[KenS.]

Hi everyone. This is a question about the audio settings for the Harman Kardon sound system in the XC40 P8. When we first received our vehicle, there were adjustments for balance (left-right) and fader (front-back), as well as an Equalizer and, I believe, some audio preference "theme presets." All of that disappeared, and now, under Sound Settings, all there is are settings for seat position, surround sound, treble, bass, and subwoofer levels. I've tried all known resets and none of that works. I've been patient, thinking the next OTA update may fix this, but in the meantime, I wanted to reach out to our so helpful forum friends to see if any of you have experience or insight re. this. Do I need to plan a visit to the dealer? Just wait a while longer? Thanks so much 😀.

 

[arijaycomet]

We have a 2021 XC40 P8 and... the only settings I've ever come across are the ones you mention (seat position, surround slider, treble/base/sub). I've never seen an EQ of the standard design, nor any sort of themed EQ settings. Are you sure you're not mistaking it for another car? Did you test drive other Volvo Cars at the time you drove the P8? I'm not saying this is the case-- and maybe there was a software update change. But our car, which is now one month old (we've had it since May 14th) has never had a proper EQ like you mention.

 

[DeaneG]

We have the same limited set. Not even a front-back fader. BTW, for us, turning on "Surround" does add a surround effect but also makes the sound unpleasantly muffled, so we turned it back off. With treble turned up and bass and sub turned down, it sounds pretty good. A poor out-of-box experience though - not sure what kind of music it is tuned for - definitely not ours and definitely not neutral.

 

[KenS.]

We have the same limited set. Not even a front-back fader. BTW, for us, turning on "Surround" does add a surround effect but also makes the sound unpleasantly muffled, so we turned it back off. With treble turned up and bass and sub turned down, it sounds pretty good. A poor out-of-box experience though - not sure what kind of music it is tuned for - definitely not ours and definitely not neutral.

Many thanks to you both and to Sbixby for your kind and speedy feedback! No, I'm 97% sure I had these advanced sound settings when we first received our P8 in early May. So... I guess the question is, do any of you other XC40 P8 owners with the H-K option have those advanced sound settings?

 

[JT Rock]

I don't have the H.K. on my car, but I know what you're talking about. I've seen the extra EQ settings on some YouTube video reviews.

 

[ColoradoNative]

Late May delivery, HK Sound System. I've never seen an equalizer. However, all the updates through April had been applied before I got the car.

I agree that the Surround sound implementation is terrible. I've dialed subwoofer way down and bass down some - pretty happy at the moment.

 

[He Keith]

Yeah HK settings are limited and the systems is marginal at best. I have seen stock systems sound better.

 

[Jezza]

Wouldn’t surprise me if you lose some other settings when you turn Surround on. I’ll check in mine tomorrow. I think Surround only sounds better that non-Surround at very high volume.

 

[Albo]

Many thanks to you both and to Sbixby for your kind and speedy feedback! No, I'm 97% sure I had these advanced sound settings when we first received our P8 in early May. So... I guess the question is, do any of you other XC40 P8 owners with the H-K option have those advanced sound settings?

Today, I had to take my P8 to the dealer, after only purchasing the car last Saturday. The infotaiment system is glitching out on me and the Pilot Assist was a disaster. I am also very disappointed on how poor an experience I'm getting with the HK sound. Bottom line, after only 15 minutes at the dealer, they came back with a loaner (XC40 non-electric), stating that they're seeing a major software issue with my car. They said that they would have to escalate to a regional tech because they couldn't fix with their current knowledge, and that the car could be in the shop for about a week. With this, the standard radio in the loaner has a much better sounding system, including an equalizer. I surely hope that whatever software issues my dealer is fixing will include an improvement to the HK system!

 

[B-mtrd]

Check out this video, has some great content.
Personally even after watching the video I find it hard to configure the audio settings to what I would enjoy the most. I feel the HK system is very bass heavy.

 

[jerramiesemail]

Yeah HK settings are limited and the systems is marginal at best. I have seen stock systems sound better.

I think some people are getting "bugged" systems. I installed systems professionally for 5 years and have many many years of experience in all around sound in general. When i first heard the hk system in my xc40 i was not impressed! Soon after something happened and the sound improved 10 fold! I read many pos reviews but also a few neg like yours. Yesterday i got into my xc40 and there was barely any bass, that big sound was gone. It sounded like crap! The GUI on my sensus sound was not aligned and half the settings were off the screen. The back sub was no longer working. The eq settings under user would not keep or save. The entire system turned to garbage! Many people have experienced this

 

[Jim C.]

I think some people are getting "bugged" systems. I installed systems professionally for 5 years and have many many years of experience in all around sound in general. When i first heard the hk system in my xc40 i was not impressed! Soon after something happened and the sound improved 10 fold! I read many pos reviews but also a few neg like yours. Yesterday i got into my xc40 and there was barely any bass, that big sound was gone. It sounded like crap! The GUI on my sensus sound was not aligned and half the settings were off the screen. The back sub was no longer working. The eq settings under user would not keep or save. The entire system turned to garbage! Many people have experienced this

I am experiencing this same exact thing. Got my 2022 XC40 recharge in April, love how it drives, but the audio is just not right. Sounds tinny, sometimes it goes out entirely, and that's with all different inputs (bluetooth, direct Spotify streaming, etc.). I've tried all the EQ/surround adjustments--no impact. Really frustrating, and, frankly, ruining my Volvo experience (I'm new to Volvo). Has anybody found a fix for this? I have the latest software downloaded.

 

[Howi]

Finally got a chance to listen to the system properly, it is shockingly bad!

I have other vehicles with HK systems in, one even has less speakers that sound so much better, sound source is the same from iPhone/ACP

Also lack of settings is surprising, no front/rear fade apart from what Volvo deem is adequate with the pre set seat settings is terrible!

Max volume is so low, cant even get the rear view mirror to shake!

Surround is terrible compared to other systems, considering getting a third party in to take a look.