harmon kardon vs b&o

[scubachris]

my last 640d i had for 4 years.it had harmon kardon stereo.my new to me 640d iv had a year and it has b&o stereo.
i have seen a few threads on here asking for comparisons,
my friend/mechanic has 2 640ds and i think the biggest difference in stereos is the harmon kardon is a big jump up from the standard bmw base stereo.the difference between hk and b&o sound wise is not as big a diference..
i do think part of the b&o upgrade is visual rather than audio.
i am an audiophile and have played with equalizer settings a lot,the biggest diference in the b&o is down to the input format..i.e. you are never going to get the best sound from fm radio,,but a good quality input on cd or usb can be a massive improvement on sound.
if i was speccing a new bmw i would not pay the £3000 extra for b&o,it really is only marginally beter sound to hk but hugely beter in the visual side,eg speaker grills.illuminated speaker grills and rising centre speaker.
i think if truth be told very few people would tell the difference on fm radio on well set up hk or b&o.
of course this is just my opinion.

[DerBosewicht]

So in my honest opinion..: for a factory installed system the HK sound pretty good as compared to other car models. The B&O sounds better than the HK..: again for a factory system as compared to other manufacturers.

Now, if I am just getting a car… used I looked for one with the B&O… only because I like the little speaker pop up in the dashboard… but new I think it’s almost a 3500 upgrade..: I have installed complete aftermarket systems for half that and can sound better than both….

I am definitely inclined to agree that it’s the astethics rather than the sound.

[Opie55]

I am as far from an audiophile as a person can get but the B&O is worth it to me just for the looks. But I did not buy it new, so I cannot say if it would have been worth $3,700 to me at that point. But I would have wanted to click the box for sure.

[SWFLf10]

I’ve had both the HK and B&O and I believe the B&O is noticeably better sounding. Clearer, louder, better overall balanced sounding. I don’t know if I would pay the difference new if it was that or other options I wanted. Just my opinion.

[Chaos236]

There is a upgrade kit for sale in the classifieds, thoughts from audiophiles?