[hayesy]

Whilst I like the sound itself, the idea of a digitally generated noise makes me feel a little dirty - I would prefer that they spent the money on a sound cancelling setup to reduce the noise from the runflats instead.

I seem to recall that Jag implemented this some years ago.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by ovekvam

All reviews I have seen of the car have praised the sound, so my verdict is that BMW has done it right.

I wonder if some of the comments from US forum users would be less negative if they could actually buy these cars.

Yes, the sound has been praised in the reviews, but how many of the reviewers knew it was being generated by a synthesizer? Would they still praise it if they knew much of the sound was emanating from the speakers instead of directly from the engine? I suspect that praise wouldn't be as high as it has been.

[logiclee]

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Yes, the sound has been praised in the reviews, but how many of the reviewers knew it was being generated by a synthesizer? Would they still praise it if they knew much of the sound was emanating from the speakers instead of directly from the engine? I suspect that praise wouldn't be as high as it has been.

I suppose that tells you how good the system is.

If professional reviewers thought it sounded great and couldn't tell it was coming from the speakers then the design tell have done a good job.

Cheers
Lee

[TMP]

Originally Posted by logiclee

I suppose that tells you how good the system is.

If professional reviewers thought it sounded great and couldn't tell it was coming from the speakers then the design tell have done a good job.

Cheers
Lee

yes - your spot on Lee. Its a totally convincing system....
And lets not forget, this is adding to the sound, not making it totally.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by logiclee

I suppose that tells you how good the system is.

If professional reviewers thought it sounded great and couldn't tell it was coming from the speakers then the design tell have done a good job.

Cheers
Lee

Just because the sound engineers did a great job does not make it an acceptable practice to enhance the driving "soundtrack". What next? Will they add tire screeching and squealing when you are accelerating and cornering hard? Can this digital audio file be switched out to sound like a different engine? It's a slippery slope with the potential to sound more like a video game than actual driving.

[tawia]

Originally Posted by WeekendDriver

If stricter regulations are the reason newer cars are quieter, why then are Lamborghini and Ferrari still allowed to be so loud?

There is a loop hole for cars with a very low production rate and very high cost to get away with being loud.
I think everyone is all too aware that quiet lambos and Ferrari would be the death of the supercar

[tommybisler]

Originally Posted by scargizmo

A tip. Use the minimum throttle while in 3-4 gear. You will hear a distant M-sporty roar where no agressive sound should be whatsoever. The same happens in m5.

I noticed that today.

Gently pull away from the lights and it still sounds absolutely awesome.

Under full throttle I was too blown away by just how ridiculously fast it is to pay much attention to the noise

[LFCPirex]

Hi!

I am the owner of a M135i, since it is "artificial" sound and it was not explained when we bought the car, we can say that BMW deceived us no? Isn't that a reason to "return" the car for instance? They sold the car saying that is his sound... Just woundering...

Otherwise i am happy with it, but maybe if it were today i would have taken a second hand E92 M3... At least is natural...

Regards!

[nidfix]

Does anyone know if the module can be simply disable (by E-Sys) ?

[Travel4surf]

search ASD in HU_NBT

Anyone know the part number to add this to another model?

[tommybisler]

All this nonsense aside, just put the windows down and it still sounds awesome.

[qbix]

It's very sad to see which way BMW is going. Sales are skyrocketing but the spirit of ulimate driving machine is dying.

No more NA engines, each model is heavier, diesel M, FWD, hybrids and now this great news that you are hearing the heart through some damn speakers.

What next? Speedometer tricks maybe? 0-100km/h in 3sek? Why not! Who would find out that in fact is doing 90km/h not 100km/h?

It's time to look for other brand

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by qbix

It's time to look for other brand

I think you will find that these things are a general trend in the auto industry, and not just something BMW is doing. Other brands just had a slightly shorter way to go to get there.

[tommybisler]

Originally Posted by qbix

It's very sad to see which way BMW is going. Sales are skyrocketing but the spirit of ulimate driving machine is dying.

No more NA engines, each model is heavier, diesel M, FWD, hybrids and now this great news that you are hearing the heart through some damn speakers.

What next? Speedometer tricks maybe? 0-100km/h in 3sek? Why not! Who would find out that in fact is doing 90km/h not 100km/h?

It's time to look for other brand

You may have a point but the M135i is not an example of this.

The M135i has been praised by countless journalists for being more like the 'ultimate driving machine' than anything BMW has created recently. It's a huge amount of fun.

Like I said above I don't care that much about the Symphoser. Step outside and get someone to gently pull away and then floor it and it sounds absolutely incredible. In terms of noise, that's what matters to me more.

[nidfix]

Originally Posted by tommybisler

Like I said above I don't care that much about the Symphoser. Step outside and get someone to gently pull away and then floor it and it sounds absolutely incredible. In terms of noise, that's what matters to me more.

Your experience justifies why it is even more diffcult to forgive BMW for such a trick. Taking into account the way it sounds, there is no reason for such "feature" and for those who simply want noise for the sack of more noise is better, it will probably be not enough. Therefore it would have been better to invest that money elsewhere or to put it as an option.

Anyway, I don't think that whatever we may say here will make BMW changes anything.

[kbjpick]

Originally Posted by TMP

It's strange the M135i project manager didn't mention this in his interview, but like the M5 with its Active Sound Design technology, the cabin noise in my M135i is indeed generated as well

I unplugged the sound symposer device (see part below) and the results are astonishing.

First off, the radio sound doesn't work with (same thing happened for the M5 owner who disabled his M5 Active Sound). Car exhaust sounds normal (as you would expect) thank goodness!!

But that low bassy six cylinder thrum, all the way up to the banshee howl is gone from the cabin. Instead, there is a faint choked turbo six with the dump valve being the loudest thing. It's not nice and the car loses that character noise. Really noticeable from 2500 rpm. But really no reason to unplug the symposer device as it disables the car's audio system. This was done just for testing purposes.

Took a video today as hearing is believing!

Symposer Unplugged - I got up to 6-7k revs

Compared to the 'normal' sound...

I plugged it back I as soon as I could and woohoo - had my car back again! Also put the windows down and enjoyed the exhaust note in sport.

Never ever ever unplug this box (on the top shelf, above the audio amplifier)

May I ask how you get the display of Power and Torque? Is it a standard display feature on the M135i?

thanks for reply

[cartaa100]

haha how funny, it does sound good plugged in though!

[hwelvaar]

Originally Posted by kbjpick

May I ask how you get the display of Power and Torque? Is it a standard display feature on the M135i?

Yes, totally standard feature (if you have the iDrive display).

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by hwelvaar

Yes, totally standard feature (if you have the iDrive display).

The feature is not part of the basic iDrive, but rather the Navi Pro.

[PS2K]

I went into my local dealer for an un-scheduled oil/filter change this week, and upon driving away, noticed that no sound was coming through my stereo speakers at all. To add to this issue, I noticed a distinctive lack of growl from the exhaust sound, especially in Sports mode. Obviously something had happened at the dealership to cause this. A 30 minute inspection from one of the technicians could not pinpoint the fault and they me asked to bring it in for a full day's investigation.

With some research on the sound symposer that night, I informed the dealership the next day that it may be the cause of the fault and they confirmed this later in the day. The result now is that I have to wait a week for the part to be shipped in and fitted under warranty.

I am at a loss to see how this component was compromised during the service in the first place.

Thoughts?

[Technic]

Have anybody just cut the power line to the Sound Symposer instead of unplugging the whole unit or pulling the fuse to disable the Active sound?

[Mo@BMWofFairfax]

You can code ASD off.