[jj9876]

Hi DuneMan,

I am guessing I have 6 speakers. The UK Sales Brochure does not give enough technical details.

The dealer quote (around £2190) was to completely upgrade to the HiFi Professional system with 16 speakers. Seems excessive cost to me given factory fit is only £730. Also, means dealer tampering with the car, from past experience, things are never put back the way they were originally in terms of fit and finish.

I think I may have to see the dealer again, will let you know of any updates.

regards
JJ

[DuneMan]

Originally Posted by jj9876

Hi DuneMan,

I am guessing I have 6 speakers. The UK Sales Brochure does not give enough technical details.

The dealer quote (around £2190) was to completely upgrade to the HiFi Professional system with 16 speakers. Seems excessive cost to me given factory fit is only £730. Also, means dealer tampering with the car, from past experience, things are never put back the way they were originally in terms of fit and finish.

I think I may have to see the dealer again, will let you know of any updates.

regards
JJ

Thanks for the reply jj... I certainly agree with the "tampering with my car" concern. Because if the dealer breaks anything along the way, we all know they will never admit it and it will become a my latest headache.

I'll keep you updated how it turns out for me too.

Thanks again!

[cagatacos]

Hi
Need some help.
received my 520 d f11 (sport auto, xenon, 17`, bluethoth, [U]with the profissional sound system (16 speakers and 600w). The question is: how can i know that is te profissional with 16 speakers an 600w or the hi-fi with 205 w and 12 spaeakears. Need some help because i paid for the top system and i think i have the ho-fi. Can´t find the 16 speakers. where are tey?
The menu from i drive are the same or there´s a way to know what i have.
Thanks

[FrequentFlyer]

Originally Posted by akhter

You should be able to get professional Nav with business Hifi.

I have Pro Nav and Business HiFi (Option 676) and having picked up my car yesterday I have to say I am very disappointed in the sound quality compared to my E60 which had exactly the same options.

The Bass is very very poor - by that I mean that it lacks the 'punch' of a good system, which is normally a sign of poor amplification rather than a poor speaker. Increasing the Bass level just makes things blurred and boomy. Happy with the high frequencies.

I can't believe how much worse it is than the E60 Business HiFi and I really regret not going for the Pro HiFi

[Touring]

Originally Posted by cagatacos

Hi

The menu from i drive are the same or there´s a way to know what i have.
Thanks

If you find the Surround on/off menu in the Idrive you have the 600w system.

[DNA_42]

My standard system is just superb. However, I am sure the type of music one listens to is crucial here. I cannot stand thumping bass, though do appreciate a good solid, tight bass in rock music and I do get that from my car.

However, I mostly listen to classical music and here my system is just sublime. Easily the best I've ever had in a car, a joy. My previous car, a Merc, was awful.

The answer is to try to listen to your own music in the car before you buy. My dealer did not have a Logic 7 available in the F10, but I did hear it in a 3 series. It sounded harsh and not worth the upgrade, so I didn't spend the extra £700-odd.

Later I wished I had, then when the car came I was so relieved because for me the standard system is wicked!


Hope this helps.
DNA

[DNA_42]

By the way, at home I use a decent Linn/Naim system and so I do know what good hifi is supposed to sound like.

DNA

[finbrad]

Great to hear positive comments on the standard system. Have you sampled the standard audio system on the e60?. The system in my e60 was abysmal. Dreadful distortion at low levels.

[DNA_42]

No, although I had a 3 series in 1989 (F plate, not sure of model designation), but I have mainly driven Mercs and none of them had particularly good stereos.

My last car was a C-Class Merc had a very boring stereo and I was totally convinced I would get a premium stereo when I changed cars, which is why I was a bit worried when I changed my mind after hearing the Logic 7 in the dealer's 3 series (a very flash affair with red leather seats) - I was not impressed at all, but the F10 is very good. Even a month in I sometimes smile and think "Yeah, that really is very good".

Go listen.

DNA

[jj9876]

The Sales literature says the basic sound system has six speakers. I can see two in the front doors two in the rear shelf. Where are the other two speakers? Are they under the front seats? I can see one speaker in the front dash but that might be empty and no actual speaker wired in. Does anyone have the technical specs for the basic system for the amplifier and the speakers. I wanted to determine what would need replacing to get a distortion-free sound at mid to high volume.

[DuneMan]

Originally Posted by jj9876

The Sales literature says the basic sound system has six speakers. I can see two in the front doors two in the rear shelf. Where are the other two speakers? Are they under the front seats? I can see one speaker in the front dash but that might be empty and no actual speaker wired in. Does anyone have the technical specs for the basic system for the amplifier and the speakers. I wanted to determine what would need replacing to get a distortion-free sound at mid to high volume.

same dilemma here... I only see four (plus the center spkr in the dash). nothing under the seats or in the mirrors.

anyway, my dealer got back to me today on my upgrade options. He says i have zero options at this point. There's nothing I can do to upgrade, I just have to live with this. He says if a "factory kit" is ever out he'll contact me. But until then, I just have to accept the 4 spkr standard system.

so, i'm now going to send and e-mail to BMW HQ to see why some dealers can't give upgrade quotes, while other dealers do.

[jj9876]

BMW dealer now saying to me, the F10 is too new for a dealer upgrade to the sound system to a factory-fit spec. Dealer suggesting I go for an 'aftermarket system as BMW do not support an upgrade kit for your vehicle'. 'Aftermarket' meaning I go to an independent audio specialist and get a non-BMW specific system upgrade.

[DuneMan]

jj,

I was at the dealer again today waiting for my turn to check something, and started chatting with one guy that works behind the parts counter. I told him about my disappointing 4 sound system...

he couldn’t' believe that I didn't have subwoofers under th seat... so we walked out to the car, and he started feeling under the seat and he found them. They're very hard to find... they're actually under the floor level... you can't see them, but you can feel them.

check under the passenger seat (too many wires under driver seat) by sticking your hand exactly under the middle of the seat, and you will feel a screen on the floor. If you push down at that screen you will notice that it flexes like a speaker. Also, you can play a song with some good base and you will hear it and feel it under the seat.

So, there's our 5th & 6th speakers...

be careful with aftermarket upgrades they can make you lose your warranty.

[jj9876]

So that means the centre 'speaker' in the dashboard has no speaker in the basic sound system.

Does the aftermarket sound system upgrade void the entire car warranty or just that part of the warranty on the sound system?

[DuneMan]

Originally Posted by jj9876

So that means the centre 'speaker' in the dashboard has no speaker in the basic sound system.

what i know is that the center speaker is to support the navigation system. not sure if it also supports the sound system.

Originally Posted by jj9876

Does the aftermarket sound system upgrade void the entire car warranty or just that part of the warranty on the sound system?

not sure if partial void or full void.

[gorban]

Originally Posted by DuneMan

what i know is that the center speaker is to support the navigation system. not sure if it also supports the sound system.

I have HiFi Professional and the center speaker is active when playing music.

[karmakal]

I have Hifi professional (logic 7 with Dirac) and I think it's fantastic.
Well worth the 730 pounds imo.

[jj9876]

Looks like HiFi Professional is the one to go for.

The Basic System has 4 channels by 25 Watts, meaning 100 Watts in total.
As there are 6 speakers (and only 4 channels), some speakers will be sharing 25 Watts. There are four mid-range speakers and two sub-woofers. There are no tweeters.

Doesn't sound good at all in terms of the numbers or in reality.

[krell]

Originally Posted by jj9876

There are four mid-range speakers and two sub-woofers. There are no tweeters.

That's incorrect. If there are four mid-range speakers you wouldn't get much by way of high frequencies.

It would make sense to me if the standard system had one of the following:

2 subwoofers, 2 midrange speakers and 2 tweeters.

OR

2 subwoofers and 4 full range speakers.

Full range speakers handle both midrange and high frequencies

[jj9876]

Hard to believe, very sad, but true - no tweeters.
See the attached PDF document from BMW regarding the basic system.

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by DNA_42

My standard system is just superb. However, I am sure the type of music one listens to is crucial here. I cannot stand thumping bass, though do appreciate a good solid, tight bass in rock music and I do get that from my car.

However, I mostly listen to classical music and here my system is just sublime. Easily the best I've ever had in a car, a joy. My previous car, a Merc, was awful.

The answer is to try to listen to your own music in the car before you buy. My dealer did not have a Logic 7 available in the F10, but I did hear it in a 3 series. It sounded harsh and not worth the upgrade, so I didn't spend the extra £700-odd.

Later I wished I had, then when the car came I was so relieved because for me the standard system is wicked!


Hope this helps.
DNA

That's suprising because I think the standard system is totally, totally crap. Woeful even, for a £40,000 car. I've tried out various combinations of E90s and F10s with standard (easily spotted by the lack of door tweeters) audio and upgraded audio. The standard system is 4x25W, not enough power to drive the subwoofers, no tweeters, cheap components and distorts at even moderate volume levels. If I had a bedside clock radio that sounded like BMW standard audio, I'd throw it in the bin and go back to a wind-up alarm clock. It's crap.

[krell]

Originally Posted by jj9876

Hard to believe, very sad, but true - no tweeters.
See the attached PDF document from BMW regarding the basic system.

It's a small point, but BMW are using the wrong terminology.

By definition, a midrange speaker cannot handle high frequencies so if they were indeed midrange speakers you would get a very muted sound with very little treble or high frequencies.

They are actually full range speakers that can handle frequencies across most of the audible range - except low bass. Lots of cars have them - and some have a tweeter built into the centre of the speaker to simplify installation. I haven't seen the actual speaker to see what type they use.