07-20-2020, 07:26 AM | #1 |
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B&O optimized settings
A little background, I have been an audiophile for 30 years. I've built my own preamps, amps, speakers, etc. I worked at Thiel Audio for a while. Current home system is Thiel/Dynaudio, modified Oppo BDP-105, Bryston 4b Pros, etc. All installed in a double wall/isolated room in room, fully treated listening environment. I only mention this, as I have a pretty decent reference system to use for subjective comparisons. I also happen to have the tools necessary to make an objective adjustment to the BMW B&O system. I used a Behringer USB DAC for input/output, Behringer mic preamp/mixer, and Room EQ Wizard. Mic was mounted *approximately where drivers head would be. Measurements were done in a garage, car doors and windows closed. Vehicle is a 2013 M6 convertible, so your GC and Coupes will likely measure differently. Pictures pasted below for reference. All testing/settings are with B&O "Studio" Mode.
I've made 3 minor tweaks based on subjective listening so far. I turned the "Bass" adjustment up one click, "Treble" down one click, and 10KHz down one click. Blue line is before, purple line is after. I was also going to look at things like impulse, decay, etc, but honestly they are so bad in a car environment with so many speakers and reflection points, not to mention the phase/delay trickery B&O uses for imaging adjustments, I'm not even going to post them.... Also, yes I only measured down to 55Hz as below that the B&O system uses some sort of dynamic loudness control that throws things out of whack. I was getting too much distortion to make the measurements accurate. Can't really make any adjustments down there with this system regardless, so no real point in the data. All I know is it peaks pretty hard around 45 and then rolls sharp. Turning down the "Bass" adjustment does let the system breathe a bit lower without getting boomy, turning down the bass actually makes more real bass if that makes sense. Last edited by patchesj; 07-20-2020 at 07:57 AM.. |
07-20-2020, 09:31 AM | #2 |
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This is great -- I feel like I have seen a lot of threads where people arbitrarily throw around different B&O settings but I think this is the first one I've seen where someone has objectively dialed in the system. Nice work.
Wish you could get a hold of a GC so I could copy those settings
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07-20-2020, 09:40 AM | #3 |
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For being a factory system, I'm relatively impressed. The bass is still awkward and I'm not sure I like whatever they are doing. From 150Hz and up it's not too bad. The center channel is creating some weird phasing (probably on purpose, and related to a crossover point) and I think that leads to the bump around 2.7k that you can't seem to dial out.
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07-20-2020, 11:30 AM | #4 | |
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Now to build on this, I listen to music via bluetooth via Spotify with playlists downloaded in the highest quality (I believe for Spotify this is 320kbps Ogg Vorbis codec) and while this is by no means lossless, I feel it's quite good for the convenience it offers. I'm wondering if the EQ can be adjusted within the Spotify app to fill in some of the gaps of the B&O EQ? What are your thoughts
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07-20-2020, 11:39 AM | #5 |
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I also use 320k Spotify/OV for most of my listening in the car due to convenience. I use the Spotify app in the head unit to connect, and I'm not sure if that does anything different than just selecting USB/external source. The AD/DA and DSP functions of the head unit are a bit of a black box, but there is definitely some type of switching that occurs if you toggle between the app vs usb source. I also have an OPPO HA-2SE DAC that I use when listening to in ear monitors and high bit rate files with my iphone. I might try connecting to the headphone jack/analog input on the car, but again the AD system in the car is an unknown and could be complete garbage (better to just keep the signal digital).
So much of an EQ's performance is based on what the preprocessing looks like. I've never really been impressed with whatever they are trying to do inside the iphone, and in general I try to minimize any adjustments. I will likely take the treble adjustment down another notch or two, with the glass reflections in a car all of that energy up top creates some fatigue. Of course, all of this really goes out the window (literally) when you are driving, have the windows down, or the top down... But it is nice to at least start from a solid baseline. |
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07-20-2020, 08:55 PM | #6 |
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I just put these settings in my F06 GC and could not be happier. Thank you for taking the time to put these up.
Last edited by Mnfamilyguy2020; 07-20-2020 at 08:56 PM.. Reason: Auto correct issue |
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07-20-2020, 10:54 PM | #7 |
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I think I just replicated these settings, but it can be a bit hard to tell how many steps from 0 some of them are. Starting from the top, it looks to be 2, 2, 2, 0, 3, 1, 3. Let me know if that's not right.
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07-21-2020, 01:10 AM | #8 | |
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That being said, I was a bit disappointed after searching high and low for a 650gc with B&O and it did not initially live up to expectations. Admittedly I still like bass (not nearly as much as in my younger days) so I cranked up the bass level on the B&O about midway between half and max and the same with the lower frequencies on the EQ. I never was quite satisfied with the bass performance. The bass was overly boomy without much low-end sub-bass. Then I played around with the settings and low and behold, lowering the bass levels to just below halfway made a drastic improvement. My EQ settings that I stumbled on a couple years ago look similar to yours. I couldn't believe that there was indeed more bass by lowering the settings. I posted a while ago here about my experience. My thought process was that the by lowering the bass on both the level and EQ frequencies, it lowered that boomy bass that had been overpowering the sub-bass. Once getting rid of the boominess, i could actually hear and feel the sub-bass that was previously missing.
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07-21-2020, 06:57 AM | #9 | |
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07-21-2020, 08:37 AM | #10 | |
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Treble +2 Bass -3 -2 +2 -2 0 -4 +1 +3 |
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07-21-2020, 02:49 PM | #12 | |
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But I've decided to leave the car essentially as stock as possible. |
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07-21-2020, 03:07 PM | #13 | ||
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07-25-2020, 01:58 AM | #14 | |
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07-25-2020, 06:24 AM | #15 |
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"I am sincerely sorry but we can not give out this information. Should you require assistance with your Bang & Olufsen sound system, please refer to your BMW dealer. Our apologies for the inconvenience. "
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07-31-2020, 12:46 AM | #16 |
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08-10-2020, 05:50 PM | #18 | ||
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08-21-2020, 03:40 AM | #19 |
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I will be applying this is as son as I get the car back!
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08-23-2020, 01:20 AM | #20 |
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same here,,although i know nowt about settings etc,,im used to listening to vinyl on an old radiogram ha ha ,,still sounds the best to me,,
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