E82 speaker upgrades

[e82hm06]

Hi all,

I have a 2010 e82 that came with the business sound system, the lowest of the low😢

I have one sub under the passenger seat, no tweeters and I believe no amp as the business setup didn’t come with one.

What upgrades would people recommend me doing? I have put in a professional headunit for the time being and this has give a slight improvement.

Was thinking of getting an amp installed and starting from there but that’s a big job to wire it all up from scratch so i’m unsure.

Thanks.

[fast1eddy]

Bavsound or Bimmertech are your best options for plug and play. Not cheap but I’ve only heard good things.

[zx10guy]

Focal makes a whole line of BMW plug and play speakers.

https://www.focal.com/catalog/car-au...-play-kits/bmw

Being that your factory system doesn't have tweeters, I suggest you look at the IC BMW 100 coaxial speakers. These speakers have tweeters and the crossover integrated. Focal also has replacement drop in subs too.

I have the older generation plug and play speakers in my 1 series.

[cerealwars]

The focal units don't break the bank. Do you like them, zx10guy?

I'm in the exact same boat, I've been looking for junkyard upgrades from e90s. I know the factory stereo kinda sucks, but I'm not audio-literate enough to really know how best to upgrade. Maybe there's more info on E90post.

e82hm06, do you think the e90 professional head unit is worth $25 and a quick trip to the boneyard?

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by cerealwars

The focal units don't break the bank. Do you like them, zx10guy?

I'm in the exact same boat, I've been looking for junkyard upgrades from e90s. I know the factory stereo kinda sucks, but I'm not audio-literate enough to really know what how best to upgrade. Maybe there's more info on E90post.

e82hm06, do you think the e90 professional head unit is worth $25 and a quick trip to the boneyard?

They're a nice upgrade over the stock speakers. The path I took was to first upgrade the amp since I have the 2013 HiFi base system. The general consensus at the time was doing the amp upgrade would be enough for most. While there was some improvement, it wasn't enough as I was still having issues with the stock speakers. It's been a while since I had the stock speakers in my car but from what I remember the stock speakers fell on their faces when driven somewhat moderately to hard. Mids were distorted for me.

Moving to the Focals was much better but initially the Focals I have were pretty bright/aggressive at the higher audio range. That got dialed out with the DSP sound file for the Bimmertech/Audiotec Fisher amp. I don't know how the current Focals will sound as they're not the same as the ones I have.

[jcandido]

Recently replaced the under-seat subs and front component speakers in my 135 with the plug-and-play Focals. They sound great with the stock amp imho.

My car came with the HK audio package. It sounded ok, not great. But when the sub under the driver's seat blew, I went ahead and got the focals. I'm still breaking them in, but can already tell they're definitely a step up. If you end up going that way, make sure you get the subs with the right ohm rating. It's different for the different stock stereos (HK amp requires the 8ohm subs).

[ZHPizza]

Good feedback on the Focal drop ins!

You can find the part numbers on the website here and then get them for much less $$$ from German resellers on ebay.

https://www.focal-inside.com/bmw/en/...2007-2013-e82/

I saved this info to help understand what system you have in your car:

- 1-Series 2008 to 2009 = HiFi (10-speakers, analog OEM amp) or Logic7/Premium system (10 speakers, digital OEM amp)
-1-Series 2010 = Stereo (6 speakers, no tweeters, no OEM amp) or Logic7/Premium system (10-speakers, digital OEM amp)
-1-Series 2011 = Stereo (6 speakers, no tweeters, no OEM amp) or Harman Kardon/Logic7 system (10-speakers, digital OEM amp)
-1-Series 2011.5 to 2012 = HiFi (8-speakers, analog OEM amp) or Harman Kardon/Logic7 system (10-speakers, digital OEM amp)

[jcandido]

Also, when installing the front components, you have an option to connect the tweeters at 0db or -3db. I connected mine at -3db, which feels nicely balanced and not too "bright."

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jcandido

Also, when installing the front components, you have an option to connect the tweeters at 0db or -3db. I connected mine at -3db, which feels nicely balanced and not too "bright."

Are you saying you replaced the mid/tweeters with the Focal PnP speakers too?

[jcandido]

Yes I did. Was it necessary? Not really. But I'm glad I did.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jcandido

Yes I did. Was it necessary? Not really. But I'm glad I did.

Ok. So when you said you had the option to connect the tweeters at 0dB or -3dB, was this some physical setting you did with the Focal crossover?

I'm asking because I have what I would guess as the previous generation of the Focal BMW PnP speakers. I didn't have that option with the speakers I have.

I also agree the Focals are on the bright side which got dialed out using the DSP in the Bimmertech/Match amp.

[ZHPizza]

Fyi I just found a bunch a these focal speakers in the garage that I never installed. It's this entire kit minus one sub (because I thought they came in pairs). Lmk if it would work in your car and/or you want them.

[jcandido]

The Focal BMW 100L components come with a crossover that connects the mid driver to the tweeter. Coming out of the crossover you'll see two wires, one labeled 0db and the other -3db. I connected my tweeters w the -3db option.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jcandido

The Focal BMW 100L components come with a crossover that connects the mid driver to the tweeter. Coming out of the crossover you'll see two wires, one labeled 0db and the other -3db. I connected my tweeters w the -3db option.

Been looking at the details around the current 100L. The crossover is much more substantial than the older IFBMW-S that were the only available option when I did my upgrade project. The crossover was literally was an inline pigtail that had what I seem to recall a single capacitor. Wonder what improvements the 100L has over the IFBMW-S. But not going to upgrade what I have since my Bimmertech/Match PP 82DSP is already dialed in for the speakers I have.