09-05-2020, 11:24 AM | #45 |
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B&W is definitely the best audio system in vehicles I have personally owned, including the B&O in my previous Audi (but close). And as noted, with the qualifier "for a car." The added audio isolation in the G05 makes a high end system actually practical, and after a trial run I optioned it in both my MY20 X5s. In comparison to a TAD Reference One, not so much, but for a moving automobile, pretty nice.
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09-19-2020, 04:49 PM | #46 | |
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09-19-2020, 05:41 PM | #47 |
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I had HK in my recently sold 430d (2016 F36) Gran Coupe.
My wife has standard audio in her 730d (2018). The HK is far and away superior to the basic system. It’s night & day different. By means of reference, I find Sonos speakers to be rubbish too. I have 2x Play 3 w/Sonos Sub in a Kitchen and it’s ‘fine’. Wouldn’t have it in a living room though. Now, it was far from high-end audio I was reared so I don’t want to sound pretentious... it’s just that I was introduced to audio separates from a young age and Yamaha Amps & B&W speakers I bought in 1999 still sound far better than Sonos do. They lack Sonos’ USP of ease of use though. But we’re talking sound here. Anyway, before I’m chastised for being off-topic, I mention Sonos as many readers will have heard them. HK in the 430d leaves Sonos in the ha’penny place. If you think Sonos is the best thing since sliced bread, perhaps the bog standard audio will work for you. |
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volodp196.50 |
09-19-2020, 06:29 PM | #48 | |
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09-21-2020, 05:56 AM | #50 |
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09-22-2020, 11:29 AM | #52 |
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Still thinking about upgrading the speakers in the G05... Stuck between the Focal and BavSound options. though I have read that people really like the drop-in Eton speakers as well... I guess it's good to have choices.
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09-22-2020, 11:41 AM | #53 |
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I'll be curious if you go that route. It wasn't entirely clear to me what the total cost of a Focal system would be assuming swapping out a HK system of 16. Bavsound seemed pretty clear kit for the G05. They both seem to have very positive reviews. It likely comes down to personal preference and some sort of brand fascination as its very difficult to determine which is ultimately best but sounds like you can't go wrong with either.
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09-29-2020, 11:36 AM | #54 |
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I've been in the car about a week with the HK. The delivery settings are very flat, thankfully there are some really good sound settings that have been posted elsewhere in this site that tremendously improve the performance. I am not an audiophile, but night and day difference. While i'm sure the BW is blow your socks off, i am very happy with this system hearing things that i haven't in a long time.
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09-29-2020, 11:58 AM | #55 | |
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09-30-2020, 04:18 AM | #56 |
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I seem to be having an extraordinary difficult time in making the HK system sound good.
My preference is a variety of music, mostly rock/metal, but also classical, rap, techno,... My traditional approach is ordering the stock system and basically replacing everything, but on my last car (a Mercedes GLC), it took me so long to replace all components that it wasn't fun any more. I had to basically strip the car down to bare metal. So I though, let's order the X5 with a good factory system and settle for that. As the B&W is basically the price of a VW polo in Europe, and the HK got decent reviews here, I ordered that. Having owned the X5 for almost 2 months now, I was not totally disappointed but also now really blown away. On the stock system, it seems there is some serious sound processing going on, boosting low(ish)and mid bass at low volumes, making it sound muddy/boomy. It also lacks the really low bass frequencies. At higher volumes, bass seems to be less boosted but it still lacks the low frequencies. Also, again at low volumes, the high frequencies can use a small boost, but at higher volumes they are too much present. As this isn't linear at all, it cannot be solved by EQ settings, unless you change the EQ every time you change volume. I thought to solve this by ordering a Technic harness which allows to tap the front speaker signal in a completely reversible way, and also allows to drive the HK subwoofers from a separate amp if you so desire. I added a small Kicker subwoofer with monoblock amp and a separate amp for the HK woofers. The setting is very subtle, you wouldn't know a subwoofer is there by listening. This solves the problem of low end bass and mid bass. the bass is now clean and punchy and at low to medium volumes, the system is pretty good. Next up is the lack of midrange presence which now became really apparent. Boosting the midrange with EQ helps some, but not enough to make the system sound really high-end. This becomes much worse at high volumes, where I think the highs are boosted and the music becomes harsh. I tried to solve this with the LC2i Accubass feature, which adds bass into the mix from a certain volume, but it doesn't help much. I don't think the problem is a lack of bass, more a boost in high frequencies. This is from about 50% volume. I'm wondering if someone with more knowledge can advise me on the next steps? I'm considering replacing the tweeters with silk dome tweeters, see if that helps. Anyway, long story short, I don't think just an EQ setting can make this system sound good at all volumes. If intererested, components used: - Kicker TCompRT10 sub (4ohm) - Ground zero GZHA mini one monoblock amp 220Watts at 4ohm - Crunch GTO 2125 for the HK woofers. I can't seem to find anywhere what ohm value the stock woofers are so I'm not 100% sure this amp is the best, but it seems to work fine. - LC2i LOC (needed for handling the strong output signal of the HK amp) |
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09-30-2020, 05:33 AM | #57 |
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12-22-2020, 12:04 AM | #58 | |
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12-22-2020, 10:19 AM | #59 | ||
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Current BMWs - '20 X5 xDrive40i M Sport, '20 BMW M550i | Past BMWs - '03 E39 540iT M Sport, '06 E53 4.8is, '11 E70 M Sport LCI
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