Harman Kardon 2023 G05 speaker system as good as Bose?

[azmiller1976]

Trying to assess the quality of the Harman Kardon speakers in a 2023 X5 40i without owning an X5 as of yet, still on the hunt for my Black Sapphire unicorn with a trailer hitch. I currently own a 2011 an Infiniti G37x which is equipped with Bose speakers and they are incredible and even now are rich in sound and bass, great system, great quality. How is the Harman Kardon surround sound system in comparison? Any insight on your real time experience would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[The Guvna]

It depends on what you consider quality. There are proper audiophiles on here who have spent thousands on changing the HK system to something better, and then you have casuals like myself that thinks it sounds alright but needs more bass.

[Turbanator]

The name is just that, a name. These audio companies might enforce a particular minimum standard for speaker quality as part of the licensing agreement, but even a HK system might sound wildly different between three different cars based on specific speaker drivers, speaker location, amount of glass in the vehicle, etc.

Best way to judge if the audio is comparable is to drive to a BMW dealer in your G using your own audio benchmark songs and then test drive a X5 with Harmon Kardon (or even just sit in one if the dealer lets you) and play the same songs.

[CJ421]

It might be hard to find someone with the specific experience you're looking for but -- have you considered renting an X5 on Turo or from a premium car rental service for a day or two? Or even just test drive at a dealer?

Charles

[KevinC]

“No highs, no lows, must be Bose.”

[ZTK_M240i]

I had Bose in my Blackwing, it sounded like crap and I ended up replacing most of it.

The HK in my BMW sounds better for sure, but has no real low end. I replaced the underseat woofers/subs with aftermarket ones which helped a lot. But I'm still not 100% happy...I'll only keep this car being it's my daily driver 3-4 years, so it will do. Not doing what I did on my Cadillac anymore as it's not worth the hassle for just a short ownership period of doing all that work.

Stock I give the Bose in my BW a 3/10. After all the work, a 9.5/10 (there was no Bose left).

Stock I give the Harmon Kardon a 5/10. After the woofer/sub swap, a 6/10.

[azmiller1976]

I appreciate that range on the high and lows on the Bose and HK, I am more encouraged then because my Bose speakers in my G37x rock, I am from the 80's I know music,, so if you think the HK's are a step up, that works for me with what is in the X5. Thanks you for your honesty, ROCK ON!

[azmiller1976]

I have test drove 2, I have an appointment for this Sunday to test drive another but only to check out the Cognac seating to get an idea of what I would consider while shopping online for the X5. The 2 I did test drive, I have salesperson with a very short skirt, tan high heels, look like right off the Vegas strip if you know what I mean. She kept talking, probably to drown out the vehicle knocking because it had like 65,000 miles on it , the other had 42,000 both though in mint like condition it was incredible but again I was only there to test drive and get an idea on the feel which I did to some degree but I need a longer time with the vehicle. The dealership by my house (Arrowhead BMW) never has any used X5's under 27,000 miles on them rarely. In Phoenix, we have only 3 dealerships millioins of people live her, so used cars are slim, thats why we have to shop online and wait for X5's to appear in California dealerships, then go that route. The price of the doc fee in Arizona pays for nearly two thirds of a vehicle transport, crazy. I never thought of renting one, that is brilliant, I may do just that instead. Thank you for the advice really appreciate it!

[azmiller1976]

I am going to do that I will have my cell ready and plug my Gitank Android Bluetooth adapter that plugs in the USB port and see how it sounds, great idea, thank you for your input on that!

[azmiller1976]

Honestly, I am more like you, I know music and how I like it to sound from all my days of going to concerts, listed to my clock radio in the morning, local bands at the bar, I have that happy medium which is all I need. So what you said resonates with me as well, thank you for your input really do appreciate it!

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by The Guvna

It depends on what you consider quality. There are proper audiophiles on here who have spent thousands on changing the HK system to something better, and then you have casuals like myself that thinks it sounds alright but needs more bass.

I've heard its the other way round that B&O needs more bass. The eq bass on my Harmon K exec set up with CD is turned down to around 30% !!