[hkukbimmer]

Hi there,

I picked up a late 2014 German-made BMW 420iA Coupe for a decent deal. I'm very happy with the car, but am hugely disappointed with the quality of the music, which is very important to me.

When playing music (via bluetooth), the distorted quality of sound, lack of any bass, low volume output and no sense of surround sound is all awful. My other car is a Tesla Model X (without advanced music) and, while not perfect, it's incomparably better.

I would like to therefore upgrade the sound with some aftermarket speakers. The issue is that I am a big music lover but do not understand any of the speaker jargon (hifi, radio, stereo etc) and do not know what it is that I need.

My budget is probably around $6-800, if it would be a substantial upgrade.

Someone just quoted me US$3500 for a 16 speaker Harman Kardon (HK) set, but that is way too expensive for me.

They also said they could upgrade the four current speakers to HK for $US450, which sounds reasonable, but i am not sure what kind of impact that will have?

Is anyone able to point me in the right direction to get a better understanding of what i should look for? Is there a specific make or brand that's good? Should i have a pro install it, or do it myself?

When i go into the car audio shops here, they all assume i have a level of understanding beyond what i do, and they are showing me unknown brands.

Thank you very much in advance for any help!

[Billfitz]

It may be hard to believe but the speakers are not the weakest link in the chain, the electronics are. Changing the speakers without changing the electronics will have little to no effect. Since you lack the experience to do it yourself you'll have to let a shop do it. They shouldn't be talking about brands or specs, they should let you listen to their work.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

It may be hard to believe but the speakers are not the weakest link in the chain, the electronics are. Changing the speakers without changing the electronics will have little to no effect. Since you lack the experience to do it yourself you'll have to let a shop do it. They shouldn't be talking about brands or specs, they should let you listen to their work.

This, and find a good shop. Many (if not most) places aren't staffed 100% with expert enthusiasts. Find someplace that does excellent work but also doesn't mind working on your entry level budget upgrade.

For $100 USD or thereabouts you can also try a lossless music player with its own digital to analog converter and amp. That by itself should have s big impact. Garbage in = garbage out regardless of what else you do with your system.

[bri1042]

Stay away from whoever was trying to sell you just the HK speakers. The amp in your trunk is not meant for them and it's not powerful enough. Look through the forum and find posts about the Bimmertech amp/dsp. That's the most cost-effective upgrade. Google BMW VIN Decoder and look at the specs of your car. If you see S676A Hifi Speaker System, that's what you have to start with and the Bimmertech amp is your best route. Install is easy, but don't be afraid to seek local assistance.

Edit: If you don't have tweeters in your doors, you have the base sound system (noticed that you are in Hong Kong...they don't sell the no-tweeter system in the US on 3's and 4's). If that's the case, seek professional assistance with any upgrades. It won't be cheap or easy.

[Skyhigh]

The cheapest but noticeable upgrade is sound-insulation of the doors. Start with that and see what it does for you before you decide whether and how to modify the audio installation.

[Billfitz]

I wouldn't bother with adding damping to the doors if you're not changing the speakers. I also wouldn't change the speakers without adding damping to the doors, not because damping makes that much difference, but because most of the work involved to add damping is removing the door liners, which you must do to change the speakers.

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by hkukbimmer

Hi there,

I picked up a late 2014 German-made BMW 420iA Coupe for a decent deal. I'm very happy with the car, but am hugely disappointed with the quality of the music, which is very important to me.

When playing music (via bluetooth), the distorted quality of sound, lack of any bass, low volume output and no sense of surround sound is all awful. My other car is a Tesla Model X (without advanced music) and, while not perfect, it's incomparably better.

I would like to therefore upgrade the sound with some aftermarket speakers. The issue is that I am a big music lover but do not understand any of the speaker jargon (hifi, radio, stereo etc) and do not know what it is that I need.

My budget is probably around $6-800, if it would be a substantial upgrade.

Someone just quoted me US$3500 for a 16 speaker Harman Kardon (HK) set, but that is way too expensive for me.

They also said they could upgrade the four current speakers to HK for $US450, which sounds reasonable, but i am not sure what kind of impact that will have?

Is anyone able to point me in the right direction to get a better understanding of what i should look for? Is there a specific make or brand that's good? Should i have a pro install it, or do it myself?

When i go into the car audio shops here, they all assume i have a level of understanding beyond what i do, and they are showing me unknown brands.

Thank you very much in advance for any help!

You cannot go wrong with the bimmertech amp. Change the amp first.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by hkukbimmer

My budget is probably around $6-800, if it would be a substantial upgrade.

Someone just quoted me US$3500 for a 16 speaker Harman Kardon (HK) set, but that is way too expensive for me.

They also said they could upgrade the four current speakers to HK for $US450, which sounds reasonable, but i am not sure what kind of impact that will have?

Considering you are in Hong Kong where prices are through the roof, as witnessed by your quote for HK Speakers at US $3500, your budget of $600 - $800 will NOT be a substantial upgrade.

[Skyhigh]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

I wouldn't bother with adding damping to the doors if you're not changing the speakers. I also wouldn't change the speakers without adding damping to the doors, not because damping makes that much difference, but because most of the work involved to add damping is removing the door liners, which you must do to change the speakers.

The work involved is minimal.... if removing door trims scares one, this should indeed be left to pros.
The difference after damping is noticeable (I did not believe it initially either). I haven't yet done it on my BMW (on my ToDo), but on my Audi it improved the sound picture nicely (before I upgraded the sound system). No miracles to be expected, but definitely worth the money/time/efforts.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

The difference after damping is noticeable (I did not believe it initially either). I haven't yet done it on my BMW .

I have, and that's why I can say that it doesn't make that much difference. The door liners on my BMW are literally twice the thickness and weight of any I've dealt with before, so adding mastic damping doesn't do as much as with thinner/lighter liners. I did speaker work that required taking off the liners, so I added this to the entire door surface of all four doors while I had the liners off:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was worthwhile, but just. That's not a subjective opinion, that's a measured result. I'm a professional acoustical engineer.