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      04-16-2018, 10:33 PM   #1
DallasLife345M
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Thoughts on Bower & Wilkins?

For those who opted for the Bower & Wilkins system, what are your thoughts? I have the Harmon Kardon on my M4 and its very subpar.
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      04-16-2018, 10:43 PM   #2
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I had the stock one in my F10 and I would give it a "just acceptable" rating. The bowers and wilkins is actually very nice and a substantial upgrade - for the price I think it's a worthy upgrade.
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      04-16-2018, 10:44 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DallasLife345M View Post
For those who opted for the Bower & Wilkins system, what are your thoughts? I have the Harmon Kardon on my M4 and its very subpar.
It’s ok nothing special but ok. Feel like the base system in the E63 sounded better but I’m not an audiophile
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      04-16-2018, 11:03 PM   #4
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i like it a lot. i had the HK in my M4 and this is much better, much much better. i put the bavsound in my M4 but I am well satisfied with the B&W and won't be making any changes/upgrades.
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      04-16-2018, 11:03 PM   #5
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Same as above. Not at all thrilled with it. Initially it sounded a little faded and washed out. After some tinkering got it to where it sounds respectable, but I would have been happy with the base sound system as well. Not sure if it's worth the extra cash, but I bought it just for resale value/why not reasons.
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      04-16-2018, 11:04 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BG23 View Post
I had the stock one in my F10 and I would give it a "just acceptable" rating. The bowers and wilkins is actually very nice and a substantial upgrade - for the price I think it's a worthy upgrade.
I would qualify this further by saying this is clearly not at B&W nautilus level - but hey, it's a $3k option. My personal opinion is that it's better than the E63 standard system. Haven't had any real time with the upgraded burmeister system.

Am I and audiophile? No, but I do like good sound - my basement TV/listening room is a McIntosh power amp with some B&W diamonds.
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      04-16-2018, 11:29 PM   #7
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My main home system is Ayre with Harbeth; my second system is Blue Circle with Shahinian; my third system is Parasound with Kef. Good sound is important to me and while there's better car audio to be had, the B&W system has me satisfied - and despite some less then enthusiastic posts on bimmerpost it's a pretty good setup.
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      04-17-2018, 06:58 AM   #8
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It's actually a very nice sounding setup. It's lacking bass IMO.
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      04-17-2018, 08:13 AM   #9
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A lot of sound quality has to do with the source. If you're listening exclusively to XM/Sirius, give up on hearing decent stereo separation, bass response and soundstage. Even MP3s streamed from an iPhone via BT sound muddled on the best car sound system. But CDs should sound fairly pristine on a $3400 upgrade. It's definitely something I want to read more reviews on before I order my F90 in a few months when the 19s come out.
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      04-17-2018, 09:05 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BG23 View Post
I would qualify this further by saying this is clearly not at B&W nautilus level - but hey, it's a $3k option. My personal opinion is that it's better than the E63 standard system. Haven't had any real time with the upgraded burmeister system.

Am I and audiophile? No, but I do like good sound - my basement TV/listening room is a McIntosh power amp with some B&W diamonds.
Nautilus level....its a car stereo with lights in the speakers....I doubt it is even 600 series level...lol.
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      04-17-2018, 09:06 AM   #11
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IMO, B&O was slightly better
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      04-17-2018, 09:15 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stbm5 View Post
My main home system is Ayre with Harbeth; my second system is Blue Circle with Shahinian; my third system is Parasound with Kef. Good sound is important to me and while there's better car audio to be had, the B&W system has me satisfied - and despite some less then enthusiastic posts on bimmerpost it's a pretty good setup.
Mmmm...Harbeth.

We are only talking speakers (with lights in them no less). Last time I checked, B&W does not make amps, preamps, dacs etc, which also make up the entire system. I wonder what electronics they sub out?

I too run high end audio at home (Dynaudio, KEF, B&W, McIntosh, Bryston, Parasound, Auralic etc...so am quite picky when it comes to sound....and hifi + automobiles = oxymoron....at least to me.
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      04-17-2018, 06:25 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by stbm5 View Post
My main home system is Ayre with Harbeth; my second system is Blue Circle with Shahinian; my third system is Parasound with Kef. Good sound is important to me and while there's better car audio to be had, the B&W system has me satisfied - and despite some less then enthusiastic posts on bimmerpost it's a pretty good setup.
Mmmm...Harbeth.

We are only talking speakers (with lights in them no less). Last time I checked, B&W does not make amps, preamps, dacs etc, which also make up the entire system. I wonder what electronics they sub out?

I too run high end audio at home (Dynaudio, KEF, B&W, McIntosh, Bryston, Parasound, Auralic etc...so am quite picky when it comes to sound....and hifi + automobiles = oxymoron....at least to me.
Man we got some some Audiophiles in here.

I am running Martin Logan stereo setup with Rotel 2 channel amp. Also running full B&W surround sound with Arcam receiver and SVS PB16 ultra. Monster of a subwoofer!
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      04-17-2018, 06:39 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elitex View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by stbm5 View Post
My main home system is Ayre with Harbeth; my second system is Blue Circle with Shahinian; my third system is Parasound with Kef. Good sound is important to me and while there's better car audio to be had, the B&W system has me satisfied - and despite some less then enthusiastic posts on bimmerpost it's a pretty good setup.
Mmmm...Harbeth.

We are only talking speakers (with lights in them no less). Last time I checked, B&W does not make amps, preamps, dacs etc, which also make up the entire system. I wonder what electronics they sub out?

I too run high end audio at home (Dynaudio, KEF, B&W, McIntosh, Bryston, Parasound, Auralic etc...so am quite picky when it comes to sound....and hifi + automobiles = oxymoron....at least to me.
Man we got some some Audiophiles in here.

I am running Martin Logan stereo setup with Rotel 2 channel amp. Also running full B&W surround sound with Arcam receiver and SVS PB16 ultra. Monster of a subwoofer!
Nice! I run dual SB13-Ultras as well. Love SVS!
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      04-17-2018, 06:41 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by elitex View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by stbm5 View Post
My main home system is Ayre with Harbeth; my second system is Blue Circle with Shahinian; my third system is Parasound with Kef. Good sound is important to me and while there's better car audio to be had, the B&W system has me satisfied - and despite some less then enthusiastic posts on bimmerpost it's a pretty good setup.
Mmmm...Harbeth.

We are only talking speakers (with lights in them no less). Last time I checked, B&W does not make amps, preamps, dacs etc, which also make up the entire system. I wonder what electronics they sub out?

I too run high end audio at home (Dynaudio, KEF, B&W, McIntosh, Bryston, Parasound, Auralic etc...so am quite picky when it comes to sound....and hifi + automobiles = oxymoron....at least to me.
Man we got some some Audiophiles in here.

I am running Martin Logan stereo setup with Rotel 2 channel amp. Also running full B&W surround sound with Arcam receiver and SVS PB16 ultra. Monster of a subwoofer!
Nice! I run dual SB13-Ultras as well. Love SVS!
I have the 13 ultra paired with Martin Logans. talk about bang for the buck.
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      04-17-2018, 06:46 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Nautilus level....its a car stereo with lights in the speakers....I doubt it is even 600 series level...lol.
Yes clearly it's no where near nautilus level - my point was merely to highlight I liked the sound relative to the price.
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      04-17-2018, 06:51 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BG23 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country F90 View Post
Nautilus level....its a car stereo with lights in the speakers....I doubt it is even 600 series level...lol.
Yes clearly it's no where near nautilus level - my point was merely to highlight I liked the sound relative to the price.
I figured...was just messin.

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      04-19-2018, 01:34 AM   #18
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You need to spend a lot to get good sound in cars. 3k OEM (overpriced for what you get) upgrade is no where near enough.

To get truly good sound in cars (besides speakers and amps) you also need a lot of soundproofing/vibration deadening material which will add tons of weight onto your performance car so what would be the point, not to mention the loud exhaust will wash out any subtleties expensive speakers provide.

With that said, personally I always opted for the audio upgrade because the hardware (silver speaker grille etc.) looks nicer. Same reason I opted for CCBs on my F10, not that it brakes better, but I like the gold calipers.
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      04-19-2018, 12:28 PM   #19
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Those are quite the setups you guys have in your house. Hope to one day have something close to them.

The setup in the theater in my base is a Marantz + Elac UniFi Slim series + SVS sub (that thing BOOMS). I wanted a 5.1.4 Atmos setup so I used some Boston Acoustics satellite speakers (just casually had them hanging around...) for the overhead stage. I have the Optoma UHD65 projector throwing on to a 120" screen.

In my living room I have a Denon + Klipsch RP-280 series + 12" Polk sub. I bought this because of I recognized the brand names and the whole package was an absolute steal. This was before I had an understanding of what mid-to-high grade gear really is.
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      04-25-2018, 07:31 AM   #20
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As people as mentioned above.

The previous B&O system was better in my opinion(apart form the centre speaker vibrating).

There definitely seems to be more bass roll off at high volumes more than the B&O system did.

If you read the 7 series forums, people were having the amp failing on the B&W systems, so I wonder if BMW dialled back the bass a little at higher volumes to protect the amp?

You can read my take on it here:
http://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1433915

I decided to add some 8" Subs to help reinforce the bass at higher volumes.

http://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1443805
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      04-25-2018, 08:58 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nsa100 View Post
As people as mentioned above.

The previous B&O system was better in my opinion(apart form the centre speaker vibrating).

There definitely seems to be more bass roll off at high volumes more than the B&O system did.

If you read the 7 series forums, people were having the amp failing on the B&W systems, so I wonder if BMW dialled back the bass a little at higher volumes to protect the amp?

You can read my take on it here:
http://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1433915

I decided to add some 8" Subs to help reinforce the bass at higher volumes.

http://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1443805
I like the mids and highs better in B&W. I absolutely agree that bass is a little weak and you can definitely notice bass roll off.

I am adding a subwoofer also this Friday. I decided to go with a single JL 8w7. Should be plenty of bass
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      04-25-2018, 09:41 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elitex View Post
I like the mids and highs better in B&W. I absolutely agree that bass is a little weak and you can definitely notice bass roll off.

I am adding a subwoofer also this Friday. I decided to go with a single JL 8w7. Should be plenty of bass
where are you installing the sub?
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