Advice - Sound System Upgrade
 

I have a '03 X5 with no NAV, no DSP, no Cd changer. I have a budget of max $1500 to upgrade my audio system. I've been looking at the Bavarian Suondworkds speakers/sub package but somehow I don't feel it's adequate. I am not looking to build a loud system that my neighbor can hear. Just enough for good clean music. Can you guys recommend what I should replace and brands please?

Thanks.

If I lived in California, I would drive up to see el_duderino and let him fix up my sound.

Is this something you are thinking of installing yourself?

Because in that price range you can get any of several good 4-channel amps and good speaker sets.

You won't get a stealth sub in that price. I am not someone who recommends that you put a big sub box in the back of your X5.

You can get a new stealth sub in the right rear corner and an amp to power it for well under $1500, but I don't think this would solve your problem of clarity per se.

If you came into our store with that budget, and those requirements, I would use a DLS 50-watt-per-channel amp and avincar euro-made front 6.5" components and rear 6.5 coaxials would sound much smoother and less strained than the OEM system, with better low end and clearer highs without being strident. The X5 6.5" woofers and the way they are mounted in the doors will play better low end than any other BMW door speaker provision ever, and if you are not looking for maximum volume AND you have a $1500 budget, I would stick to the bass available from the door locations.

The budget would be around $1100 un-installed, even with the Iso-Max interface adapters that I find are the best-sounding interface to that car.

You could probably go to a good shop like Competition Soundworks and get it installed for $300.

Bavarian Soundwerks told me they don't know of a stealth sub to replace the OEM sub for a X5 with Nav/DSP. Do you?

That "stealth" sub box would have to be custom made. That's why "el_duderino" said that you can only get an amp and sub/box for $1500 as most of that money would be going toward building the custom box.

I haven't seen enough positive or negative about the Bavarian Soundworks packages (i.e., MB Quartz) to cast an opinion one way or the other. Wish we had more forum members reporting in.

el_duderino points out in this thread (http://www.xoutpost.com/stereo-system...io-system.html) that there is a frequency range for each speaker for a DSP equiped car and in his opinion, if you speaker swap only, you aren't getting a good upgrade.

I sure want to just swap speakers and be done for $400, but it looks to be more involved financially and time wise to truly upgrade. Why do car manufacturers make it so hard to upgrade! I went through this with the Acura MDX.

I suspect that someone will offer a straght three-way speaker upgrade soon.

And yes, about $600 of that price was going to the one-off fiberglass sub enclosure.

Duffin: It's really a question of how far you want to go. The reason we offer our Stage 1 Audio Upgrade is because it's pretty easy to get noticeable, enjoyable results from a smple speaker upgrade. It's by no means perfect, and it's certainly not the "best" solution there is, but if you have a budget and want an improvement, it's a great way to start; no matter what you do, you're going to replace your speakers anyway, so why not see if that might be all you want to do?

If you perform the upgrade and feel like you need more, you can certainly go down that path later. Just a question of cost / benefit.

Anyway, just know that if you do go with the BSW Stage 1 Upgrade, you are protected; if you aren't happy with the results and want to take another route, you can return the product for a 100% refund. Here's a link to our guarantee:

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/pr...I=386/_cid=174

P.S. We are about 3 weeks away from having replacement midranges for your X5, too, meaning you can replace ALL your speakers for under $500!

I might have one sitting on my desk...