[BMW DIY Guy]

Hey yall:

I have a 2014 F32, and am the (new) second owner. The first owner definitely made some sound system changes, and I am trying to figure out exactly what they did to the car.

Everything is HK badged, so at least HAS those assuming the speakers haven't been changed out.

The owner definitely did *something*.. there is a massive () Alpine amp in the trunk, under the floor board and an Alpine dial mounted under the driver's side dash for the subs which are now SUBSTANTIAL. The sub response actually is just insane, with me (if it was a 1-10 scale) running it at about a 1 or 1.5 on the dial.

The speakers though.. now I know I may have to just end up tearing the door cards off, lay the seats back to get to the under subs, but hoping folks can help perhaps?

The stock/HiFI speakers are black I believe normally from everything I can tell. For others with HK, are the speaker membranes normally silver?

Mine look like this:


Also


I am *guessing* here, and not trying to ask dumb questions either.. I know the ultimate answer may be to take a few hours and tear at least one door panel off, check the sub under the seat, center channel etc.. but figured it couldn't hurt to ask as well.

For the record, the system isn't really that bad at this point and more than enough I need for now. (though the sub is ridiculous candidly, way too much) but would also love to know all that was done to my car so I know what I should do in return.

[JOE YOUNG]

Yap! Those speakers in the pictures are definitely HKs.

[BMW DIY Guy]

Originally Posted by JOE YOUNG

Yap! Those speakers in the pictures are definitely HKs.

That is what I am guessing as well. Without tearing things apart, I bet I have HK speakers all around, and a heavily modified sub system under the seats. I will probably start there, and see if I can figure out what he did previously.

Thanks!

[bri1042]

They certainly look like the HK's, but they could be some other metal-dome tweeter. If I had to guess from your description of the amp in the trunk and the amount of bass coming from under your seats, I'd bet 10 cents or so that the previous owner tapped or altered the stock wiring to the under seat subs and possibly dropped some other sub in there (like Earthquakes). Figuring out what they did might require pulling the trunk carpet out and getting a look at the wire harnesses, and possibly popping the doors apart and checking to see if any speakers have been swapped out. If anything was done wrong or carelessly, things could get wonky down the road.

You might consider seeking a pro to take a look.

[BEM-S4]

He may also have added the Technic PNP add a sub harness that's a quite popular option and works with the HK amp. You'd have to access the stock amp to see. You can use the harness with a powered sub or secondary amp to drive subs.

Oh and rather than rip into doors to get some easy and quick clues check the center first. The grill pops off and the speaker and tweeter are each held in with a few screws. You're looking at 5 mins with literally zero chance of breaking anything. If the mid is connected (some people do a center delete) and is HK chances are all the speakers are as well. I can't imagine swapping others and leaving one and still have a signal to it.

Subs are easy unbolt the passenger seat and tip it back. Again you're looking at 5 mins with virtually no risk of breaking anything.

[BMW DIY Guy]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

He may also have added the Technic PNP add a sub harness that's a quite popular option and works with the HK amp. You'd have to access the stock amp to see. You can use the harness with a powered sub or secondary amp to drive subs.

Oh and rather than rip into doors to get some easy and quick clues check the center first. The grill pops off and the speaker and tweeter are each held in with a few screws. You're looking at 5 mins with literally zero chance of breaking anything. If the mid is connected (some people do a center delete) and is HK chances are all the speakers are as well. I can't imagine swapping others and leaving one and still have a signal to it.

Subs are easy unbolt the passenger seat and tip it back. Again you're looking at 5 mins with virtually no risk of breaking anything.

Thanks yall for all of the advice! I actually have an email off to the previous owner (the dealership he traded it in at got generous and gave it to me) and hope to get some info.

Just love to plan my upgrade path ahead, visual, performance AND sound system and this is a big unknown for me.