The B&O in mine was garbage, they don’t make their speakers from what I could see when I took them all out, they look and feel like $5 speakers and use paper cones.
The B&O in my SQ5 was really good, but I think the Tesla in-house systems have blown the “regular” B&O systems out of the water.
Model 3 and Y have fantastic sound systems.
Anything made by Harmin can be hit or miss. At the end of the day it's branding; for instance, the B&O system in the Ford Bronco (yes, somehow the Bronco even has a B&O upgraded system) is hot garbage and worse than most base systems.
I agree. My 2015 Genesis sedan has a Lexicon sound system that's pretty good. They did their usual trick of putting midrange speakers on the dashboard/crash pad and parcel shelf, which makes vocals much clearer. The sub-bass makes some songs really kick in combination with the door woofers.
It's also up to the manufacturer. If they reached out to Harmon and said look we want to legitimately offer a high end sound system and are willing to put in the R&D and budget to make it happen, Harmon can deliver. But that's not what they do. Like you said its basically just a licensing deal for the name itself.
Interesting to see Acura ditching Panasonic/ELS. The ELS 3D systems have historically reviewed very very well, punching well above its weight and performing as good (or even better) than the competition. I don't know if this is a signal that Acura is trying to move upmarket or something, but it's an odd change since this seems like a lateral move at best.
As much as I like the ELS system, I’m pretty sure most people have never even heard of it (nor are they aware that Panasonic is an “audio company”). I think the move to B&O is more of a brand recognizability thing.
It's entirely possible that the hardware doesn't change at all, and that Acura just lets B&O make some software tweaks and puts the B&O name on it. A lot of automotive audio stuff is just licensing.
The problem is that the the ELS system is already made by Panasonic and branded as ELS. I don't think Panasonic would let B&O just slap their label onto it.
Sure, but the ELS system might not have any actual Panasonic hardware, it could just be tuned by Panasonic. Not sure in this specific case though, I've just heard that many OEM audio systems are just generic speaker systems with audio brands doing the software tuning and then letting the OEMs put their branding on it.
[It sure sounds like its Panasonic hardware](https://na.panasonic.com/us/news/powered-panasonic-els-studio-3d-r-signature-edition-launches-new-2022-acura-mdx-type-s). The tuning comes from Elliot Scheiner, hence ELS.
I think this partnership will include all of Acura’s future EV vehicles and will slowly be phased into the regular Integra, TLX, RDX, and MDX once they are redesigned. I highly doubt Acura is cutting ELS from all of their ICE models and replacing them with B&O. Sadly ELS will eventually be phased out but I’d imagine ELS to still be around the ICE models until they are due for a re-design. So 2025/26 for the RDX and 2028 for the MDX, but I’m not sure if they will re-design the TLX or just drop it from production when it’s time. Integra is too new to tell if they plan on keeping it around for a 6-7 year long production.
I think the current TLX, Integra and MDX are the last ICE models from Acura and their replacements will be EVs. The RDX will likely be the last redesigned gas powered vehicle from the brand from 2025. They’ll likely just extend the life of this MDX until they go full EV. I don’t see them investing much money into future gas projects as far as the Acura brand.
Given how long they milked the ILX for, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Integra last for a long long time. It's an incredibly profitable car for them since much of the tooling and R&D is amortized across the huge volume of Civic units.
Very true, my only concern is Honda eventually going hybrid only for the civic and Acura keeping old tech in the Integra because they were very clear when they said no more hybrid vehicles to be made under Acura, only EV going forward. They will milk it no doubt.
Is this good??? i mean sound systems get tedious unless it's a dope system where you can actually tweak every facet of it. Also depends on the speakers themselves in the car...
Disappointing, the ELS in the integra is just as good as all the reviews make it out to be. I’ve heard enough B&O systems to know that best case scenario they’ll only manage to match the current ELS ones.
Yeah it's an absolute shame IMO. I loved the ELS systems, and honestly hated the B&O systems I've tried are nowhere near as good. At the minimum they could've gone with the Burmester ...
Very very good compared to what?
I was excited to test out the Model 3 because the audio system was raved about. Daily Motor ranked it similar to most Acura ELS systems.
It was OK for background music, but that’s about it. There was no comparison to an enthusiast setup with high quality components and professionally optimized room acoustics / placement.
The Model 3 Premium system is good but I'd hardly consider it to be great, regardless of what some of the reviews state. A lot of the hype comes from low expectations and an unfounded rumor that it's a unbranded B&O system, and the confirmation bias that comes with it.
Do yourself a favor and try the B&W systems in the higher end Volvos. By far the best audio system I've experienced in a car. The proper ELS 3D setups and Burmester systems used in the upper end Mercedes products are very very good too, far better than the Model 3 system. I have no idea how someone could rank the Model 3 system anywhere close to the ELS.
I’m surprised that you have no idea how someone can have different taste in sound quality. You’ve acknowledged that the Model 3 system is “good”. That leaves a lot of room for preference. They ranked TLX higher, but Integra was similar.
What I’m trying to understand is what you mean by “very very good”. Like what speakers are you using at home? Was the room optimized by acoustics consultant? That will help me understand your perspective.
38 Comments
DaytonaRS5@reddit
AKGunkie@reddit
UniqueThanks@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
Khelgar_Ironfist_@reddit
andrewia@reddit
ashleygianna@reddit
siggystabs@reddit
DaytonaRS5@reddit
cabs84@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
NeccoWafer@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
Vtakkin@reddit
AKGunkie@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
Vtakkin@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
Vtakkin@reddit
batmanbadass69@reddit
Real-Cricket9435@reddit
One-Platypus3455@reddit
batmanbadass69@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
batmanbadass69@reddit
UniqueThanks@reddit
sssozi@reddit
AmericanMuscle4Ever@reddit
Incompetent_Person@reddit
hi_im_bored13@reddit
driving_for_fun@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
driving_for_fun@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
driving_for_fun@reddit
cosmic_thundercat@reddit
pasghetticode@reddit (OP)
desirox@reddit