[razor488]

Originally Posted by ggalanis

The price might seem like a lot but put it in relative terms compared to the total price of the car optioned the way you want. The sound system is something you will (likely) use every time you drive. Obviously if you only listen to podcasts through bluetooth at low volumes, maybe there is no value in getting the B&W upgrade. But if you listen to music it is really amazing. Well worth your time to go try it out at a local dealer if you can.

In my case, I have a four and two year old that make that own sound track.

[TheIX]

Originally Posted by npa201

Did you get the B&W speakers or the Harmon Kardon speakers? The ~$3000+ option for the B&W speakers seems like a tough pill to swallow although the reviews seem to be positive although I haven’t seen any scientific testing on them. If you got the HK speakers, how did they compare to the 2019 X5 (unless you also got the B&W in those). I have the HK speakers in my 2020 X5 and they get the job done but don’t wow. I remember being underwhelmed when I first got the car compared to the Burmeister speakers that were in my C43. I think my Tesla Model Y has better sound than the x5 but only marginally.

Just trying to think if its really worth it or not.
Also did you apply PPF to the front of the car? And if you did, do you include the grill or is it redundant when that grill has some sort of PPF material on it to begin with?

Mine came with the Harmon Kardon speakers. Were I to configure my own vehicle, I would probably not get the B&W simply because I'm not an audiophile. I mostly listen to podcasts and audiobooks, so the B&W system would be a waste on me.

I'm scheduled for PPF film. Where I live they use volcanic cinder on the roads in the winter and that can lead to paint damage. I went with the dealer provided package because I'm too lazy to shop around I've not sure if they cover the grill. I suspect not given that it's supposedly 'self healing'

[sor]

I noticed the grill has some sort of wire running through it, embedded in the plexiglass, like an antenna or maybe a defrost wire. Did you see that as well? I wonder if trying to cover it messes with the sensors, which then starts to make sense why they make a big deal out of the self healing thing.

[razor488]

Have you heard anything about whether a software update will give the iX Supercruise comparable self-driving? I am read conflicting reports about this.

[UltimateMoneyShifter]

Originally Posted by npa201

Did you get the B&W speakers or the Harmon Kardon speakers? The ~$3000+ option for the B&W speakers seems like a tough pill to swallow although the reviews seem to be positive although I haven't seen any scientific testing on them. If you got the HK speakers, how did they compare to the 2019 X5 (unless you also got the B&W in those). I have the HK speakers in my 2020 X5 and they get the job done but don't wow. I remember being underwhelmed when I first got the car compared to the Burmeister speakers that were in my C43. I think my Tesla Model Y has better sound than the x5 but only marginally.

Just trying to think if its really worth it or not.
Also did you apply PPF to the front of the car? And if you did, do you include the grill or is it redundant when that grill has some sort of PPF material on it to begin with?

I own the Model 3 with the premium interior and sound system. I got a chance to test drive the iX with the HK sound system, and it was far more impressive than the one on the Tesla.

You could really 'feel' the bass, but not in a way that would cause the interior to rattle or muddy the mids or highs. The soundstage was really impressive as well!

[ggalanis]

Originally Posted by sor

I noticed the grill has some sort of wire running through it, embedded in the plexiglass, like an antenna or maybe a defrost wire. Did you see that as well? I wonder if trying to cover it messes with the sensors, which then starts to make sense why they make a big deal out of the self healing thing.

It has a heating element in it. You can see it in my first attached picture.

I added a screenshot from one of Bjorn's videos where he showed using an infrared camera.

[npa201]

Originally Posted by UltimateMoneyShifter

I own the Model 3 with the premium interior and sound system. I got a chance to test drive the iX with the HK sound system, and it was far more impressive than the one on the Tesla.

You could really 'feel' the bass, but not in a way that would cause the interior to rattle or muddy the mids or highs. The soundstage was really impressive as well!

Yeah I forgot to test this while I took my test drive as the SA was talking a bunch about other stuff (I think I knew more about the car than he did). I asked if there were any B&W systems in any of their cars at the time to test it and he said its unlikely which was the case when we walked around the showroom afterwards.

I’m mixed on this. The HK system on the X5 is fine. It’s nothing that special and underwhelms. But its not like I plug in a memory stick and listen to stuff that is lossless, I’m usually just using Apple CarPlay. Plus, my own speaker system in my actually house was only $4500 when i bought it about 15 years ago (so maybe $7k by today’s standards) and so it just seems a bit odd to spend that much on a system that I may not have 5 years from now and so my initial inclination was to just save that money for an eventual house upgrade….but I keep hearing these B&W speakers are amazing in this specific model. I’ve also heard the HK system in the IX is great too making me wonder if its been improved from what is in the X5.

[Bird~Dawg]

Originally Posted by npa201

Yeah I forgot to test this while I took my test drive as the SA was talking a bunch about other stuff (I think I knew more about the car than he did). I asked if there were any B&W systems in any of their cars at the time to test it and he said its unlikely which was the case when we walked around the showroom afterwards.

I’m mixed on this. The HK system on the X5 is fine. It’s nothing that special and underwhelms. But its not like I plug in a memory stick and listen to stuff that is lossless, I’m usually just using Apple CarPlay. Plus, my own speaker system in my actually house was only $4500 when i bought it about 15 years ago (so maybe $7k by today’s standards) and so it just seems a bit odd to spend that much on a system that I may not have 5 years from now and so my initial inclination was to just save that money for an eventual house upgrade….but I keep hearing these B&W speakers are amazing in this specific model. I’ve also heard the HK system in the IX is great too making me wonder if its been improved from what is in the X5.

I have a 2018 X5 with HK sound. To my ears, the IX HK sound is quite a bit better. Better base, clarity, soundstage. Having said that, one of my dealer's demos has the BW sound and it really is incredible even just on FM radio. Possibly the best I've experienced in a car. It sounds better than my BW home theatre set up. Not worth that much money to me as a stand alone option, though, even as good as it is. YMMV.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by npa201

I’m mixed on this. The HK system on the X5 is fine. It’s nothing that special and underwhelms. But its not like I plug in a memory stick and listen to stuff that is lossless, I’m usually just using Apple CarPlay. Plus, my own speaker system in my actually house was only $4500 when i bought it about 15 years ago (so maybe $7k by today’s standards) and so it just seems a bit odd to spend that much on a system that I may not have 5 years from now and so my initial inclination was to just save that money for an eventual house upgrade….but I keep hearing these B&W speakers are amazing in this specific model. I’ve also heard the HK system in the IX is great too making me wonder if its been improved from what is in the X5.

I ordered the B&W system. $3k seemed cheap for that to me. I am looking forward to trying it out. I have had the high-end Burmester in my 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S which is an equivalent system - and I really enjoyed it. Even when listening to a podcast the sound quality was incredible. It sounded like the podcaster was in the car with you.

https://stereoguide.com/car-hi-fi/ca...stem-review/2/

[TXSchnee]

Originally Posted by Bird~Dawg

I have a 2018 X5 with HK sound. To my ears, the IX HK sound is quite a bit better. Better base, clarity, soundstage. Having said that, one of my dealer's demos has the BW sound and it really is incredible even just on FM radio. Possibly the best I've experienced in a car. It sounds better than my BW home theatre set up. Not worth that much money to me as a stand alone option, though, even as good as it is. YMMV.

I went to one of the closed room tours of the iX, the one that BMW NA sends around has the B&W system in it, flat out amazing. I am optioning the B&W for my build, well worth the $3400 upgrade in my opinion. Now, if you are trying to keep below a certain price point, I would do DHP and a leather option instead.

[PABrian]

Originally Posted by TheIX

Yes I have. I have an iPhone and and an Apple Watch and use them both. I really like this feature and no longer carry a key around.

The downside is that every time you come near your vehicle it will unlock

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to link the digital key to a profile or else the guest profile is selected.

That's a function that works with your keys too, and you can turn it on and off in the Comfort Access menu (pretty sure it's that one).

Originally Posted by tizzyd

I'm surprised you have one - all dealers are forbidden to sell them until 90 days after they are received to have on hand for test drives, etc. I bet your dealer is going to be in trouble.

Dealers aren't forbidden to sell them for any specific time, they're just being VERY strongly encouraged not to. Any dealer that sells their launch cars right now is shooting themselves in the foot pretty hard as the next inventory car they're likely to have will be next year. Any customer that comes in and wants to drive one will HAVE to go to another area dealer, at which point they could very well just order from that other dealer. Short term gain, long term pain.

Originally Posted by npa201

-During my test drive I noticed there was oddly more body roll that I was expecting but it was in comfort mode and I’m not sure that the dealer spec’ed it with dynamic chassis control. Does yours have that and as a result does it feel more flat on the turns than a base x5 if in sport mode? It seems to have the roll of an X5 w/o chassis control but you would think it would have a lower center of gravity w/ the battery.

- The door panels…are the reflections really weird? I’ve seen some YouTubers call it out and theorize it may be because the panels are plastic rather than aluminum but it looks like a house of mirrors and wondering if it seems distracting (something I didn’t notice that much during the test drive but also didn’t really check).

...

-Does yours have soft close doors? Test unit did not at my dealership and I didn’t love the the sound it makes when slamming it shut.

- Ride/body roll gets a good bit stiffer in sport mode. That's part of the wonder of a properly set-up air suspension. The iX is pretty heavy at ~5600lbs, so you're going to get some roll regardless of CoG, but overall body control is good (separate from amount of roll) in both modes.

- When I drove one it did have the Lux package with the glass controls, and it didn't seem to bother me at all...and it was a plenty sunny day.

- Soft close doors come with Lux package and work as you think they would...definitely adds to the premium feel of the car. Frameless doors definitely don't make as nice of a sound as ones with frames though.

Originally Posted by Aliendrive

How do you zoom in on the map? Clockwise like idrive 7 or counter clockwise like on idrive 6?

It's like iDrive 7...I like to equate it to screws/bolts: righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Originally Posted by npa201

Did you get the B&W speakers or the Harmon Kardon speakers? The ~$3000+ option for the B&W speakers seems like a tough pill to swallow although the reviews seem to be positive although I haven’t seen any scientific testing on them. If you got the HK speakers, how did they compare to the 2019 X5 (unless you also got the B&W in those). I have the HK speakers in my 2020 X5 and they get the job done but don’t wow. I remember being underwhelmed when I first got the car compared to the Burmeister speakers that were in my C43. I think my Tesla Model Y has better sound than the x5 but only marginally.

Just trying to think if its really worth it or not.
Also did you apply PPF to the front of the car? And if you did, do you include the grill or is it redundant when that grill has some sort of PPF material on it to begin with?

To my ears, the HK and B&W in the iX are a good bit better than their equivalents in other models. If you don't listen to a lot of music or aren't really into high-end audio, then B&W really won't be worth the money, but HK comes with Convenience and is an excellent system.

Originally Posted by sor

I noticed the grill has some sort of wire running through it, embedded in the plexiglass, like an antenna or maybe a defrost wire. Did you see that as well? I wonder if trying to cover it messes with the sensors, which then starts to make sense why they make a big deal out of the self healing thing.

As mentioned above it's a defrosting wire. The radar module is behind there so that element helps prevent snow/ice/slush from building up in front of the sensor while driving.

[Evrim]

Originally Posted by npa201

Yeah I forgot to test this while I took my test drive as the SA was talking a bunch about other stuff (I think I knew more about the car than he did). I asked if there were any B&W systems in any of their cars at the time to test it and he said its unlikely which was the case when we walked around the showroom afterwards.

I’m mixed on this. The HK system on the X5 is fine. It’s nothing that special and underwhelms. But its not like I plug in a memory stick and listen to stuff that is lossless, I’m usually just using Apple CarPlay. Plus, my own speaker system in my actually house was only $4500 when i bought it about 15 years ago (so maybe $7k by today’s standards) and so it just seems a bit odd to spend that much on a system that I may not have 5 years from now and so my initial inclination was to just save that money for an eventual house upgrade….but I keep hearing these B&W speakers are amazing in this specific model. I’ve also heard the HK system in the IX is great too making me wonder if its been improved from what is in the X5.

I am driving an iX 50 with B&W. Also had a chance to test an iX with HK earlier.

If you like to listen top pure quality music during driving, in my opinion, B&W is essential. This doesn’t mean that HK is bad but B&W is moving the sound output quality in a different level. You should also consider that B&W has nearly doubled number of speakers\output which includes the shakers in the front seats which is awesome stuff.

In regards to sound quality level; when we use Apple carplay, phone is connected to car with wifi, not bluetooth. This enables a larger data transfer rate and more quality of sound to be transferred to car audio system. If you listen your music through Tidal, Apple Music (where you can have lossless music) you can feel the quality better. Spotify is still not in lossless mode, maybe soon.

As per my observation, iX with B&W is one of the most powerful sound system on a car. Most probably in the top two, other is new Range Rover.

Needless to say that HK is definitely enough if you are not that much into the top sound quality. In website of HK, the system they used in iX is the best within all BMW models in terms of specifications.

Another important detail is; since the cabin is super quiet, this creates a fantastic accoustic in both systems.

HK system: 18 speakers, 655 watts
B&W system: 30 speakers, 1615 watts

https://www.harmankardon.co.uk/bmw.html
https://www.bowerswilkins.com/en-us/collaborations/bmw

[deathray]

This might be a bit of an odd one: is there some sort of safety system that prevents you from driving away while your charger is plugged in?

I'm trying to decide where to put my charger in my garage and I'm wondering if I should worry about forgetting to unplug if I don't see it. There are probably a fair few missing block heater extension cords from back in the day that tell me if the vehicle doesn't prevent it, I should keep the charger in a very obvious location.

[UltimateMoneyShifter]

Originally Posted by deathray

This might be a bit of an odd one: is there some sort of safety system that prevents you from driving away while your charger is plugged in?

I'm trying to decide where to put my charger in my garage and I'm wondering if I should worry about forgetting to unplug if I don't see it. There are probably a fair few missing block heater extension cords from back in the day that tell me if the vehicle doesn't prevent it, I should keep the charger in a very obvious location.

I am pretty sure you won't be allowed to put the car in drive if the car is still plugged in (regardless of whether it's charging or not). I have not tested this out myself, but I am 99.99% sure this is the case given my previous experience with EVs.

[TXSchnee]

My Cayenne E Hybrid has a safety feature that will not allow you to put it in gear if it thinks the charger is plugged in. I believe that may be a requirement from NHTSA.

[UltimateMoneyShifter]

With regards to the B&W vs HK debate (coming from someone who has not actually heard or seen the B&W system), there is the aesthetic angle to the B&Ws as well.

This is mostly based on videos and pictures but the metal speaker covers and lighting do add an additional touch of luxury to the cabin. A special highlight is the metal ceiling tweeters that break the swath of black fabric. I feel like they 'complete' the cabin. The HK system does look a little anonymous as they blend in with the black fabric trim.

I have always loved the design on the Burmester systems in the mercs and felt that they really elevated the cabin. I am glad to see BMW taking a page from that book with their own aesthetic sense.

[Bird~Dawg]

In my current X5 PHEV I get a warning if I absent-mindedly leave the flap open but it still lets me put it in gear and start moving. Haven't ever left the charger plugged in, but it's right in front of my door so hard to miss. I can see myself forgetting on the IX given the location of the charge port, so this would be good info to have if someone knows.

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by Bird~Dawg

In my current X5 PHEV I get a warning if I absent-mindedly leave the flap open but it still lets me put it in gear and start moving. Haven't ever left the charger plugged in, but it's right in front of my door so hard to miss. I can see myself forgetting on the IX given the location of the charge port, so this would be good info to have if someone knows.

Also think you don't get a warning for an open flap in the iX....

[TheIX]

Originally Posted by Paladin1

Also think you don't get a warning for an open flap in the iX....

I can confirm that you do get a warning that the charge port is open on the iX

It will also tell you to disconnect the charge cable and will not go into gear

Just tried and verified both

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by TheIX

I can confirm that you do get a warning that the charge port is open on the iX

It will also tell you to disconnect the charge cable and will not go into gear

Just trued and verified both

Great - good to know! Tom was incorrect then in his initial drive assessment (starting at about 3:15):

[cruzer666]

TheIX thanks for all the info you put out! What is your charging routine ? Do you set the max charge to 80%, 85%, 90% and you plug the car in daily? Or?

[TheIX]

Originally Posted by cruzer666

TheIX thanks for all the info you put out! What is your charging routine ? Do you set the max charge to 80%, 85%, 90% and you plug the car in daily? Or?

I've set my max charge at 80%. Currently I'm having some work done on the garage so my EVC is offline.

I haven't driven very much so I've only charged one at the local Electrify America