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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums Regional Forums UK Speaker upgrades for F10
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      08-10-2016, 10:07 AM   #1
creativ101
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Speaker upgrades for F10

Any suggestions to which speakers should upgrade to? Currently have the base stereo audio setup. Dont really want to go through the expense / hassle of installing external amps, therefore was thinking of just upgrading the door speakers. I dont think the current setup even has seperate tweeters.

Any recommendations or thoughts on the Focal IFBMW-C. Would this be a big improvement?
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      08-10-2016, 11:58 AM   #2
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If you are going to upgrade the door speakers I would bite the bullet and get separate tweeters. It's only a bit more complicated and the door trim which includes the tweeter housing shouldn't be expensive. Lifting the tweeter up from knee-level makes a big difference. I don't know about the F10 but other BMWs have the head unit deliberately output a heavily modified signal to compensate for the basic speakers. With better speakers, this can sound weird and basic bass and treble controls might not be enough to fix it.
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      08-10-2016, 12:20 PM   #3
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I would be really interested in how this goes. I'll definitely be upgrading something on mine, just not sure what yet. and even with plenty of experience messing with cars I'm slightly nervous taking a part a car that was the best part of £40k only a couple of years ago!!
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      08-10-2016, 02:44 PM   #4
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A lot of the guys in the US use Bavsound, they do kits for BMW's

Might want to look at upgrading the amp as well...
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      08-11-2016, 02:18 AM   #5
creativ101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrPogle View Post
If you are going to upgrade the door speakers I would bite the bullet and get separate tweeters. It's only a bit more complicated and the door trim which includes the tweeter housing shouldn't be expensive. Lifting the tweeter up from knee-level makes a big difference. I don't know about the F10 but other BMWs have the head unit deliberately output a heavily modified signal to compensate for the basic speakers. With better speakers, this can sound weird and basic bass and treble controls might not be enough to fix it.
This kit comes with tweeters. However, my F10 doesnt have seperate tweeters so not sure how complicated this will be:
http://www.carsoundsandsecurity.co.uk/store/ifbmw-s/

This kit is just the door speakers:
http://www.carsoundsandsecurity.co.uk/store/ifbmw-c/

The Bavsound kit seemed a fair bit more expensive.
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      08-11-2016, 06:47 AM   #6
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Also, does anyone know, if the car doesnt have tweeters in the front, is the wiring already there so me to just add them?
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      08-11-2016, 08:09 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creativ101 View Post
Also, does anyone know, if the car doesnt have tweeters in the front, is the wiring already there so me to just add them?
Check out the F48 post, a lot of owners are buying the HK tweeters and adding them to the base stereo. Some have also added the centre speakers. There's great pics of how they have done this, I'd assume the F10 process wouldn't be vastly different...
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      08-11-2016, 12:50 PM   #8
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http://f48.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1258862

Here's the link
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      08-14-2016, 12:35 PM   #9
creativ101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Beast View Post
A lot of the guys in the US use Bavsound, they do kits for BMW's

Might want to look at upgrading the amp as well...
Any recommendations. Bavsound vs focal?
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      08-14-2016, 12:42 PM   #10
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I have the HK kit in my F10 and find it very good except for base response. I had the Gladen / Mosconi upgrade installed in my previous e90 which replaced all speakers and added tweeters and dsp amps front and rear. From memory, overall sound quality of the two systems is similar, but I'm sure the Gladen delivered more bass, although both would definitely benefit from a dedicated sub, which I would probably have installed 10 years ago but these days I mostly listen to LBC do not too fussed.
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      08-14-2016, 12:53 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creativ101 View Post
Any recommendations. Bavsound vs focal?
I'm afraid I've no experience of the two as I have the HK and am largely happy with it for the type of music I listen to. Therefore I'd just be going by others reviews, which I'm sure you will have searched already. Maybe try posting on the main site to get to a wider audience...
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      08-14-2016, 01:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Beast View Post
I'm afraid I've no experience of the two as I have the HK and am largely happy with it for the type of music I listen to. Therefore I'd just be going by others reviews, which I'm sure you will have searched already. Maybe try posting on the main site to get to a wider audience...
Thanks. Will do.
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      08-24-2016, 04:08 AM   #13
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Finally got around to replacing the crappy base speakers with the Focal kit which incl the tweeters. Also bought the tweeter housing from a dealer. Cost £18.00 for the housing pair which wasnt bad.

It took about 1.5 hours to do both sides including the fitting the tweeters in the new housing. You dont need to unplug all the wiring from the back of the door panel. You can put a small stool under neath or just hold it whilst you unscrew the old speakers and screw in the new ones. Thats what i did. Just make sure you have everything within reaching distance.

What a difference. Im not sure how much embedding these need but initial thoughts are 'wow'. The bass is much more responsive and the vocals are much clearer. You can actually hear the music rather than a muffled sound which you get from the base stereo.
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      08-24-2016, 11:33 AM   #14
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Did you take any pics at all?
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      08-24-2016, 01:35 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creativ101 View Post
Finally got around to replacing the crappy base speakers with the Focal kit which incl the tweeters. Also bought the tweeter housing from a dealer. Cost £18.00 for the housing pair which wasnt bad.

It took about 1.5 hours to do both sides including the fitting the tweeters in the new housing. You dont need to unplug all the wiring from the back of the door panel. You can put a small stool under neath or just hold it whilst you unscrew the old speakers and screw in the new ones. Thats what i did. Just make sure you have everything within reaching distance.

What a difference. Im not sure how much embedding these need but initial thoughts are 'wow'. The bass is much more responsive and the vocals are much clearer. You can actually hear the music rather than a muffled sound which you get from the base stereo.
Which focal model did you install?
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      08-26-2016, 07:05 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by changed View Post
Did you take any pics at all?
Sorry no. I had one hand occupied holding the door panel whilst i worked to he fitting with the other. But if you follow the Bavound youtube video, you really cant go wrong.
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      08-26-2016, 07:06 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2real4u View Post
Which focal model did you install?
IFBMW-S
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      08-26-2016, 07:08 AM   #18
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One other thing. Replace the tweeters and drop the wire down the door lane first before taking out the door panel to replace the mids. Will make it alot easier and less fiddly.
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      08-27-2016, 12:35 PM   #19
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So to clarify, if I have the bog standard audio... Is the wiring in place for door tweeters?
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      08-30-2016, 10:03 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by changed View Post
So to clarify, if I have the bog standard audio... Is the wiring in place for door tweeters?
The wiring for the tweeters comes in the speaker pack. One end of the tweeter cable plugs into the door speaker cable.
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      08-31-2016, 01:17 PM   #21
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Aha.. Thanks so no running of wires between door and door shut. That's what I wasn't keen on doing
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