[thumper88]

... what would you spend it on?
(2009 128i coupe)
You all know the story with the stock "hi-fi system" and I've read at least a dozen threads on upgrades, but most seem to be pushing more than $1,000 into it.
That's more than I want to spend, and I'm not an audiophile. And even after putting all that info into the hopper, it's not clear to me what to do. I see some say a speaker upgrade without an amp upgrade isn't all that helpful, and others say an amp upgrade alone isn't great because the existing speakers are marginal.
Is there even a way to get by spending $500-$600 and make a reasonable improvement? I think the current system is about a 3 or 4 on the dial and I'd like to hear sound that rates 5 or 6.
Also, I think what we're talking about here obviously is parts cost and DIY install.
All this is a bit of a shock, remembering the old days when I'd get a Honda Civic with blank plate where head unit went, pop in a $250 Kenwood AM/FM cassette , 5.25 inch door speakers and a pair of Jensen 6x9s in a box in the back and be the baddest mofo for 100 miles. Wouldve been 200 miles if I'd had a mullet.
Now I've got a computer-linked 12-speaker system with USB and DVD and it can't get out of its own way.