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The Standard Stereo in a 2011 X5

17K views 62 replies 25 participants last post by  stiremup 
#1 · (Edited)
Just picked up a X5 35i Premium today. I will keep this short and sweet. I am am music fanatic. I have over 1500 CDs, 65,000 songs in iTunes, been to over 100 concerts, 10+ ipods over the years, 3 stereos in my house and iPod docks all over my house too. I am a music perfectionist. Maybe even an audiophile.

The standard stereo in the X5 is just fine. If you listen to mp3s, Sirius or FM radio... well all of those are poor sources to begin with. If you only listen to CDs while the car is parked then maybe, just maybe you won't like the stereo.

Its a good car stereo. Its in your car. Not in your living room.
 
#2 ·
To all those who claim the standard audio is crap, re-read again the above post, an honest opinion from an audiophile. :yikes:

By the way, who still listens to CDs?
 
#4 ·
problem is...when you turn the base volume up..it gets just "louder" highs and lows are not amplified.

I like to think of the base radio as an AM station....turn it up louder and it still sucks, but just hurts your ears.

That being said, I tried the base/premium and both were terrible.( I have the base on the 50i which seems to be a step up from the 35i??????)

better off getting the base and putting your own in.
 
#3 ·
I do, when I can't get the 8 track to work.
 
#5 ·
8 track? wtf is that? I tried googling it, and it comes back telling me their database does not go back beyond the stone age.
 
#7 ·
I hvae the premium in mine and when compared to the base, sounded a bit crisper to me. Probably all in my head but I like bangin' music in my ride. After 60K+ price tag, another $1,200 didn't really faze me
 
#9 ·
I agree the base is garbage. I had a 2008 E70 and the base in that one was manageable but I think BMW downgraded the base since.
I have the premium in the new car. It is better but not great definitely no where near my home system (and yes i still listen to cds and vinyl). Lexus and audi have much better system.
 
#11 ·
One more time... Its a good car stereo. Its in your car. Not in your living room.

I did not say it was great. I said it was good. And its far from crap. Could it be better? Sure. Should there be a better sound systems in a 60k car? Yes.

The point of my post was that the base stereo is OK and I do not think its necessary to spend another $1200 for the premium system. I am glad that I did not spend the extra money.

The other point was how are you guys determining that the base stereo sucks? What is your source FM? Sirius? a iPod? All of those sources are crap to begin with. I think sat radio is much worse sounding than even a 128k mp3. So please do not say you are making you determination based on listening to those sources.

I have a 2009 MINI Cooper. Now that IS a crap stereo.
 
#14 ·
I have an idea. When the weather is nicer, let's all meet up in the NY/NJ area and run a comparison. I'm being serious btw. Sort of like a blind taste test using the same source for music.

Btw, my primary listening source is a usb hard drive with all cd's burned in WMA Lossless. Not that I don't listen to other sources but a 240 gig hard drive can hold quite a bit - even lossless. ;)
 
#13 ·
lol...

THe premium sound system is "weak sauce" too...look at the specs does not even compare to a base in the range rover.

I went back to some 3 series that had Harmon Kardon speakers as their base WTF happened?

Just sad that when listening to howard stern his voice is not crisp...the base system always make it seem as if I need to turn up the volume but when I do it just hurts my ears.
 
#23 ·
I'm curious, what kind of "audiophile" system do you run in your house? B&W? Martin Logan? Any vinyl?

The base stereo, for a 65K vehicle, is barely adequate. The premium 35i stereo is upgraded from the base, but is not the "premium audio". I think there are probably other systems that sound worse - but I'd like to think the system can be improved for the amount of $$ we pay, especially those who are paying the $2K for the "premium" audio.
 
#26 ·
I have had my 2011 X-5 35d for 6 weeks now and I find the stock sound system more than adequate. I think the HD stations sound the best, better than satellite in some cases depending on the station. The sound system is not going to blow you away but how much better sound are you really going to get for $1200?
 
#38 ·
Going from the "base" to the premium adds 10 speakers, 2 subs, and better amplification.. quite a difference just from 4 speakers, one in each door...

I still think the "premium" system leaves a bit to be desired.. but the base system brought me back to a 1986 Celebrity my grandparents owned..
 
#28 ·
I like the stock stereo. Its just fine and I like running boards. To each their own.

Just sharing MY opinion.

As for being an audiophile... I do not have very expensive gear. I buy the best I can afford which is much more than most people would pay for speakers, amps, speaker wire, cables etc.

If I could afford it and if I had a place to put a stack of electronics, I would buy Marc Levinson, McIntosh, B&W other high end gear.
 
#39 · (Edited)
I am somewhat of an audiophile and have owned a variety of high end gear including Mac, Pass, Usher, PS Audio, Manley, etc. Have experimented with nearly all technologies including tubes, hard-drive based systems, SACD, and so on. Have had vinyl for a good while but that's on hold now.

My current setup includes Meridian active speakers, which are good enough that they pulled me out of the constant upgrading game, for which I am thankful as it gets pretty crazy. I went through about $100k in electronics over 10 years. The Meridians cost as much as a new economy car, so they'd better be good.

To OP: in your iPod, do you use lossless audio?

In pretty much all cars I have heard (stationary!), the audio is actually BETTER than home stereos unless you're spending a lot of money at home, and Im not talking receivers. The enclosed environment, combination of hard and soft surfaces, MUCH smaller space (think headphones on the other end), contribute to a listening 'room' that is actually very sound friendly.

Unless...

You screw it up with a supremely mediocre system and then remove the tweeters! Yes folks, the audiofools at BMW decontented the standard stereo by (cough, hack) REMOVING the effing tweeters (what, $10 each?) entirely! So you have not-so-good midrange drivers trying to replicate the high frequencies (as well as doing their own job) and failing miserably.

I have the stock stereo in my X5. I am NOT an audiophile on the road, I am a driver. Much of the time I don't even have the system turned on as I like to listen to the engine, road sounds, etc. But when I do turn it on, such as on a long drive with cruise control on, this thing is pretty bad. And comparing to the base stereo of my ML320, that was a lot better even though nothing to write home about. But a moving car is NOT the place to evaluate a stereo anyway. Too much noise... proper listening to a stereo demands an otherwise tomb-quiet environment. However, the irony here is that the X5 is pretty damn quiet, which actually promotes attentive listening, and then they bugger it up, in the standard stereo at least...

I may be upgrading the X5's speakers in the summer. If it works out well, I will post a DIY. In the meantime, I run the treble all the way up and it helps a little.
 
#41 ·
I am somewhat of an audiophile and have owned a variety of high end gear including Mac, Pass, Usher, PS Audio, Manley, etc. Have experimented with nearly all technologies including tubes, hard-drive based systems, SACD, and so on. Have had vinyl for a good while but that's on hold now.

My current setup includes Meridian active speakers, which are good enough that they pulled me out of the constant upgrading game, for which I am thankful as it gets pretty crazy. I went through about $100k in electronics over 10 years. The Meridians cost as much as a new economy car, so they'd better be good.

To OP: in your iPod, do you use lossless audio?

In pretty much all cars I have heard (stationary!), the audio is actually BETTER than home stereos unless you're spending a lot of money at home, and Im not talking receivers. The enclosed environment, combination of hard and soft surfaces, MUCH smaller space (think headphones on the other end), contribute to a listening 'room' that is actually very sound friendly.

Unless...

You screw it up with a supremely mediocre system and then remove the tweeters! Yes folks, the audiofools at BMW decontented the standard stereo by (cough, hack) REMOVING the effing tweeters (what, $10 each?) entirely! So you have not-so-good midrange drivers trying to replicate the high frequencies (as well as doing their own job) and failing miserably.

I may be upgrading the X5's speakers in the summer. If it works out well, I will post a DIY. In the meantime, I run the treble all the way up and it helps a little.
I run Lossless Audio, but there still seems to be a hole in the mids - I keep tinkering, but I just can't seem to get rid of it - it's almost like the power just fades in the mids..

As for upgrading.. I don't believe there are any cables for the tweeters already run (previously posted) so you might have more of a project on your hands..
 
#40 ·
Unfortunately for me the premium sound is a necessary upgrade to merely get to an acceptable level. There is nothing "premium" about the premium sound.
So while others might feel the base is adequate, I do not for the little time I do spend in the car, My one month old 2011 only has 300 miles on it :(

Afterall you can blow $1200 on a pair of speaker cables easily!
 
#45 ·
Cripes, you guys have me regretting not ordering the upgraded sound. I listen to mostly sports talk and 1010WINS, so maybe I shouldn't be too concerned when this sled finally gets in my possession. If it's an issue, I will contact BMWUSA and blame the ones on this board that are satisfied with the regular sound.


Just joking, of course.
 
#53 ·
There's no doubt you really enjoy listening to music; but with all the music, ipods, and other stuff you have, I don't think you are actually listening TO the music. As a sound engineer, I can guarantee you that the standard sound system is not just fine and far from perfect. It really is horrible to be honest...especially for their top of the line suv. The mids seem to be absent, the bass is muddy, and the high are thin. There is no clarity or balance whatsoever, and the adjusting the eq is a joke. The base audio in my sister's entry level Lexus IS is far better.
I'm not pulling my hair out, because I don't buy cars for their audio; but it kinda sucks that for all the thought they put into the idrive, they fell short by putting in the cheapest speakers they could find.
 
#56 ·
One more time. I am a big music fan and listener. The base stereo sounds fine for me. Just wanted this post to exist on this forum to state that its not necessary to spend another $1200 for the premium system.

To each their own. What sounds bad to the rest of you sounds fine to me. Not great. Not wonderful but its OK for what it is.

And the point of listing the mp3s, CDs, iPods, home stereos and concerts was to demonstrate that I am constantly listening to music in my house, in my car, with headphones or at concerts. I know what sounds good to me. I am a very critical listener.

Let this post and it comments stand so that others considering the X5 and the base stereo/premium stereo will be able to make an educated decision based on these opinions.
 
#57 ·
There's a lot to be said for enjoying what you have.

My first audio setup was circa 1970: a "Hi Fi" console record player (33, 45 and 78), to which I attached a Radio Shack cassette player using an RCA-out jack and alligator clips. I thought it was awesome - partly because it had a tube amp, but mostly because it was "mine" and I could control the source material.

My first personal stereo was a Sony Walkman - anyone else old enough to remember those? The sounds it made were equally awesome to my teenage ears.

Though I never really became an audophile, I did eventually evolve to McIntosh electronics (no, this McIntosh is not made by Apple), a Linn Sondek with an Itok, Snells and other semi-serious toys. I snapped up Teldec, half speed mastered and direct-to-disc recordings and even had a DBX decoder (props to anyone who remembers those, and or who has Jazz at the Pawnshop in their vinyl collection). Truth be told, it all got to be pretty silly after a while.

Somehow, the ridiculously expensive virgin vinyl Teldec recordings never gave me as much joy as those first few cassettes I bought in Middle School - In A Gadda Da Vida and Live at Big Pink, in mono, with very limited dynamic range and tons of tape hiss. Which made me realize that at the end of the day, having source material that excites me is a lot more important than the analog or digital system it's played through.

Is the Premium Sound better than the base stereo? You betcha. Is it perfect? Hell no. Was it worth the extra money? Yes. But would I hate driving my X5 or M3 without it? Nope. I got the Roundels for their driving prowess, not for their audio.

As always, YMMV.
 
#58 ·
I posted a couple of weeks ago about the premium sound not being all that premium. I'm not an audiophile, but I know what sounds good to me - especially after owning a half dozen vehicles ( yes, I'm a little crazy and somewhat schitzo when it comes to cars ). All have been brand new and among them have been a Lexus 450h, ML350 Bluetec, ML550, E350c, Audi A5 and ... a Prius in the past 18 months or so ( I warned you that I'm a bit crazy ). I can honestly say that the base sound system in the 2010 X5 that I had was litterally no better than that of the Prius. In fact, the Prius may have been a bit better. The base sound systems in each of those vehicles was FAR superior to that of the base sound system in the X5.

I recently came to my senses and settled on what I should have gotten in the first place, which is a 2011X5d which I am completely in love with in spite of the " Premium " sound system which doesn't hold a candle to the Bang and Oleufson in the A5 which cost a full $20,000 less than the X5d. I took the advice of a couple of guys on here regarding the "C" setting on the "equalizer" ( which adds a needlessly complicated dimension for not much in the way of results ) and it does sound better - so thanks to you guys. With that said there was no equalizer on the A5 and it sounded like sitting in the front row of an orchestra as opposed to sound coming from a tin can in the X5 with base sound.

Just sayin', for 69 thousand bucks, I think that BMW can do a hell of a lot better in that department. They build great cars that handle like a dream, but a great handling car with a great sound system does NOT need to be mutually exclusive. With all that said I love and actually plan on keeping my X5d and I really enjoy and appreciate the opinions, input and help that bimmerfest members provide.
 
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