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BMW M5 F90 (2018+) General Forums iDrive, Nav, Stereo, Bluetooth, Electronics    B & W surround worth the $3400?

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      01-15-2019, 10:52 PM   #23
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Sounds good but not great. Find the blog with the equalizer settings. One of the members did an amazing job of getting the most out of the system.

Many of us gear heads actually care more about the sound of the engine vs. the sound system.
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      01-15-2019, 11:17 PM   #24
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I never did a side by side between the F90 H/K and the F90 B&W, but I did have the H/K in my F10 and the B&W is better albeit marginally. The H/K in my wife's GL550 is much better and the B&O in my w212 was light years better. Whether it be H/K, B&O or Burmester, I think MB has better sound options. The bass is lacking and has me thinking about adding a sub in the trunk. But I would probably still get it again for the marginal improvement, the looks and the resale.
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      01-16-2019, 02:24 AM   #25
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The look of the Bowers system alone makes it worth the money to me. The better sound quality vs the stock system is a bonus.
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      01-16-2019, 04:04 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Greer View Post
The look of the Bowers system alone makes it worth the money to me. The better sound quality vs the stock system is a bonus.
Agreed !
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      01-16-2019, 07:31 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shellbmb View Post
I never did a side by side between the F90 H/K and the F90 B&W, but I did have the H/K in my F10 and the B&W is better albeit marginally. The H/K in my wife's GL550 is much better and the B&O in my w212 was light years better. Whether it be H/K, B&O or Burmester, I think MB has better sound options. The bass is lacking and has me thinking about adding a sub in the trunk. But I would probably still get it again for the marginal improvement, the looks and the resale.
The B&W requires adjustment in the treble and bass plus the equalizer....that's how you get better sound and major bass.......it does not need an additional sub.....there are two under the seat......the F10 M5 HK was beyond low quality sound....I did have to add a 12inch sub to compensate plus upgrade speakers to Bavsound

Everyone has different music tastes but I have my treble and bass maxed out in the settings and equalizer
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      01-16-2019, 10:21 AM   #28
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You can really make the B&W system bump with the proper eq adjustments. It's worth the money.
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      01-16-2019, 01:06 PM   #29
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Hello i just picked up M5 comp with harman kardon..i drive 640 xd full individual with B&O and i need to say that for me there is not much difference..im not audiofill ,but i play 2 instruments and i know lot about music and sound..so for normal use i will save money and took H&K...on the other hand that lightning in B&W is amazing..does it worth 3400 $ its up to you.
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      01-17-2019, 01:40 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by windtendo View Post
You can really make the B&W system bump with the proper eq adjustments. It's worth the money.
period!
equalizer adjustment is key!
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      01-18-2019, 03:57 AM   #31
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I would say it's not worth it, had harman cardon in my f86, now I have f90 with B&W and I am disappointed with it, the sound yes much clearer than harman cardon, but B&W bass sounds very strange, it reminds me cheap PC 2.1 speakers bass, I would say harman cardon bass is much deeper and clearer than B&W, maybe B&W is more for jazz, probably not for my music taste.
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      01-18-2019, 04:34 AM   #32
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Def not worth it for me.

Cars in general are a sub-optimal environment for listening to music at quality levels, IMO. I have very high quality gear at home, where I enjoy listening to music critically, but when in the car, I am more into driving, and the sounds involved with it. Music and talk radio in the background at lower levels works for me now.

I used to be in to custom stereo setups when I was younger, but these days a decent sounding stereo in the car does it for me. Like others have said though, it is totally subjective. Opinions vary.
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      01-18-2019, 08:52 AM   #33
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The HK isn't horrible but should be better in a $100k+ car, but is the BW $3400 better? I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Skipping that plus the full leather would get you the ceramic brakes.
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      01-18-2019, 10:13 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norbtx View Post
The HK isn't horrible but should be better in a $100k+ car, but is the BW $3400 better? I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Skipping that plus the full leather would get you the ceramic brakes.
While I do have the CCBs, honestly I think if someone is picking, Full Leather and the BW stereo will be much more noticeable and enjoyable than the CCBs. Having had extended leather and HK audio in my F13 M6, Full Leather and BW is so much nicer. CCBs are good, but most people aren't going to notice/care that much imho.
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      01-18-2019, 04:19 PM   #35
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My buddy paid up for that option in his, "underwhelming" was how he put it.

Take the money and invest it. Pay down your note some.
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      01-18-2019, 04:59 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norbtx View Post
The HK isn't horrible but should be better in a $100k+ car, but is the BW $3400 better? I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Skipping that plus the full leather would get you the ceramic brakes.
Having BW, full leather, and exec.pkg, to me at least is greater then having ceramic brakes. Especially for street use and the fact the I keep my car for over 10 years
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      01-19-2019, 10:55 AM   #37
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When I do the math, its about a $45/mo difference when leasing. So the question is if I am not happy with the HK, could I find a system that is much better in sound than BW for ~$1700 ($45 x 36 mo). That's assuming that I dont buy at the end of lease end.
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      01-19-2019, 12:31 PM   #38
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I think I was wrong
I don't think I can enjoy my ///M as much without it
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      01-19-2019, 06:21 PM   #39
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To get the best out from your B&W sound system connect your smart phone or music device over USB and adjust the equalizer according to your taste.

Important to get the best out over Bluetooth is to set the volume to maximum.

Basic prerequisite is a high sound quality.

Enjoy it.
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      01-20-2019, 08:15 AM   #40
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The only way to hear the best out of this stereo is to use HD Radio or an iPod or phone directly connected via USB. You will also need to have at least 256 kbps bit rate in AAC format or 320 kbps in MP3 format. Maybe it's just in my head by 256 AAC sounds better than 320 MP3. Maybe AAC has a better compression algorithm? Of course lossless formats would be best. I assume using the HD will have same quality as long as above formats are preserved.

Quality on satellite radio sucks along with Bluetooth. Maybe apple CarPlay is a little better but doesn't seem much better.
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      01-20-2019, 08:20 AM   #41
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Don't forget using the Tidal music service with a direct connection. You pay a premium for their hi bit format which is worth it on the right systems including headphones with proper amps. I'm still not convinced the cabin of a car traveling down the road can serve as a proper environment.
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      01-20-2019, 08:29 AM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ST3 View Post
Don't forget using the Tidal music service with a direct connection. You pay a premium for their hi bit format which is worth it on the right systems including headphones with proper amps. I'm still not convinced the cabin of a car traveling down the road can serve as a proper environment.
It never will be the ideal environment but might as well get what you can enjoy. Definitely notice differences in high quality stereos in various cars.
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      01-20-2019, 12:29 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by utsteve98 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ST3 View Post
Don't forget using the Tidal music service with a direct connection. You pay a premium for their hi bit format which is worth it on the right systems including headphones with proper amps. I'm still not convinced the cabin of a car traveling down the road can serve as a proper environment.
It never will be the ideal environment but might as well get what you can enjoy. Definitely notice differences in high quality stereos in various cars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ST3 View Post
Don't forget using the Tidal music service with a direct connection. You pay a premium for their hi bit format which is worth it on the right systems including headphones with proper amps. I'm still not convinced the cabin of a car traveling down the road can serve as a proper environment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by utsteve98 View Post
The only way to hear the best out of this stereo is to use HD Radio or an iPod or phone directly connected via USB. You will also need to have at least 256 kbps bit rate in AAC format or 320 kbps in MP3 format. Maybe it's just in my head by 256 AAC sounds better than 320 MP3. Maybe AAC has a better compression algorithm? Of course lossless formats would be best. I assume using the HD will have same quality as long as above formats are preserved.

Quality on satellite radio sucks along with Bluetooth. Maybe apple CarPlay is a little better but doesn't seem much better.
Just subscribed to Spotify premium and the sound is a lot better than Sirius and YouTube streaming
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      01-21-2019, 04:33 PM   #44
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Just subscribed to Spotify premium and the sound is a lot better than Sirius and YouTube streaming
Spotify Premium can go 320kbps, which is essentially MP3 quality. It is clearly better than Sirus and Youtube, but 1/3 less that lossless Tidal, or FLAC USB.
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