[avi8tir]

My company car is currently a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with the base radio.

The system sounds better than my B&W. Waaaay more bass. I am sure at the high end the B&W is better but damn. I am starting to think there is something wrong with my system in the M5.

Does the bass suck that bad in the B&W?

[ST3]

Originally Posted by avi8tir

My company car is currently a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with the base radio.

The system sounds better than my B&W. Waaaay more bass. I am sure at the high end the B&W is better but damn. I am starting to think there is something wrong with my system in the M5.

Does the bass suck that bad in the B&W?

Its the cabin. Automobiles are a tough place to reproduce sound properly. Just like at home you can have a pair of $1500 speakers sound better than a $25,000 pair if the less expensive speakers are in a room with optimal dimensions or with proper room treatments. In your car there is a lot of glass and of course road noise. That's why sitting with the car parked almost always sounds better than when in motion.

This is why I did not get the upgraded sound system. I sure wish I had the cool lights though.

[Ehloo]

Letting the speakers break in and your source make a huge difference

If looking the best sound, connect through the usb and avoid BT

Also high fidelity sources like Tidal will make a huge difference. Everything starts at your source

Originally Posted by avi8tir

My company car is currently a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with the base radio.

The system sounds better than my B&W. Waaaay more bass. I am sure at the high end the B&W is better but damn. I am starting to think there is something wrong with my system in the M5.

Does the bass suck that bad in the B&W?

[Phatcat]

BMW's sound system has never impressed me, whether its B&O or B&W, but I opted for them anyways because I like how they look.

[A Need For Speed]

Originally Posted by avi8tir

My company car is currently a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with the base radio.

The system sounds better than my B&W. Waaaay more bass. I am sure at the high end the B&W is better but damn. I am starting to think there is something wrong with my system in the M5.

Does the bass suck that bad in the B&W?

You should have ordered the Bowers and Wilkins! It is BY FAR, the best stereo of any car I have driven and I have driven quite a few that had high end systems (Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, etc). It is really amazing. The standard Harmon Kardon system is just average, IMO.

[e90alpinem3]

Originally Posted by avi8tir

My company car is currently a Jeep Grand Cherokee limited with the base radio.

The system sounds better than my B&W. Waaaay more bass. I am sure at the high end the B&W is better but damn. I am starting to think there is something wrong with my system in the M5.

Does the bass suck that bad in the B&W?

How much have you adjusted the eq settings? I thought the same at first as well that the B and O was a waste of money but over a couple months the speakers have broken in nicely and that tin sound has now become more robust. The adjustments on the eq as well as others mentioned the source (Bluetooth etc) will have major impact to the sound. I still don't think they are worth the up charge but they do sound much much better than when I first bought the car. Good luck!

[Hirenarora]

Originally Posted by A Need For Speed

You should have ordered the Bowers and Wilkins! It is BY FAR, the best stereo of any car I have driven and I have driven quite a few that had high end systems (Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, etc). It is really amazing. The standard Harmon Kardon system is just average, IMO.

He does have Bowers & Wilkins!

[ZZZZMD1991]

The B & W wasn't particularly impressive in the showroom; I was wondering the same, especially given the asking price for the system. Perhaps it will only matter to audiophiles, but I agree that a moving car will never be the same as a listening room. Furthermore, I mostly listen to talk radio.....

[windtendo]

If you tune the equalizer settings right, it will be the best sounding car audio system you've heard. Without the right adjustments, it will sound like poop.

[OMGU812]

Originally Posted by windtendo

If you tune the equalizer settings right, it will be the best sounding car audio system you've heard. Without the right adjustments, it will sound like poop.

Agreed. I have this system in my X5 - the best car stereo I've ever heard.

[hybrid_eg]

I have B&W with adjusted equalizer of course and its not impressive to me due to having F85 with B&O which i feel blows F90 B&W out of the water on base and overall sound.. like some others said its the cabin.. cant wait to see if the same will hold for F95 with B&W.

[A Need For Speed]

Originally Posted by hybrid_eg

I have B&W with adjusted equalizer of course and its not impressive to me due to having F85 with B&O which i feel blows F90 B&W out of the water on base and overall sound.. like some others said its the cabin.. cant wait to see if the same will hold for F95 with B&W.

You might need to get your hearing checked dude . Had B & O on a previous high end vehicle and it absolutely sucked compared to the B & W. Equalizer settings are a game changer. 1500 watts of sheer brilliance. The B & W in the M5 is fantastic and all that have heard it in my car are blown away by it. So uou are listening to a stereo in an fricking SUV and like it better? Suuuuure.

[hybrid_eg]

Hearing is fine, I'm not a sound system expert by no means but F85 certainly packs way more punch (bass) when turned up all the way for what its worth. I equally had B&O on the F10 M5 and wasn't impressive in comparison to larger cabin of F85.

[A Need For Speed]

Originally Posted by hybrid_eg

Hearing is fine, I'm not a sound system expert by no means but F85 certainly packs way more punch (bass) when turned up all the way for what its worth. I equally had B&O on the F10 M5 and wasn't impressive in comparison to larger cabin of F85.

your mileage my vary. I find it very nice but I remember there was a total change after I adjusted the equalizer settings.

[Burnsey]

Originally Posted by windtendo

If you tune the equalizer settings right, it will be the best sounding car audio system you've heard. Without the right adjustments, it will sound like poop.

I'm sure there's a thread, but could you help me with the best 'general' settings?

I'm only a few days in and unless someone tells me, I will probably go through ownership without ever knowing...

[Aronis]

Source does make a big difference. If I listen to SiriousXM the BASS is already cranked by them, but when listening from the in car Hard drive, the bass is more muted. When I want to hear the music, I turn off the ASD also as that adds some BS sound to the music. But all those issues aside, the M5 is not a very quiet car in side. My 2013 A8L was VERY quiet and even though I just had the base stereo system, it was quite nice I think because the car was over all less noisy. To be honest I was kind of disappointed that the M5 (even with the car's fake engine noise turned off) is as noisy as it is. I think it is possible to have a sporty car that also can be a quiet ride. It's not M2 noisy (not much insulation in that car) but still more so that other cars.

Mike

[goatfarmer1970]

I love the B&W...would not have ordered it, but ended up with it...and glad I did. It is also true that some less expensive cars sound pretty good, and can have less rattles, and so on....

[kdeleon]

The B&W system is good. It has been tuned to be accurate, more audiophile. What is everyone’s expectation for the bass? It is definitely not tuned to be a dance club. And as others have mentioned, the low end sound of the engine has a big effect, as in drowning out things. Same with source. Even between XM radio and a quality mp3, you can easily hear the difference.

[shellbmb]

I thought the same thing initially, but mine has definitely improved by 1. letting it break in and 2. adjusting the equalizer settings. There is a thread on here somewhere with a picture of the EQ settings. To my surprise, they were relatively flat. No, bass is never going to be great given the subs are 2" thick, 8" wide at most and under the seats in the floor. But with the right source, it sounds good. Not as good as the B&O in my E63 did, but acceptable. It's better than the H/K in my F10.

For my tastes, spotify premium sounds good over BT as well as the USB stick. That's what I normally listen to.

[Alberta]

Originally Posted by Phatcat

BMW's sound system has never impressed me, whether its B&O or B&W, but I opted for them anyways because I like how they look.

I'm happy with the B&W in the M5 and I loved the Harman Kardon that was in my X5M.

I think that sound is like beauty , so subjective ...

[LSM]

I can tell you this about the previous B&O system. I saw a previous gen M5 which had the B&O systems having the system replaced. Before swapping out the stock M5 optional B&O system, The installer showed me that the stock optional B&O system used B&O speakers but had the same HK professor/ drivers as the free HK system. HK driver/processor just with B&O speakers which to me is a poor attempt at a factory option promising great sound .

IMO that B&O system couldn't hold a candle to the new B&W system.

As many others have said it's all about speaker break in + setting the equalizer up properly.

[MCOMP]

I feel that at low volume there is not a huge benefit to having B/W, but cranked up, the B/W shines. Kind of like my old Ducati, over 100 mph, the best Sport bike on the planet, under 100, the worst.