[indus]

Hi

Speccing my new car over the weekend. Pro HiFi is a £700 option with Business hifi about £375.

I'm actually heavily into music and hifi and have an expensive set up at home. As a result I don't actually believe you can true hifi in a car anyway.

Is the standard set up poor? What's the difference between business and standard?

Thanks

[FrequentFlyer]

Hi, I have posted in another thread on my impressions on Business HiFi having just taken delivery. I am going back to the dealer tomorrow to do a comparison with a standard car just to make sure that there is not a problem - it really is that poor.

If my car is genuinely designed to sound the way it does then I will suggest you either get pro hi fi or save your money and stick with the standard system. A shame as I had the Business Hi Fi option on my E60 and it was very very good.

[DNA_42]

After I had ordered the car I really regretted not getting the Logic 7 setup but WOW - my standard stereo is amazing. Now I listen to mainly classical and the clarity and presence is the best I've ever heard in a car. I have had the car about a month and I still get a smile on my face when I hear solo violin or a solo voice, quite brilliant sound.

If I liked hip-hop it could be a different story. I don't.

I do listen to pop and rock too and I also think that Dave Grohl screaming at me that he's "..got another confession to make..." is also breathtaking.

Logic 7 may be even better, but, in the words of a certain Ms Tate, I'm not bothered.

DNA

[indus]

Thanks FF, I think I read your thread, weren't you getting lots of vibration/distortion?

DNA, thanks. I do listen to dance type music, but 90% of the time am listening to news/talk radio type stuff in the car

[indus]

Actually FF found your post elsewhere about the lack of bass.

[DNA_42]

You will not hear the difference, I suspect, if you are listening to news and talk, but with dance music you may find the basic system lacking... go listen with your own music, that's the only answer... £700 buys a lot of new music!

[FrequentFlyer]

Originally Posted by FrequentFlyer

I am going back to the dealer tomorrow to do a comparison with a standard car just to make sure that there is not a problem - it really is that poor.

Well I have just got back from a side by side comparison with a standard system and I don't think that there is anything wrong with mine but in all honesty there is minimal difference between the Business Hi Fi and standard set up.

I have a Naim system at home, like some others here, so have a good idea of what I am listening out for. The centre speaker in the dashboard of the Business Hi Fi system upsets the soundstage and is very 'nasal' in tone. I thought this speaker would only be used when watching DVDs for surround sound but it is permanently on and there is no way to control it. The bass is under-damped and lacks timing. By setting the fader towards the rear I can reduce the nasty effects of the centre dash speaker a little, but can't really balance the system. Unlike Pro-Hi Fi there are no controls for EQ or Surround, just Bass and Treble as on the standard audio.

The standard system is as some have pointed out is very good indeed and, to my ears at least, preferable to the Business Hi Fi due to better timing, soundstage and bass/mid integration. This was not the case on the E60 but the same logic doesn't carry over to the F10. If I had known this I would have spent the £400 on DAB or spent an extra £300 for the Pro Hi Fi.

[indus]

Thanks FF.

I am however getting a little confused. Is the main advantage of the Pro that it also gives some sort of surround effect for those watching movies in the back? Or does it actually improve the music quality for those sitting at the front?

I've sat in two F10's now and both had the standard set up. On both the sound seemed really unbalanced in the sense that all the sound seemed to be coming from my side ie the drivers side. It was not even remotely stereo in nature, all the sound was from my right ear. I'm not sure if this can be adjusted out?

I don't seem to have this problem in my E60 M5 which I think has the old Logic 7 system.

Thanks again

[krell]

I've also got a high end hifi system at home, but opted for the standard setup in the car because I knew I would not be able to enjoy the pro system to its fullest because I'd get complaints from my wife and kids when I crank up the volume :-(

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the standard system. It was much better than I was expecting. It's not perfect, of course. The bass can be somewhat detatched from the rest of the music, and it's not well damped (i.e. it lacks "rhythm"). This is noticable on upbeat music. You need to turn the bass down to improve this area. The midrange and treble is plenty good enough though.

I have a question though. I have a speaker on center of the dashboard - but it seems from some comments you only get this with business hifi. Is this correct? I remember driving an F10 with the standard hifi and it had a recess in the dash where the speaker is in my F11. I thought maybe it's because I have an F11?

[FrequentFlyer]

Indus - I can't really comment on the Pro set up as I haven't heard it. Your M5 will have Business Hi Fi as standard unless it was optioned with Logic 7. Best way to tell without firing up i-drive is whether there are speakers in the rear door - only Pro Hi Fi has them.

I would expect the main advantages for Pro audio in the F10 to be in the quality of the bass due to the extra power of the amplifier and better imaging for passengers sat in the back due to the door mounted speakers (these, plus the Digital Signal Processing and slightly better built speakers, are the differences over and above the Business set up). I had Pro Hi Fi in my M5 and X3 but the DSP surround modes were nothing more than a gimmick for me and I switched them off.

Krell - the centre speaker grill is a dummy one unless you have business or pro hi fi.

[Breach]

It's hard to comment without knowing the actual figures that come into play here - signal to noise ratio (SNR), dac quality, amplifier quality, total harmonic distortions (THD), etc etc. Otherwise we're just comparing punch power and number of speakers ;-)

[Bond5M5]

Does anyone know where exactly are located 6 speakers for the standard system?

[HouseofPang]

I think Tweeter/mid on driver and passenger, Tweeter/mid on back doors, and 2 subs under the driver seats?

[DuneMan]

I have the standard and all I see is 5:

(2 in front doors + 2 in rear dash + 1 on Center front dash)