[RS61]

The inability to have B&W is exactly what kept me in my current 21 Comp vs getting a CS or moving to the new M3 (for better driving dynamics). There's a "bar of acceptability" and the HK just doesn't hit it, wheras the B&W really does. My last car was an RS6 with the £5k B&O and the B&W is even better. In the past I've had two cars with fully custom setups, e.g. one with 2x 12 inch JLs in the boot, and I've come to realise that all the custom stuff is just a total gimmick and faff - it takes up space, takes ages to get it set up properly, when you resell the car most buyers are put off. The B&W is just excellent straight out of the factory. If I were in your situation I'd sell, and buy a second hand one with B&W - that way you're not losing $20k by buying another new one, you're probably only down the equivalent of if you'd specced it originally.

[omgmike]

Originally Posted by RS61

The inability to have B&W is exactly what kept me in my current 21 Comp vs getting a CS or moving to the new M3 (for better driving dynamics). There's a "bar of acceptability" and the HK just doesn't hit it, wheras the B&W really does. My last car was an RS6 with the £5k B&O and the B&W is even better. In the past I've had two cars with fully custom setups, e.g. one with 2x 12 inch JLs in the boot, and I've come to realise that all the custom stuff is just a total gimmick and faff - it takes up space, takes ages to get it set up properly, when you resell the car most buyers are put off. The B&W is just excellent straight out of the factory. If I were in your situation I'd sell, and buy a second hand one with B&W - that way you're not losing $20k by buying another new one, you're probably only down the equivalent of if you'd specced it originally.

You and I are definitely on the same page. I'm not opposed to custom, I just don't want custom fab enclosures for inside the cabin. I'm okay with a small box for a single 10" in the trunk and a custom amp rack to keep things neat and tidy, but beyond that if it requires cutting/fabricating/etc., I'm just way past that point. I just want an audio system that has rich but not tinny highs, punchy, well rounded midbass, and solid, hard punching bass (which is why I love 10" subs).

Hopefully the Bavsound Ghost subs help. I got them a week ago just haven't had time to install and won't for probably at least another two weeks. I know they won't give me what I'd get from a single 10" sub, but anything has got to be an improvement over the HK.

[UglyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by omgmike

You and I are definitely on the same page. I'm not opposed to custom, I just don't want custom fab enclosures for inside the cabin. I'm okay with a small box for a single 10" in the trunk and a custom amp rack to keep things neat and tidy, but beyond that if it requires cutting/fabricating/etc., I'm just way past that point. I just want an audio system that has rich but not tinny highs, punchy, well rounded midbass, and solid, hard punching bass (which is why I love 10" subs).

Hopefully the Bavsound Ghost subs help. I got them a week ago just haven't had time to install and won't for probably at least another two weeks. I know they won't give me what I'd get from a single 10" sub, but anything has got to be an improvement over the HK.

Please share your thoughts on Bava - right there with you…

[Hammer110!]

Originally Posted by omgmike

I listen to all sources — FM, satellite, and streaming. With CarPlay, it's actually streamed over a wifi connection, not Bluetooth, so that removes BLE as the potential issue. I am aware that you lose a lot of sound quality streaming with Spotify because of their compression algos. When they finally release their lossless option I will definitely default to that (Apple Music already offers this) and that will definitely make a difference.

But for comparison's sake, when I stream the exact same track from Spotify in my wife's car, which is a '22 Navi with the Revel system, it is a literal night and day difference. So much so, that when my wife finally took my M out on her own this past weekend, the first thing she thought to tell me when she got back home was how sorry she felt for me because of how awful the H/K system sounds.

I realize not everyone cares or has the same expectations for a car audio system as I do, and I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is how piss poor, IMO, the H/K system is in a vehicle that costs this much. It's really disappointing. For $150k I don't want to have to spend an additional $10k for a quality (again, IMO) audio system. To me this should come from the factory. It's not like we're back in the 90s when aftermarket was the only way to get a quality audio setup in a vehicle.

FM & Satellite are both so pared down for bandwidth they are horrible source materials. Spotify is not much better. AAC or Lossless mp3 is much better as are high bit rate streaming services such as Tidal master quality tracks. Garbage in garbage out don’t care if it’s HK or BW. By reference the BW in wife’s 22 X7M after proper set up sounds amazing in comparison to properly set up HK in 22M5C with the same source material.

[subterFUSE]

Source is the most important part of the chain. That's why I use an RME home audio DAC as my source in my competition stereo in the Mercedes. There are no good car audio sources on the market. The home stuff is better by leaps and bounds.

[omgmike]

Originally Posted by Hammer110!

FM & Satellite are both so pared down for bandwidth they are horrible source materials. Spotify is not much better. AAC or Lossless mp3 is much better as are high bit rate streaming services such as Tidal master quality tracks. Garbage in garbage out don't care if it's HK or BW. By reference the BW in wife's 22 X7M after proper set up sounds amazing in comparison to properly set up HK in 22M5C with the same source material.

I think you're saying the same thing as I did…