Premium sound speaker upgrades?

[KenB]

Originally Posted by shashankmittal

Depends on how you install it. I did an aftermarket upgrade and my car still looks stock! Check out the 'Custom Audio installation' pics in my profile.

That looks great. Great speakers too, I had some of those in my truck back in the day....just not a project I want to take on in the X5, especially if there is any electronic gremlin combined with an a-hole of a service department.

[admranger]

Impressive work. Nice components. Officially drooling!

[drod]

great work!! looks really nice..

it's definitely something to think about...

does anyone know what the specs are on the upgraded premium sound system? size and type of door speakers and subs?

what would a nice speaker replacement be? audiophile?

[AZX54.4]

I am considering an audio upgrade in my 05 x5. I was thinking of starting with the BSW stage 1 kit that replaces all 10 speakers. I imagine this would be a HUGE improvement. Has anyone else done this upgrade and how big of an improvement was it??

[m5james]

Originally Posted by AZX54.4

I am considering an audio upgrade in my 05 x5. I was thinking of starting with the BSW stage 1 kit that replaces all 10 speakers. I imagine this would be a HUGE improvement. Has anyone else done this upgrade and how big of an improvement was it??

Save your money...read posts 11-16 http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-question.html

[AZX54.4]

Originally Posted by m5james

Save your money...read posts 11-16 http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-question.html

I agree, the prices on their speaker package to seem inflated. However, they are plug and play and require no splicing and soldering of wires. This is nice. I know the price is a little high but what im curious about is the sound quality of the upgrade. They are using Rainbow speakers and I have never heard these speakers in person. When you did the MB Quartz upgrade on your 7 did you do the installation? Did you cut and solder the wires?

[m5james]

Originally Posted by AZX54.4

I agree, the prices on their speaker package to seem inflated. However, they are plug and play and require no splicing and soldering of wires. This is nice. I know the price is a little high but what im curious about is the sound quality of the upgrade. They are using Rainbow speakers and I have never heard these speakers in person. When you did the MB Quartz upgrade on your 7 did you do the installation? Did you cut and solder the wires?

I'd suggest contacting Rainbow directly since they still llist a BMW section w/o the markup that BSW tacks on.

As for my car, it was a complete rewire...not for the faint of heart. Removed the stock stereo completely, wired in two amps (top end and bottom end), DVD/Navi in dash, dual headrest monitors, 12" sub w/ custom enclosure, etc etc etc. The only thing left of the stock stereo is the speaker wiring from the trunk to the amp and the OBC/Radio portion in the dash. Soon enough the OBC will be relocated to the glovebox and a custom double DIN bezel will be made.

[bmwman3241]

I heard the Individual sound package is supposed to be amazing, better then the Premium Logic 7, Bose, and Bang & Olufsen.

Might be worth looking into if you want an OEM BMW setup with the best quality.

[drod]

so it seems like a reasonable yet effective solution could be opting for the premium sound pkg which gives you more speakers and a 600 watt 9 channel amp.. then upgrading those 4 inch speakers in all locations (front/rear/doors)

maybe the subs too...if you can get to them under the seats...

this way you don't have to bother with rewiring or cutting out larger holes into the doors and other locations and messing around with third-party amps or buidling custom boxes to house the bigger systems.

swapping out the philips to MB Quartz or Focals and using the same amp should have a significant improvement wouldn't you think? (as long s your using the upgrade sound system)

sounds like a pretty good idea...

[shashankmittal]

Originally Posted by drod

this way you don't have to bother with rewiring or cutting out larger holes into the doors and other locations and messing around with third-party amps or buidling custom boxes to house the bigger systems.

As long as you choose to install 4" speakers, you wont have to cut out larger holes. Installing an aftermarket amplifier requires some rewiring, but its not too much. All stock free/open air subs are useless. Custom boxes for subs, is totally a personal choice. If you want to add more bass, then you'll need to add an enclosed sub to your system.

Originally Posted by drod

swapping out the philips to MB Quartz or Focals and using the same amp should have a significant improvement wouldn't you think? (as long s your using the upgrade sound system)

sounds like a pretty good idea...

I used Focal speakers with my stock amplifier for about a month. The sound was definitely better than stock speakers, but it missed the fidelity I was looking for. I then upgraded the amplifier and the sound quality changed from good to awesome.
What I mean to say is that you need to pair good quality speakers with a good quality amp, the stock amp will do no good! Moreover, if you are spending $2000 extra on premium system, its better to upgrade the normal stock system using the same $2000 to a much better aftermarket sound system.