Base Audio -> Hifi Upgrade
 

Has anyone ever attempted a base audio system upgrade to the Hifi or Premium system using all OEM parts?

I recently purchased a 2010 x5 35d which I love, but I noticed the speakers felt REALLY flat - my 99 e46 has a killer system in comparison. Some quick investigating and WOW - BMW really crapped the bed when it came to the base system. So I started investigating..

I understand that you can recode the head-unit to Hifi (I'm not sure about Premium though -- there's different hardware involved?). Aside from the recode, you would simply need to purchase speakers, some wiring harnesses and the appropriate door panels, right?

It would be nice to have more and BETTER speakers than what I'm running now and to keep everything as clean as possible. I'm new to this forum and it's slightly difficult to find information since all e70 information is all in one "section"... I've searched, but have found little that is too straightforward except for the BSW state-1 kit

Brad
'83 320i 292k
'99 323i 192k
'10 X5 35d 18k

bump

As you probably have found, the cost to accomplish a factory upgrade' (ie components, drivers, missing wiring) surpasses the 'economically feasible' test... just replace with a high end audio upgrade. You could spend thousands on parts and harnesses, recoding, etc, and have an -at best- decent system. And be stuck with a car that your dealer will refuse to honor any warranty claim having to do with any aspect of the audio system (and pray you never have any battery/discharge issues)

The old days of 'change the amp and the speaker' are gone...IMO

A

As you probably have found, the cost to accomplish a factory upgrade' (ie components, drivers, missing wiring) surpasses the 'economically feasible' test... just replace with a high end audio upgrade. You could spend thousands on parts and harnesses, recoding, etc, and have an -at best- decent system. And be stuck with a car that your dealer will refuse to honor any warranty claim having to do with any aspect of the audio system (and pray you never have any battery/discharge issues)

The old days of 'change the amp and the speaker' are gone...IMO

A

You should probably just try the BSW kit first - it's pretty inexpensive and if it doesn't do the trick then you can swap the head unit and amps afterwards.

If you have the HK premium system in your E46, you would be disappointed in BMW's X5 premium system anyway. It's not the same sound quality at all. You're much better off going with aftermarket for both cost and quality.

I've done some research into the OEM replacements and I agree that it would not be a wise move...

This is my new plan -- looking for some advice/thoughts/criticism.

1. Replace the rear D-pillar trim pieces with the Hifi Trim pieces. This should be an easy swap and will allow for component speakers to mount on the rear D-pillars (exists in the premium systems). realoem quotes the trim piece around $75 if memory serves me.

2. Modify the rear door panels to house tweeters -- has anyone ever done this? The oem rear door panels are super-expensive. $1200+ for the door panels with tweeter cutouts from the Hifi setup.

3. Center speaker. There's a grill there so I would assume the mounts exist. Anyone have any information on this?

4. Amp the system. I'm an amp n00b, but I would guess I could use the 4 channels coming out of the headunit to be the signals for the amp. I've also read that it would be nice to have an amp that you can "reverse dsp" to compensate for the head-unit level adjustments. An alternative would be to recode the headunit to Hifi which does not have the signal processed (correct me if I'm wrong).

5. Replace the speakers. Since we'd be going after market on the amp the BSW kit doesn't seem to make much sense (except for fitment). If speaker fitment is an issue one thought might be to be the logic7 BSW upgrade to insure proper fitment in the doors, D-pillars and center channel.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this....

You've figured out the best method the audio aftermarket is not only cheaper but is going to sound superior to most of the X5 sound options. What colors your interior? I'll pull the parts up for you to make things a little easier for you.

Anthracite interior -- which on some part lists seems to be the same as 'black'.

Alrighty there are a few D covers available.

Click HERE for For vehicles with HiFi System Professional DSP and Headlining anthracite

Click HERE for For vehicles with 3rd seat row and Headlining anthracite

and good measure while I'm listing off parts, HERE is your current covers (For vehicles with Headlining anthracite)


Now just a thought, my notes don't show if the speaker mounts are going to be already installed in your car or not. You might want to pull the panels and look before attempting to retro fit the rear D column speakers into your X

Yep -- I've already thought about that.

Does anyone have any opinions on a source for speakers? Obviously fitment is an issue and the BSW logic7 kit would hypothetically "snap in" (with slight modifications to the rear door panels).

Since we'd be adding an amp to the system my guess is we'd be running new speaker wires for everything - negating the need for any adapters to fit the factory speaker connectors. Since we no longer need to use the factory speaker-wire harness maybe we don't need to go the BSW route... right? We'd only need to find speakers that are the appropriate depth.

Brad
'83 320i 292k
'99 323i 192k
'10 X5 35d 18k

Tonight I verified that the rear d-pillars are indeed capable of housing speakers. The 2nd image shows the two screw holes used for mounting.

** Edit. According to the bavarian Soundwerks e70 guide, the d-pillar panel has a "pod" that attaches to the panel. I have no idea what those sheet metal holes are for...
http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/pr...tage1_0211.pdf

http://www.xoutpost.com/members/capt...0-img-3096.jpg

http://www.xoutpost.com/members/capt...1-img-3097.jpg

Just a follow up -- this is my plan...

http://www.xoutpost.com/members/capt...eakersetup.jpg

I would def appreciate any input people might have on all fronts (plan design, speaker suggestions, amps, dsp, etc). I noticed there's a real lack of info on this topic around here and it would be awesome if we could pool our ideas into something worth sharing.

Brad

Brad,

I'm thinking along the same lines that you are, except I am only going to use the front and rear doors, front subs, and I'm not sure what to do with the center channel. My 2009 has the 10 speaker hi-fi system, so I'm not gonna screw with the rear pillars.

So far I have MB Quart comp's in the front doors, co-axials in the rear doors, and the shallow Earthquake 8" subs. The subs are going to have a seperate 2 channel amp, and if I can't figure out what to do with the center channel, I'll use a four channel amp on the doors. I guess I could give the center it's own "channel" for amping.

Since I have the hi-fi system, I was going to use the speaker wires coming out of my factory amp, convert them to the aftermarket amps and go from there. However I am still trying to find out how the center channel is going to fit into all of this.

Hope this helps.


Kenny

I spent a good two hours talking with some pals down at Imagine Audio -- one of the best installers in the country according to a recent ranking (can't find the article). They actually pushed me in a whole other direction. Instead of adding MORE speakers they would rather see me put that extra coin into the front setup.

They suggested using a signal processor to reverse any factory DSP and balance the new setup. Feed the existing speaker wires from the head unit into a 5-channel amp. Then upgrade the front door speakers to components (either a set of Morel or Focus). Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seats and use one of the old front mids as a center. Keep the existing rear-door mids (no tweeters), but feed them power from the amp to get a better sound from them.

The lesson is that more isn't better -- 99% of the music we have is recorded in stereo so speakers behind you aren't doing anything "more" for the system.... it's actually only making it harder to balance since you want the left and right channels hitting your ears at the same time. The more speakers you add the harder it is to get the sounds to all hit you at the same time.... and remember it's not giving you a better sound. Make your sound stage up front.

Yeah, I've heard that the whole front stage concept is well worth it... and it makes sense, especially if you usually only have one or two people in your vehicle. All the sound in front of you.

So are you thinking 2 channels for the doors, (front and rear together), two channels for the under seat subs and one channel for the center?

I looked at some Morel's and Focal's too... great speakers, no doubt... but I found a pair of MB Quart QSD-210's for next to nothing. Couldn't pass them up. I am also sold on the Earthquake shallow subs, can't wait to get them installed and powered up.

Thanks again for the info. We'll figure this out sooner or later.

I'm actually doing 4 channels for the doors (front and rear separate), 2 for subs and no center. If I decide I need the center I'll power the rear doors off of the head-unit and use that signal line for the center channel. Post back and let me know how those Earthquakes feel...

I read on an E90 forum that you could move from base to hifi with a kit from Schmeidmann, includes Alpine amp and speakers, along with A pillar tweeter pods. The system then needs to be coded to remove the 'filtering' of the output that exists in the base setup.
Is there any basis to this?
Scott

There is a kit from Alpine -- basically a retrofit kit... but it doesn't fit our e70s.

You can recode your system to have less signal processing by coding it as the HiFi system as opposed to the base system, but I'm not positive it removes all of the DSP.

I've talked to some installers and done some research and your best bet is to upgrade your front door speakers with a nice set of component speakers (this will add a tweeter to the empty spot in the front doors). Leave the rear door mids alone. Upgrade the subwoofers with a nice set of SWS-8 earthquakes -- these drop right in the shallow opening under the seats. Get a digital signal processor like the Rockford 3Sixty.3 -- with this you can reverse any signal processing then send the signals to an amp. Pick up a nice 5 or 6 channel amp and use that to power your new components, the subs, and the rear mids.

There is no sense in upgrading the sound behind you or even adding more speakers behind you. You want your 'stage' in front of you ad adding speakers behind you just makes it harder to balance the system. With an amp your system will be LOUD enough so, again, adding more speakers isn't helping.

One thing that helped me realize that MORE is NOT better was that I had to be reminded -- 99% of the music we listen to in our cars is in STEREO. It's not like our home theater system which are recorded in surround sound. Your CDs and MP3s have two channels -- LEFT and RIGHT. Adding speakers behind you doesn't change this. You want your music to sound right in front of you so why add speakers anywhere else except to your sides (and possibly a front center channel)? Spend your money up front.

Hope that helps!

thanks for the great reply.
The setup I had in my other BMW ended up similar, although it already had an amp (DSP) and that complicated the picture. I focused on the front stage with that, and was very happy.
This one seems much simpler, no amp. I was looking for plug and play.
I pulled the amp from the other BMW but I think it is only 4 channel.
I have had an aftermarket quote of $1400 to $1900 for amp, processor, speakers without installation. I think I could do it for much less than that going your way.
Get the X5 tomorrow, so will see then.
Scott

guys is it even worth using the factory amp if I just replace the 4 " speakers and the subwoofers with sws 8' ones without upgrading the factory amp. I have the mid system because I have subwoofers and tweeters in my front doors.

BAV Sound
 

i know it an old post, i was searching other stuff, decide to drop in and see if this clip can help:



there are lot more from this guy...search from his channel...very impressive tutorial...

I'd be curious to hear what happen to this stereo upgrade project ;)

Thank God I got premium sound

it sure is a step up from E53 to E70 (what I've got now...)