Harman Kardon Front Speaker/Tweeter Upgrade!

CazuaLLUK · 10-12-2016, 09:16 AM

So after buying new window trim from BMW for £50 and paying £75 for 2 x Harman Kardon Mid front door speakers and 2 x tweeters from a breaker yard in Birmingham. I took the gear to my local fitter today (the same guy in Portsmouth who remapped my car, Pete from TCM Tuning) and paid him half hours work to do it all for me.

The sound improvement is so good over the old standalone stereo door speakers. Very happy I did this and managed to find the parts cheap. If anyone wants part numbers then here you go:

Window Trim Harman Kardon 51337323509 / 51337323510
Harman Kardon Tweeters: 65139226358
Harman Kardon Mids: 65139364956

(There are also old parts out there with different part numbers which will fit, I think BMW updated these some time in 2015.)

Here are the pictures!

Dyl · 10-12-2016, 09:28 AM

Looks brilliant, but the sound... how much better is that!

This is a cool mod, props to whoever gave the idea to you!

CazuaLLUK · 10-12-2016, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyl

Looks brilliant, but the sound... how much better is that!

This is a cool mod, props to whoever gave the idea to you!

Cheers dude, thanks alot. Great shout. Also spices up the interior some more. More classy.

The sound is so much better, also means I can now turn the speakers up louder, as the bass is handled much better.

teaston · 10-12-2016, 12:24 PM

Cool!

So they're just running off the standard HU amp?

pienchips · 10-12-2016, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

Cool!

So they're just running off the standard HU amp?

Sounds like it 🙃

Dyl · 10-12-2016, 01:16 PM

Yes.

Ideally you'd do the full retrofit (or better) but for a cheap and cheerful upgrade the very addition of tweeters means the improvement is vast.

teaston · 10-12-2016, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyl

Yes.

Ideally you'd do the full retrofit (or better) but for a cheap and cheerful upgrade the very addition of tweeters means the improvement is vast.

Yes, someone fitted the gladen speakers without an amp and said they sounded much better than the standard speakers.

I think adding an amp would make a big difference though, not just for the extra power but also because the base audio cars have a very strange EQ curve in an effort to disguise the lack of tweeters! So you could then code your car for HIFI audio which would remove that EQ curve.

CazuaLLUK · 10-12-2016, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

I think adding an amp would make a big difference though, not just for the extra power but also because the base audio cars have a very strange EQ curve in an effort to disguise the lack of tweeters! So you could then code your car for HIFI audio which would remove that EQ curve.

100% but yet again another lesson learnt from buying a car just with base stereo speakers. for now this is a great improvement!

evdok · 10-12-2016, 04:01 PM

Believe it or not, playing music through EBT

sounds much better than the radio sound, in fact everything sounds better than the radio...whys that?

ps: Was the wiring there for the tweeters?

CazuaLLUK · 10-12-2016, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evdok

Believe it or not, playing music through EBT

sounds much better than the radio sound, in fact everything sounds better than the radio...whys that?

ps: Was the wiring there for the tweeters?

The tweeters just connect to the mids in the doors.

evdok · 10-12-2016, 04:12 PM

This forums costing me loads of wonga

CazuaLLUK · 10-12-2016, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evdok

This forums costing me loads of wonga

Tell me about it!

JLR1969 · 10-12-2016, 05:09 PM

Did the same thing on my E92 Coupe 8 years ago, made a huge difference then as well.

Worth doing as you say it's a pretty cheap upgrade for the improvement

Dyl · 10-12-2016, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CazuaLLUK

The tweeters just connect to the mids in the doors.

Just to add to this... You need to change the mids though, there is no sockets on the 'base' mids.

Dyl · 10-12-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

So you could then code your car for HIFI audio which would remove that EQ curve.

I might look into this my next coding session, though off the top of my head I don't recall seeing it on the cheat sheet.

The difference is night and day already by the very nature of adding tweeters though, I did one side first then used the fader to shift Left and Right to test it. It's a massive improvement.

pdk42 · 10-12-2016, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

Yes, someone fitted the gladen speakers without an amp and said they sounded much better than the standard speakers.

I think adding an amp would make a big difference though, not just for the extra power but also because the base audio cars have a very strange EQ curve in an effort to disguise the lack of tweeters! So you could then code your car for HIFI audio which would remove that EQ curve.

Yes - that was me. Sort of... I actually did a full Gladden speakers plus Mosconi amp install but then decided to sell the car. I removed the amp and sold it, but the hassle of removing the speakers wasn't worth it, especially since the old woofer got wrecked removing them. I was astonished to find that the sound quality didn't really change a lot. The volume levels were lower, but for me it wax plenty loud enough.

teaston · 10-12-2016, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyl

I might look into this my next coding session, though off the top of my head I don't recall seeing it on the cheat sheet.

The difference is night and day already by the very nature of adding tweeters though, I did one side first then used the fader to shift Left and Right to test it. It's a massive improvement.

Coding HIFI also changes the high level speakers outputs to low level, so only do it if you fit an amp!

420iF36 · 05-20-2017, 01:47 PM

Hi CazuaLLUK,

Could you tell me what bracker's yard you used in Birmingham, I'm fairly local but struggling to find a yard with decent BMW stock.

Great, simple mod.

Cheers.

CazuaLLUK · 05-20-2017, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 420iF36

Hi CazuaLLUK,

Could you tell me what bracker's yard you used in Birmingham, I'm fairly local but struggling to find a yard with decent BMW stock.

Great, simple mod.

Cheers.

Call this guy: 07830 310747

not sure of his company name, found his number on ebay

420iF36 · 05-20-2017, 01:51 PM

Nice one, thanks for the number!

CazuaLLUK · 05-20-2017, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 420iF36

Nice one, thanks for the number!

buy the window trims from the dealer they are cheaper enough, but if you cant seem to find any speakers let me know I will have a browse for you.

420iF36 · 05-20-2017, 02:00 PM

That's great cheers,

As my tag suggests I'm in a 2014 420i gran coupe M Sport.

Looking for the same setup you fitted (presume the speakers are the same parts) - as I've got the frameless doors the HK window trim is just the corner housing.

I'll have a look around and give your contact a ring - thanks for your video posting too, really useful.

Thanks for your help.

10-12-2016, 09:16 AM	#1
CazuaLLUK Banned 2221 Rep 5,897 Posts Drives: 2014 335i Black F30 M Sport Join Date: May 2016 Location: Portsmouth, UK iTrader: (1) Garage List 2014 BMW 320d F30 [10.00]	Harman Kardon Front Speaker/Tweeter Upgrade! So after buying new window trim from BMW for £50 and paying £75 for 2 x Harman Kardon Mid front door speakers and 2 x tweeters from a breaker yard in Birmingham. I took the gear to my local fitter today (the same guy in Portsmouth who remapped my car, Pete from TCM Tuning) and paid him half hours work to do it all for me. The sound improvement is so good over the old standalone stereo door speakers. Very happy I did this and managed to find the parts cheap. If anyone wants part numbers then here you go: Window Trim Harman Kardon 51337323509 / 51337323510 Harman Kardon Tweeters: 65139226358 Harman Kardon Mids: 65139364956 (There are also old parts out there with different part numbers which will fit, I think BMW updated these some time in 2015.) Here are the pictures!
	Appreciate 0 Tweet

10-12-2016, 09:28 AM	#2
Dyl Captain 433 Rep 778 Posts Drives: 4GC Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Greater Manchester/Edinburgh iTrader: (0)	Looks brilliant, but the sound... how much better is that! This is a cool mod, props to whoever gave the idea to you!
	Appreciate 1 CazuaLLUK2221.00

10-12-2016, 12:24 PM	#4
teaston Banned 10995 Rep 32,881 Posts Drives: X3 M40d Join Date: May 2012 Location: The High Seas iTrader: (1)	Cool! So they're just running off the standard HU amp?
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10-12-2016, 01:16 PM	#6
Dyl Captain 433 Rep 778 Posts Drives: 4GC Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Greater Manchester/Edinburgh iTrader: (0)	Yes. Ideally you'd do the full retrofit (or better) but for a cheap and cheerful upgrade the very addition of tweeters means the improvement is vast.
	Appreciate 0

10-12-2016, 04:01 PM	#9
evdok Lieutenant Colonel 819 Rep 1,909 Posts Drives: 330D M/SPORT xDRIVE INDIVIDUAL Join Date: May 2015 Location: WORCESTERSHIRE iTrader: (0)	Believe it or not, playing music through EBT sounds much better than the radio sound, in fact everything sounds better than the radio...whys that? ps: Was the wiring there for the tweeters? __________________ Happy Motoring Evdok
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10-12-2016, 04:12 PM	#11
evdok Lieutenant Colonel 819 Rep 1,909 Posts Drives: 330D M/SPORT xDRIVE INDIVIDUAL Join Date: May 2015 Location: WORCESTERSHIRE iTrader: (0)	This forums costing me loads of wonga __________________ Happy Motoring Evdok
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10-12-2016, 05:09 PM	#13
JLR1969 Major General 1882 Rep 7,000 Posts Drives: Kubota GR1600 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: England iTrader: (1)	Did the same thing on my E92 Coupe 8 years ago, made a huge difference then as well. Worth doing as you say it's a pretty cheap upgrade for the improvement
	Appreciate 1 Dyl432.50

05-20-2017, 01:47 PM	#18
420iF36 New Member 3 Rep 29 Posts Drives: 2014 420i XDrive GranCoupe MS Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: England iTrader: (0)	Hi CazuaLLUK, Could you tell me what bracker's yard you used in Birmingham, I'm fairly local but struggling to find a yard with decent BMW stock. Great, simple mod. Cheers.
	Appreciate 0

05-20-2017, 01:51 PM	#20
420iF36 New Member 3 Rep 29 Posts Drives: 2014 420i XDrive GranCoupe MS Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: England iTrader: (0)	Nice one, thanks for the number!
	Appreciate 0

05-20-2017, 02:00 PM	#22
420iF36 New Member 3 Rep 29 Posts Drives: 2014 420i XDrive GranCoupe MS Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: England iTrader: (0)	That's great cheers, As my tag suggests I'm in a 2014 420i gran coupe M Sport. Looking for the same setup you fitted (presume the speakers are the same parts) - as I've got the frameless doors the HK window trim is just the corner housing. I'll have a look around and give your contact a ring - thanks for your video posting too, really useful. Thanks for your help.
	Appreciate 1 CazuaLLUK2221.00