[tree]

I am considering a new f10 and wondering how much better the B&O sound is over the HK.
I have owned several BMW's with HK sound and a MB E class with HK sound. I think the HK system is just OK. Certainly not audiophile quality. I had an e39. M5 once with the "M" audio system, and I thought that was pretty good. I know aftermarket is an option, but probably wouldn't do it because I wouldn't want to tear apart the car to get it done. Too much risk of rattles, and electronic gremlins in such a complicated car.

I would appreciate hearing from some of you who have the B&O option and what you think of it.
Thanks.

[Boulder Bill]

Hi Tree,

I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I have had some pretty nice sound systems/upgrades in cars over the years.

The B&O in my F10 is quite simply the finest audio system I have ever heard. The clarity and quality of the listening experience is unrivaled.

My suggestion would be to find one on a dealer's lot and check it out for yourself. BMW is certainly proud of it when it comes to pricing. But I think it is worth it.

Good luck!

[pillpusher84]

OMG ... this system is absolutely worth the extra scratch ... It blows away the stock or HK system! The system has such a clear, crisp sound at any level, and you will learn to love your music all over again, as you hear sounds in songs that you have never heard before!

I ordered this on my 14 550xi which I take delivery of at the end of the month ... get it you will not regret it.

[SonicEndeavor]

Make sure you audition that B&O system before spending that kind of money. It gets mixed reviews.

[Sjoerd]

I love it. It's a sh*tload of cash but worth every penny/dime/cent

[tree]

I sure appreciate all the replies. Thanks. This is a great forum.

[RKtect]

Originally Posted by SonicEndeavor

Make sure you audition that B&O system before spending that kind of money. It gets mixed reviews.

Since you use & appreciate flac encoded high bitrate music, I am interested in your opinion of the B&O system.

[Bmwlvr60]

I think the BMW B&O sound system is one of the finest from the factory music systems on the planet.

However, at $3700 it's not worth it to me. I think the H-K sound system is very good and meets my listening needs.

[dempsy444]

Originally Posted by RKtect

Since you use & appreciate flac encoded high bitrate music, I am interested in your opinion of the B&O system.

A bit late to the conversation but thought I'd add my two cents for the library thread. I just ordered the 535D with B&O. B&O makes the speakers not the head end. The head end is BMW's responsibility. I give the speakers very high marks and can say they play really crisp and rich audio. By far the best speaker system I've heard in a car I've owned.

The drawbacks really reside on BMW's end. For US/Canadian models, BMW doesn't support FLAC on the car's hard drive and they don't support DTS audio either. This means that you can't store flac files or copy CD files uncompressed to the hard drive. Everything you store gets compressed and sounds inferior through the B&O speakers. It also means you can't take advantage of a 5.1 recorded music album in the disc drive which would really show off the speakers. BMW has never been an impressive company when it comes to integrating audio into their vehicles and they continue to demonstrate this.

However, if you get a CD with a really good recording mix like Dire Straights Brother in Arms or the Eagles Hell Freezes Over you will get the a great sense for the system.

You can also hook up an external FLAC player in the AUX which sounds pretty good but CD is the best.

[SonicEndeavor]

Originally Posted by dempsy444

The drawbacks really reside on BMW's end. For US/Canadian models, BMW doesn't support FLAC on the car's hard drive and they don't support DTS audio either. This means that you can't store flac files or copy CD files uncompressed to the hard drive. You can also hook up an external FLAC player in the AUX which sounds pretty good but CD is the best.

In the newer models with NBT (2013 and later) BMW does support flac (up to 24/192 in my testing) and also supports dts 5.1 audio.
These flac files will play from a USB drive or you can copy the USB contents to the iDrive hard drive and they play just the same.

[dempsy444]

Originally Posted by SonicEndeavor

In the newer models with NBT (2013 and later) BMW does support flac (up to 24/192 in my testing) and also supports dts 5.1 audio.
These flac files will play from a USB drive or you can copy the USB contents to the iDrive hard drive and they play just the same.

really? I ordered a 2016 5 series and BMW has been insistent that it won't support FLAC or DTS. I noticed a fall off in clarity when I copied my CD to the iDrive. Are you saying that that is unique to copying a CD. If I try to copy from USB it will transfer uncompressed?

It's strange that BMW says just the opposite, even from multiple people at their genius bar. They even conceded it's a frequent complaint they get.

[SonicEndeavor]

Originally Posted by dempsy444

really? I ordered a 2016 5 series and BMW has been insistent that it won't support FLAC or DTS. I noticed a fall off in clarity when I copied my CD to the iDrive. Are you saying that that is unique to copying a CD. If I try to copy from USB it will transfer uncompressed?

It's strange that BMW says just the opposite, even from multiple people at their genius bar. They even conceded it's a frequent complaint they get.

I play flac files almost every day in mine (HK system) so unless the B&O system has less functionality than the HK, it should play flac files and use the tags and album art without issue. dts 5.1 audio from flac files and wma lossless plays as well.
Yes, copying from USB to the iDrive music collection on the hard drive is a straight copy - no conversion or re-encoding is done. When iDrive rips from a CD it converts to 128k wma, so pretty low quality.

[dempsy444]

Originally Posted by SonicEndeavor

I play flac files almost every day in mine (HK system) so unless the B&O system has less functionality than the HK, it should play flac files and use the tags and album art without issue. dts 5.1 audio from flac files and wma lossless plays as well.
Yes, copying from USB to the iDrive music collection on the hard drive is a straight copy - no conversion or re-encoding is done. When iDrive rips from a CD it converts to 128k wma, so pretty low quality.

Ah. Thanks, SonicEndeavor. great info. I'll give this a shot.