And thus if it's proprietary to HK, isn't it all just the same as the previous Harmon Kardon upgrades on older BMWs ?

Bingo MarkA, you've got it.

Logic 7 is a HK-developed algorithm that attempts to derive surround sound via 2-channel sources (e.g., CD or FM radio). Competitors include the Dolby system you mentioned above (DPL II) and DTS NEO:6.

All three use digital signal processing which will, to some extent, corrupt the signal. But we're talking an automotive environment which is about as far from an anechoic chamber as one can get. So who cares if some distortion is added as long as the final product sounds pleasing?

Personally, I don't care enough to spend extra on surround sound processing. Now, if you get a better amp and speakers ....

[vivid]

Originally Posted by Armen52

Personally, I wouldn't evaluate a stereo's performance based on any radio signal. Not even satelite radio. Try evaluating using a CD that you really know inside and out how it should sound. Otherwise, you don't know if the satelite radio signal maybe had the bass boosted? Or maybe its a song you never even heard before? My $.02.

trust I know, thats why I made that disclaimer saying I did not have my CDs. I have a burnt CD with songs I take just to auditions.

[RedStripe]

I'm going to start calling my test drives "auditions" now.