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      12-07-2019, 02:58 PM   #1
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Bowers & Wilkins Sucks !! Confirmed by an Expert !!

After several attempts to find good equalizer settings for the Bowers & Wilkins system in my 2019 M5 I asked a friend of a friend who is a very well-known recording engineer to take a shot at it. He has helped designed sound for multiple home theaters for his friends and is very well versed in acoustical settings. I really enjoyed the Bang & Olufsen system in my 2016 M5, so this Bowers & Wilkins system has been very disappointing as we all know, especially the Bass. I told him about the B & O system so I suggested we also have him listen to my friend’s 2015 M5 with the B & O. Then I contacted another guy I know who has a 2020 M5 Comp with the Harmon Kardon, so we had all 3 there for him to try out. (Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the 3 together??) I played him some music I have on my ITouch (which is all downloaded from CD’s using Apple Lossless) on all 3 cars and let him play with the settings. We both heard a big difference between all 3 cars as did my friends. We all agreed the 2015 M5 with the B & O was better overall than the B & W with the HK being the worst of the 3. He brought out his RTA and started playing some kind of pink noise. He then made some adjustments and played some more music on my ITouch (some of which he actually engineered himself) in all 3 cars. He said we really need to change the EQ settings when we change the music style Jazz/Rock/R & B etc…… His opinion was BMW gave Bowers & Wilkins specs of what room they had in the doors and Bowers delivered the speakers with very little testing in the 5 series, which is not a very good acoustical environment and would be a challenge. I have been noticing the F90’s doors seem much lighter than the F10 M5 so was wondering if that is changing the sound a bit. He also questioned whether the Subs buried in the floor boards below the front seats are weak or being held back due to power constraints, or that BMW did not use amps that had the power Bowers wanted. We all agreed the Bowers speakers did present better accuracy & detail for voice and instruments than the B & O, but thought the B & O system was a much better overall setup in the F10 than we have with the Bowers & Wilkins in the F90 with the HK at the bottom of the 3. All of us left with better settings than we had, so that was great. This is my 4th M5 so hoping the next generation has a better sound system in it. Are you listening BMW ??
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      12-07-2019, 03:59 PM   #2
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I've heard "expert" opinions on this both ways. Due to the confusion I'll let the sweet in speaker lighting make the decision for me
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      12-07-2019, 04:09 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BwoodBMW View Post
I'll let the sweet in speaker lighting make the decision for me
Best Quote Ever...
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      12-07-2019, 09:52 PM   #4
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It's super disappointing that all auto makers are taking premium products and placing them in premium vehicles charging a premium and achieving marginally better results / performance. I realize audio is very subjective, however, my opinion is that the effort is minimal by auto makers to deliver superior sound that equates to the additional cost. (Yet brilliant for adding margin to the bottom line)

BMW please put some actual effort in and don't distract / entice us with some inexpensive LEDs. Someone else is going to beat you to the punch and offer an actual improvement that justifies the additional consumer spend.
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      12-08-2019, 03:34 AM   #5
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I knew it! I also had an F10 M5 with the upgraded sound system and I agree with the findings.
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      12-08-2019, 03:48 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch65 View Post
After several attempts to find good equalizer settings for the Bowers & Wilkins system in my 2019 M5 I asked a friend of a friend who is a very well-known recording engineer to take a shot at it. He has helped designed sound for multiple home theaters for his friends and is very well versed in acoustical settings. I really enjoyed the Bang & Olufsen system in my 2016 M5, so this Bowers & Wilkins system has been very disappointing as we all know, especially the Bass. I told him about the B & O system so I suggested we also have him listen to my friend’s 2015 M5 with the B & O. Then I contacted another guy I know who has a 2020 M5 Comp with the Harmon Kardon, so we had all 3 there for him to try out. (Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the 3 together??) I played him some music I have on my ITouch (which is all downloaded from CD’s using Apple Lossless) on all 3 cars and let him play with the settings. We both heard a big difference between all 3 cars as did my friends. We all agreed the 2015 M5 with the B & O was better overall than the B & W with the HK being the worst of the 3. He brought out his RTA and started playing some kind of pink noise. He then made some adjustments and played some more music on my ITouch (some of which he actually engineered himself) in all 3 cars. He said we really need to change the EQ settings when we change the music style Jazz/Rock/R & B etc…… His opinion was BMW gave Bowers & Wilkins specs of what room they had in the doors and Bowers delivered the speakers with very little testing in the 5 series, which is not a very good acoustical environment and would be a challenge. I have been noticing the F90’s doors seem much lighter than the F10 M5 so was wondering if that is changing the sound a bit. He also questioned whether the Subs buried in the floor boards below the front seats are weak or being held back due to power constraints, or that BMW did not use amps that had the power Bowers wanted. We all agreed the Bowers speakers did present better accuracy & detail for voice and instruments than the B & O, but thought the B & O system was a much better overall setup in the F10 than we have with the Bowers & Wilkins in the F90 with the HK at the bottom of the 3. All of us left with better settings than we had, so that was great. This is my 4th M5 so hoping the next generation has a better sound system in it. Are you listening BMW ??
Umm could you post those settings?
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      12-08-2019, 09:43 AM   #7
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I have always thought BMW sound system sucked, but it looks good so I always opted for it.
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      12-08-2019, 11:28 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch65 View Post
After several attempts to find good equalizer settings for the Bowers & Wilkins system in my 2019 M5 I asked a friend of a friend who is a very well-known recording engineer to take a shot at it. He has helped designed sound for multiple home theaters for his friends and is very well versed in acoustical settings. I really enjoyed the Bang & Olufsen system in my 2016 M5, so this Bowers & Wilkins system has been very disappointing as we all know, especially the Bass. I told him about the B & O system so I suggested we also have him listen to my friend’s 2015 M5 with the B & O. Then I contacted another guy I know who has a 2020 M5 Comp with the Harmon Kardon, so we had all 3 there for him to try out. (Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the 3 together??) I played him some music I have on my ITouch (which is all downloaded from CD’s using Apple Lossless) on all 3 cars and let him play with the settings. We both heard a big difference between all 3 cars as did my friends. We all agreed the 2015 M5 with the B & O was better overall than the B & W with the HK being the worst of the 3. He brought out his RTA and started playing some kind of pink noise. He then made some adjustments and played some more music on my ITouch (some of which he actually engineered himself) in all 3 cars. He said we really need to change the EQ settings when we change the music style Jazz/Rock/R & B etc…… His opinion was BMW gave Bowers & Wilkins specs of what room they had in the doors and Bowers delivered the speakers with very little testing in the 5 series, which is not a very good acoustical environment and would be a challenge. I have been noticing the F90’s doors seem much lighter than the F10 M5 so was wondering if that is changing the sound a bit. He also questioned whether the Subs buried in the floor boards below the front seats are weak or being held back due to power constraints, or that BMW did not use amps that had the power Bowers wanted. We all agreed the Bowers speakers did present better accuracy & detail for voice and instruments than the B & O, but thought the B & O system was a much better overall setup in the F10 than we have with the Bowers & Wilkins in the F90 with the HK at the bottom of the 3. All of us left with better settings than we had, so that was great. This is my 4th M5 so hoping the next generation has a better sound system in it. Are you listening BMW ??
Please take a pic of your EQ settings and post here. I’m still looking for the best settings. Thanks
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      12-08-2019, 12:00 PM   #9
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I’m not overly impressed with the B/W either but I am convinced that at low DB levels any audio system is similar sounding but cranked up the difference in quality is more noticeable. Car acoustics are not ideal.
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      12-08-2019, 01:27 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MCOMP View Post
I’m not overly impressed with the B/W either but I am convinced that at low DB levels any audio system is similar sounding but cranked up the difference in quality is more noticeable. Car acoustics are not ideal.
Yup, and the acoustics and background noise (and therefore ideal settings) change with speed, pavement type, tire wear, etc.
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      12-08-2019, 01:41 PM   #11
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Yes please, would be nice to have the H&K EQ-Settings.
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      12-08-2019, 02:20 PM   #12
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And then they throw in the fake engine noise thing to the mix.....overall its kind of funny. You pay extra for a fancy stereo and they water it down with fake engine sound. Silly really.

Mike
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      12-08-2019, 06:50 PM   #13
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And then they throw in the fake engine noise thing to the mix.....overall its kind of funny. You pay extra for a fancy stereo and they water it down with fake engine sound. Silly really.

Mike
It's really amazing to me that they don't include a setting in idrive to allow us to turn it off if we choose.
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      12-08-2019, 06:54 PM   #14
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Mine was always OFF

I let the exhaust make the music
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      12-08-2019, 10:24 PM   #15
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I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
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      12-08-2019, 11:04 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroidRobot View Post
I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
I too have an X5 with the B&W system. It sounds better in the X5 than it does in my M5. I think the acoustics are better in the X5 for some reason.
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      12-08-2019, 11:09 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OMGU812 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroidRobot View Post
I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
I too have an X5 with the B&W system. It sounds better in the X5 than it does in my M5. I think the acoustics are better in the X5 for some reason.
The larger open cargo space in the x5 allows for better acoustics, specifically bass. Similarly matched audio systems will always sound better in an SUV than a sedan with a closed trunk
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      12-09-2019, 05:46 AM   #18
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At low volumes, bass is a little low on the B & W but once you crank it up, all is forgiven. BTW, lack of good bass at low volume is fairly common on high end auto systems, IME.
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      12-09-2019, 08:36 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroidRobot View Post
I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
Can you share your EQ settings?
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      12-09-2019, 08:36 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slow Walker View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by OMGU812 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroidRobot View Post
I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
I too have an X5 with the B&W system. It sounds better in the X5 than it does in my M5. I think the acoustics are better in the X5 for some reason.
The larger open cargo space in the x5 allows for better acoustics, specifically bass. Similarly matched audio systems will always sound better in an SUV than a sedan with a closed trunk
the subs are still under the front seats. They aren't over blown like my previous B&O system in my Audi, but they provide ample bass for me. I know most people are probably used to subs that blow your windows out, that's not what the B&W system is about.
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      12-09-2019, 08:38 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dardeca View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroidRobot View Post
I have the B&W system in my X5 (I always lurk around here because I love the M5C but can't drive a sedan here). it's fantastic and if you adjust the EQ it sounds even better. Perhaps in the M5 they set it up differently. Unless he measured the freq response curves and set it up to be truly flat , studio sound then compared each care, his opinion doesn't mean much.
Can you share your EQ settings?
yes, I'll have to check what I have mine at. I adjusted mine more to how I prefer the sound, not really a true reference flat acoustic sound. If I don't post pics by later today, tag me again because I get busy at work.
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      12-09-2019, 08:43 AM   #22
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I've noticed the system has gotten better with time and if you adjust it to the right eq settings as many people have said. It's really a good system. Could it use more bass? Yes! but as an overall stock car audio system it is really good!
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