[zhoushilun]

I got a Hifi system in my car, and it sounds really terrible. I am thinking to replace all the speakers to H/K, I know there are few aftermarkets product like Bimmertech and Bavsound are really good, but I still believe OEM for some reason. So my question is:
1. For the car come with the HiFi system, which is the best way to improve the sound quality, speaker or amp?
2. Can I replace the H/K speaker without changing the amp, are they plug and play?
3. Can I change the speaker one by one, is the H/K speaker work with the regular speaker? because change all of them is a big budget and work for me, I would start from the center speaker, and do the door, the rear will be the last.

[jedi-knight83]

changing just the speakers and leaving the hifi amp will sound worse.

The hifi system is far from 'terrible' so perhaps something isn't quite working right with your current system?

[zhoushilun]

Originally Posted by jedi-knight83

changing just the speakers and leaving the hifi amp will sound worse.

The hifi system is far from 'terrible' so perhaps something isn't quite working right with your current system?

I mean maybe not terrible, but definitely need to improve.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

I got a Hifi system in my car, and it sounds really terrible. I am thinking to replace all the speakers to H/K, I know there are few aftermarkets product like Bimmertech and Bavsound are really good, but I still believe OEM for some reason. So my question is:
1. For the car come with the HiFi system, which is the best way to improve the sound quality, speaker or amp?
2. Can I replace the H/K speaker without changing the amp, are they plug and play?
3. Can I change the speaker one by one, is the H/K speaker work with the regular speaker? because change all of them is a big budget and work for me, I would start from the center speaker, and do the door, the rear will be the last.

I think the sound quality of the BMW individual speakers is very good. What the overall system lacks is bass. The underseat subwoofer cabinets limit the subs and the stock amp limits the power available to drive them. Read posts from billfitz who is an expert in the field. I learned a lot from them.

My car has the H/K system but the issue is the same. I upgraded the underseat subs to Earthquakes, installed a separate AudioControl amp (with built-in LOC) to drive them and used a wiring harness from Technicpnp to tie in to the factory amp without cutting or splicing into any wires.

The result was fantastic. Friends and family thought that I had replaced all my speakers when all I did was upgrade the subwoofers and power them correctly.

Hope this helps!

[Encanto]

Replace OEM amp with a JL Audio XD600/6v2. Change speakers only if you want to afterward.

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

I got a Hifi system in my car, and it sounds really terrible. I am thinking to replace all the speakers to H/K, I know there are few aftermarkets product like Bimmertech and Bavsound are really good, but I still believe OEM for some reason. So my question is:
1. For the car come with the HiFi system, which is the best way to improve the sound quality, speaker or amp?
2. Can I replace the H/K speaker without changing the amp, are they plug and play?
3. Can I change the speaker one by one, is the H/K speaker work with the regular speaker? because change all of them is a big budget and work for me, I would start from the center speaker, and do the door, the rear will be the last.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

For the car come with the HiFi system, which is the best way to improve the sound quality, speaker or amp?

Amp and DSP. There's nothing wrong with the stock speakers. If you want to get better bass without having to add a sub in the trunk then the mod that johnung did is your best option.

[paul e]

Originally Posted by johnung

I think the sound quality of the BMW individual speakers is very good. What the overall system lacks is bass. The underseat subwoofer cabinets limit the subs and the stock amp limits the power available to drive them. Read posts from billfitz who is an expert in the field. I learned a lot from them.

My car has the H/K system but the issue is the same. I upgraded the underseat subs to Earthquakes, installed a separate AudioControl amp (with built-in LOC) to drive them and used a wiring harness from Technicpnp to tie in to the factory amp without cutting or splicing into any wires.

The result was fantastic. Friends and family thought that I had replaced all my speakers when all I did was upgrade the subwoofers and power them correctly.

Hope this helps!

Well this has piqued my interest...a couple of Qs....

(1) how much effort needed to do this?

(2) what did it cost?

Thanks.

[zhoushilun]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Amp and DSP. There's nothing wrong with the stock speakers. If you want to get better bass without having to add a sub in the trunk then the mod that johnung did is your best option.

Hi, I have the opposite though, I feel the bass is ok but the tweeter is bad since I could not hear the clearly voice, I guess that also because of the music I listen to.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

Hi, I have the opposite though, I feel the bass is ok but the tweeter is bad since I could not hear the clearly voice, I guess that also because of the music I listen to.

Have you tried playing with the left/right balance and front/rear fader controls to isolate speakers to see if maybe you have a bad speaker?

[Billfitz]

The tweeter is fine. The lack of a decent EQ in the Hi-Fi amp makes it difficult, if not impossible, to adjust the sound to individual tastes. The EQ in the H-K is better, but not great. An add-on plug and play DSP that can be used with either would be nice, I'd buy one, but there aren't any. The only option at present is to replace the amp with an aftermarket amp that has a good DSP.

[zhoushilun]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The tweeter is fine. The lack of a decent EQ in the Hi-Fi amp makes it difficult, if not impossible, to adjust the sound to individual tastes. The EQ in the H-K is better, but not great. An add-on plug and play DSP that can be used with either would be nice, I'd buy one, but there aren't any. The only option at present is to replace the amp with an aftermarket amp that has a good DSP.

Can you share your EQ setting, I have a Bimmertech Carplay box installed and the box come with the EQ setting with different frequency, I want to try if I set up them in the Carplay box will help.

[zhoushilun]

Originally Posted by johnung

Have you tried playing with the left/right balance and front/rear fader controls to isolate speakers to see if maybe you have a bad speaker?

Yea, I checked every speaker and they are working fine.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

Can you share your EQ setting, I have a Bimmertech Carplay box installed and the box come with the EQ setting with different frequency, I want to try if I set up them in the Carplay box will help.

I have the Hi-Fi system, so I don't have any EQ other than treble and bass. That's why I'd spring for a DSP if there was such a thing. I don't have a Carplay box either, so I can't offer advice on that.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by paul e

Well this has piqued my interest...a couple of Qs....

(1) how much effort needed to do this?

(2) what did it cost?

Thanks.

It's always tough to quantify the amount of effort a project will take because that's completely dependent on a person's skillset, available tools, etc. what I did for this and any new project is to read about the process, watch available videos and look carefully at my own car to see if it all makes sense to me. Then it comes down to how comfortable you feel taking it on, and if you have an alternative in someone else with experience who can help you, or a professional who could do the whole thing.

Decades ago I had a home garage/shop and tools. I installed some car stereos for friends and family. Hah, now my body is too old to contort under a dashboard, have to work outside in a condo parking lot and scavenge necessary tools from Walmart, Harbor Freight and AliExpress/China.

Do the research first and plot out what needs to be purchased and steps to install it. If you are still questioning whether to pay someone to do it then take your car and talk to some professionals in the area. They all talk like they know what they are doing, so if you haven't done your research first then you won't be able to judge if you should consider letting them touch your car.

I took mine to a couple pro shops and insisted that their installer come outside to look at my car and describe how he would do the install, where he would suggest locating the amp, where and how the wires would be run, any question that I could think of. Whether they would use the harness I would buy or splice into my car's wiring. Both claimed vast experience installing in 3-series but in their answers to my questions to my questions, both failed miserably. Had I not educated myself I may have paid a lot of money for them to butcher my car!

Now I did happen to have a great experience at another pro shop that specializes in truck mods. I stopped in to look at amps that they sold and talked to them about my project. I complained that all of the Add-An-Amp wiring kits on the market were expensive and incomplete.

They offered to make me a custom kit on the spot. Their top installer came outside to measure and look at the trunk where I had already removed panels and left them home. We discussed potential amp locations and wire runs. For $50 I walked out with a custom kit with all the proper gauge wires and lengths. Most of that cost was for a heavy duty in-line fuse connector and fuse for the main power wire to my new amp.

Besides the excellent advice from billfitz, a Kies Motorsports video showed all the steps and tools needed to swap out the underseat subs. I'll put the link below. The sub part is in the last 5-6 minutes. This video is a great resource if you need to figure out how to remove and replace a stock speaker that has gone bad.

Also the newtis website and my Bentley F3x manual helped me to understand how to properly remove interior panels. I removed a lot more than necessary in search of every possible location for my new amplifier. Also I called and emailed the manufacturer's when I had specific questions and all where helpful. Earthquake, AudioControl and Technicpnp.

APPROXIMATE COST OF COMPONENTS:
Links at bottom.

$218/pair Earthquake 8", 2-ohm (need 2). Walmart on-line had best price by far including shipping.

$20/pair Earthquake installation ring. Has perfect speaker connectors and puts spring loaded wiring posts in stock location which makes it simple to install new thicker 14-gauge speaker wire from the new amp.

$330 (list price) AudioControl ACM-2.300
I literally searched for three weeks and this is the only amplifier that met ALL project requirements. Small size, high quality, 2-channels of 150 watts RMS into 2-ohms, built-in LOC that can handle 40volt speaker level inputs from the BMW amplifier (which does NOT have line levels outputs that usually connect amps to each other). It is sold by several large retailers like CrutchfieldRetailStore and Sonicelectronix. It can be had at a discount on sale or with a retailer coupon if you watch pricing daily and get on their email lists. I believe Sonic automatically gives new customers a discount to make their first purchase.

$50 Technicpnp BMW wiring harness for my specific car to add an amplifier to power subs. Saved so much time and risk to damaging my car by me splicing wires incorrectly. I could change my car back to stock in minutes too! Can be a little confusing to understand which connections to use but ask me and I can post more photos on that subject.

$30-$50 for a spool of high-end 14 gauge speaker wire twisted and in its own clear sheath. Get more than 25 feet which I bought and cut it way too close.

$50 Custom wiring install kit that I mentioned earlier. Since then I've discovered that Lowe's has some of the wiring at excellent prices. But that heavy duty in-line fuse would have to be found elsewhere. When searching for wire, be careful because the best deals will turn out to be copper coated aluminum wire. You want all copper.

Tools- anything that I didn't have handy were readily available at Walmart or Harbor Freight.

Kies Motorsports Video- underseat subs at last 5-6 minutes

Earthquake Subs
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Earthquake...ofer/132566928

Earthquake Installation Rings (pair)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/earthquake...pair/109473141

AudioControl ACM-2.300
https://www.audiocontrol.com/car-aud...iers/acm-2300/

Technicpnp
https://technicpnp.com/

Hope this helps!

[pierreye]

Originally Posted by zhoushilun

I got a Hifi system in my car, and it sounds really terrible. I am thinking to replace all the speakers to H/K, I know there are few aftermarkets product like Bimmertech and Bavsound are really good, but I still believe OEM for some reason. So my question is:
1. For the car come with the HiFi system, which is the best way to improve the sound quality, speaker or amp?
2. Can I replace the H/K speaker without changing the amp, are they plug and play?
3. Can I change the speaker one by one, is the H/K speaker work with the regular speaker? because change all of them is a big budget and work for me, I would start from the center speaker, and do the door, the rear will be the last.

I feel Hifi speakers not really clear especially on vocal and not airy at all. I'm not sure how much is your budget but I would go for the amp first. The easy way is to get Match UP 7BMW DSP amp. Just plug and play. Then download some of the forum user tune profile (can't remember his name, search in this forum) and listen for few weeks. If you still not happy, next step is to change your front L,R and C speakers. You can leave the rear speakers out first as normally it will be tune as filler only. Personally I would swap out the underseat sub too if you change the speakers as I feel the OEM Hifi sub can't play very loud and lack of mid bass punch. For which driver to go for, you can read the underseat sub thread for more information.

Regarding your question changing out OEM Hifi speakers with OEM HK speakers, I would advice against it as I don't feel it's a good upgrade path. I think the weakest link is the passive crossover network. I have both Hifi speakers and HK speakers which I swap out with DIY component speakers.

If you absolutely want to try something cheap, build a simple 2nd order crossover and plug it into your existing speakers. You will need to cut the inline capacitor from the tweeter (first order crossover). Buy some BMW speaker plug from Ali Express so that you keep the rest of the wiring stock. Will cost you around USD 20 per speaker in parts.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3226...c000dqV7S&mp=1