[simoneves]

Hey guys,

I've had my 2010 128i with base audio for about three weeks now, and while I love the car to bits, I am pretty disappointed with the stereo sound quality, as most people on this forum seem to be too.

I find it to play plenty loud enough for my taste, and the bass response is actually quite punchy and tuneful, but the midrange is really nasty and there's no sparkle to the treble, presumably because there are now no separate tweeters.

I can't really justify spending a lot of money to improve it, especially as the car is leased, but I am wondering if some kind of economic and non-invasive improvement is possible.

From reading other posts in this forum, I have concluded the following:

1. The speakers are the first weak link

2. The rear speakers are not worth touching, especially as the HU has some extreme EQ hardwired for them. I have had my system faded all the way forward for a while now, and I hardly ever have people in the back of the car (and even if I do, I don't play loud music!)

3. The underseat subs can sound better with a better amp (although perhaps this only applies to the 2008/2009 setup, not the allegedly different 2010 one)

4. Interior mirror/tweeter panels from 2008/2009 are available fairly cheaply.

From this, I suspect that the first step would be a front door speaker upgrade to run off the existing HU, in parallel (electrically and figuratively) with the existing under-seat subs.

I'm guessing that, due to the limited depth available, there isn't really much option for a dual-cone 4" door speaker (with integrated tweeter), which would be the least invasive change (and this is why the stock speakers are single-cone).

The next step, presumably, is to change out the mirror panels and use a component setup. I have seen mention of three candidates for speakers, as follows:

MB Quart
Diamond Audio
Morel Ovation

If somebody could recommend the exact model, I would be grateful, as MB Quart seem to have a wide variety of XXX 210 models, and I'd want to make sure there really were no depth or mounting issues, as it really has to be a drop-in replacement.

I'm guessing all these come with separate crossover boxes, which would have to be fitted inside the door panel somehow, but could be fed from the stock wiring. I'm also hoping that there is an easy cable route from the main section of the door into the tweeter area.

Do these crossovers include level controls to allow balancing against the stock subs, given that they are apparently wired in parallel?

It seems this would cost me in the region of $200-250, which is really all I want to spend, at least for now.

So... has anyone done JUST this, driven from the HU and keeping the existing subs, and how much of an improvement was it?

Also, if anyone could point me towards some instructions for removing the door panels (and the mirror panels) in a 2010, I would be most grateful.

Thanks in advance!