[KDB]

After a lot of experimenting I settled with:
Bass +2, Mid +1, Treble +3, fade in the center (my seat is also pretty forwards).

 

[m&ms]

We all seem to have different settings and preferences.

For me: Bass = 0, Mid = -2, Treble = +1

 

[jwq2]

We all seem to have different settings and preferences.

For me: Bass = 0, Mid = -2, Treble = +1

That's why they are settings, based on your personal preferences and music selection / sources

 

[MikeFish]

I found disconnecting the center speaker helped focus the soundstage. I don't know why they put center speakers in what is essentially a stereo system. It's a zero cost mod (to test it out) that is quick to try out. If you like it then you need to connect a resistor across the centre speaker wires to get rid of the fault code. The cost of a resistor and some wire is still minimal.
The actual quality is not bad for a factory system. Granted it is nowhere near the levels of any Audi B&O system or Volvo B&W but it is still OK. Actually, I've not heard the B&W in a Volvo but the current XC60 HK system sounds miles better than the Alfa one.

 

[mjb]

Maybe your sub isn't working. Happened to me, it was a lose connection. Made the world of difference when the sub came back on.

 

[milanojess]

is it possible that polarity may have reversed on some speaker drivers to cause them go out of phase? shallow sound is often caused by out of phase speakers.

While I never really liked any audio system in cars ( unless it's that Maybach or one of those highly tuned B&O unit ) I find the Giulia QV medium level HK okey. I also use lossless sources to get the most out.

 

[MikeFish]

is it possible that polarity may have reversed on some speaker drivers to cause them go out of phase? shallow sound is often caused by out of phase speakers.

While I never really liked any audio system in cars ( unless it's that Maybach or one of those highly tuned B&O unit ) I find the Giulia QV medium level HK okey. I also use lossless sources to get the most out.

YES! I have aftemarket amps and a DSP feeding aftermarket speakers in my car now. My right hand front bass speaker was wired out of phase. You can see they got the wiring the wrong way round on just that speaker where it comes out of the amp

 

[MikeFish]

Also, when I first fitted my amps I still had one of the stock front bass speakers installed. I was shocked how much bass it could spit out. I thought I still had my subwoofer on at first.

 

[mjb]

No chance it's out of phase if it's untouched from the factory , you can't put the plugs on the wrong way. Check the sub, it doesn't just do low frequency so if it's not connected then it will be missing mid and low frequencies

 

[MikeFish]

No chance it's out of phase if it's untouched from the factory , you can't put the plugs on the wrong way. Check the sub, it doesn't just do low frequency so if it's not connected then it will be missing mid and low frequencies

It's not the plugs being plugged in wrongly, it's the wires being inserted into the plugs wrongly. The positive wire was in the negative terminal. This was easy to spot as all the negative wires should be on the same side of the plug at the amplifier end.

 

[AndriiP]

It's not the plugs being plugged in wrongly, it's the wires being inserted into the plugs wrongly. The positive wire was in the negative terminal. This was easy to spot as all the negative wires should be on the same side of the plug at the amplifier end.

Thank you so much! May be I have the same problem in my Stelvio, HK sounds extremely bad, radio, Apple Music, FLAC, everything through the cable, even not BT. In my previous Volvo XC60 I put aftermarket Alpine,- speakers, DAC, Amplifier, and hope that extra 2K for HK would give me more or less sound. Can you advise, approx. how much costs this upgrade? And do you satisfied with your sound now?

 

[MikeFish]

Thank you so much! May be I have the same problem in my Stelvio, HK sounds extremely bad, radio, Apple Music, FLAC, everything through the cable, even not BT. In my previous Volvo XC60 I put aftermarket Alpine,- speakers, DAC, Amplifier, and hope that extra 2K for HK would give me more or less sound. Can you advise, approx. how much costs this upgrade? And do you satisfied with your sound now?

I hasn't really cost me anything so far as I've been using bits and pieces I already had from other cars, other than a bit of wood to mount the amplifiers on and some small pieces of acrylic to mount the speakers and fuses etc.

 

[ChiGuy]

It’s been a few years since I posted my original review expressing some mild disappointment in the HK system in my 2017 Giulia. I’d give it a “meh” rather than a 👎🏻.
This summer I moved from a Giulia to a Stelvio and I have to say the HK system in my Stelvio sounds noticeably better. Maybe it’s upgraded components since the 2017 MY, but I feel like it is also due to the change in physical surroundings with the larger cabin. I’ve now gone to these more enhanced audio settings and it sounds very good: bass +3, treble +4, mid +1 with “Surround” on.
Try that with Max Richter’s version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Bellissimo!

 

[Richardalfa]

It’s been a few years since I posted my original review expressing some mild disappointment in the HK system in my 2017 Giulia. I’d give it a “meh” rather than a 👎🏻.
This summer I moved from a Giulia to a Stelvio and I have to say the HK system in my Stelvio sounds noticeably better. Maybe it’s upgraded components since the 2017 MY, but I feel like it is also due to the change in physical surroundings with the larger cabin. I’ve now gone to these more enhanced audio settings and it sounds very good: bass +3, treble +4, mid +1 with “Surround” on.
Try that with Max Richter’s version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Bellissimo!

Not the first person to say the HK sounded better in a Stelvio, (dating back years even so I don't know about "upgraded"). My theory is that it could have something to do with the lightweight materials in the Giulia (the Stelvio is a bit more solid , as well as spacious).
I would really like to hear from someone who has heard a HK system in a Maserati (our big brother) and see how it compares. That should provide answers or more interesting questions.
PS On some music my Giulia sounds really good, on other it lacks something (possibly a bit of drive in the high bass and low mid rather than the deep bass which so many of you concentrate on)

 

[Drew]

I just got a 2017 with the HK system and I think it sounds great. I use FLAC files from my USB and I have nothing to complain about. Even HD radio sounds good along with BT from my phone. I have heard Bose systems in countless other cars, the harman system in the Stinger, the Lexicon system in the K900. I don't think the HK is a bad system at all and not sure what people are complaining about. It has clear highs and nice clean lows. I keep my EQ at 0,0,0 and have surround off.

 

[Biscione]

Not the first person to say the HK sounded better in a Stelvio, (dating back years even so I don't know about "upgraded"). My theory is that it could have something to do with the lightweight materials in the Giulia (the Stelvio is a bit more solid , as well as spacious).
I would really like to hear from someone who has heard a HK system in a Maserati (our big brother) and see how it compares. That should provide answers or more interesting questions.
PS On some music my Giulia sounds really good, on other it lacks something (possibly a bit of drive in the high bass and low mid rather than the deep bass which so many of you concentrate on)

Doubtful the "lightweight material" makes much of a difference. The larger space in the Stelvio on the other hand, can make a huge difference.

I just got a 2017 with the HK system and I think it sounds great. I use FLAC files from my USB and I have nothing to complain about. Even HD radio sounds good along with BT from my phone. I have heard Bose systems in countless other cars, the harman system in the Stinger, the Lexicon system in the K900. I don't think the HK is a bad system at all and not sure what people are complaining about. It has clear highs and nice clean lows. I keep my EQ at 0,0,0 and have surround off.

So this is purely just my personal experience and subjective opinion so everybody feels free to disagree with me.

• FLAC makes a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge difference compared to lower bit-rate MP3's, especially if you use anything lower than 160Kbps for them. A lot of people use 128Kbps, which is basically FM radio-quality, and then complains that MP3 sucks. Personally I'd would not go below 256Kbps and often uses the max 320Kbps.
• I find Bose in any car to be at best mediocre, and that seems to be the general consensus from people remotely resembling any sort of audiophile. If that's your baseline for comparison, one could say that's a very low bar to clear.
• HK in cars can be quite decent but I have yet to be blown away by any "HK cars". Having said that, in my experience, "HK cars" in general are still quite a few notches above "Bose cars".
• The HK in Giulia is more than good enough, although I wouldn't say it's anywhere near audiophile quality.
• Haven't experienced the Lexicon so can't comment on that.

Again, this is all subjective. What I considered as the best factory audio system is the $6k B&O system in high-end Audi's. In my opinion it can even beat many mass market so-called high-end home audio systems in terms of accurately reproducing the sound & soundstage of the musical instruments and the vocalist. The HK in Giulia seems to be trying to do the same thing - clean accurate reproduction of sound, but certainly much less successful.

But I've heard more than one person say the $6k B&O (and I'm not even talking about the much cheaper one in the cheaper Audi's, even though those are still very good) sucks because it "lacks bass". To them, the bigger the bass thump, the better the sound system, even if it's just a loud, muddy, & muffled rumbling of a bass. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that personal preference.

So at the end of the day, the only important measure is, "are you happy with it?"

 

[Drew]

Doubtful the "lightweight material" makes much of a difference. The larger space in the Stelvio on the other hand, can make a huge difference.



So this is purely just my personal experience and subjective opinion so everybody feels free to disagree with me.

• FLAC makes a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge difference compared to lower bit-rate MP3's, especially if you use anything lower than 160Kbps for them. A lot of people use 128Kbps, which is basically FM radio-quality, and then complains that MP3 sucks. Personally I'd would not go below 256Kbps and often uses the max 320Kbps.
• I find Bose in any car to be at best mediocre, and that seems to be the general consensus from people remotely resembling any sort of audiophile. If that's your baseline for comparison, one could say that's a very low bar to clear.
• HK in cars can be quite decent but I have yet to be blown away by any "HK cars". Having said that, in my experience, "HK cars" in general are still quite a few notches above "Bose cars".
• The HK in Giulia is more than good enough, although I wouldn't say it's anywhere near audiophile quality.
• Haven't experienced the Lexicon so can't comment on that.

Again, this is all subjective. What I considered as the best factory audio system is the $6k B&O system in high-end Audi's. In my opinion it can even beat many mass market so-called high-end home audio systems in terms of accurately reproducing the sound & soundstage of the musical instruments and the vocalist. The HK in Giulia seems to be trying to do the same thing - clean accurate reproduction of sound, but certainly much less successful.

But I've heard more than one person say the $6k B&O (and I'm not even talking about the much cheaper one in the cheaper Audi's, even though those are still very good) sucks because it "lacks bass". To them, the bigger the bass thump, the better the sound system, even if it's just a loud, muddy, & muffled rumbling of a bass. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that personal preference.

So at the end of the day, the only important measure is, "are you happy with it?"

I agree with you. I was mentioning Bose only because that seems to be the "upgraded" sound option for a lot of cars and what many people may have as their benchmark, which I concur is a low bar. I forgot about the JBL system in Toyota's and that wasn't anything special either.

Last year I was looking at used Audi A7s and specifically wanted the B&O system. There were not that many around. I have yet to hear it, but I know it will probably sound amazing.

 

[Biscione]

I agree with you. I was mentioning Bose only because that seems to be the "upgraded" sound option for a lot of cars and what many people may have as their benchmark, which I concur is a low bar. I forgot about the JBL system in Toyota's and that wasn't anything special either.

Last year I was looking at used Audi A7s and specifically wanted the B&O system. There were not that many around. I have yet to hear it, but I know it will probably sound amazing.

There are 2 different B&O systems for Audi. The "excellent" one is the $6k system only available on high-end cars. The "very good" one is the regular B&O available for most of their lineup. Neither is the bass-thumping kind of good, but "accurate reproduction sound" kind of good.

 

[Shiny_side_up]

I would really like to hear from someone who has heard a HK system in a Maserati (our big brother) and see how it compares. That should provide answers or more interesting questions.

My wife's 2017 Levante S has the HK system. I'd call it marginally better, and I suspect that's due to the interior. Larger than my Giulia and a lot more alcantara and leather. (her headliner is alcantara - it's pretty plush). I am slightly jealous that her 2017 has AA/ACP and my 2017 Alfa does not. But that said, our screen looks way nicer (more integrated) even though her infotainment is superior.

 

[gregnm369]

This stereo is the weirdest I've ever seen, but I keep my Bass/Mid/Treble in the -4 to -6 range! Crank up the volume and get your mind blown!