08-13-2022, 08:55 PM | #23 | ||
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Yes and no. Back when I bought my wife's 2017 X5 I did research on the HK BMW puts in their fleet including (took a bit of a deep dive) the specs of the speakers. I'm pretty sure nothing has changed outside of the fact the HK in my wife's X5 has a 600W amp and now forever what reason (cost savings?) the current HK is a 464W amp (aka booster) whether base on the 8 series or an upgrade on a lower series. Then comes the absolute empirical data of having owned a pair of B&W 801s (equal cost to a decently optioned 1 series) that the B&W audio system speaker wise is built on for BMW's offering. Is it a true comparison? Not really as the 801s had 10" drivers for bass and 6" drivers for midrange. However, the material is the same including the Diamond tweeters which are a 100% match. Add in 30+ years of audio experience including 10+ years of mixing sound for when my band played live (we had 100K of equipment we used vs the venue's provided gear), mixing sound in studios for my bands EPs, live recordings, etc. plus other bands by request (keeps down the cost from the label). Along with 20 plus years of cultivating a home audio experience which is one of my two passions equal to others on the forum's passion for cars. To me music is life and my world is built on that. Hence, it took me all of 30 minutes in a 2019 M850i with HK and a 2019 M850i with B&W to declare a no-brainer winner regardless of cost. For others sitting on the fence and leasing I always provided guidance that the esthetics of the B&W is worth the marginal cost add. Quote:
Depending on the source/mix of the song/album regardless of the compression some tracks just flat out amaze me. An example is Accept's "Balls to the Wall". When it hits on Ozzy's Boneyard regardless of other's complaints regarding B&W bass I can feel it in my chest. My mileage may vary from others but my dialed in B&W config is an absolute delivery of smiles worth every penny for the option. |
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08-13-2022, 09:03 PM | #24 |
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I have the B & W in my car. For some reason my Android Auto connection sounds the best of any source. No matter which one I use.
If I play the same source/material through Android Auto into the car it sounds so much better. I don't know why. If the same source is Blue-toothed into the system it doesn't sound as good. Or played off the USB port either. This is in 3 different cars too. For some reason Android Auto makes it sound much better. Anyone else notice this? |
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08-13-2022, 09:06 PM | #25 | |
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bloozemanAZ4335.50 |
08-13-2022, 09:19 PM | #26 | |
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08-13-2022, 09:21 PM | #27 | |
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I didn't realize BMW downgraded the HK amp (booster). When did they do that? If it wasn't a redesign where they took a class AB amp and went to class D, then my suspicion is they did that to create a wider disparity between HK and B&W....
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08-13-2022, 09:33 PM | #28 | |
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08-13-2022, 09:37 PM | #29 | |
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08-13-2022, 09:53 PM | #30 | |
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That said after decades of running AB amps including mono blocks, etc. for my home audio I went to the dark side of class D about 4 years back. It is beyond glorious but not for the faint at heart as pretty equivalent to a well optioned 2 series or stripped 3 series. Music is life for me so not loosing sleep over it and paid cash (there is no financing in the high-end audio world). |
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08-13-2022, 09:53 PM | #31 |
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However, a Qualcomm S5 connection will save considerable battery on the streaming device. The question is whether there's enough bandwidth (and reliable enough 2.4Ghz connection) to also serve an AA or Carplay connection. My guess is there's not enough to handle AA/Carplay and HD audio streaming. The world needs a Wifi-LE standard (one with useable bandwidth).
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Last edited by claykin; 08-13-2022 at 10:03 PM.. |
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08-13-2022, 10:02 PM | #32 |
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I came from the cellphone world, had to deal with Qualcomm's semi monopoly and their current CTO is a personal friend (yep it's a small world as Disney likes to say). Still not buying it as I'd put my R&D elsewhere and Jim and I have a long going "agree to disagree" on that. 😜
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08-13-2022, 10:04 PM | #33 | |
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08-13-2022, 10:25 PM | #34 |
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Agreed but there are the manufacturers such as Google and others whom have long stepped away from Qualcomm's monopoly. Even my long lost brethren (some are still friends) from MMI (originally spun off from MOT, aquired by Google for the parents and then sold to Lenovo minus patents) are driving towards a non-Qualicomm world.
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08-13-2022, 10:32 PM | #35 | |
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08-13-2022, 10:39 PM | #36 |
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Lol, thanks for the confirmation. Of course logically and for all practical purposes you are correct. I could certainly live with it hidden. But just knowing that they are upside down would bother my sensibilities. I’m too weak.
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r33_RGSport13108.50 |
08-13-2022, 10:47 PM | #37 | |
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They probably aren't gonna sound right. I bet they play everything in reverse. Or burst into flames. |
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r33_RGSport13108.50 |
08-13-2022, 11:38 PM | #38 | |
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That said major manufacturers are moving away from Qualcomm's chips to drive their devices. The key being that generates more revenue for Qualcomm than the IP royalties. Case-in-point being Apple and Google. Smaller players will still leverage Snapdragon chips to power their devices but at an overall smaller market share. |
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08-13-2022, 11:57 PM | #39 | ||
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08-14-2022, 07:12 AM | #40 |
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Gents (you know who you are), I love your contributions to this forum, but could we not go down an audiophile rabbit hole yet again? Some of us are really interested in a real-world audio upgrade and no matter how often we try, these threads end up being hijacked. Maybe some of you guys could go offline; you know, get a room or something.
Thank you.
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08-14-2022, 12:42 PM | #41 |
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I’m beginning to think the quality of the HK speakers may be fine, but that the AMP and DSP might be the weak links…thoughts?
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08-14-2022, 01:02 PM | #42 | |
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I'd bet the bigger amp would help |
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08-14-2022, 02:58 PM | #43 |
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The HK does have the subs.
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08-14-2022, 03:26 PM | #44 |
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