Bang & Olufsen lacks bass?

[Chrgnthru]

Last year I bought a 2014 M5 with Comp package, not missing many packages. Absolutely love the thing except for the B&O.

I was excited to have this system initially but once I started to play some music I noticed lots of distortion and sure enough the previous owner had terrible eq settings for some reason. Once I got everything dialed in I noticed the bass is not very prominent at all.

I listen to a lot of different type of music but hip-hop is my go to when I’m driving. I feel like this system just doesn’t have enough bass at all. It’s almost as if the woofers under the seat are non existent. I can tell the woofers on the door panels are doing their job but I don’t hear much from the subs.

There’s plenty of rattling outside the car but there really isn’t any bass. My wife’s X5 with the regular “hifi” set up sounds way better when it comes to bass.

Is this how this system is or is there something wrong with my subs?

[co_pa]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here ... I shopped several F10s before I purchased mine. After listening intently to the B&O system and having HK in previous platforms, the B&O was underwhelming from a full sound spectrum perspective - especially bass. In the long run, B&O was not a necessity for me and I found the M5 I wanted that checked every other box.

[Justiinee]

I agree that the B&O system might not have enough bass. I've been driving my single cab truck that has two unknown 10's behind the seats that were there when I bought it. They are LOUD. When I drive my m5 I feel like I can't hear anything. Could be just my ears.

[RonMexico]

I love the B&O, it's better than the B&W system in my f90 (this one lacks bass imo, i had a sub installed).

[BMWSauberF1]

Originally Posted by Chrgnthru

Last year I bought a 2014 M5 with Comp package, not missing many packages. Absolutely love the thing except for the B&O.

I was excited to have this system initially but once I started to play some music I noticed lots of distortion and sure enough the previous owner had terrible eq settings for some reason. Once I got everything dialed in I noticed the bass is not very prominent at all.

I listen to a lot of different type of music but hip-hop is my go to when I’m driving. I feel like this system just doesn’t have enough bass at all. It’s almost as if the woofers under the seat are non existent. I can tell the woofers on the door panels are doing their job but I don’t hear much from the subs.

There’s plenty of rattling outside the car but there really isn’t any bass. My wife’s X5 with the regular “hifi” set up sounds way better when it comes to bass.

Is this how this system is or is there something wrong with my subs?

Yeah I have the non upgraded system and I’ve had plenty of aftermarket sub setups and while the stock subs aren’t anything crazy they definitely match the rest of the system so if the rest of your system sounds good then I am almost willing to bet your subs aren’t working. Because i have decent bass for a stock speaker set up and if your wife’s x5 has more bass then obviously yours isn’t properly working.

[Chrgnthru]

Appreciate the input everyone. I’m going to look into getting the subwoofers replaced. Before I do all that does anyone have any idea on what and where I could check to see if maybe it’s a blown fuse or something along those lines?

Anyone know how the Bavsound Ghost compares to stock? Any other drop in woofers to consider?

[BMWSauberF1]

These look to be pretty damn good
Audison APBMW S8-2 8" 150W RMS 2-Ohm Shallow BMW Upgrade Subwoofer https://a.co/d/06kK4Et


These say they are drop in replacements for the f10 but I thought we had 8” subs under the seat I’m not sure now

Focal ISUB BMW 2 - Factory Subwoofer Upgrade Compatible with Select BMW Models https://a.co/d/e3xcwQv

Here’s a cheaper set these are 2-ohm but they have 4-ohm as well and that price is for two of em I bet they still sound better than the stock B&O’s though. Plus it’s Amazon so you can always return them if they aren’t what you want after hearing them. I just read in the reviews people saying these fit the f10 and I’d trust that the most I feel like.
Limited-time deal: Earthquake Sound i82SWS 8-inch Shallow Woofer System Under-the-Seat Subwoofers with Gaskets, 2-Ohm (Pair) https://a.co/d/hVHLnR7

[ricardofors68]

https://www.bavsound.com/pages/build...8aAqhsEALw_wcB

[Alrock31]

Originally Posted by RonMexico

I love the B&O, it's better than the B&W system in my f90 (this one lacks bass imo, i had a sub installed).

I can vouch for this 😅

[MarcF10]

A generic comment on this thread: 2014 is almost 10 years ago. Time and wear do affect the sound of any speaker as the membranes dry and crack. Debris, heat, vibrations etc are contributing factors as well.

As an example similar to yours, I got mine a year ago, 2015 model with the base hifi system. Although I prefer to listen to podcasts and talk shows over music when driving, I could still notice a deteriorating quality. To make a long story short I had them replaced with new ones from Focal and only then I realised how bad they were.

Have them checked for old age and if they are cracked just bin them and go for any brand you fancy. However if your beat is hip hop then the standard subs won’t do. You are looking at a dedicated sub in the boot and an amp that will drive it (solo amp or multichannel to bridge the rest of speakers)

[cloverfield]

I too was underwhelmed with the B&O, so I came here and searched for threads to get other owner feedback. There are a couple of good ones (will look for them) where settings were shared. Holy cow, after tinkering around for about 20min with some of those settings, the system sounds fantastic. It's worth a little time invested IMHO.

[ajm55]

Originally Posted by cloverfield

I too was underwhelmed with the B&O, so I came here and searched for threads to get other owner feedback. There are a couple of good ones (will look for them) where settings were shared. Holy cow, after tinkering around for about 20min with some of those settings, the system sounds fantastic. It's worth a little time invested IMHO.

This listening experience is obviously subjective, but I'd appreciate you sharing the details of your settings

[M5Rick]

As said by MarcF10 if the bang and oluf base is not good then change them out, I checked my Harman K ones and they're all good, actually a door tweeter wire was out and once re-connected sounds bloody good now!

[AlisterB]

The B&O's EQ settings need tweaking - out of the box on all the standard settings the sound is very underwhelming IMO. Once the EQ settings have been tweaked however the sound is significantly improved and pretty decent for an OEM system IMO.

[M5Rick]

The EQ tweaks need setting differently depending on what type of music you're listening to, say for classic more higher tones then for rock more bass and for middle of the road music something in between I would have thought.

[Chrgnthru]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

The EQ tweaks need setting differently depending on what type of music you're listening to, say for classic more higher tones then for rock more bass and for middle of the road music something in between I would have thought.

I have the eq set to a recommended setting I found on this forum which really brought the system alive, sounds great for the most part. The bass is however lacking and is clearly evident on music with tons of low end bass. I've tweaked the eq a bit to try to have a setting that works well all around so that I don't have to tweak all the time depending on what I want to listen too.

I'm going to look into swapping out the subwoofers and hope that gives me more low end. Crutchfield has some Focal subs that are supposed to be plug and play and drop right in so I'll be looking into those.

At the end of the day I mostly listen to podcasts on my commute and any other time it's the engine noise I'm enjoying. It's just that every once in a while some music is nice, so while I'm not going to go crazy and mess with the sound I will be at the very least dropping in new subs and possibly the baav sound amp.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Chrgnthru

I have the eq set to a recommended setting I found on this forum which really brought the system alive, sounds great for the most part. The bass is however lacking and is clearly evident on music with tons of low end bass. I've tweaked the eq a bit to try to have a setting that works well all around so that I don't have to tweak all the time depending on what I want to listen too.

I'm going to look into swapping out the subwoofers and hope that gives me more low end. Crutchfield has some Focal subs that are supposed to be plug and play and drop right in so I'll be looking into those.

At the end of the day I mostly listen to podcasts on my commute and any other time it's the engine noise I'm enjoying. It's just that every once in a while some music is nice, so while I'm not going to go crazy and mess with the sound I will be at the very least dropping in new subs and possibly the baav sound amp.

Hope it works well for you with the additions but I would have thought the highly sought after by some B&O would be the 'bees knees' as it is.

[AlisterB]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Hope it works well for you with the additions but I would have thought the highly sought after by some B&O would be the 'bees knees' as it is.

Agree that the 'out of the box' settings should be adequate/decent. Once tweaked via the inbuilt EQ settings though it is definitely a decent system for a factory fit OEM option.

[turboslut]

Has anyone here bought and installed new subs for the B&O optioned car? I def feel the bass is Uber lacking. Would love a successful upgrade story/link/product.

[M5Rick]

The bass on my premium EQ Harman-K with original speakers is earth shattering and just a few seconds to adjust the tone to suit the track.
You don't need an additional one foot wide sub as seen on some WRX's and Civic Type R's.