[boypaulkim]

Hi guys.

from time to time, I hear static noise from my HK speakers (side tweeters I believe) when I play songs through an ipod via USB.

I first assumed that the speakers had blown (I enjoy music on a 'louder' scale but not to the point where It would hurt the speaker) but noticed that the static noise would come and go. this lead me to believe that the speakers weren't hurt.

the best way to describe the noise is static-y. or something like little sesame seeds popping.. if that makes any sense.

anyway, has anyone ever experienced this on your HK speakers?

[Ron Jeffries]

Have you tried wiggling the connectors? Do you hear the crackling when you listen to the same songs with earphones?

[Questofthetune]

Originally Posted by boypaulkim

Hi guys.

from time to time, I hear static noise from my HK speakers (side tweeters I believe) when I play songs through an ipod via USB.

I first assumed that the speakers had blown (I enjoy music on a 'louder' scale but not to the point where It would hurt the speaker) but noticed that the static noise would come and go. this lead me to believe that the speakers weren't hurt.

the best way to describe the noise is static-y. or something like little sesame seeds popping.. if that makes any sense.

anyway, has anyone ever experienced this on your HK speakers?

I’m having this come up- interference is what it looks like it is so far.

[USA-RET]

Copy some songs to a thumb drive and try it. If you have the same static, then it's a system issue (interference of something). If not, it's the IPOD or it's connector.

Easiest way to isolate the issue to car or peripheral.

[boypaulkim]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

Have you tried wiggling the connectors? Do you hear the crackling when you listen to the same songs with earphones?

do you mean the ipod connector?. no i have not tried this. perhaps i should next time it happens.


and songs don't have any static noise when listened through earphones.

[boypaulkim]

Originally Posted by USA-RET

Copy some songs to a thumb drive and try it. If you have the same static, then it's a system issue (interference of something). If not, it's the IPOD or it's connector.

Easiest way to isolate the issue to car or peripheral.

i shall try this. thanks for the info.

speaking of system interference issue, do you know what normally cause this?
and by interference issue, do you think the speaker itself is fine? (hardware issue vs software issue)

[USA-RET]

Originally Posted by boypaulkim

i shall try this. thanks for the info.

speaking of system interference issue, do you know what normally cause this?
and by interference issue, do you think the speaker itself is fine? (hardware issue vs software issue)

Anything is possible. Question: is the static coming from all speakers or just one? If all, then speakers are likely fine. If just one, it is likely the speaker. Not too familiar w/ HK speakers. Older Bose has/had an amp at each speaker, so when one speaker was static-y or would cut out, it was usually the co-located amp.

If the static is coming through all speakers, it is likely the content source (IPOD in your case or the connecting wire) or could be a faulty USB port, or the actual radio/CD/ unit. We won't know until we see if multiple sourse of the music are affected.

Try the Thumb drive first. Easiest and will likely isolate the issue to the IPOD or connector.

Also, try connecting to the alternate USB w/ your IPOD (and the Thumb drive). if you still get static w/ the thumb drive in the first USB. That way it can be isolated to a bad USB port.

If all this fails to isolate the problem, take both the IPOD w/ connector and the thumb drive to you dealer and demo both.

Additionally, consider your listening volume. I know you mentioned listening to content at rather high volumes. High being an operative and relative term. What may be high to one person may be deafening to another. Pushing volume limits w/ any piece of audio equipment can and will produce some audio artifacts. Car systems (unless custom aftermarket and fairly expensive) are not designed for loud audiophile quality playback.

I know from real world experience that a number of younger guys like to play their music for the enjoyment of others. I can hear their music 4 cars away when at a stop light. So there is that to consider also. Again, not saying that is you...but just mentioning it in passing.

Let us know what you find out and good luck

[MarcoZandrini]

Each HK speaker set (i.e., the mid and the tweet in the front door) are powered by a single audio signal cable. The tweet is isolated from the mid by a bass blocking capacitor.

OP, I bet you're over powering the tweeter. I replaced the front in my 2018 M240i with a set of Eton B100W 10cm 2 way component speakers. The speakers are much beefier and handle more power than the factory speakers. They sound much better, too.

[siwo]

I have the exact same issue! What I noticed was that certain tracks on my iPod were louder and those are the ones that exhibit the static like noise. I did a test and lowered the volume of a track and played it back and behold, no static noise. I'm not sure why it's doing that as I played the very same iPod on my wife's Mini Countryman and there was absolutely no issues on her non-HK audio head unit.

The HK was a premium option, slight disappointment on the system to be honest.

[siwo]

FWIW, I tested the same songs loaded on my old iPhone 4S that's plugged into the USB port vs my iPhone X music via Bluetooth. Seems that bluetooth connection there are no static sounds coming from tracks where the iPhone 4S playback does. I enabled the "Check Sound" option under the music setting and it reduces the volume significantly and the static like noise is gone. This also tries to normalize all audio playback so that the tracks with louder sounds will be lowered a bit and the lower volume tracks get raised a bit to the same level. Guess the playback is too loud when wired directly causing the issue. Weird.

[Viffermike]

Some thoughts to add:

1). The fundamental fact here is that iDrive is receiving a digital signal from the iPod through USB. In other words, traditional analog sources of distortion -- high line voltage, variable signal dynamics, etc. -- aren't at play here.

2). Point 1) means that digital-to-analog conversion is occurring inside iDrive, and that 'static' is very possibly audible artifacts from the DAC either not receiving or not processing all of the song's digital data via USB. (It's basically the audible equivalent of pixellation from a decayed digital video signal, such as when your streaming 4K version of Rogue One suddenly goes to 480i because bandwidth narrows suddenly.) This is a hallmark of cheap DAC and software-based chipsets. The digital term is 'jitter'. I've noted that jitter exists at times while iDrive plays CDs with an unusually dense mix, so I'm not surprised in the least that this could be the culprit.

3). What is the sample rate and type of the digital files you're using, OP? This could matter regarding 2). above.

4). Points 1) through 3) above are contingent on the 'static' coming from all speakers, not just one or two. OP, you need to determine which is the case (all speakers or just some) before you can narrow this down.

[boypaulkim]

Thank you for such a detailed response Viffermike.

i mostly run my MP3s in 320k. (not all but i try to)
applying this to your point 2, so the DAC on our HK isn't powerful enough to handle high bit-rated file?

for which speaker making the noise, i am not 100% sure. left (driver's side) tweeter for sure because that's the closest to me while i'm driving. i'll check and see if the center speaker makes the noise as well.

[desather13]

Originally Posted by boypaulkim

Hi guys.

from time to time, I hear static noise from my HK speakers (side tweeters I believe) when I play songs through an ipod via USB.

I first assumed that the speakers had blown (I enjoy music on a 'louder' scale but not to the point where It would hurt the speaker) but noticed that the static noise would come and go. this lead me to believe that the speakers weren't hurt.

the best way to describe the noise is static-y. or something like little sesame seeds popping.. if that makes any sense.

anyway, has anyone ever experienced this on your HK speakers?

When I was looking for a good CPO M235i I was interested in the HK system since I love music. although since I have purchased one I hardly have the radio on....thanks inline 6 turbo . anyway I notice some static when HD radio stations are on, occasionally, and not a lot, but other sources its crystal clear. Satellite is pretty bad though, very compressed.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by desather13

When I was looking for a good CPO M235i I was interested in the HK system since I love music. although since I have purchased one I hardly have the radio on....thanks inline 6 turbo . anyway I notice some static when HD radio stations are on, occasionally, and not a lot, but other sources its crystal clear. Satellite is pretty bad though, very compressed.

Satellite radio is contributing more to the death of human taste than pretty much any other thing. (Read: 'HD' my arse!) Well, except for the Kardashians, most contemporary hip hop, and AutoTune ... but I digress.