[ComingInHot]

Originally Posted by thenew3

I was going to get the captains chairs. My wife looked at it during the test drive and saw that 1) it couldn't fold flat, and 2) no room between the two seats to get to 3rd row and she immediately said no to captains chairs. The utility of the vehicle when you have kids, is drastically reduced by those two things.

I looked at a few reviews online and it does seem the leg room of the bench is a little bit better than captains chairs.

My wife saw the captains chairs and said the opposite her thoughts were as the two kids age she would probably spend more time back there while the boys took turns sitting up front and she wanted comfort over utility on long trips. I don't blame her I did the same to my mom growing up while I sat upfront with my dad driving. The RES then will be used by her as well.

[MomoM3]

Originally Posted by ComingInHot

My wife saw the captains chairs and said the opposite her thoughts were as the two kids age she would probably spend more time back there while the boys took turns sitting up front and she wanted comfort over utility on long trips. I don't blame her I did the same to my mom growing up while I sat upfront with my dad driving. The RES then will be used by her as well.

Totally get all that and those are fantastic points and may have to evaluate being in status 112 and all. I have 6m, 5f, and newborn so I'm figuring I'll cram the baby in the middle of the two knuckleheads. They are luckily very self sufficient with their iPads (they only get an hour a day, 2 on weekends) and we have interestingly never given them a screen in the car. Actually, I did it once and the booger yacked everywhere so never again. Hopefully the OEM iPad mounts will work out great since that would hopefully solve the motion sickness issue. Ha.

You are making me think more but still lean towards bench. Dammit you got me to get B&W and now this? What next? Lmao

[ComingInHot]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Totally get all that and those are fantastic points and may have to evaluate being in status 112 and all. I have 6m, 5f, and newborn so I'm figuring I'll cram the baby in the middle of the two knuckleheads. They are luckily very self sufficient with their iPads (they only get an hour a day, 2 on weekends) and we have interestingly never given them a screen in the car. Actually, I did it once and the booger yacked everywhere so never again. Hopefully the OEM iPad mounts will work out great since that would hopefully solve the motion sickness issue. Ha.

You are making me think more but still lean towards bench. Dammit you got me to get B&W and now this? What next? Lmao

Haha ....I gave up and just put everything in mine >$125k MSRP after going back and forth like you are now. Give in to the dark side Luke.... rofl

[MomoM3]

Originally Posted by ComingInHot

Haha ....I gave up and just put everything in mine >$125k MSRP after going back and forth like you are now. Give in to the dark side Luke.... rofl

Too funny. Will prob stick w the bench but nice try haha.

[AldieX7]

We test drove a GMC Arcadia recently and it had a camera In the rear view mirror that you could activate it was a nice feature
Also we chose not to go with the captains seats because they do not fold flat for maximum cargo space we found that to be a big drawback.

[Heimdall]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Totally get all that and those are fantastic points and may have to evaluate being in status 112 and all. I have 6m, 5f, and newborn so I'm figuring I'll cram the baby in the middle of the two knuckleheads. They are luckily very self sufficient with their iPads (they only get an hour a day, 2 on weekends) and we have interestingly never given them a screen in the car. Actually, I did it once and the booger yacked everywhere so never again. Hopefully the OEM iPad mounts will work out great since that would hopefully solve the motion sickness issue. Ha.

You are making me think more but still lean towards bench. Dammit you got me to get B&W and now this? What next? Lmao

3kids, 3 car seats
Certainly bench seat. You'll need a trunk space for the stroller at the least. 😜

B&W if you're a big music listener and do a lot of road. Then it's worth it. Don't worry about minor issues, bmw will man up and fix those.
If you're not the type above HK is not bad at all.
I have an XC90 with B&W and an X7 with HK.

Yes sound is crisp and amazing but I'm not missing it with HK.
If B&W is 100%
HK is 80% in my evaluation

That's my 2 cents.

[ComingInHot]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Too funny. Will prob stick w the bench but nice try haha.

The force is strong with this one

[Heimdall]

Originally Posted by ComingInHot

The force is strong with this one

Only when you have 3kids and need the trunk space with 3rd row down. Otherwise if you only have two kids, either way works

[thenew3]

Originally Posted by Heimdall

Only when you have 3kids and need the trunk space with 3rd row down. Otherwise if you only have two kids, either way works

Until your kids get older and starts to have play dates or sports/activities with friends and need to carpool. Then you need all the seats you can get.

I got the X7 because my oldest and his friends and basketball teammates don't fit in my MB Ewagon anymore. With the X7 and bench seats, I can haul the oldest kid (soon to be teenager) and all his friends/teammates and their gear to/from their practices/games or the little one (5yr old) with enough car seats for all his friends to go on a playdate.

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Can you elaborate on this? First I'm hearing of it. Just added B&W to my build and you now have me worried.

IMO the B&W system in my XC90, has a much fuller sound than my X7, so initially, I was a little disappointed but got over it very quickly. The system is still very good (much better than the H&K options if you have a discerning ear), albeit pricey. I don't have any regrets.

No issues on my end with "cracking static".

[Skyrider]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

I went back and forth on them. It may have made a difference if there was more a gap between the 2nd row seats and if that plastic piece wasn't there at all. Also, I believe you technically get a bit more 2nd row legroom w the bench set up too.

Yes. You do get more legroom with the bench and a lot more flexibility. An additional passenger seat, better anchoring for child seats, and they lay flat for more cargo space.

[Skyrider]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Totally get all that and those are fantastic points and may have to evaluate being in status 112 and all. I have 6m, 5f, and newborn so I'm figuring I'll cram the baby in the middle of the two knuckleheads. They are luckily very self sufficient with their iPads (they only get an hour a day, 2 on weekends) and we have interestingly never given them a screen in the car. Actually, I did it once and the booger yacked everywhere so never again. Hopefully the OEM iPad mounts will work out great since that would hopefully solve the motion sickness issue. Ha.

You are making me think more but still lean towards bench. Dammit you got me to get B&W and now this? What next? Lmao

Don't regret getting the bench. It's definitely a lot more practical than the captains chairs. I have a loaner now with the captains chair and I definitely can't wait to get my bench back

[Skyrider]

Originally Posted by MomoM3

Can you elaborate on this? First I'm hearing of it. Just added B&W to my build and you now have me worried.

I don't have that issue with my B&W. The sound is crips and so clear it's phenomenal.

I have a loaner with HK now, and it sounds really good. Definitely not a bad option. However, I really miss the clarity and smoothness of my B&W. No distortion what so ever even in the highest volume setting. I do play lossless music on it through Tidal. If you have (or getting) the B&W, you definitely need to sign up for Tidal HiFi to get the best quality music for your B&W.

[Al Pinã]

+1 for the H&K being a phenomenal base system. Currently in a X7 while my 750 with B&W is in the shop. I was floored with how good the H&K sounds, especially the bass response. Previous vehicle was a 2016 X5 with the H&K and it sounded nowhere near as detailed and punchy. Makes me wonder just how amazing the B&W must be in this cabin.

[rgrovr]

For the price, I just don't think the B&W is head and shoulders above the HK sound system in the X7. The Bass response should be stronger and punchier imo.

[huskerdoc2020]

Originally Posted by rgrovr

For the price, I just don't think the B&W is head and shoulders above the HK sound system in the X7. The Bass response should be stronger and punchier imo.

But it sure does look a lot cooler in there.

[Skyrider]

Originally Posted by huskerdoc2020

But it sure does look a lot cooler in there.

Not only does it look cool, the tweeters are made from real diamonds; which is on if the best materials for sound production. They allow of the purity and clearness of the music. Plus it's a heck of slit more powerful than HK. I think it's around 1500watts.

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by Skyrider

Not only does it look cool, the tweeters are made from real diamonds; which is on if the best materials for sound production. They allow of the purity and clearness of the music. Plus it's a heck of slit more powerful than HK. I think it's around 1500watts.

The B&W Diamond domes are grown like crystals using chemical vapour deposition in super-heated furnaces under lab conditions, before being cut to produce the tweeter dome shape then coated with platinum for protection.

The B&W Diamond tweeters are just one component that makes B&W D speakers sonically special - the B&W Continuum Core actually plays a more massive role in speaker performance. They shifted from the Aramid fiber used in midrange cone material to composite construction which avoids abrupt transitions in verberation to provide more preferred neutral sound. There's also the Aerofoil cone, solid body tweeter, reverse wrapped cabinet and Matrix (internal structure to the speakers or backbone) - the later 3 you'll only find in their home speakers.

Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing B&W and spent years slowly acquiring B&W D3 - 803 fronts, 805 surrounds and back, HTM1 for music in my study.

Just grounding the Diamond marketing hype, these aren't like precious Cartier diamonds.