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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics Navigation, iDrive, Audio, Video, Bluetooth, Phone, Coding Upgraded the HK system to Bavsound Stage 1
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      09-16-2014, 07:59 AM   #1
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Upgraded the HK system to Bavsound Stage 1

Background

The 16 speaker premium sound system(HK option) is much better than the stock 12 speaker system. However, it was still muddy at best. I normally drove with the music on low or off because it would give me a headache in a matter of minutes. If I drove with music for other passengers, I would feel tired and almost distracted.

Initial observations

Over this weekend, I upgraded it with the Bavsound Stage 1 14 speaker set. The speakers are definitely better in every way. A few things I noticed are the bigger magnets, tougher construction, better fabric/rubber. I don't know about what material will last longer but these doesn't look like it will become brittle like the stock speakers(some parts felt like paper). The tweeters were cased in an aluminum housing so I can't see what the speaker inside looks like. I'm not an expert in audio or speakers. Just my observation.

Tool kit seems to have everything I need plus some more. To be honest, I think it's worth $20 at best but bavsound charged $30. However, I understand they're low volume.

Install

I followed the bavsound video and the instructions were spot on. The install was tougher than I expected though. Most of my problems were with the doors. The bavsound video made it look easy but it's not. My doors nearly broke the plastic tool. Getting the plastic piece covering the screw by the door handle is particularly difficult due to the clip at the bottom of that piece.

When you pull out the door panels, make sure you check the ground for parts. The door rivets all have a foamy rubber washer around it. A few of mine flew out.

The other weird thing is that the door speakers does not use one of the blue wire. The door is prewired to have a connection from the amp/head unit to the main speaker(4 in driver), then to the tweeter. Those wires are already in the door so it just looks like there's 2 blue plugs that goes into the speaker. With the bavsound speakers, they bypass the prewired connection to the tweeter. You only use one of the blue plugs into your 4 inch driver, and then connect it directly into the tweeter(with inline filter) instead of using the prewired second blue plug. The only reason I brought this up is because bavsound advertised as completely plug and play. It's not a big deal but some people may be confused that they will not be using one of the stock plugs.

Bavsound recommends sound deadening materials. I can tell you that the doors and panels are built with quality and vibration controls in mind. There were no vibrations or rattling in there. There were enough sound deadening materials in there as stock. This is much better every car I've owned so far including my Escalade and Infiniti M35x. Unless you aim to upgrade the amp and blast your music, I just don't see the need.

Results

The sound is much clearer. The muddiness is gone. There's a bit more bass at the low end. The high frequencies are much better. Mid range is dramatically improved. When sitting in the back, you will feel the beat in the backrest. I'm guessing this is due to the trunk acting like an enclosure for those back speakers.

The important thing is that I no longer have a headache listening to music in my car. I asked my girlfriend(because she's oblivious to anything with cars and electronics) if she notice anything different in the car. She noticed immediately the sound difference. So there you go, even a woman that doesn't care noticed a big difference.

Disclaimer

I have no affiliation with Bavsound or anyone that works there. I bought my kit with their recent sale price of $797 and applied the 10% coupon code. I highly recommend to skip the sound deadening material unless you're pushing amps as well. I highly recommend you skip the tool kit if you already have tools for working with electronics. The only thing you need to buy is the plastic tool to open the panels and covers. Please be very careful with the doors or you will have busted clips.
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      09-16-2014, 12:59 PM   #2
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Very nice - I've watched the videos before and always wondered how "user friendly" it was to actually do. Any photos of the installation process or final product?
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      09-16-2014, 02:01 PM   #3
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I agree with you, the sound is much clearer. The installation process wasn't hard at all for me but I was taking a risk sometimes when I was taking the door panels off. I recommend to find where the plugs are located on the door panels before you try to unplug them. The video helped me a lot and their instruments kit is a must imo.
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      09-16-2014, 05:10 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
Very nice - I've watched the videos before and always wondered how "user friendly" it was to actually do. Any photos of the installation process or final product?
I only took a couple pics with my phone. Finished product looked exactly like stock. I can upload a pic of the new 4 in driver so you can see the quality difference. The magnet itself is nearly the size of the speaker.
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      09-16-2014, 05:15 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Russkey View Post
I agree with you, the sound is much clearer. The installation process wasn't hard at all for me but I was taking a risk sometimes when I was taking the door panels off. I recommend to find where the plugs are located on the door panels before you try to unplug them. The video helped me a lot and their instruments kit is a must imo.
Yea, once you watched the video then it became really easy. My panels were extremely tight. Their instrument kit is a must if you don't have the tools already. I have my PC building kit which has all the same tools except the plastic panel removal tool.

Since you only remove 2 plugs at a time, it wasn't hard to put it back. I didn't rip out the whole harness. It was pointless to do that for me.

The only visible difference in the finished product now is the aluminum ring of the tweeters on the doors through the plastic mesh.
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      09-16-2014, 09:44 PM   #6
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Maybe I'm a basshead but there's a big difference when you rely on the low frequencies from your mids and the small sub under the seats. It sounds exactly like my Nissan titan running KPS Focals components with my 12" Rockford Fosgates turned off. Nice and punchy just with the mids but when I turn on the subs it just completely changes everything. Waiting and waiting for BAV to come out with their ghost sub for the F10's but seems like nothing's in the works?
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      09-16-2014, 10:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lsturbointeg View Post
Maybe I'm a basshead but there's a big difference when you rely on the low frequencies from your mids and the small sub under the seats. It sounds exactly like my Nissan titan running KPS Focals components with my 12" Rockford Fosgates turned off. Nice and punchy just with the mids but when I turn on the subs it just completely changes everything. Waiting and waiting for BAV to come out with their ghost sub for the F10's but seems like nothing's in the works?
I'm not that into bass anymore, it gave me a headache. I used to run rockford fosgate and i think Memphis amps in my escalade.
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      09-17-2014, 11:48 PM   #8
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I'm interested in this set up as well, can you give me more details on the upgrade? I want to do this for my 550i. I don't think mine have the HK sound system, the stock suck so bad. Thanks.

I went to bavsound and found is a lot cheaper now, is listed for $597 and that's without the 10% discount added to it.
Here's the link: http://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One/Buy-Now/
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      09-18-2014, 09:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spyroz View Post
I'm interested in this set up as well, can you give me more details on the upgrade? I want to do this for my 550i. I don't think mine have the HK sound system, the stock suck so bad. Thanks.

I went to bavsound and found is a lot cheaper now, is listed for $597 and that's without the 10% discount added to it.
Here's the link: http://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One/Buy-Now/
It just changes the speakers to much better ones. There is no cutting, splicing, or anything besides plug and play. The hardest part is removal of panels to replace the speakers.

Check to make sure if you have the HK system or not. In 2011, it is called Premium sound. I think it was part of Premium package 2.
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      09-19-2014, 11:16 AM   #10
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I enjoyed modding the standard audio in my E60 using the Bavsound speakers (among other things). Glad to hear your project went well.

I did find, in my previous project, that the Bavsound and Earthquake subs I used needed much different crossover treatment than the stock speakers did - I wound up running a lot more midbass to the Bavsound 4" drivers than the stock speakers were getting. I had to add an aftermarket amp in order to have that flexibility.

The HK upgrade in the F10 probably wouldn't pass muster as a high-end audio system in a quiet room, but sounds fine to me as a car solution. I don't plan to touch it. But - I kind of miss the fun in tweaking my E60 system!
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      09-23-2014, 01:58 PM   #11
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