Audiophile review of Bang & Olufsen and tips

Let me first preface by insisting that sound is as personal a preference as color, car and music choice. Ive had many disagreements with audiophile friends as to what constitutes "good sound". So take my review with a grain of salt.

A good sound system has a flat frequency curve. If all the frequencies are equally represented in the spectrum, then you have a quality product. Quality electronics contribute to separating the channels well and creating an excellent sound stage.

In an car, perfect parameters are near impossible to achieve. Ive spent 2 decades installing car stereos and I know that spending thousands of dollars on equipment is not the answer. A car is a terrible environment for sound.

So, I just turned in my 2015 Golf TDI with the Fender system. I have to say that this stereo is the best car audio system Ive ever heard even considering that I have experience with an aftermarket dynaudio 3 way custom kick panel system with 1000 watts and a digital phase processor. The people at fender obviously had pro equipment and took the measurements to ensure that the system produces a perfectly flat sound spectrum. It was perfect to me, as I could add a little more sub and take a little less mid out to suit my personal preference. So what Im about to say is a bit unfair...

The implementation of the B&O system in the e-tron is barely passable.

Ill start with the strikes: no mid adjustment and no sub adjustment. Problem: OEM, the mids are boosted beyond comprehension and the sub is mixed very low. This is my own personal nightmare, so YMMV. This has been a signature "problem" of B&O equipment, so if you actually like what you hear at the retail stores, then you are in luck. But again, I love bass and loathe loads of midrange. The B&O system is heavily biased in the midrange region of the sound spectrum, and this is NOT FLAT. Additionally, the sub is not adjustable and this represents a HUGE disappointment.

TIPS: If you are like me, so far there is no solution for the sub except for adding an amp? HOWEVER, the midrange problem is a bit odd and exacerbates my disappointment in the implementation of the system.

1st: the speed dependent volume control. Seriously, is this really a midrange knob? It seems to BARELY do its job at changing volume with respect to speed, but serves to SIGNIFICANTLY change the midrange across all speeds.

2nd: Surround level. Again, it doesn't seem to boost the volume/reverb/sound stage of the rear speakers at all, it seems to serve to boost midrange in the speakers.

3rd: Again, "Front Focus" boosts the midrange level of the midrange speakers in the door, but balances uppermids from the tweeters so it depends on which section of the spectrum you want boosted.

4th: The midrange and treble is artificially boosted in the eq of this system. The treble knob affects a larger portion of the upper range than Im used to (from upper range to upper mids)

SOLUTION: Focus: ALL SPEAKERS (FRONT for more mid midrange) Speed Dependent Volume: OFF Surround Level: OFF Treble: 1/4 to 1/2

Positive: Plenty of power. Plenty of mid bass if you crank the bass knob. Some songs hit the sub nicely. It's actually a pretty good sub when it's doing something.

I always thought the Fender sound systems were garbage. I've driven some newer VWs and the Fender setup was tinny and blared in the mids compared to my 2010 Sportwagen, which doesn't have any kind of branding to it and doesn't seem to apply any of its own EQs....

srwhitney":2310cfnf said:

I always thought the Fender sound systems were garbage. I've driven some newer VWs and the Fender setup was tinny and blared in the mids compared to my 2010 Sportwagen, which doesn't have any kind of branding to it and doesn't seem to apply any of its own EQs....

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That just goes to show how sound is such a personal preference. I had a 2012 JSW with the non-branded stereo system, and after two weeks I took the doors apart to add resistors to the midrange speakers to reduce output and absolutely HAD to swap out the tweeters since the sound was to "tinny" I wanted to gouge my ears out with a fork. :lol:

My latest idea is that the subwoofer is so low, that Im focusing on the mids too much.

Lived for five years with the Fender system in a GTI, and the Dynaudio system in a Tiguan, and I like the B and O better. It could use some EQ, but they all can use that.

gonkulator":2b279x01 said:

Lived for five years with the Fender system in a GTI, and the Dynaudio system in a Tiguan, and I like the B and O better. It could use some EQ, but they all can use that.

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Whats the EQ disappointment with the dynaudio system?

Rpgonzalez":1m8bmz4a said:

gonkulator":1m8bmz4a said:

Lived for five years with the Fender system in a GTI, and the Dynaudio system in a Tiguan, and I like the B and O better. It could use some EQ, but they all can use that.

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Whats the EQ disappointment with the dynaudio system?

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I don't recall, specifically, at the moment, and I can't re-listen, as I sold the Tiguan. I set the tone controls somewhere off the defaults, I just don't remember where. I wouldn't call it disappointment, as it think it was a real good design. But still, it is car audio, which has inherent challenges, and more precise eq of the frequencies than is provided by two or three tone controls is always called for, and even then there are compromises given the noise floor and frequency.

My non-audiophile review of the basic stereo is that SiriusXM sounds less crappy than it did in my JSW.

rfortson":1vklrqut said:

My non-audiophile review of the basic stereo is that SiriusXM sounds less crappy than it did in my JSW.

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I have had 3 cars now with SiriusXM, each time when it came up for renewal I thought about it, and each time the poor audio quality was the deciding factor. It is definitely better sounding on this car than my Hyundai Elantra, but I can stream way better quality over my phone.

Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, TuneIn radio, iHeart Radio... so many choices I cant believe that SiriusXM still streams at 32-64 Kbps and calls it music. Poor guys just dont have the bandwidth.

Rpgonzalez":eu5vleee said:

Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, TuneIn radio, iHeart Radio... so many choices I cant believe that SiriusXM still streams at 32-64 Kbps and calls it music. Poor guys just dont have the bandwidth.

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Not sure they don't have the bandwidth, rather they choose to fill it with crap to squeeze in a few more channels.

I really ought to look at streaming more seriously, especially since I can just stream straight through the car without even involving my phone. Next renewal cycle, I might just do that.