[iconoclast]

Mine is nearly identical except dead center is up one or two notches and the ones on the left and right of center are up one more than where you have it. The general setting you posted and mine is optimal for my taste and music. I found this variation of the disco smile seems to be the most versatile for most music types. Source and quality play a major role as well.

[MPower10s]

Do the 3D speakers in the headliner only work if you have the sound profile set to a 3D profile?

[lcd123]

This is related to the BW sound system...in my x7m60 after OTA update recently and a detailing of the car, some of the front speakers are not working. particularly the tweeters in the headliner and part of the middle dash speakers. I have tried rebooting iDrive 8, and adjusting the sound settings (yes, including fade), but it is not like before. Seems like most music is coming out of the rear speakers and I have to pump up the volume to get it to sound better. Any ideas what the issue may be? Thanks in advance.

[mencio]

Thanks for posting this!.

Still awaiting my '24 X5 with BW and can't wait to test it out and fine tune using this guide. Good thing is that I stick to pretty much the same genre of music so once tuned, I won't need to fiddle with it much.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by lcd123

This is related to the BW sound system...in my x7m60 after OTA update recently and a detailing of the car, some of the front speakers are not working. particularly the tweeters in the headliner and part of the middle dash speakers. I have tried rebooting iDrive 8, and adjusting the sound settings (yes, including fade), but it is not like before. Seems like most music is coming out of the rear speakers and I have to pump up the volume to get it to sound better. Any ideas what the issue may be? Thanks in advance.

Short of a iDrive reboot that is about all you can do. I am concerned that the update could have caused this and may be time for a trip to the service center. It’s hard to believe it is a coincidence since it was working fine before the update.

Did you notice after the update your eq was changed?

[lcd123]

Thanks for the reply. I don't think the EQ changed. I just noticed a change in the quality of the audio, much flatter and coming more from the rear. I will schedule a service call.

[Mandingo9]

NGT2 look at first post

[BrntRubber]

Does anyone know if the B&W system in the 2023 X7 is the same as the B&W system in the F90 M5?

I am excited to take delivery of my X7. In my M5 the B&W was lacking the low end.

[Influence]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

If your a audiophile, you tend to expose your ears to better audio systems and over time will be in a better position to naturally hear what is wrong with the eq.
Here is where it gets tricky. The older you get and/or the lifestyle you have exposed your ears to, you get certain frequencies you dont hear as well as a fresh set of ears. Its a fact of life but without regular hearing test, its a sliding scale as to where your ears are at. Dont sweat the small stuff with getting too hyper critical of eq calibration. This is for your enjoyment. Even with being very carful of my ears and regular hearing test, I have learned to compensate for my frequency losses. Its like adjusting your eyes to a new eyeglass RX. This is when you listen to enough clients description over the years of what they want their final mix to sound like. Accurate is never one of them. I get "It needs to be more punchy" to "It has to hit like a hammer but soar high". I have to now interpret this on a parametric eq.

Are you willing to share your age and what frequency ranges your hearing has decreased? I only ask this as based upon your settings, you have added a lot of treble boost. From my experience, the last thing most B+W speakers need is additional energy in the upper midrange and treble. I actually consider most B+W designs to be voiced on the more “forward” or “bright” end of the spectrum, even the latest 800 series. There is something about those diamond tweeters that I just can’t engage with musically. That have a “hardness” to them that I don’t like. I am particularly sensitive in the presence region (1-5kHz) so that may have something to do with it though.

I will admit that I have not had the chance to spend any significant time with the X7’s B+W system, so is it very weak in the treble?

I personally run Sonus faber Olympicas in my main system for reference, powered by Purifi-based amps. I typically prefer more of a classic “Harman” curve for my final EQ balance as well.

[JJacksonIII]

Originally Posted by Influence

Are you willing to share your age and what frequency ranges your hearing has decreased? I only ask this as based upon your settings, you have added a lot of treble boost. From my experience, the last thing most B+W speakers need is additional energy in the upper midrange and treble. I actually consider most B+W designs to be voiced on the more “forward” or “bright” end of the spectrum, even the latest 800 series. There is something about those diamond tweeters that I just can’t engage with musically. That have a “hardness” to them that I don’t like. I am particularly sensitive in the presence region (1-5kHz) so that may have something to do with it though.

I will admit that I have not had the chance to spend any significant time with the X7’s B+W system, so is it very weak in the treble?

I personally run Sonus faber Olympicas in my main system for reference, powered by Purifi-based amps. I typically prefer more of a classic “Harman” curve for my final EQ balance as well.

I love that you and Mystro brought up age and ability to hear higher frequencies. I am not an audiophile and don't know much about tuning audio systems, but I have noticed that I hear too much treble in most high-end audio systems. I have the Harmon Kardon system and have to be careful not to set the higher frequencies too high or I am just constantly hearing only all the pings and bright notes. I need my music to be much warmer, so I slide the treble bar down a bit. Anyway, it's so worth discussing because different people do have different hearing ability, and we all lose our ability to hear higher pitches as we age.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Influence

Are you willing to share your age and what frequency ranges your hearing has decreased? I only ask this as based upon your settings, you have added a lot of treble boost. From my experience, the last thing most B+W speakers need is additional energy in the upper midrange and treble. I actually consider most B+W designs to be voiced on the more “forward” or “bright” end of the spectrum, even the latest 800 series. There is something about those diamond tweeters that I just can’t engage with musically. That have a “hardness” to them that I don’t like. I am particularly sensitive in the presence region (1-5kHz) so that may have something to do with it though.

I will admit that I have not had the chance to spend any significant time with the X7’s B+W system, so is it very weak in the treble?

I personally run Sonus faber Olympicas in my main system for reference, powered by Purifi-based amps. I typically prefer more of a classic “Harman” curve for my final EQ balance as well.

I like the way you are thinking here… I am a novice car audio tuner at best (I recently upgraded, installed and personally tuned the HK system in my F80 M3). When doing my research and tuning, I learned that I also prefer the Harmon curve as well. The pic below is the frequency response for one of my early tunes in my M3.

For those that are curious, the frequency response curve is superimposed over the Harmon curve - which is what I was tuning for. The Harmon curve, which is very common in factory car audio tuning, has the higher frequencies taper off at the high end. Now, whenever I get into a different car that has an equalizer, I adjust it to mimic the Harmon curve (including my X7 which came with the HK system).

I recently had the opportunity to test drive an iX M60 with the B&W system. While I did not get too much time to play with it, after listening to it for a bit, I adjusted the equalizer to the basic Harmon curve shape and it instantly sounded better to me…

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

B&W audio adjustments of what most people like:


Set the treble and bass sliders to neutral. Then go into the eq and adjust the audio with just the multi band eq. Use a high bit audio track you really know that has high hats and kick drum with lots of the entire frequency. A movie score, good jazz or even country works well. Dont use thrasher rock, pop, or any XM radio. Too much compression. The car should be turned off, windows up and sunshade closed. Volume needs to be at 50%.

Start your multi-band eq adjustment with a "smiley face" across the eq without the mids being cut. When you get close to the tone you like. Use the macro bass and treble sliders to accentuate the eq settings.
At this point preview the surround settings/room sizes. (Concert, Studio, Theater, etc..)

Now if you do this correct, the bass should still be warm at a volume of 25% but not too thumpy at a volume of 75%.


I have a degree in acoustic and audio engineering. Trust me, the B&W will blow you away providing it is calibrated. This is the down fall of these advanced audio systems as they offer the customer too much control in messing up the frequency response. When visiting my dealer, the manager asks me to calibrate every B&W car in the showroom if I have the time. Takes me 30 seconds per car. I did this for them a few years ago and they were shocked how good the system sounds but there is no protocol in setting them up and the manual sucks. The average customer is lost and might take them months before they even start tinkering with the tone. There is [...]

Wow as this thread just got added to another 8-series posting regarding lack luster B&W audio. The wow is in regards to not seeing the pics of this post as after my input I was back on the 8-series.

The key being is coming from my background (learning from the best in recording studios across the country) my initial go to choice was the "studio" profile as I figured it would limit some of the DSP colorization of the source material. Somewhat true but the "concert" setting after months of testing is the clear winner at least in an 8-series coupe for opening up the soundstage (requires 40 plus volume) to pure audiophile satisfaction. 👍

[cmarco]

Appreciate all the comments and suggestions of how to make the $3,500 sound system upgrade sound good. One would think that either BMW or B&W would care enough about their brands to make these adjustments prior to selling the vehicle. I'm sure many frustrated BMW customers are not running out to buy B&W for their homes.

[keg97]

Originally Posted by cmarco

Appreciate all the comments and suggestions of how to make the $3,500 sound system upgrade sound good. One would think that either BMW or B&W would care enough about their brands to make these adjustments prior to selling the vehicle. I'm sure many frustrated BMW customers are not running out to buy B&W for their homes.

I understand where you're coming from but that's not how things are done in the audio world. Different vendors have different reputations for how they reproduce sound, but coming "pretuned" is not realistic. Even the listeners on this forum have different needs/desires. Some of us added in a specific subwoofer while most are happy with the stock H&K or B&W subs.

[Brendon]

Originally Posted by keg97

I understand where you're coming from but that's not how things are done in the audio world. Different vendors have different reputations for how they reproduce sound, but coming "pretuned" is not realistic. Even the listeners on this forum have different needs/desires. Some of us added in a specific subwoofer while most are happy with the stock H&K or B&W subs.

Sounds like you added in a sub? Curious what your setup is? Been considering the same for my B&W.

[keg97]

Originally Posted by Brendon

Sounds like you added in a sub? Curious what your setup is? Been considering the same for my B&W.

Sure did. Wish I could share more but I dropped it off a local guy/shop who has dropped subs into my Audi Q7 with the B&O system and my kid's Infiniti.

It's just a simple powered 10 inch that sits in the spare tire well. I can easily pull it out if necessary but it's also not noticeable. He didn't fuss about the install like he did with my Audi so I'm thinking the install was super easy.

[tkelley86]

Originally Posted by Brendon

Sounds like you added in a sub? Curious what your setup is? Been considering the same for my B&W.

I put this in my e-class and it's epic. Took the stock HK system to another universe. Even now I only have the gain set to like 30% and its more than enough for me. For context, I'm pretty bass hungry and mostly listen to hip hop. I'm also coming from a $6400 burmester 3d optioned s class which was bananas.

JBL Basspro Hub - 11" powered subwoofer system, Black https://a.co/d/8CRQ2iB

[BMW5and7]

I know this is not relevant here, BUT.... I have the B&W in the X7 and Harman Kardon in the X5.

Does anyone feel/agree just like me that the HK is as good as the B&W.... The HK sounds different, but not inferior at all.... I am not biased, again, I have both but that's how I feel!

[1230vani]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

I cant take a pic right now. The mid level shouldn't be pulled down any lower than 0db (the slider sits in the very middle of the adjustment range.) That mid level positions makes up the lowest part of the smiley face. Gradually work each fader up consecutively making a "smiley face" with the adjustment sliders.

Thanks again for these instructions!! B&W in the LCI woke up after few weeks of driving the car, now after three months I used your EQ settings and the system is even better. With regards to the bass, can assure folks there is plenty of it also.

[dcoopdeville]

I just want to add that like any high end speakers you have to break them in. High end studio monitors usually take 12 to 24 hours of music of noise (pink, white, brown) to get them moving. You def need some low bass tones to get the woofer moving. Loud volumes from time to time help as well but since most of us who own an x7 don't ride around blasting music every time we jump in, it takes a bit longer to break in. I would say an average of a few months worth of driving unless you make it a point to play music heavily.

[xivex]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing.