[erock9969@yahoo.com]

Looking for an honest opinion. My current setup is factory head unit and amp (hifi) stage 2 bavsound - All speakers including subs under the seats. Would it be worth the $1k price tag for matchup 7 amp? Would i get a very noticeable difference?

[quakerroatmeal]

If you're going to go all the effort into upgrading all the speakers and subwoofer it's definitely worth it.

[Wgosma]

You'll have a nice sounding system….too bad you did not do the amp as upgrade #1- you would have been surprised, as I was, at the capability of the stock hi-fi speakers.

[gameson]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

You'll have a nice sounding system….too bad you did not do the amp as upgrade #1- you would have been surprised, as I was, at the capability of the stock hi-fi speakers.

So you are saying, just by upgrading hifi amp to match7 amp alone without anything else, it would have been excellent?

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by gameson

So you are saying, just by upgrading hifi amp to match7 amp alone without anything else, it would have been excellent?

Yes….but remember: excellent is in the ear of the listener😉
3 years ago put an older model BimmerTech DSP amp in my 2012 X3, car had S676 stock stereo setup and it was night and day difference in sound quality and the detail in the sound- the DSP amp one can 'tune' using laptop, so one can really dial in the sound to one's liking.

I would suspect upgrading my speakers certainly would have added even more, most particularly if I had better low end unit(s) to produce cleaner more defined bass.

[chowser51]

yep. depends on you. i installed the bavsound revenant in my f33 and didn't bother with the speakers. it was a definite improvement for me. with the top down and on the freeway, music was loud and clear so I didn't bother with changing out the stock speakers. the match7 is better than the revenant which you can't adjust.

[eleven11]

As mentioned, upgrading the amp alone will improve your HiFi sound better than the speaker changes you have already made. Upgrading the amp now, will improve your sound. However, whether or not your new speakers will sound better vs OEM is a matter of opinion (but as Bill will soon tell you, not science).

Finally, you can find the amp for less than $1000.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by gameson

So you are saying, just by upgrading hifi amp to match7 amp alone without anything else, it would have been excellent?

Yes, by upgrading the BMW HiFi amp to a MatchUp 7BMW amplifier it will add a tremendous DSP system to your car that will sound great with the stock speakers.

However the weak link is the underseat subwoofers. Very few subs have the specs to sound good in the tiny BMW sub cabinets. Replace them with Earthquake SWS-8Xi (2-ohm) subwoofers. You'll also need a pair of Earthquake spacer rings. The 7BMW supplies the perfect power to them

[gameson]

Originally Posted by johnung

Yes, by upgrading the BMW HiFi amp to a MatchUp 7BMW amplifier it will add a tremendous DSP system to your car that will sound great with the stock speakers.

However the weak link is the underseat subwoofers. Very few subs have the specs to sound good in the tiny BMW sub cabinets. Replace them with Earthquake SWS-8Xi (2-ohm) subwoofers. You'll also need a pair of Earthquake spacer rings. The 7BMW supplies the perfect power to them

Ok thanks, so what would be the total cost to do this upgrade?

Match 7 amp
2 x earthquake subs

Also, would you add noise insulation material to further reduce outside noise?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by gameson

Ok thanks, so what would be the total cost to do this upgrade?

Match 7 amp
2 x earthquake subs

Also, would you add noise insulation material to further reduce outside noise?

I've never used sound insulation material on my car. I've heard of guys who put a big subwoofer in their trunk of having so many rattles that they take off trunk trim pieces and insulate the entire trunk area. Not necessary with an Earthquake underseat subwoofer upgrade.

I've seen Earthquake SWS-8Xi (2-ohm) for $129 each. Check Walmart online, Amazon and ECS.

Earthquake Sound R8SWS spacer rings are about $25/pair either direct from Earthquake or from one of the above retailers.

It's the Match 7BMW that you want. It is completely plug and play. Just remove the stock Hifi amplifier in the left alcove of the trunk and plug the Match 7BMW right in. Crutchfield sells it for $1,000 but search and maybe it could be found for less. There is nothing like it on the market. It adds an amazing DSP that's superior to the Harman Kardon system.

The Match 7BMW is like two amps in one with specific correct power to the BMW 4-ohm speakers and the 2-ohm subwoofers. Don't be taken in by slick marketing of BMW aftermarket audio vendors selling amps with amps with specs that don't do this even though their marketing makes it appear that they do.

Note: outside the US, BMW sells a lower end base audio system without any amplifier in the trunk. The Match 7DSP amplifier has this same functionality as the Match 7BMW and installs in the same factory location in the trunk. With the Match 7DSP, two reasonably priced Match cables need to be run in series up to connect to the car's audio head unit in the dash. And a power cable needs to be run to a battery connection in the trunk. It's pretty straightforward.

So the most the 7BMW + Earthquake subwoofers upgrade should cost is $129 + $129 + $25 + $1,000 = $1,283

Do this upgrade first and you'll see how great your BMW speakers sound. Don't fall for slick marketing claims that you need to replace all of your speakers.

Hope this helps!

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-U3lSdR...kaAoOpEALw_wcB

[Wgosma]

Johnung- about Earthquake speakers, give me ballpark sense about how much better they are than stock speakers. Are they pretty clean or do they tend to be boomy?

Any info helps
Thanks/Bill

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by johnung

I've never used sound insulation material on my car.

It works. I use this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I put it on my door liners and on all the trim pieces that I've pulled for one reason or another, like when tinting my windows. I lined my rear package shelf with it as well. Its mass damps panel vibrations, which reduces road noise. Reducing road noise by 3dB has the same effect as increasing the system output by 3dB, and that's the equivalent of doubling the amp power. You can get road noise reduction of up to 10dB, which is equivalent to increasing system power by a factor of ten.

Note that it's pure vinyl, no foam. Foam has no effect on low frequencies, and road noise is primarily low frequency.

My F34 has a lot of insulation under the carpets, so there's not much road noise from there. Not all F models have as much insulation, so they may benefit from putting mastic under the existing insulation. I saw a thread where someone had done so with good results.

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Johnung- about Earthquake speakers, give me ballpark sense about how much better they are than stock speakers. Are they pretty clean or do they tend to be boomy?

Boom doesn't come from low bass in the 40-60Hz range, it comes from midbass in the 80-100Hz range. The Earthquakes have higher output in the 40-60Hz range than OEM and most replacement woofers, but it's not higher in the 80-100Hz range, so they're not boomy.

[gameson]

Originally Posted by johnung

I've never used sound insulation material on my car. I've heard of guys who put a big subwoofer in their trunk of having so many rattles that they take off trunk trim pieces and insulate the entire trunk area. Not necessary with an Earthquake underseat subwoofer upgrade.

I've seen Earthquake SWS-8Xi (2-ohm) for $129 each. Check Walmart online, Amazon and ECS.

Earthquake Sound R8SWS spacer rings are about $25/pair either direct from Earthquake or from one of the above retailers.

It's the Match 7BMW that you want. It is completely plug and play. Just remove the stock Hifi amplifier in the left alcove of the trunk and plug the Match 7BMW right in. Crutchfield sells it for $1,000 but search and maybe it could be found for less. There is nothing like it on the market. It adds an amazing DSP that's superior to the Harman Kardon system.

The Match 7BMW is like two amps in one with specific correct power to the BMW 4-ohm speakers and the 2-ohm subwoofers. Don't be taken in by slick marketing of BMW aftermarket audio vendors selling amps with amps with specs that don't do this even though their marketing makes it appear that they do.

Note: outside the US, BMW sells a lower end base audio system without any amplifier in the trunk. The Match 7DSP amplifier has this same functionality as the Match 7BMW and installs in the same factory location in the trunk. With the Match 7DSP, two reasonably priced Match cables need to be run in series up to connect to the car's audio head unit in the dash. And a power cable needs to be run to a battery connection in the trunk. It's pretty straightforward.

So the most the 7BMW + Earthquake subwoofers upgrade should cost is $129 + $129 + $25 + $1,000 = $1,283

Do this upgrade first and you'll see how great your BMW speakers sound. Don't fall for slick marketing claims that you need to replace all of your speakers.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info. What’s the difference between 7dsp and 7bmw? Can i use 7dsp on hifi system? It sounds like 7dsp may be cheaper than 7bmw.

[erock9969@yahoo.com]

I really wish I upgraded the amp first. But I think its still worth the upgrade now as the speaks are still a bit under powered sounding on some songs. Especially anything rap-ish. I think ive seen some of these amps on ebay for like 850 +50 shipping

[johnung]

Originally Posted by gameson

Thanks for the info. What's the difference between 7dsp and 7bmw? Can i use 7dsp on hifi system? It sounds like 7dsp may be cheaper than 7bmw.

The Match 7BMW is made to be totally plug and play with a BMW that has the Hifi system installed. Literally remove the stock HiFi amplifier, replace it with the 7BMW and plug in all of the car's stock cables to the 7BMW amplifier.

The 7DSP is meant to be their generic version that is meant to connect to a wider variety of cars but with the addition of Match cable harnesses. And I believe a separate fused power cable and ground would need to be run to it in the trunk.

For example to connect the 7DSP to a BMW base audio system requires a long Match cable harness from the 7DSP in the trunk to behind the dash. Then a shorter Match cable harness specific to the model of the BMW base audio front unit, connects it to the longer Match harness.

So if you spot a lower price on the 7DSP compared to the 7BMW, that lower price doesn't account for the separately purchased Match cable harnesses and power hookups that are also needed. So much cleaner to install a 7BMW into a car with the stock Hifi system.

Hope this helps!