Glacier6

I tried doing a search but most of the B&O threads are about whether it is worth it or not.

I was wondering what some of you have found to be the best combined settings, more specifically with streaming from Bluetooth and Spotify (I know it would be higher quality if I used the Jukebox or SD card but everything I listen to is on Spotify). I seem to be getting quite a bit of static noise coming from the front tweeters I can't get rid of.

subterFUSE

Do you get that static on SD card, jukebox, AMI or CD player?

DennisMitchell

Go to DSP settings, turn Surround Level to Max, Focus to Driver, and GALA on. Turn up the volume and enjoy. All the other settings level default.

snagitseven

The biggest improvement for me comes from setting to "Driver". The balance grid is set slightly to the right and front of the driver. I have bass set about 4 o'clock, surround to 1 o'clock, treble to 2 o'clock and volume 'till my ears bleed (unless my wife is in the car). SD cards or Jukebox are definitely the way to go for max freq response and dynamic range.

Glacier6

Thanks for the responses, I'll give them a try.

I also noticed that I have MMI version 409, which I believe is the original. Could it make a difference if my software is upgraded to the current version?

I have a service appt for Monday and I'm trying to get them to upgrade the software but they seem iffy about it. I told them track info and times aren't displaying as well (which they actually aren't but my tech is trying to blow it off as just my phone for some reason). I know there was a software release that dramatically improved the Bose.

snagitseven

I don't believe the B&O is improved by later MMI updates, just the Bose system. On the other hand, there have been many other improvements, enhancements and fixes including full song info on Bluetooth audio as you noted. Point the tech to the MMI 0715-2 or even 0609 data which should indicate the fix, among other things. I believe 0721 is the latest but 0715-2 seems to be the one that encompassed the most improvements. MMI 0409 is "ancient" - even 0487 or 00489 had several improvements including being able to view video, an important feature.

jdong

Turn surround up to max for sure.

For sound focus, try either Driver or Movie. Some people like the "cinematic" experience of the movie mode (vocals tend to get focused to center stage, where the MMI screen is, and the other speakers are used for sound effects which broadens the surround effect).

For GALA / "Volume Leveling", play with both low and high. Note that I find this setting has a normalizing (range compressing) effect in addition to shifting the volume up and down with ambient noise. This might come across as making your music "flat", though it makes it more audible at every noise level.

snagitseven

Interesting. For me, I find that turning the surround to max reduces the impact of the bass and sounds a bit less natural.

jdong

Yeah, I think it depends on your personal preferences. I do agree that turning up surround makes the music sound less "natural", but at the same time it does seem to widen the stereo effect in a way that the other sound systems can't. That seems to add a novelty factor that even makes radio sound more "alive"…

There's competing schools of thought on whether artificial surround effects make sound quality "better" or "worse". It might be worth playing around a bit more with the settings depending on the type of music you listen to.

snagitseven

Actually, I've had a B&O system since 2008 in my A4 and now my A6 so have had plenty of opportunities in the last 6 years to play with the systems. There's only so much fiddling I'm prepared to do.