Bowers and Wilkins is once again bringing its home audio expertise to car audio via the BMW Group, with the launch of the 2024 BMW XM plug-in hybrid SUV.
Tip: The base price for the BMW XM is $159,000.
Diamond Surround Sound System
The audio system in the 2024 BMW XM and X7 Series SUVs can be upgraded to a 20-speaker, 1,475-watt Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System for an extra $3,400. Or settle for the base system — a 16-speaker Harman Kardon surround sound system with 464-watts of power that includes two bass speakers located under the front seats. Not to be outdone, the Bowers & Wilkins system also packs two bass drivers under the front seats.
Home Audio For The Car
The Bowers & Wilkins Diamond car audio system combines engineering and design to deliver immersive audio throughout a vehicle’s interior.
Inspired by Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship 800 Series Diamond home loudspeakers, the vehicle’s sound system features 20 high-performance speakers to deliver high-fidelity audio for all occupants.
Bowers & Wilkins worked with designers and sound engineers of the BMW Group from the beginning the XM’s development. The engineering teams ensured that speaker positioning around the vehicle was optimized for maximum performance, delivering an in-car listening experience that is accurate and true to the original recording, a philosophy Bowers & Wilkins calls ‘True Sound’.
From Dan Shepherd, Vice President of Licensing and Partnerships at Bowers & Wilkins: “We are proud to be continuing our partnership with BMW Group to incorporate our high-performance Diamond Surround Sound System in the BMW XM…BMW drivers expect only the best when choosing their vehicles, making the Diamond Surround Sound System in the all-new BMW XM the right choice for elevating their in-car audio experience.”
Key Features
Key features of the Diamond Surround Sound System include:
- Five aluminum tweeters.
- Two Diamond Dome tweeters in the driver and passenger side A-pillars.
- Two Rohacell central bass speakers under the front seats.
The high-frequency Diamond Dome tweeters have been carefully developed in the laboratory using chemical vapor deposition and temperatures approaching that of the surface of the sun. These very light and extremely rigid tweeters push unwanted resonances far beyond what a human can hear. As a result, the Diamond Dome tweeters create realistic treble, providing accuracy with minimal distortion, delivering sound as it was intended to be heard.
The car also features five Continuum midrange speakers in the front and rear doors, the dashboard, and the rear of the cabin to give an authentic recreation of music as the artist intended.
The XM is the second BMW vehicle to feature Continuum™ cones, born out of eight years of development and an enormous step forward in midrange speaker performance. The stainless-steel speaker grilles boast an exclusive pattern design that illuminates to help visually highlight the system’s outstanding sound quality.
Specifications
- BMW Car Model: XM
- Number of Speakers: 20
- Number of Amplifier Channels: 20
- Amplifier Power Output: 1475W Total
- Speaker Complement
- Tweeters: 2 x 25mm (1-inch) Diamond Nautilus®, 5x 25mm Aluminium
- Midrange: 7 x 100m (4-inch) Continuum®
- Central Bass Woofers: 2 x 217mm (8.5 inches) Rohacell
- 3D Speakers: 4 x 40mm
- Grille Material: Stainless Steel / Fabric
- Sound Modes
- Studio
- Concert
- On Stage
- Rear
- Sound Processing
- QuantumLogic™ immersion processing
- AuraVox
Tip: Additional information on the Bowers and Wilkins/BMW Collaboration
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