[Jenner]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

I have found this to be the case with B&O in almost every vehicle I have had it in. It is clear at any level but it lacks bass no matter how you configure the EQ.

Originally Posted by audiom6

I agree that the B&O is lacking in the bass department.

Originally Posted by tastelid

i wouldn't mind if it had the bass response of my home stereo, which is really defined and fast

It's easy to see most people complain about B&O lacking bass. The joke I heard was that B&O stands for Bass for Old people.

I had B&O in a B8.5 Audi S4 and it had the same problem no bass. I also currently have B&O in an Audi Q5 and the bass is acceptable but not great. Just like iconoclast said it's clear at all levels but lacks bass. The speakers are decent (way better than BOSE) and the amps are really quality. B&O has designed a system that will play loud and clear. I find this to be true to B&O no matter what car it is installed nor how much the upgrade cost ($800 in S4, $500 in Q5, $3700 in F85 )

In the S4 I replaced the 8ohm joke of a 10" sub (really a 8" sub in a 10" footprint) with a $100 Kicker 4ohm sub. The weight and magnet of the Kicker was triple what came out. The reduction in resistance to 4ohm increased the power output of the B&O amp and it handled this massive 10" woofer no problem. The bass went from almost nothing to incredible. Best $100 upgrade I ever did to a car. The amp handled it all day long never missed a beat, never overheated or did anything funny in the 2 years I had the setup.

So when I got my F85 I found I had the same issue with B&O...lack of bass overall but especially at low volume. No matter what you do with the bass setting and EQ there isn't anything at normal listening levels. The B&O subs can make some bass with the right music and with the system CRANKED but then everything else is so loud it is TOO loud and still out of balance. Plus with the bass dial maxed it gets too boomy and sounds funny. I wanted to have some bass while being able to play the system at normal levels with my family in the car and be able to have a conversation as well.

Originally Posted by ejholt

I just installed the aftermarket BavSound Ghost Subwoofer hoping to gain some more bottom end, as they claim 2x the Bass. Quite honestly I haven't seen any gains and disappointed with the end result.

I'm sorry you wasted your money on BAVSound. I wish you could get your money back. I believe they brag about their "100 Day In-Car Trial + Free Returns with every order" so maybe you can still return them? There is no way for you to get 2x the bass keeping the ohms the same and the amps the same. It's just not possible.

When I came across the BAVSound Ghost sub and I thought wow this is great ez mode drop in replacement and someone else already solved the problem. I also noticed how low profile the subs were and figured BAV was the only choice due to the odd sub shape/style and factory wiring connector.

But I did not like the specs (or lack of) I did not like that they were 8ohm and I certainly did not like the price. It also didn't look like that much of an improvement in terms of air moved/woofer travel. So I decided to investigate on my own.

I removed the passenger seat bolts and leaned it back against the rear seats so I didn't have to disconnect anything. Removed the grill, then the cage and got down to the sub and it's mount. Pulled that out and removed the connector and realized there was no way I was dropping a "normal" 8" sub in this spot. But it did confirm that the stock sub is a joke and has barely any woofer travel so it's just not going to move a lot of air. I was surprised at how heavy it was, but once you get it out you realize it's just using a huge cheap magnet and the cage that holds it in is designed around just that.

But at least I had an idea of what I was working with and the sub design is VERY cool how the body of the car acts as an enclosure and they have a ported "tube" that runs along the side of the car (under the carpet by the doors).

So I started searching and came across this one company in CA called Earthquake Sound that has a drop in subwoofers for BMWs and has all these patents on their design and uses neodymium magnets so it doesn't have to be so huge and heavy but still can handle power. 300w power handling 4ohm and 1.5" woofer travel had me at hello, but most importantly it was drop in fitment for this location.

Amazon has everything you need:

Earthquake Sound X84SWS 8-inch Shallow Woofer System Under-the-Seat Subwoofers 4-Ohm (Pair) $230
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X41HPJJ/

and

Earthquake Sound R8SWS Installation Ring Adapter for Speakers (Pair) $25:
https://www.amazon.com/Earthquake-So...dp/B00G2MKGOU/

So for about $250 you have everything you need. Half the cost of BAVSound and more importantly half the ohms! (4 instead of 8) Now you can actually double your bass

Here are the trade offs: You have to do a tiny bit more work than the BAV upgrade because you have to cut off the OEM subwoofer connector to use the bare wiring. Not a big deal and I think most of us would just leave these in the car and not bother to swap back to stock parts (but you could get the factory subs to work with the bare wiring if you needed/wanted to)

The other trade off is you can't put the factory cage back over the sub (the 1.5" range of travel would have the SWS-8X aluminum cone cap/heat sink hitting it) and without the cage you cannot put the grill back on top. This is better for sound because there is less plastic obstructing it (trust me there is a lot when you see the cage) but it's bad because dirt/crumbs/toys etc could make their way into the sub from the rear footwell area and damage it or cause it to make noise as it vibrates. Good all weather mats with a lip and/or some vacuuming should be all you need. The front seat footwell/floor mat area is lower than the sub so this isn't a concern from the front.

The only other thing I did besides the 2 subs and the ring adapters was to add some sound insulation to the metal "floor" of the car in the area that the sub sits in. I was careful NOT to put this on the rolled area that leads into the port as I didn't want to mess with the port tuning or air flow.

Dynamat works but it's too expensive (IMHO) so I use GTMAT and find it to be the same thing at a great price. This kit for $15 will do several cars and you only need a tiny bit for the X5M:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KNL1BG/

So in the end you'll end up with 2 crappy B&O subs, 2 huge plastic cages and 2 top speaker grills left over (save or toss your call) in exchange for a huge improvement in bass you can feel!

I was VERY pleased when I fired up my tunes and had KILLER bass at loud levels and great bass at lower levels. It is the kind you feel in your gut/butt and with the windows closed you can feel the pressure.

I was also pleased with how easy a DIY it was and the improvement in bass vs how little I spent on parts. Sad B&O can't get that right and that BMW charges $3700. I am sure people would be more pleased if they increased the cost to $4000 and just used these subs instead!

I hope others who are looking to improve the B&O system give this upgrade a shot before trying to swap amps or fill up the trunk with huge sub enclosures. Unless you need a car show style stereo this is really all you need for a great system with no compromises and low effort and cost.