[Jcbama85]

Good afternoon. I just installed the BavSound Stage 1 Speaker Upgrade in my 2013 F10. I've had the car since late December and I love every aspect of it, but I was completely underwhelmed by the sound quality of the base audio system. Frankly the system in my Honda Pilot EX-L was superior in sound quality to the stock unit in my F10.

After seeing a lot of comments about the BavSound Stage 1 upgrade, I decided to take the plunge and the box arrived on Thursday. This morning, after watching the install video several times, I broke out the tool kit and got started. Initial impressions of the packaging was excellent. It was clear the speakers were of very high quality and I was also very impressed with the tool kit that was included.

I started off with the center speaker on the dash and even taking my time, it was exactly like the video said it would be, quick and easy, even with me taking a lot of time to make sure I got it right, measure twice, cut once, you know?

I moved to the two speakers in the back of the car and they went even faster with no glitches. I took a break and turned the speakers on and they sounded very good.

Now the fun part, the door speakers and tweeters. My wife laughed when she heard me listening to the instructional video and the guy being very upbeat and quickly getting it done. She said 'I bet it took him 14 hours the first time he installed the speakers!' Not exactly an overwhelming vote of confidence from my bride of 32 years.

While I grew up in an auto parts/garage and am pretty handy around cars, I never did much in the way of audio work. So I kept the iPad handy and tore into the right door first. It went about as planned, but the little piece around the door handle was a bear and it took several tries to get it done. Once that was done the rest of pretty easy and I had the panel in my lap in a few minutes. Installing the door speaker was very easy (DON'T FORGET TO USE THE GASKET! I found mine on the ground and had to pull the speaker out and put it on again). So far so good.

Next we came to the tweeters in the corner of the door. While they didn't spend much time on the video about them other than to say they 'pop right out', well guess what, they don't just 'pop right out'. I spent more time on the right tweeter than I did on any other part of the install, even bending the plastic pry tool trying to get it loose. Ultimately it took a small flathead screwdriver to pop that little booger out. Getting the Bavsound tweeter back in isn't easy either, but once it popped in, I took to putting the foam back in place and getting it lined up, which also isn't easy. After five or six tries, I was able to get everything lined up and connected.

Bustling with confidence, I tackled the left door and it went much, much quicker. The tweeter was also a pain, but not as much as the right one. Once finished I turned on the ignition to make sure they were operating (before snapping everything back in place) the left door speaker and tweeter were not working. UGH! Luckily I hadn't done anything except hang it on the top ledge of the door. I pulled the panel off again and disconnected and reconnected the connections, which was exactly the ticket. I bolted everything up and called the lovely Mrs JCBAMA85 out for a listen. It sounded great, but what it needed was on the road testing. So I pulled up a few songs of various genres to really give them a test. The songs I selected were:

1. Eagles: Victim of Love and Hotel California. Both have awesome guitar parts and some great vocals. Victim of Love made me realize I had too much base, so I turned it down two notches and it sounded much better.
2. The Who: Eminence Front: Great keyboard and vocals. Sounded great.
3. BB King: The Thrill is Gone. Nothing like Lucille belting out the blues and the guitar was crisp and BB's raspy vocals were captured extremely well.
4. Lyle Lovett: Since the Last Time, a great song with just guitar and vocals slowly at the start, leading to a much faster beat. The vocals were so clear and I could hear the fingers sliding on the guitar portions.
5. Toby Keith: Who's Your Daddy, sounded terrific, really feeling the vocals and instruments.
6. The University of Alabama Million Dollar Band: Yeah Alabama. There's nothing like my alma mater's wonderful marching band belting out our Fight Song. I could hear the drums, brass, and tuba so clearly I felt I was in Bryant Denny Stadium.

I'm completely blown away by the sound quality. The instruments are so clear, especially guitar and percussion. I'm also amazed at how bad the stock system is, come on BMW you're better than that! The quality of the speakers and tweeters are very good; it's amazing how much better they are than the stock ones; they're significantly heavier and are just of much higher quality.

Finally, here are some tips that I think would be helpful if you decide to go with the Stage 1 for your BMW:

1. Watch the video several times before you start and keep it handy on your phone or iPad as you do the install. It helps so much.
2. Have a small stool when you do the doors. It's so much more helpful from trying to bend over or sitting in the seat.
3. Have everything very close by as you are working on the door speakers, you don't want to have the door panel in your lap and realize you don't have the tweeter. (Of course I would never do anything as stupid as that, just trying to help others. )
4. Be patient with the door tweeters. They're a lot more difficult than it seems in the video.
5. Make sure your speakers are working before bolting everything back in place
6. The rear deck tweeter cord has to be pulled through a thick piece of insulation, don't be surprised if you think there isn't a way to get it through when you first look at it (One of my pictures shows what I am talking about)
7. Fiddle with the tone settings, once you get it dialed in for your ear, it sounds amazing.
8.Be patient and have fun with it. It's quite a sense of accomplishment once everything is back in place and working well.

Total time from opening the box until everything back to normal was almost 3 hours, but not too bad on a cool and sunny Saturday Texas morning.

To summarize, it was a very good process. The video is very good and covers what you need to know. It was hard to take pictures when the door panels were in my lap but the other pictures are pretty decent.

I highly recommend the Stage 1 upgrade, especially if you're coming from the stock system. You'll be glad you did.

[lsturbointeg]

Thanks for the review!!! since you have the amp on the way i highly highly recommend those 8's under your seats. you'll significantly improve the sound even more...why they don't sell them all together i don't know because basically it's a component like Nelson said from Bimmertech and right now you're missing part of that component.

[Jcbama85]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Thanks for the review!!! since you have the amp on the way i highly highly recommend those 8's under your seats. you'll significantly improve the sound even more...why they don't sell them all together i don't know because basically it's a component like Nelson said from Bimmertech and right now you're missing part of that component.

Ding ding ding, I think we have a winner with the next upgrade after the Amp!

[gabypr]

Thanks for your review on this upgrade sound system. This is a mod im planing to do in a future.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by gabypr

Thanks for your review on this upgrade sound system. This is a mod im planing to do in a future.

+1!

i'm still working on the aesthetics of the car and even that is pretty expensive! my audio still currently sits at the bottom of my to-do list

[r33_RGSport]

@Jcbama85 , congrats on the Bavsound upgrade.
I did my 650GC about 2 weeks ago.
I did before video on Hotel California with my GoPro. Waiting for it to fully broken in before I do after video on the same song.
I did a full Stage One and Ghost Woofer since it is in the new dealer package that came in when I signed up to become their authorized dealer.

[Jcbama85]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

@Jcbama85 , congrats on the Bavsound upgrade.
I did my 650GC about 2 weeks ago.
I did before video on Hotel California with my GoPro. Waiting for it to fully broken in before I do after video on the same song.
I did a full Stage One and Ghost Woofer since it is in the new dealer package that came in when I signed up to become their authorized dealer.

Thanks! Great minds think alike, even on music. Appreciate the replies.

[noname4894]

May I ask how the quality is ?

[Jcbama85]

[QUOTE=noname4894;19807460]May I ask how the quality is ? [/QUOTE

Quality is awesome, especially with the addition of the Bimmertech amp. I highly recommend both.

[535d1420]

Have you guys noticed the tweeters in the car doors are much more clear and louder than any of the other tweeters and speakers? I'm assuming this is normal?

[SemperFi]

Thank you for the great write up. I will be purchasing the stage 1 in a couple of weeks.

[gabypr]

Originally Posted by SemperFi

Thank you for the great write up. I will be purchasing the stage 1 in a couple of weeks.

Let us know your opinion and experience. Thanks

[Jcbama85]

Originally Posted by SemperFi

Thank you for the great write up. I will be purchasing the stage 1 in a couple of weeks.

Thanks!

[lsturbointeg]

Don't know if you ever did the 8's under the seats?

[Jcbama85]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Don't know if you ever did the 8's under the seats?

Not yet. Uncle Sam hit me pretty hard. Hopefully later this year.

[mikekilpatrick]

NIGHT AND DAY with the BavAudio. I have all the mids and tweeters and then installed the subs under the seats.

Only thing you need to watch is that the BMW screws for the Subs BREAK VERY EASILY! I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy other screws when installing the subs. I and at least one other member had the screw BREAK OFF when reinstalling. And guess what? The housing is like 500 dollars... THEY DO NOT SELL just the housing, they sell the housing with the subwoofer installed in it.

So, upgrade as it is worth every single penny. BUT, when doing the subs, replace the screws. (FYI, they are hardened screws and cannot be drilled and reversed out, once they break off, you are finding a new housing or cross drilling a screw in...)

[Vapiano]

I have the Stage 1 upgrade and subs coming in tomorrow, can't wait to install them this weekend. Is there a P&P amp out yet for the HK stereo system? I was informed by the guys at Bimmer Tech their amp doesn't work with the HK set up.

[lsturbointeg]

The Bimmertech amp is only for the guy's with the hifi system. If you want to run an external amp I would look into the Technic Harness which allows you to integrate the amp

[2016BlkBimmer]

So I have HK in mine, the BimmerTech amp will not work?

[Vapiano]

I installed the Stage 1 speakers and subs today, fairly easy task, everything went without issue. I installed the right side first and switched back and forth to really get a sense of the changes. Wow! The difference in transparency was incredible, you get a true sense of just how muddy the HK system really is compared to Bavsound.

After I replaced the remaining speakers I dialed in the system and right out of the box it was amazing, great soundstage (width and depth), superb clarity, separation of instruments, realistic vocals and it's a very neutral sounding without any harshness and the subs really round out the system, lots of punch and as other have stated, you feel them under seat. I could go on and on about rediscovering my music collection, never heard that before, the harmony between the lead singer and background vocalists, the cascade of highs, every sound has it's own exact placement now instead of being muddled together. I can't wait to see how it sounds after 10-15 hours of break in. For those on the fence on the difference between HK and the BavSound upgrade, it's not even close. Definitely worth the investment, you can spend more and might get a better set up, but it will be very hard to beat replacing all of your speakers and subs at this price point, have it sound this good and be PnP. There is something to be said about a true PnP set up, no cutting wires, no speaker brackets, no hassles and it takes only a few hours, a couple of beers, and as jcbama85 stated, a sense of accomplishment. I'm glad I made the decision, an exceptional value and return on your investment.

There wasn't a video for the rear doors, but I want to point out the panels come off exactly the same as the front doors, everything else in the video was spot on.

[2016BlkBimmer]

Originally Posted by Vapiano

I installed the Stage1 speakers and subs today, fairly easy task, everything went without issue. I installed the right side first and switched back and forth to really get a sense of the changes. Wow! The difference in transparency was incredible, you get a true sense of just how muddy the HK system really is compared to Bavsound.

After I replaced the remaining speakers I dialed in the system and right out of the box it was amazing, great soundstage (width and depth), superb clarity, separation of instruments, realistic vocals and it's a very neutral sounding without any harshness and the subs really round out the system, lots of punch and as other have stated, you feel them under seat. I could go on and on about rediscovering my music collection, never heard that before, the harmony between the lead singer and background vocalists, the cascade of highs, every sound has it's own exact placement now instead of being muddled together. I can't wait to see how it sounds after 10-15 hours of break in. For those on the fence on the difference between HK and the BavSound upgrade, it's not even close. Definitely worth the investment, you can spend more and might get a better set up, but it will be very hard to beat replacing all of your speakers and subs at this price point, have it sound this good and be PnP. There is something to be said about a true PnP set up, no cutting wires, no speaker brackets, no hassles and it takes only a few hours, a couple of beers, and as jcbama85 stated, a sense of accomplishment. I'm glad I made the decision, an exceptional value and return on your investment.

There wasn't a video for the rear doors, but I want to point out the panels come off exactly the same as the front doors, everything else in the video was spot on.

Did you change the amp out? Or just the speakers?

[Vapiano]

Originally Posted by 2016BlkBimmer

Did you change the amp out? Or just the speakers?

Just the speakers.