Suggested EQ and or other settings for professional sound system??

goldyf355 · #1 08-21-2007, 10:50 PM

Hey everyone,

Just picked up my new X5 today and was very impressed with the sound quality of the "professional" sound system....at least, with CD or I-pod as the source. Of course, the SAV itself was incredible as well!!

What I was wondering was if any audiophiles or others with extensive experience with this particular system have any suggested settings...be they EQ based or otherwise. Things such as Stereo or surround? etc, etc....

There was a thread in the home section of this site regarding the old DSP system for the previous X5 model, with all sorts of suggested settings with pics...just thought a E70 specific thread of a similar nature might be useful.

Any comments, opinions or suggestions would be helpful and appreciated!

thx!

Sponsored Links

Tae · #2 08-21-2007, 10:59 PM

No comments for the sound system... but may I be the first to say..... Congrats on the new Ride!!! Enjoy it in the best!!!!

Can't wait for mine to arrive.

SpeedR · #3 08-22-2007, 12:06 AM

Congratulations on your new X!! Please post PICTURES!!!

To answer your sound system questions, here is my semi-audiophile opinion.

DSP Surround or Stereo: Unless you are playing multi-channel music DVD-As, you should always use the stereo setting. While the DSP system will attempt to emulate multi-channel to send sound to the center channel, it distorts the sound and you lose what the original recording studio intended. Surround sound is great for movies, but not music. While some music on SACDs and DVD-A music sounds great, there is very little currently available. DSP in a car stereo is all hype...unless you watch movies in your car.

EQ Settings: Well this depends on personal preference and type of music your listening to. From a audiophile purist standpoint, the less you interfere or modify the orignally recorded source, the better. And, in most cases this is good advice, so you should leave all EQ settings at their mid-point (no adjustment to sound). This is best for music recorded at quality studios, but if you have a low quality source, you can adjust to your preference. No one can better judge what sounds good to you.

I-Pod: Regardless of music source, your I-Pod only outputs in stereo, so per my first item above, you should set your system to stereo when using your I-Pod. The X5 has a great sound system, and as such is not as forgiving when using lower quality sources. No matter what anyone tells you, any I-Pod or MP3 player with compressed files will not sound as good as a CD or DVD. To get the best possible sound from your I-Pod, record all your music at 320Mbps or better yet, use Apples Lossless format for near CD quality sound. The files are huge, but the sound quality is worth the trade off.

Anyway, enjoy your X and some good tunes.

X5love · #4 08-22-2007, 04:29 AM

As an audiophile, from my personal experience almost every type of music I've ever listened to has been enhanced when you set the eq to be roughly in the shape of a smile. Lefts and rights high, descending until they reach the center, where I keep let the points go below the midpoint. Sorry I don't have a pic. Try it, I think you'll see that the music sounds a lot better, and tool around with it until you think it's perfect.

goldyf355 · #5 08-22-2007, 09:12 PM

Thx for the welcome and advice...the opinions expressed so far sound logical and well thought out.

As for pics, I will certainly get some out, but it has rained since I picked the car up, and it looks like Sunday will be the first sunny day for snapping decent shots. That is, if life doesnt interfere first, LOL!

As for the SAV itself, what can I say but WOW! The speed, handling and techno toys are really something, and this is with brand new tires, engine with not even a 100 KLMs on it, and just starting to learn the cars "feel"....I can only imagine how it will be after a month or so!!!

Bigtop · #6 08-22-2007, 11:36 PM

I-Pod: Regardless of music source, your I-Pod only outputs in stereo, so per my first item above, you should set your system to stereo when using your I-Pod. The X5 has a great sound system, and as such is not as forgiving when using lower quality sources. No matter what anyone tells you, any I-Pod or MP3 player with compressed files will not sound as good as a CD or DVD. To get the best possible sound from your I-Pod, record all your music at 320Mbps or better yet, use Apples Lossless format for near CD quality sound. The files are huge, but the sound quality is worth the trade off.

Hi SpeedR, I was looking at the Ipod 80Gig today thinking of buying it for my X5 which is on-route from factory. This particular Ipod plays movies. I am getting the factory installed Ipod/USB adaptor. Does that mean that I can watch the Ipod based movies on the IDrive display when it is plugged into the BMW Ipod/USB adaptor??

pvandam · #7 08-23-2007, 06:01 AM

In my E53, I always struggeled with the DSP settings and never got a completely satisfactory result. I even modified the hardware with Coils and capacitors to improve the sound.
When I testdrove the E70 (with professional HiFi), I was instantly satisfied with the sound and specifically with all settings neutral, which I found to be a nice surprise.
You can then always do little enhancements, but in the basis it is quite good. And yes, the shape of a smile is indeed most of the times just that little improvement, especially with badly recorded sources or MP3 low bit-rate sources. Personally I kept if flat all the time.

goldyf355 · #8 08-23-2007, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigtop

I was looking at the Ipod 80Gig today thinking of buying it for my X5 which is on-route from factory. This particular Ipod plays movies. I am getting the factory installed Ipod/USB adaptor. Does that mean that I can watch the Ipod based movies on the IDrive display when it is plugged into the BMW Ipod/USB adaptor??

I would be extremely surprised if this hook up would work as you describe it....specifically, the video being visible on the I-drive display.

First, it would require a video signal, not just a digital audio signal, being routed from the I-pod to the head unit...this ability (and associated wiring) would be news to me.

Second, in Canada (or at least, Ontario), having a video source (other than a NAV system) viewable from the front drivers seat is illegal...it might distract the driver. This would apply to any OEM or aftermarket equipment....I'm sure some states have similar legislation.

Sponsored Links