[bloozemanAZ]

Since it's a popular topic saw this in the "news" section of Bimmerpost. Good walkthrough to end up with near B&W from HK leveraging the Match DSP as doubt you can buy the upgraded RAM unit required for B&W from BMW.

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1978330

[snareman]

I skimmed through it. Did he mention what it all cost anywhere?

[yugrac]

Originally Posted by snareman

I skimmed through it. Did he mention what it all cost anywhere?

His quote:

"So overall, very happy with this mod so far. All together I'm probably in about $3000 which is a lot (add another $700 for the B&W grills)...."

I spent $3400 to have a professional high end installer put in the Match 10UP amp, 2 Match 8" 2 Ohm subs and a DSP tune. Sounds fantastic. I'll put it up against any B&W, B&O, etc. It's all about that amp and the tune. The HK drivers are fine.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by yugrac

His quote:

"So overall, very happy with this mod so far. All together I'm probably in about $3000 which is a lot (add another $700 for the B&W grills)...."

I spent $3400 to have a professional high end installer put in the Match 10UP amp, 2 Match 8" 2 Ohm subs and a DSP tune. Sounds fantastic. I'll put it up against any B&W, B&O, etc. It's all about that amp and the tune. The HK drivers are fine.

So $7,100?

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by yugrac

His quote:

"So overall, very happy with this mod so far. All together I'm probably in about $3000 which is a lot (add another $700 for the B&W grills)...."

I spent $3400 to have a professional high end installer put in the Match 10UP amp, 2 Match 8" 2 Ohm subs and a DSP tune. Sounds fantastic. I'll put it up against any B&W, B&O, etc. It's all about that amp and the tune. The HK drivers are fine.

I'll put my professionally calibrated B&W in my M850i against anything. If memory serves it was a $3400 option and amazes me to this day. To your point it's about the tune aka calibration but I'm not your average car buying pedestrian but rather I spent 10+ years as an audio engineer back in my past life in a touring rock and roll band and months in the biggest named studios.

The B&W regardless of the naysayers creates a tight and accurate bass that I feel in my chest while driving. It's not just the subs under the seat but the overall sound panorama which includes the door and center console midrange drivers.

Just was sharing as a pathway for those with HK and looking for a potential alternate path.

[yugrac]

Originally Posted by snareman

So $7,100?

No, no....he spent $3000 plus $700 for the light up speaker covers.

I spent $3400 on my 2022 vert install of amp and speakers, lol

[snareman]

Originally Posted by yugrac

No, no....he spent $3000 plus $700 for the light up speaker covers.

I spent $3400 on my 2022 vert install of amp and speakers, lol

Ah, ok, now I see.

[yugrac]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

I'll put my professionally calibrated B&W in my M850i against anything. If memory serves it was a $3400 option and amazes me to this day. To your point it's about the tune aka calibration but I'm not your average car buying pedestrian but rather I spent 10+ years as an audio engineer back in my past life in a touring rock and roll band and months in the biggest named studios.

The B&W regardless of the naysayers creates a tight and accurate bass that I feel in my chest while driving. It's not just the subs under the seat but the overall sound panorama which includes the door and center console midrange drivers.

Just was sharing as a pathway for those with HK and looking for a potential alternate path.

Well if I'm ever in AZ with my vert (doubtful) or your in SW FL with your ride, we can have a sound off! I'm sure they both sound great, and to your point, the purpose of speaking in the forum is to point people to alternatives. There are a number of BMW owners who got stuck in the chip shortage debacle. I will stand on my square and tell them that if they do the upgrade with the Match 10UP, and change the subs, they will be plenty satisfied. And while not a sound engineer, I am a mechanical engineer who has had at least 20 automobile system upgrades and 10+ home theater systems done. I have a reasonably good ear for quality sound. Certainly spent a small fortune in an attempt to achieve it anyway

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by yugrac

Well if I'm ever in AZ with my vert (doubtful) or your in SW FL with your ride, we can have a sound off! I'm sure they both sound great, and to your point, the purpose of speaking in the forum is to point people to alternatives. There are a number of BMW owners who got stuck in the chip shortage debacle. I will stand on my square and tell them that if they do the upgrade with the Match 10UP, and change the subs, they will be plenty satisfied. And while not a sound engineer, I am a mechanical engineer who has had at least 20 automobile system upgrades and 10+ home theater systems done. I have a reasonably good ear for quality sound. Certainly spent a small fortune in an attempt to achieve it anyway

Absolutely and called out the Match upgrade r33_RGSport has done at least one for a customer as the sane path as it ties into the iD7 OABR network.

Small fortune is always a lost in translation. My home audio gear is a small fortune to the tune of a well loaded 5 series. 😜. Don't tell the wife as she's clueless to that. 👍

[subterFUSE]

The stereo in my Mercedes was $100k+ and took 2 years to build.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by subterFUSE

The stereo in my Mercedes was $100k+ and took 2 years to build.

I was being generous as reality being the home audio gear is well north of $100K. However, it comes with me if I ever sell the house vs putting that into an absolutely depreciating lack of asset aka a car.

My #1 vice is horology and have a few in the collection worth more than my house (which is golden on my balance sheet). Once again the wife is clueless as we've been married for 9 years and I built a trust prior to doing so and the trust owns all true assets so no need for a pre-nup. 👍. Home audio not included as it is a rounding error lost in translation.

[Mgrae456]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

I'll put my professionally calibrated B&W in my M850i against anything. If memory serves it was a $3400 option and amazes me to this day. To your point it's about the tune aka calibration but I'm not your average car buying pedestrian but rather I spent 10+ years as an audio engineer back in my past life in a touring rock and roll band and months in the biggest named studios.

The B&W regardless of the naysayers creates a tight and accurate bass that I feel in my chest while driving. It's not just the subs under the seat but the overall sound panorama which includes the door and center console midrange drivers.

Just was sharing as a pathway for those with HK and looking for a potential alternate path.

I know at one point you posted your eq and sound settings. I copied them in my 2019 m850 convertible. I recently picked up a 2013 and can't find the settings. Any chance you would be kind enough to post them again or DM them to me. It would be much appreciated.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Mgrae456

I know at one point you posted your eq and sound settings. I copied them in my 2019 m850 convertible. I recently picked up a 2013 and can't find the settings. Any chance you would be kind enough to post them again or DM them to me. It would be much appreciated.

Actually have some further refinements plus actual settings, e.g., how many clicks up from neutral on each EQ setting as unfortunately the UI doesn't list the frequencies. Had to do that in case an OTA or dealer shenanigans wiped them out. No way I wanted to start over after 2 plus years of calibration. Will dig that up and share.

[Mgrae456]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Actually have some further refinements plus actual settings, e.g., how many clicks up from neutral on each EQ setting as unfortunately the UI doesn't list the frequencies. Had to do that in case an OTA or dealer shenanigans wiped them out. No way I wanted to start over after 2 plus years of calibration. Will dig that up and share.

I would love to get my hands on that. I really appreciate it. 🙏🏻

[Beemer5to3]

bloozemanAZ if you could share settings with me too please, thanks. And also what kind of music you’ve calibrated it for.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Beemer5to3

bloozemanAZ if you could share settings with me too please, thanks. And also what kind of music you’ve calibrated it for.

I'm eclectic with jazz, blues, r&b, classical and rock. Rock will forever be my go to but the calibration is set against jazz, classical and rock given the mixture of dynamics across the 3. Works like a champ for all genres.

That said I have memory button #4 to take me straight to the bass trim (never have to monkey with the treble trim). The key being the source SSD vs SiriusXM or just the mix of the album for a tweak (click or 2) up/down to adjust the bass. In general SiriusXM is a click 2 up and then when back on SSD (all high res 92/24 FLAC) a click 2 back down. Technically not needed but I'm an audio perfectionist.

[Beemer5to3]

bloozemanAZ yeah i listen to a lot of rock, with some heavier stuff too (Metallica, Foo Fighters etc). Don’t suppose you’ve got a photo of your EQ setup? I tend to stick to Studio as the soundstage, as I’m not a fan of any false sound, albeit to B&W does it much better than the Logic7 on the HK system!

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Beemer5to3

bloozemanAZ yeah i listen to a lot of rock, with some heavier stuff too (Metallica, Foo Fighters etc). Don’t suppose you’ve got a photo of your EQ setup? I tend to stick to Studio as the soundstage, as I’m not a fan of any false sound, albeit to B&W does it much better than the Logic7 on the HK system!

Have a lot of hard rock on the SSD (Foo Fighters, Rush, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc.) and the go to SiriusXM stations (in order) are Ozzy's Boneyard, Hair Nation and Classic Rewind.

Totally agree on the DSP aspect as my only disappointment is there is no way to defeat it whatsoever. 1st thing I did on my wife's X5 was disable Logic7 in the HK. I did an audio comparison between HK and the base system and the HK was a no brainier $600 option. They offered the B&O for $3900 but the dealer didn't have anything on the lot with it and frankly even if it was stellar wouldn't have included in the order anyway as not my DD and used that cash to option up all the non-standard safety features, add ACC (best you could get at the time) and the HUD.

One thing I miss about the outgoing Lexus was it's Mark Levinson, defeatable DSP and DVD-A support in the 6 disc changer. Just loaded it up with all DVD-A discs with 5.1 sound and it was pure bliss. Have all of those DVD-As and a boat load of SACDs all ripped into FLAC on my 2TB SSD in the M850i. Would love to hear them with the DSP defeated.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Beemer5to3

bloozemanAZ if you could share settings with me too please, thanks. And also what kind of music you’ve calibrated it for.

Here they are (had to dig them up in Evernote). The key is starting with the bass to go up 6 clicks from flat on the EQ. I dislike how BMW or B&W puts a box around the frequency so this is center mass on that box aka neutral in the frequency range. All the other settings build off of that with each setting clicks up from the bass definition of neutral vs the true flat of the EQ. In other words once the bass is set the red line drawn to the next frequency is flat when the line is completely horizontally flat and then number of clicks up. Worst EQ UI ever.

All calibration was done against the same high res tracks I use for all audio testing: new home audio components, the HK vs B&W, etc. They are selected off of some of the best studio album mixes, e.g., Steely Dan's Aja, Chris Rea's Road to Hell and Yo-Yo Ma's Haydn: Cello Concertos. Once dialed in all genres work like a champ unless just a crappy mix, e.g. Ozzy's Bark at the Moon.

I owned a pair of B&W 801s (paid $35K for the pair and sold on Audiogon for $30K) for a couple of years and the components on the 8 series are sourced from them. So it was relatively easy for me to calibrate with just the factor of the cabin size of my coupe in play. The bass trim setting is for SiriusXM but as stated before if too heavy when on my SSD just press memory #4 and slightly tweak.

The final key being the sound profile set to Concert. When first getting the car and being a purist I thought studio would be the best especially for the 5.1 sources on the SSD. Nope not even close and Studio is also DSP fabricated anyway or otherwise it would cancel out the center channel on the dash which it does not. Lastly to get the sound envelope opened you need at least 40% volume. Hence, when solo I relish in the B&W audio but when the wife's in the car then it's the BMW exhaust. 👍

[bloozemanAZ]

Keeps barfing on the attached pic so trying again.

That failed too. Must be the Bimmerpost bug that sometimes reorients a picture sideways but in this case just barfs (it's a supported JPG).

B&W Audio Settings

Base 6

100 Hz 4

200 Hz 3

500 Hz 2

1 kHz 0

2 kHz 2

5 kHz 3

10 kHz 3

Treble 0

Trim

Treble 0

Bass 6

[Mgrae456]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Keeps barfing on the attached pic so trying again.

That failed too. Must be the Bimmerpost bug that sometimes reorients a picture sideways but in this case just barfs (it's a supported JPG).

B&W Audio Settings

Base 6

100 Hz 4

200 Hz 3

500 Hz 2

1 kHz 0

2 kHz 2

5 kHz 3

10 kHz 3

Treble 0

Trim

Treble 0

Bass 6

Thanks for that. Which sound profile do you use?

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Mgrae456

Thanks for that. Which sound profile do you use?

As mentioned in the first post with the failed attachment Concert. That said I've only tried Studio and Concert with the latter being the clear winner. Didn't go past Concert once I had pure perfection dialed in. May give the others a shot for grins to see if there is any room for improvement but doubt it as every layer added to the DSP complicates the calibration.