Bang & Olufsen sound system

JAY55 · 14th January 2013, 04:56

Hi, hope to join this side of the forum soon. Bang & Olufsen, is it worth the upgrade? It's the first option on my list because I'm an audiophile fanatic. Anyone has this option please advise as well as the bass response. Thanks!

ColdList · 14th January 2013, 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAY55

Hi, hope to join this side of the forum soon. Bang & Olufsen, is it worth the upgrade? It's the first option on my list because I'm an audiophile fanatic. Anyone has this option please advise as well as the bass response. Thanks!

Got it. LOVE it. Would not be without it. Bass is nice and deep. Highs very crisp. As always, listen to one yourself before buying. My B&W home speakers are incredible but since they are more "Euro" sounding they may not be for everyone either.

btw..."Full Leather" should be the top of the list in the F10 IMO. Very nice upgrade to the interior look of the car.

BMWDave · 14th January 2013, 18:11

Jay, what up bro?!

I've listened to both the F10 M5 stock sound system and the B&O and while the stock system is good the B&O is fantastic.

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the following:

2010 E60 M5/E63 M6 sound system: 6
2013 F10 M5/F12 M6 base system: 7
2013 F10 M5/F12 M6 Bang & Olufsen system: 10

Stealth.Pilot · 14th January 2013, 18:48

I agree with Dave. I bought it and I think it is completely awesome. You will need to tweak the settings to get the best out of it but that is true of the HK Logic 7 base system too.

These were my observations:
1) Wow sound experience like being in a sound studio. The sound system is vastly superior on the more contemporary music. It is superb with jazz and dance-pop music, as well as with broadway type sound tracks. It is really good at sound staging in the Studio mode.
2) The bass response is fantastic at all volumes. This is the first thing that strikes you. You find bass in some songs you didn't even know about. Quite impressive. It is perfect.
3) The vocals are very crisp and clear. Christina Aguilera and Dido sound absolutely amazing. Also Ewan McGregor's vocals from Moulin Rouge were just ridiculous. It was like he was in the car with me.
4) Guitar is superb. On Roy Orbison's You Got It the detail was just incredible - you can hear his fingers running down the guitar strings. Absolutely amazing. Springsteen and Santana also played impressively.
5) Brass and percussion are also excellent. If you like jazz, you will LOVE this system. It was made for jazz.
6) You can tell the difference between songs encoded lossless and songs encoded at 160kbps. It is a striking difference which tells me that you need good quality music to get the most out of this. I played Dancing in the Dark in both 160kbps and Lossless since I had both files on my iPhone on different albums. At 160kbps the B&O didn't sound that impressive. In fact I think low quality music may sound worse on this system.
7) Aesthetics are very nice. The aluminum speaker grilles exude quality.

cmhsam · 16th January 2013, 02:21

With three kids at home I prefer the sounds of quiet when I am in the car

Bmwonly · 16th January 2013, 17:13

still lack low end bass at low vol, thinking to add a subwoofer.

Warehouser · 16th January 2013, 19:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmwonly

still lack low end bass at low vol, thinking to add a subwoofer.

X2

NeuroM · 17th January 2013, 19:01

I am not necessarily an audiophile, but from a standpoint of a Physician who sees a lot of deaf old people from noise exposure while young, I question the value of a system you have to crank up the volume to notice a modest difference until you get old and can hear no more. It will hurt your hearing in the long run. Agree the full leather and 20" upgrades should be higher in the list. Preserve your money and your hearing, just my 2 cents.

BMWDave · 17th January 2013, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeuroM

I am not necessarily an audiophile, but from a standpoint of a Physician who sees a lot of deaf old people from noise exposure while young, I question the value of a system you have to crank up the volume to notice a modest difference until you get old and can hear no more. It will hurt your hearing in the long run. Agree the full leather and 20" upgrades should be higher in the list. Preserve your money and your hearing, just my 2 cents.

Good advice!

ykjones · 17th January 2013, 19:32

I'm looking forward to hearing it Dave. You know what a audiophile I am having heard my home theater and me being a professional musician.

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