0700700

if i were bmw i would only ever bother talking to meridian / krell or theta


no linn crap please

big_ipaq

I have a slightly OT question.

Near the central speaker on the dash, near the windshield, there's something that resembles a button, but it is solid. What's that?

subterFUSE

While those are excellent home audio brands, 12 Volt audio is a totally different game.... and very few companies are able to do both home and car well.



Dynaudio is one company which does do both, and does them well. Dynaudio car speakers are among the best you can put in a car. I had them in my Lexus before I got the E60.... but that stereo system was nearly $20,000, and took months to install. The Dynaudio speakers alone were $1000 per pair, and I had 2 sets. Seeing how most people on this board are BMW enthusiasts, yet balk at the prices of the Premium Sound Package.... I don't see why BMW would benefit from using true high-end audio equipment in their cars.

Personally, I would pay the extra cost of installing high-end audio from the factory.... but most of you would not.... and most people who are not on this forum would not.


Bottom line.... most people don't know enough about music, or care enough about it, to be able to appreciate a high quality stereo. BMW knows this. Harmon Kardon knows this. So they don't hurt their profit by installing gear which, for most buyers, is overkill.

BMW uses Harmon Kardon because of the brand name recognition. Harmon Kardon makes garbage, and anyone who is an audiophile knows this to be true. I mean.... compare Harmon to Krell? No contest. But how many people have heard of Krell? Not many. Krell is a niche player.... not a huge recognized brand. Someone mentioned B&W loudspeakers. I love B&W. I have been using their speakers in my home for nearly 15 years. They are excellent quality, and also reasonably priced. But most people have not heard of them, either. Many more people have heard of Harmon Kardon, or Bose.... and they associate these names with quality.... although this is misguided. But that doesn't matter... people want to buy what they know. They want to buy something so they can brag to their friends, and their friends all say... "ohhhhhh nice".

It like this.... try telling your co-workers that your new BMW has Dynaudio speakers in it. They'll say... oh... never heard of them before. Tell them you've got Bose, or Harmon Kardon.... and they'll say "Nice." It's an image thing. Bose and Harmon Kardon have both used marketing to create successful brand images.... which don't necessarily reflect the truth about their quality. But quality is not important to most people. Only the true enthusiasts know the difference.



If I was not so worried about messing with the iDrive, I would have changed out my E60 stereo long ago. I know many people here have successfully made changes, but I still feel nervous. But if I did change out my stereo, I would probably do it like my old Acura Legend Coupe. In that system, I used compression horns instead of midrange/tweeters. Best sounding car stereo I ever had. For those that don't know, compression horns install under the dash. They replace midrange and tweeters, sound incredible, and are very efficient. They do not require a huge amount of power, although they can handle a ton of it. Here are some pics of the install in my Acura. The car was white, and I had the horn bodies painted to match the car.


This is the driver side horn, before we installed the trim panel.



This is the same horn, with the trim installed.


This is the passenger side horn, with trim.


This is the passenger door, with an 8 inch woofer installed. This served as midbass. There were also three 10 inch subwoofers in the trunk.


This is the passenger side, with the horn installed, and the door panel is on, hiding the 8 inch woofer.




I ran 4 separate amplifiers in that system. All Precision Power ArtSeries.

A600.2 600 watts x 1 running three JL Audio 10W6 subwoofers
A300.2 75 watts x 2 running the two 8 inch Image Dynamics woofers. These were running stereo, not bridged mono. This was done for quality.
A200.2 I had two A200.2 amps, which are technically 200 watt amps, at 4 ohms. However, I ran each horn with it's own A200 amp, so the load was only 8 ohms. Therefore, each horn was getting 100 watts. This was VERY clean power, though... since the amps were in 8 ohm. Lots of headroom.

The sound quality on that system was unreal. The horns are known for their excellent imaging. One of the advantages of horns is that they are installed under the dash, rather than in the doors. This brings the driver and passenger more into the "sweet spot", since the distance from the driver's ears to the lower dash is more equal than it is to the doors. Additionally, horns provide a single point source for midrage and highs... which prevents phasing problems that can occur from separate midrange/tweeter placements. Listening in that car was like having the performance right on the hood of the car.

EBMCS03

Light sensor for the Automatic climate control system. Detect how much sunlight there is. And yes I'm serious.

Veight

I guess I will have to part with an additional $1,800 and get the Illogic 7. I still have a pioneer 8 track in the crawl space of my basement and I have about 40 8 track tapes. I wonder when I get my new 550 if I should bolt that 8 track next to the 6 CD changer in the glove box. I will stop by me dealer today to listen to the base radio .

turnbowm

The wife and I were VERY disappointed with the Mark Levinson systems in the LS430 and the new GS300. The sound was lifeless and sterile! The Nakamichi system in her ES300 actually sounded better. I couldn't be happier, since she's no longer talking about getting a new Lexus.

FWIW, I have the Logic 7 system in my 530i and I'm actually quite pleased with the sound. IMHO, one of the better OEM systems!

SKK

Yup B&W speakers are excellent. My home theatre is comprised of 803D's upfront with the matching centre all powered by a big power amp. L7 sounds good but the sound from the home theatre is incredible (even the bass which is supplied courtesy of a Velodyne DD15).

subterFUSE

I had a pair of B&W Matrix 805 speaker for a long time.

About 3 years ago, I got myself a home theater setup with B&W CDM-NT series speakers. 2 mains, 1 center, 2 rears, and the matching sub. Running those with a Rotel power amp, 200 watts x 5 (1000 watts total) The power amp alone weighs about 80 pounds.
The Preamp processor is also Rotel.

SKK

That isnt a 1095 by any chance ? Had one of those - good power amp !!

subterFUSE

Yes... RMB-1095 power amp.

It's a beast. When I had it delivered, it was so heavy I could not get the box inside the house. I had to take the amp out of the box, outside... and luckily the amp has those wheels on the back.