[Hockey 29]

Does anyone know if you can upgrade the stock Harman Kardon sound system to the Bowers & Wilkins system AFTER purchasing the car. I know that sound systems are subjective, so I’m not asking for opinions.

Just wanted to know if it can be done easily through BMW Service and if anyone has done it. I know the B&W sound will be better than the HK and I do like that the B&W front speakers light up. They’re cool looking.

Just wondering if anyone knows how interchangeable the systems are with speakers, subs, and especially, re-programming the ECU with the B&W settings.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[noushy]

Originally Posted by Hockey 29

Does anyone know if you can upgrade the stock Harman Kardon sound system to the Bowers & Wilkins system AFTER purchasing the car. I know that sound systems are subjective, so I’m not asking for opinions.

Just wanted to know if it can be done easily through BMW Service and if anyone has done it. I know the B&W sound will be better than the HK and I do like that the B&W front speakers light up. They’re cool looking.

Just wondering if anyone knows how interchangeable the systems are with speakers, subs, and especially, re-programming the ECU with the B&W settings.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Probably but not cheap, every speaker assembly plus grille and led (not sure if extra wiring) plus new DSP amp and coding). That's a lot of drivers. I looked up just the center and the b&wdrivers are like $300 vs the single coax HK driver is $100. Best bet is something like this


https://www.avito.ru/moskva/zapchast...g12_1639515572

Noushy

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by noushy

Probably but not cheap, every speaker assembly plus grille and led (not sure if extra wiring) plus new DSP amp and coding). That's a lot of drivers. I looked up just the center and the b&wdrivers are like $300 vs the single coax HK driver is $100. Best bet is something like this


https://www.avito.ru/moskva/zapchast...g12_1639515572

Noushy

Yep, the coding cost will be key as the B&W ties into iDrive to run the DSP sound profile options, etc. Plus, the B&W calls out 3 separate crossovers that I'm guessing are not including in the stock H&K. Hence, additional work plus the tie-in to the EQ settings within iDrive to understand the logic. Bottom line to Noush's point its a heavy lift beyond just changing out the drivers, tweeters, amp and DSP.

All the reason once I heard the B&W with reference 24bit/192kHz FLAC files vs the H&K it was a no brainer whatsoever for the option. Understandably if you picked up a smoking deal on a 2019 with stock and looking to upgrade the H&K to B&W it may be a challenge but ultimately it can be done along with the coding requirements to tie everything needed into the iDrive control settings.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by Hockey 29

Does anyone know if you can upgrade the stock Harman Kardon sound system to the Bowers & Wilkins system AFTER purchasing the car. I know that sound systems are subjective, so I’m not asking for opinions.

Just wanted to know if it can be done easily through BMW Service and if anyone has done it. I know the B&W sound will be better than the HK and I do like that the B&W front speakers light up. They’re cool looking.

Just wondering if anyone knows how interchangeable the systems are with speakers, subs, and especially, re-programming the ECU with the B&W settings.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

It can be done. It just depends if you are ready to pay.

[Van_bimmer]

Hey there, bottom is you asked “ Just wanted to know if it can be done easily through BMW Service” I would say NO to that one, I doubt you’ll ever convince a BMW dealership to manipulate the stock equipment , especially when it comes to electronics that even they don’t really understand.
Have you looked up the cost of the parts alone, all 16 speakers and amp? That’s gotta be $5000+ I would think? Dealership would probably want 3-4 days in labour with programming, can’t imagine what labor alone would be at an average of $120-165/hr ? All the wiring looms are likely different, that’s usually the deal breaker anyways, the entire interior will need to be torn apart. Your gonna be At least 10k into this, starts to make a trade of car look a lot more plausible.
Or, find the fancy grills from somewhere and go aftermarket - replacing just the HK drivers. Good luck with whatever direction you go though, keep us updated.

[Hockey 29]

Thank you all for your insight. As soon as I read “they would have to tear the whole interior apart”, that was the deal breaker. I’m not going to have Service rip apart the car…and then try and figure out how to put it back together again. I will be buying a new 8 series soon, so I’ll make sure it has the B&W sound system.
I appreciate all your input and respect for my wallet as well as future headaches.

[noushy]

Originally Posted by Hockey 29

Thank you all for your insight. As soon as I read "they would have to tear the whole interior apart", that was the deal breaker. I'm not going to have Service rip apart the car…and then try and figure out how to put it back together again. I will be buying a new 8 series soon, so I'll make sure it has the B&W sound system.
I appreciate all your input and respect for my wallet as well as future headaches.

Honestly best move. Makes the most sense and you will be the happiest. Unless BMW specifically sold a kit with dealer instructions like they do with the CCB stay far away from that.

Noushy

[r33_RGSport]

The other option is to do BavSound speaker upgrade.
Most of my customers with BavSound has been satisfied with the improvement.
Of course it won't be as good as B&W, but it does have quite some improvement.
Even my customer that had F90 M5 HK, was impressed after the BavSound upgrade.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

The other option is to do BavSound speaker upgrade.
Most of my customers with BavSound has been satisfied with the improvement.
Of course it won't be as good as B&W, but it does have quite some improvement.
Even my customer that had F90 M5 HK, was impressed after the BavSound upgrade.

I almost added that in my reply as a friend has a 650i with BavSound upgrades and it sounds great. Sadly so far Bavsound is doing nothing for the 8-series but perhaps if there is demand they will do so. I'm guessing some of the other kits for different series may work but that will require the OP to reach out to them vs me just following their online forms for ordering which is absolutely zilch for an 8-series.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

I almost added that in my reply as a friend has a 650i with BavSound upgrades and it sounds great. Sadly so far Bavsound is doing nothing for the 8-series but perhaps if there is demand they will do so. I'm guessing some of the other kits for different series may work but that will require the OP to reach out to them vs me just following their online forms for ordering which is absolutely zilch for an 8-series.

I have done my research. All of the speakers are the same as some other later model BMW.

So, I can guarantee that it will work.

[BMW Lunatic]

I listen to house music all the time and went the bowers and Wilkins route when getting a 8 series and not gonna lie pretty disappointed.

In my m6 bang olfusen was way better .

Just my two cents .

Bowers is only a tad bit better than Harmon Kardon.

[Anonymous 2]

i have B&W, waste of money. No good sound Quality for B&W. It only adds to the interest of the vehicle interior. bang olfusen so much better.

[BMW Lunatic]

Originally Posted by Anonymous 2

i have B&W, waste of money. No good sound Quality for B&W. It only adds to the interest of the vehicle interior. bang olfusen so much better.

I knew it I wasn't the only one.

I had a smoking deal on a convertible without bowers and Wilkins option I thought it would be amazing and went with a coupe with bowers waste of money so upsetting.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by BMW Lunatic

I knew it I wasn't the only one.

I had a smoking deal on a convertible without bowers and Wilkins option I thought it would be amazing and went with a coupe with bowers waste of money so upsetting.

Obviously everyone's mileage may vary and I cannot speak to the B&O of the past models as I never auditioned it in my wife's 2017 X5 as its her daily driver vs mine. I did pay the $900 upgrade for H&K though as that was a no-brainer after auditioning it against the base stock audio.

For the M850i Coupe I did audition both the H&K and B&W using high resolution audio reference tracks loaded on a thumb drive. This was done with just base settings for both audio systems vs heavy tweaking and the B&W won hands down over the H&K. Post purchase the B&W definitely took some finesse to find the optimum configuration (EQ and DSP) for my listening needs. Once completed the soundscape is absolutely phenomenal.

My only bitch with the B&W is the inability to disengage the DSP completely as that would be my choice for my 5.1 FLAC albums. In that scenario the 3 crossovers should handle the translation as to what sound goes to which speakers given the frequency ranges involved with the .1 going to the subs under the seats. That said the Concert DSP setting does a good job but it is making decisions vs the source mix and in the process is losing some of the magic.

[BMW Lunatic]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Obviously everyone's mileage may vary and I cannot speak to the B&O of the past models as I never auditioned it in my wife's 2017 X5 as its her daily driver vs mine. I did pay the $900 upgrade for H&K though as that was a no-brainer after auditioning it against the base stock audio.

For the M850i Coupe I did audition both the H&K and B&W using high resolution audio reference tracks loaded on a thumb drive. This was done with just base settings for both audio systems vs heavy tweaking and the B&W won hands down over the H&K. Post purchase the B&W definitely took some finesse to find the optimum configuration (EQ and DSP) for my listening needs. Once completed the soundscape is absolutely phenomenal.

My only bitch with the B&W is the inability to disengage the DSP completely as that would be my choice for my 5.1 FLAC albums. In that scenario the 3 crossovers should handle the translation as to what sound goes to which speakers given the frequency ranges involved with the .1 going to the subs under the seats. That said the Concert DSP setting does a good job but it is making decisions vs the source mix and in the process is losing some of the magic.

Listen to any Bang olfusen any settings it sounds way better to bowers .

Bowers sounds way better than Harmon for sure but the delta is not huge .

Listen bang olfusen then bowers the delta is huge .

[Ozzie8]

I miss the B&O from my old 6 series, I thought it was better at lower volumes. The B+W in my 8 series is fantastic at higher volumes though. I just don't have it as high volumes for long periods. I'm not an audiophile but I wonder whether this is connected to the DNA of B&O and B+W.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by BMW Lunatic

Listen to any Bang olfusen any settings it sounds way better to bowers .

Bowers sounds way better than Harmon for sure but the delta is not huge .

Listen bang olfusen then bowers the delta is huge .

The challenge is that it is impossible to listen to a B&O in a 8-series coupe and the "listening room" makes a difference. Case-in-point even if I had bought the B&O for my wife's X5 comparing it to the B&W in the 8-series is apples and oranges considering the different cabins aka "listening rooms". The delta between H&K vs B&W in the 8-series is huge (based on my comparison of the same reference material played through both).

As stated already, once the B&W is properly configured it is flat out amazing. The key being is that the B&W has a proprietary DEQ (dynamic equalizing) via a microphone in the cabin similar to the industry standard Audyssey configuration platform found in most high-end gear. Once dialed in properly the B&W will produce accurate bass, mids and highs with zero distortion regardless of the volume. The key on the bass is at least 40% of power along with the proper EQ. Granted it took some time to find the right configuration but it is nothing but sheer amazement after doing so.

[tnutt19]

Bringing this thread back to life from the dead. When this thread was started there were not the shortages and inability like now to order B&W as an option. I imagine some have performed this by now and can share more insight.
My specific application is a 2023 F93 M8 with HK sound. I have confirmed that speakers and amplifier are able to be swapped out but the amplifier has one incremental Molex. From what I have found it sounds like this is for in cabin mics that are used for the sound adjustments of the processor. The antenna, HU and amplifier would all have to be coded but I am stuck on this last Molex with antennas. Does anyone have access to pull the electrical schematics to see what all is on that Molex and where the mics are positioned? If I can figure this part out I will likely pull the trigger on the speakers and amplifier since install would be really easy.

[tnutt19]

Other question would be if anyone has access to the wiring for the lights on the grills for B&W as well.

I am looking at the illuminated grills as a separate project but am curious how they tie into the car. In theory you could tie them in to another one of the in car lights but I am sure it would be easier to tie in the same way the factory does with the correct harnesses.

[Justao]

Nothing special about B&W in convertible… it just looks cool at night… not sure how it is in coupe/gc - I believe these have more speakers?🤷🏻*♂️

[Tenac]

Originally Posted by Justao

Nothing special about B&W in convertible… it just looks cool at night… not sure how it is in coupe/gc - I believe these have more speakers?🤷🏻*♂️

I was blown away how well it works in my convertible. How clear it is with the top down and not having to crank it to 50% to hear it is just amazing to me. Past verts forget about the OEM sound system. It is one of the few systems I've heard where I can hear the engine and the music in harmony without having to turn sound off or be a hell raiser for the exhaust. (top down). Top up its quite as shit inside.

I do however recall during my on hold time waiting for my car, the hotline said I was getting the new B&W system (have no idea if what that means) but curious if maybe they changed from earlier builds during the shortage...

[jeezz]

So since no one had a real answer to the original question, I am again bringing this thread back to life.


I did this full conversion from HK to BW, so yes it is possible.

I gathered all the parts over month from salvage cars etc.:

-7x B&W mid range speaker
-7x B&W tweeter
-2x B&W subwoofer
-1x B&W booster
-2x Front door side panel
-2x Back side panel
-1x Center console speaker cover

Speakers can be exchanged one by one, but the problem is, the H&K System uses crossover frequencys. So the tweeter is connected to the midrange speaker.

For B&W this is not how it works, it has seperate wiring from the booster in the trunk to every tweeter!

So I created a new wiring harness, and while doing so also added additional wires for the B&W lighting. Like already noted in this thread, a lot of interior has to come of for this. But that is not really a problem, you can take them all off in like 20-30 minutes.

Some maybe already wondered, why did he bought door panels.. they are cheaper then buying the B&W speaker covers from BMW and it's hard to find them as used part. So I bought some door panels that did not even match my interior and were in bad condition but I just transfered the speaker covers to my door panels. It fits 1:1

So after installing all the wires the tweeters get connected to the RAM! and the mid range + subwoofers to the B&W booster. You can keep the H&K RAM, only the booster needs to be replaced.

Also B&W booster needs new power harness 10mm² from battery with a 50A fuse.

After everything is done the RAM needs flashing, because B&W has other software, it will not work without flashing.. After that you also have to code it.

Sure it's A LOT of work and it took me some days, but I see this as a hobby and do it for fun.