[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by JCtx

Yeah, also interested to learn what was the culprit with that 'crackling' noise. And does the fake engine noise really stop with the stereo off??? I really doubt it, but it'd be awesome if yes. Otherwise, I'd code it out. By the way, there should be 3 levels of fake noise volume, right? My G70 also has 3 levels, plus OFF, so not sure why BMW didn't include an off.

Interesting on the G70 having off. I tried "reduced" but it actually impacted the true exhaust to my frustration so just keep it in driving mode.

Originally Posted by JCtx

Finally, if the engine noise is reproduced by stereo speakers, doesn't that degrade the fidelity of the music? BMW should have put a dedicated speaker for that IMO. Oh well.

Agreed on a dedicated speaker making most sense but for the 8-series I'm 98% confident it comes out of the two rear deck speakers.

Set on driving mode when in Sport Individual and the B&W at 50% plus it's a non-factor. For highway drives with the wife in the car on Comfort it is definitely lower but she doesn't like loud music so the B&W is usually on 20 or so and hence I just put up with the fabrication but it doesn't impact the overall fidelity of the music.

One of these days I'll either get Bimmercode to code it out or just pull the fuse in the trunk that controls it (documented on an older thread here in the forum). But I have zero crackling noise with the engine on and stationary. No music you can hear a pin drop. Music on and when silence between tracks you can hear a pin drop.

[__AD__]

I had the crackling with engine off and no audio playing. Dealer replaced RAM unit and it went away plus fixed some issues with deficient bass levels and bass increasing on its own due to speed volume fault.

[Beemer5to3]

Originally Posted by __AD__

I had the crackling with engine off and no audio playing. Dealer replaced RAM unit and it went away plus fixed some issues with deficient bass levels and bass increasing on its own due to speed volume fault.

Thanks for this - I had mine in my local dealer today, and they can hear the faint crackling & shared this post with them. It’s booked back in a few weeks time for further investigation.

[Beemer5to3]

Update - also having RAM / Booster replaced to solve the low level crackling. Annoyingly the part is on order from Germany so car off the road for nearly 2 weeks. In a 420d as a courtesy car, which is actually quite nice, but the MHT is so annoying with the brakes.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Beemer5to3

Update - also having RAM / Booster replaced to solve the low level crackling. Annoyingly the part is on order from Germany so car off the road for nearly 2 weeks. In a 420d as a courtesy car, which is actually quite nice, but the MHT is so annoying with the brakes.

Yes, as stated before the culprits are either a loose wire (but then the crackling is within generally one speaker unless at the harness of the RAM unit) or the RAM unit itself. Glad you're getting it sorted out with the new RAM booster. 👍

[Beemer5to3]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Yes, as stated before the culprits are either a loose wire (but then the crackling is within generally one speaker unless at the harness of the RAM unit) or the RAM unit itself. Glad you're getting it sorted out with the new RAM booster. 👍

Yeah it was coming through all speakers, so hopefully that solves it. I have to say, I didn’t think it caused any sound quality issues, but clearly something wrong for it to be doing that. The 4 series I’ve got only has the 205W HiFi system and the difference in quality is insane. The HK upgrade in the G2x is massively worth it - my G15 only had HK, but I actually found it quite good once setup correctly and Logic7 disabled. The B&W only really comes into its own once the volume is cranked up, but it’s superb once you do!