[BinQuake]

I saw all the YouTubers are praising the bower&Wilkins sound system on the original ix 50 2022 model and just realized it is not available anymore on 2023 x50 (only with m60).

On the 2023 x50, Harman kardon is used. I am wondering what is the major difference? Would the number of speakers or placements be different? Will the "4D" sound effect still available with the Harman kardon system?

 

[BeeBop]

No 4D effect with HK.

When I was speccing mine, my SA tried to tell me the B&W upgrade was a waste of money as the dealership had tested both and preferred the HK in the acoustics of the iX. This sounded like nonsense to me so i ticked B&W anyway, only for BMW to remove it for me as a condition of ever getting my car.

 

[GottKaiser]

No 4D effect with HK.

When I was speccing mine, my SA tried to tell me the B&W upgrade was a waste of money as the dealership had tested both and preferred the HK in the acoustics of the iX. This sounded like nonsense to me so i ticked B&W anyway, only for BMW to remove it for me as a condition of ever getting my car.

Well they also removed the option recently in my car, which I ordered with B&W, so now I also "only" have the H&K coming... I remember back a couple of years back my father was driving his F12 650ix, with the B&W system and 3 years later after he changed to a newer 650ix he decided he will save the extra money and only had the H&K ordered. To be honest it was really not big of a difference at least in this car. So I have my hopes up that even though I am disappointed with not having the best option in the car, it might in the end turn out to be a minor thing... But of course what will be missing are the 4D vibrating seats... at least I understood that the H&K does not have that, but I might be wrong...

 

[BinQuake]

Thanks guys. All over YouTube is only BW review for ix. But funny thing is that for the review videos on Chinese TikTok, it seems that the HK is standard, they only compare ix hk with bw on other models(7 or m6 or x7). And it immediately sounds like a sales game for me, they will praise whatever they can sell( since bw is not available).
But according to the videos, the HK is good. And it should be better than the HK I have in my E400.
Another thing is that I am a Spotify guy, so no lossless sources for me. BW may not play a big part for these regular streaming music apps.

 

[joelo]

I had ordered an IX and also per dealer skipped the B&W. A cancelled order with it became available and I took it to save 6 months or more. I never really tested the HK but I can tell you rhat the B&W is incredible. Best sound system I've had in a car.

 

[ocflyer]

It's tough to communicate how good or bad an audio system is- so I thought I'd just tell you how it compares to other cars I've owned. Perhaps some of you will have heard those. For reference, I've been an audiophile since my teens- even owning Quad Electrostats.

What usually disappoints me in car audio systems is lack of high-end (treble) and clarity, lack of instruments separation and muddy midrange. I typically find car audio to be either terrible, "tolerable, but only because no other option", or "good- I like listening to this".

2014 BMW 640i vert with mid-range "premium hi-fi system" - "tolerable"- not as good as a good Bluetooth speakers
2017 MB E350 with mid-range upgrade Burmeister - "good"! - really impressed!
2019 Porsche Cayenne with mid-range upgrade "Bose Surround" - "tolerable"- (barely) I was looking into replacing treeters, poor high-end
2019 Audi e-Tron Prestige with Bang & Olufsen - "good" (not as special as MB Burmeister, but quite good"

2022 BMW iX Harmon Kardon (test drive and dealer audition)- "GOOD"- the best audio system I'd ever heard in a BMW- as good as MB's Burmeister I'd had before- quite relieved I would like listening to this particularly on better sources than XM

2022 BMW iX B&W I bought- because I took over a pre-existing order. New Classification- the best audio system I've ever heard in any car, and probably the best audio system I've ever had at home or in a car. Yesterday I heard (for the first time) the guitarist's fingers sliding up the strings on the fretboard on a Sarah McLauglin track I'd heard hundreds of times before. Remarkable detail. Bass, mids and highs are outstanding. Definitely deserves a better source than XM- Spotify good- CarPlay Apple Music "lossless" recordings fantastic.

In sum, I'm glad I've got it. If it ever resurfaced as an option for an XDrive50, I'd get it. It is not worth it for me to get an XDrive60 to get it. And if I never heard the B&W system, I'd say "with Harman Kardon, finally BMW has put a really good-sounding audio system in a car, it sounds fine"

 

[BMWTexan]

Anyone have any idea what the chances are of the option resurfacing on the xDrive 50 in the coming weeks/months?

 

[BeeBop]

Anyone have any idea what the chances are of the option resurfacing on the xDrive 50 in the coming weeks/months?

I wouldn't bet on it resurfacing until the model refresh.

 

[smiesguy]

In the reviews I've read the B&W clarity and the added features of speakers within the seats really stand out, however the HK system is also strong and some prefer it for Top 40 / Hip Hop genre's of music.

 

[Karthik]

i had the same dilemma if i should get the 2022 iX with B&W or get the newer 2023 model with HK. Once i heard B&W, i was sold on it. its one of the best systems i have heard in a car..!!

 

[J78]

I have a 1200w Bang & Olufsen on a 6 series and its much better than the Harmon Kardon on my G01 X3 and the new i4, as the sound is more clean and you hear the voices and individual instruments more clearly.

I can image the B&W on the iX being even better - I test drove for 20min an iX with it and the B&W sound demo with video as very good but had very little time to play with it.

I think is a nice to have option given the high price tag, which for me is difficult to justify. The HK system is good enough to hear good quality music. But if you can get a 22 model with B&W by all means get it - as the supply/demand stands for the iX, you might end up with a price increase for 2023 higher than the B&W price!

 

[Rick in So California USA]

I had ordered an IX and also per dealer skipped the B&W. A cancelled order with it became available and I took it to save 6 months or more. I never really tested the HK but I can tell you rhat the B&W is incredible. Best sound system I've had in a car.

That's interesting. I ordered my 2023 iX xDrive50 in July. I didn't either think of upgrading to the B&W system. I just went into my BMW dealership today and my salesman said the same thing to me, that I should skip the B&W upgrade. I listened to another BMW with HK and it was just okay. The salesman was taking about wattage of HK vs B&W, I was talking about quality of the sound. I don't listen to music extremely loud but the quality to me make a big difference. My order has already put into production. They are going to see if they can add the B&W upgrades long as it doesn't delay the production.

 

[houtmeyersp]

Heeft iemand enig idee hoe groot de kans is dat de optie de komende weken/maanden weer opduikt op de xDrive 50? [/CITAAT]De B&W optie is terug verkrijgbaar vanaf heden, nu is de adaptieve vering en meesturende achteras weer niet verkrijgbaar op de IX 50. Dus mijn levering is ook uitgesteld met 6 maanden.

 

[NewIxDriver]

The BW sound is the best I've ever felt and heard. Everyone who get in my car comments on the vibes and they love it.

 

[Greg]

If you primarily listen to SiriusXM, FM or other stereo sources, then the big difference between the HK and B&W systems is that B&W has a more sophisticated "spatializer" than the Logic 7 used by Harman/Kardon - which, while very good is quite old. I had a Lexicon home theater processor about 25 years ago with Logic 7 and the technology/algorithm hasn't really changed much since then.

I have been listening to multichannel 24/96 flac files on my iX since I got it and the HK speakers and amps really are excellent and the sound is outstanding. SiriusXM and Digital FM sounds dull and flat by comparison. They'll be opened up more with the B&W.

(BTW, I also played some multichannel 24/192 flac files and they played, but when the bitrate really cranked up it was too much for the system and drop outs happened. Wasn't too surprised by that, all things considered, and it is trivial to downconvert them to 24/96 via foobar2000.)

 

[Rick in So California USA]

That's interesting. I ordered my 2023 iX xDrive50 in July. I didn't either think of upgrading to the B&W system. I just went into my BMW dealership today and my salesman said the same thing to me, that I should skip the B&W upgrade. I listened to another BMW with HK and it was just okay. The salesman was taking about wattage of HK vs B&W, I was talking about quality of the sound. I don't listen to music extremely loud but the quality to me make a big difference. My order has already put into production. They are going to see if they can add the B&W upgrades long as it doesn't delay the production.

I also ordered a 2023 iX xDrive50 in July. My salesman did everything he could to talk me out of trying to upgrade to B&W system. Unfortunately, my car was in production as well and I couldn't upgrade my order at that point. I've heard of many BMW salespeople told customers not to bother ordering the B&W. Why not? It's a $3,400 upgrade(US Pricing). Don't car salespeople get commission on how much packages they sell? Unfortunately, I didn't think of looking into it just when it went into Production whim I could still make changes to the configurations.

Does anyone know why these BMW salespeople are pushing customers away from upgrading?

 

[Rick in So California USA]

I have a 1200w Bang & Olufsen on a 6 series and its much better than the Harmon Kardon on my G01 X3 and the new i4, as the sound is more clean and you hear the voices and individual instruments more clearly.

I can image the B&W on the iX being even better - I test drove for 20min an iX with it and the B&W sound demo with video as very good but had very little time to play with it.

I think is a nice to have option given the high price tag, which for me is difficult to justify. The HK system is good enough to hear good quality music. But if you can get a 22 model with B&W by all means get it - as the supply/demand stands for the iX, you might end up with a price increase for 2023 higher than the B&W price!

I ordered my 2023 iX xDrive50 in July. They had the B&W sound system available, then it was removed, then it was added back in. My iX went into production in October, the list of options included:

688 Harman/kardon Surround Sound System
(688 is the code number)

When I ordered my iX, the sound system was in a CONVENIENCE PACKAGE that included:

Harman Kardon surround sound system

The 655-watt, 18-speaker Harman Kardon® surround sound system includes 5 tweeters, 5 midrange speakers, 2 central bass speakers and 2 subwoofers under the rear seat unit - all complemented by four built-in speakers in the rear head rests. Automatic sound adjustment based on the car’s dynamic performance level and Logic7® Surround Sound technology provide superb listening pleasure for all occupants.

The Standard Features of the iX includes:

HiFi Sound System with 205-watt digital amplifier and 12 speakers

What packages did you have when your car was built?

If you really want to know for sure, send the Genius an email or call them. They could tell you exactly what was in your iX build.