Bowers and Wilkins distorted for Satellite Radio

jo2134 · 10-25-2021, 04:21 PM

Hi guys,

Took over an M5 lease recently so I'm new to the M5 world

I noticed that on FM and bluetooth audio the B&W sounds great (I messed w the EQ and profiles to my liking) however Satellite radio sounds very off with an "echoey" sound and low vocals. Does anyone happen to know why this may be?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

dougpaper · 10-26-2021, 06:12 AM

you will get better audio from a local HD station. XM doesn't have the depth of sound and if you google you will see the reasons.

DocWeatherington · 10-26-2021, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jo2134

Hi guys,

Took over an M5 lease recently so I'm new to the M5 world

I noticed that on FM and bluetooth audio the B&W sounds great (I messed w the EQ and profiles to my liking) however Satellite radio sounds very off with an "echoey" sound and low vocals. Does anyone happen to know why this may be?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

Plus 1- XM Sirius is not sent in HD/high fidelity formats. Thus, it will never sound as good as other sources.

Not sure if this is subject to change with the newer XM 360XL service

KASM3 · 10-26-2021, 08:35 AM

I just finished comparing HD and Sirius and I agree sound isn't as good as HD but I'm definitely not experiencing any echoing of sound. The vocals are loud and clear. Hopefully BMW can check out your system for you.

MackSea70 · 10-26-2021, 08:48 AM

I used to be a huge fan of Sirius back in the early days. After the merger with XM and the channel expansion they compressed so much to fit on the same satellites, that the audio quality went to complete sh!t. So much so that at that point, no matter how many years they signed Howard Stern for, I divested my shares in the company. They have become the AM radio of the modern era and with so many other choices for HD, uncompressed streaming content, I can't imagine why anyone would use them, especially on an upgraded sound system such as B&W.

shellbmb · 10-26-2021, 09:39 AM

Could be anecdotal, but it does seem to sound better in my 2022 than in my 2018. In my 2018, it was complete garbage. I normally only use it for talk radio so I don't really care about the sound quality.

On the other hand, I have been very happy with the sound quality of the Spotify integration. And it's much better in the LCI.

subterFUSE · 11-02-2021, 09:02 AM

Satellite radio has always been garbage in terms of sound quality, but hearing an echo is definitely not normal. Something is happening with the processing. Have you examined your DSP settings? I would be curious how they are set.

Jacob_Tyler_Freed · 12-03-2021, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jo2134

Hi guys,

Took over an M5 lease recently so I'm new to the M5 world

I noticed that on FM and bluetooth audio the B&W sounds great (I messed w the EQ and profiles to my liking) however Satellite radio sounds very off with an "echoey" sound and low vocals. Does anyone happen to know why this may be?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

SiriusXM will always have a muffled sound, as the transmission between the car and satellites are very complicated.

10-25-2021, 04:21 PM	#1
jo2134 jo2134 385 Rep 569 Posts Drives: 2021 X5 M Competition Join Date: May 2018 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	Bowers and Wilkins distorted for Satellite Radio Hi guys, Took over an M5 lease recently so I'm new to the M5 world I noticed that on FM and bluetooth audio the B&W sounds great (I messed w the EQ and profiles to my liking) however Satellite radio sounds very off with an "echoey" sound and low vocals. Does anyone happen to know why this may be? Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks! __________________ 2021 X5 M Competition Tanzanite Blue II/Black Full Merino with Midrand Beige Past: 2019 M5 Competition Alpine White/Aragon Brown Full Merino Leather 2018 X5 35i M-Sport Space Gray / Mocha Nappa 20" 469M Wheels 2015 528xi Dark Graphite / Cinnamon Brown 2013 X5 50i Platinum Gray / Cinnamon Brown 20" Y-Spoke Wheels
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

10-26-2021, 06:12 AM	#2
dougpaper Private First Class 82 Rep 136 Posts Drives: BMW M5 Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Pittsburgh iTrader: (0)	you will get better audio from a local HD station. XM doesn't have the depth of sound and if you google you will see the reasons.
	Appreciate 1 DocWeatherington2932.50 Quote

10-26-2021, 08:35 AM	#4
KASM3 Lieutenant 160 Rep 466 Posts Drives: 2015 M4 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NC iTrader: (0)	I just finished comparing HD and Sirius and I agree sound isn't as good as HD but I'm definitely not experiencing any echoing of sound. The vocals are loud and clear. Hopefully BMW can check out your system for you.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-26-2021, 08:48 AM	#5
MackSea70 Lieutenant 780 Rep 442 Posts Drives: 2023 M5C, 2020 Tesla Y LR Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: 32819 iTrader: (0)	I used to be a huge fan of Sirius back in the early days. After the merger with XM and the channel expansion they compressed so much to fit on the same satellites, that the audio quality went to complete sh!t. So much so that at that point, no matter how many years they signed Howard Stern for, I divested my shares in the company. They have become the AM radio of the modern era and with so many other choices for HD, uncompressed streaming content, I can't imagine why anyone would use them, especially on an upgraded sound system such as B&W.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-26-2021, 09:39 AM	#6
shellbmb Lieutenant 197 Rep 572 Posts Drives: 2022 F90 M5C Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: ATX iTrader: (0)	Could be anecdotal, but it does seem to sound better in my 2022 than in my 2018. In my 2018, it was complete garbage. I normally only use it for talk radio so I don't really care about the sound quality. On the other hand, I have been very happy with the sound quality of the Spotify integration. And it's much better in the LCI.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-02-2021, 09:02 AM	#7
subterFUSE Captain 564 Rep 640 Posts Drives: 2023 Audi R8, 2023 Audi S8 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mt Pleasant, SC iTrader: (0)	Satellite radio has always been garbage in terms of sound quality, but hearing an echo is definitely not normal. Something is happening with the processing. Have you examined your DSP settings? I would be curious how they are set.
	Appreciate 0 Quote