F30 Audio - Upgrade

[Hunted]

Hi guys. I spent 5 solid weeks scouring the net.... very tough finding info for our base model sound. USA has most threads but they build from hifi up.

I will post build thread soon but for now this is what will help:
Harness is same as e90... parrot one usually used. Costs around R400, or if u brave then tap good line out converter with remote to get your rca signal and amp remote.
4 inch door speakers only. I fitted coaxial with 12mm spacers and NO touching. Splits will be better tho but then u need to change door sails for tweeter mounts. Easy to do.
Speakers i used are Alpine G-types .
Subs under seat can be replaced by 8inch 4 ohm earthquake shallow mount subs. Perfect fit into plastic cassettes. These are different from e90 plastic covers as these port into side sills of car.

It's best to amplify fronts ie doors and subs. Not rears since pdc plays too loud through them.
Just changing all 6 speakers made such a difference. Then amplify and wow.... so clean.

WE NEED TO PETITION BMW TO NEVER BRING BASE AUDIO TO RSA .

Wow thank you for the info. Looking forward to your build post.

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[HiToKiRi]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but has anyone here done the Alpine upgrade? Is it even available in SA?

 

[peanut125i]

It is available for F20. So should be for other cars. It's damn expensive though. R12300 excl fitting and is basically just pair of mids, tweeters and an amp. They quoted two weeks delivery time from date of order.

 

[HiToKiRi]

It is available for F20. So should be for other cars. It's damn expensive though. R12300 excl fitting and is basically just pair of mids, tweeters and an amp. They quoted two weeks delivery time from date of order.

Yeah that is silly money for what you get but if one goes the aftermarket route the warranty on the vehicle is void. :thumbdo:
Bit of a a catch-22 really...

 

[Yogibear]

Standard f30 320i sound is shocking. I will definitely be opting for Harmon kardon sound upgrade. I don't want any motor plan issues.

 

[335i MTX]

Hi All,

I'm loosely considering to upgrade the speakers in my F30. The sounds is so so and feels that my chev cruze before the F30 had better sound quality.

I'm from CPT and was wondering if the community could point me in the right direction to a good audio installer. Don't want to go nuts with the upgrade though.

Questions:

1. Can one upgrade the speakers without having issues with the MP?
2. Can the standard installed head unit, handle better speakers?

Any help will be appreciated.

Cheers :thumbs:

Focal makes a BMW specific upgrade kit which is supposed to sound really good. I opted for the MTX thunder axe 4". The tweeters are a perfect fit for the e90. Rockford fosgate has just launched BMW integration kits. These apparently come ready to fit with OEM plugs. Depending in what product you choose, this may or may not require aftermarket amplification. I haven't had any MP issues after upgrading with sub and aftermarket amps. Guess only time will tell though. MB Quart also makes aftermarket BMW specific speakers.

 

[NS406]

I did the Alpine kit in my e90. Sounds great to my ears. Huge improvement. I think in fact its on par with the Logic7 in my Discovery. It doesn't image that well but sounds powerful and crisp. It was much less expensive than the F20 kit though! I'll not buy a standard sound BMW again if I have a choice in the matter!

 

[LrK]

Guys I have BMW professional HiFi loudspeaker. I think it's an Alpine system just like the upgrade which you do to the standard system. It's a 260w 7 speaker system with two 8" woofers under the seat. Bass is great, but there are no stand alone tweeters. If u require the high range tweeters you have to look at the Harmon kardon upgrade, but it's gonna cost insane money

It's not the same system. The alpine system is designed to fit into the existing speaker holes, with the addition of tweeters in the door mirror triangle trims.

The prof hifi system has a different dashboard from the standard system with a speaker grill behind the Idrive screen.

You sir, are correct. Checked this out now. The BMW Alpine upgrade consists of pair of tweeters and improved subs for the f20. Also included is a 4 x 80w amp.

However currently this upgrade is not avail if you have hifi loudspeaker or HK.

Seems strange, but the stealerships should have more info.


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Understandably it's not available if you have HK cause that already has tweeters and an amp. The tweeters would probably be a nice addition to the hifi sound, so not sure why that's not possible.

As a useless piece of information the HK in the 1 series has 12 speakers, 360W and costs R8k. In the 3 series it costs R9800 but has 16 speakers and puts out 600W!!!

Don't get me wrong I'm really happy with this HK system in my car, but I would have definitely paid another R1800 to get 4 more speakers and an extra 240W!

Hi guys,

I have the Harmon Kardon system in my F30. It is phenomenal - it leaves you wanting nothing more. It is adequate, in fact, it is a bit too much. The bass from the sub woofers are intense. The overall surround sound is powerful.

 

[LrK]

Guys I have BMW professional HiFi loudspeaker. I think it's an Alpine system just like the upgrade which you do to the standard system. It's a 260w 7 speaker system with two 8" woofers under the seat. Bass is great, but there are no stand alone tweeters. If u require the high range tweeters you have to look at the Harmon kardon upgrade, but it's gonna cost insane money

It's not the same system. The alpine system is designed to fit into the existing speaker holes, with the addition of tweeters in the door mirror triangle trims.

The prof hifi system has a different dashboard from the standard system with a speaker grill behind the Idrive screen.

You sir, are correct. Checked this out now. The BMW Alpine upgrade consists of pair of tweeters and improved subs for the f20. Also included is a 4 x 80w amp.

However currently this upgrade is not avail if you have hifi loudspeaker or HK.

Seems strange, but the stealerships should have more info.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Understandably it's not available if you have HK cause that already has tweeters and an amp. The tweeters would probably be a nice addition to the hifi sound, so not sure why that's not possible.

As a useless piece of information the HK in the 1 series has 12 speakers, 360W and costs R8k. In the 3 series it costs R9800 but has 16 speakers and puts out 600W!!!

Don't get me wrong I'm really happy with this HK system in my car, but I would have definitely paid another R1800 to get 4 more speakers and an extra 240W!

I have the HK system in my F30 320i and it is an absolutely flawless system, once you set the equaliser - it's amazing. very very powerful

 

[A B]

LrK

I think I need to set mine. Care to share your settings :rollsmile:

 

[szn2105]

Hi There, where did you get your sound done. Need to upgrade mine, your suggestions sounded very good. Please drop me a message and i will call you back, thanks Stanton. (082 300 6630)

 

[Zound]

I think this is a notorious problem with all vehicle owners. Sub-standard quality audio systems seem to be pretty "standard". The first step I have taken with my E46 BMW 330i en-route to "audio Nirvana" is to add a small sub-woofer (amplified of-course) and to retune the radio's built in equaliser. By dialling out the bass from the rest of the interior drivers, a lot of distortion is minimised and reduced and the overall system sounds leagues better. I'd say that should be a "stage 1" upgrade for audio enthusiasts.

 

[mosome]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but has anyone here done the Alpine upgrade? Is it even available in SA?

Just done the upgrade with Cedar Isle Auto in Fourways. Was a bit nervous since it was first time they did a sound upgrade. R12,300 plus R1,900 labour. BMW says 2h15min labour but my car was there for 1.5days. Sounds exactly as factory fitted R5,700 optional Hifi Loudspeaker system. Not into sound but F30 standard sound is shockingly inadequate, even worst than my 2011 X3 standard sound.

 

[Rory]

I've got the HK sound in my F30. It's "good" but I wouldn't mind more bass. At least it doesn't distort. I had hi-fi in my E60 and that was total rubbish, basically OK for listening to the radio. I wouldn't be very happy if I got that after 14k which can buy you some very very nice car audio at "normal" prices.

 

[NS406]

After 2 years, still very satisfied with the results - it was a massive improvement over stock.
Best 'modification' I've ever done. And no reliability concerns sofar.

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[mosome]

I've got the HK sound in my F30. It's "good" but I wouldn't mind more bass. At least it doesn't distort. I had hi-fi in my E60 and that was total rubbish, basically OK for listening to the radio. I wouldn't be very happy if I got that after 14k which can buy you some very very nice car audio at "normal" prices.

True true I know. Either I paid R14k or got equivalent cheaper and void MP. Unfortunately, it's a new car I did not personally order. Even adding the R14k to car purchase price is still a good deal for me, less than R400k. Saved a lot buying pre facelift model.

 

[Rory]

For sure I can understand paying the inflated amount to keep motorplan etc but to pay that and still be disappointed is a bit crap.

 

[mosome]

For sure I can understand paying the inflated amount to keep motorplan etc but to pay that and still be disappointed is a bit crap.

It's disappointing for the money for sure but the standard audio is just awful. BMW should not be fitting this crap to their cars honestly.

 

[DXXL]

Old thread I know, but if anyone is still looking to upgrade sound (as I am now), there's this option as well. Not sure how it would affect MP though.

https://www.kiesmotorsports.com/search?type=product&q=alpha