rs4vr

Listened to the B&O the other day (HD Radio) and it seemed like it had a pretty strong mid/middle high push to the sound? Is this normal?

I'm used to the Bose setup in our RS and it seemed a bit more balanced (which seemed odd).

Any input would be much appreciated.

abacon09

I would try listening to another source of music like a high quality mp3 from an ipod or more preferably a cd. It may very well be the quality of the HD radio signal.

UrbanExtant

When I first got the Q5 with the B&O in it, I felt the exact same way. As strange as this may sound I feel the system had to go through a "break-in period" before it sounded as I expected it to. Over the course of using it the first week I had the Q, it sounded better and better, with the low end sounded becoming richer and fuller. This could be just my experience and not everyone else's. The A4 I picked up in September was similar, except it happened quicker than in the Q5.

abacon09

I would agree with this as well. I felt my speakers needed a break in period before they reached their full potential. I think there was mention in another thread about the break in period for the B&O speakers.

snowcat

Going into the DSP settings and moving the surround level toward the back and the sound focus to all can take away the midrange brightness as well. The default surround setting has too much emphasis on the front speakers which raises the level on the center channel.

Once this system is dialed in it's off-the-charts good. I've yet to have someone in the passenger seat who isn't completely blown away by the quality, and that's with an iPod and 256k mp3 encoding.

quality_sound

That's because in a live setting the musicians are in front of you. If you prefer your sound coming from all around that's fine, but there is a reason it's set up the way it is.

No, it's really not. I have a hard time even calling it listenable. It stages well and inaging is pretty good, but tonally it's terrible. No real top end, peaky midrange, no low end extension. TBH, I'm surprised B&O had the courage to put their name on the final product.

snowcat

To each his/her own. I'm certainly happy with it.

mpraju

Maybe it does it not reproduce the sound exactly like the composer intended.. i wouldnt know... i do know it sounds really really good.

Its like chinese food.. its hardly chinese.. but great all the same.

The G Man

Its not quite as bad as that, actually, if you consider that the B&O option cost $800, its not a bad system.

Reggie

I've had Bose on my 98' A4 and the RS4 and have enjoyed the balanced sound too. The B&O though is a step above that in my humble opinion. I think the base is deeper yet still flat and the highs also more pronounced.