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      03-05-2017, 05:58 AM   #1
scottieboi94
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F10 Standard audio plug and play upgrades???

I have an F10 Saloon with standard audio and I am not very impressed with it.

I was wondering if there are any decent plug an play options to upgrade it?

Last edited by scottieboi94; 03-05-2017 at 08:48 AM..
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      03-05-2017, 06:10 AM   #2
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It depends what you mean by "plug and play". There isn't anything that you could literally just put between a couple of sockets in the boot to fix it.

The main issue is that, at the very least, you need to replace the speakers and add tweeters in the front. How far you go after that is down to personal taste but the last time I did just that (in an E90) it was acceptable.

Best bet is to take it to a well regarded car-hifi shop and talk to them. Sorting out disappointed BMW owners appears to be business as usual to them.
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      03-05-2017, 08:23 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottieboi94 View Post
I have an F10 Saloon with standard audio and I am not very impressed with it.

I was wondering if there any decent plug an play options to upgrade it?
I recently upgraded the sound in my wifes car and went for the MB Quart 200.3 speakers. and paired them to an Audison 5.9 amp. The sounds is amazing and i have the HK system in my F30 and imho it sounds much better than the HK.

The speakers can be bought for about £300 and the amp is between £400 - £620 depending on whether you bothered about getting it from the UK or Europe

Speakers:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401218911783

Amp:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122263469898

You will also need the tweeter housings assuming you have the base system.
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      03-05-2017, 08:52 AM   #4
scottieboi94
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Panchoa View Post
I recently upgraded the sound in my wifes car and went for the MB Quart 200.3 speakers. and paired them to an Audison 5.9 amp. The sounds is amazing and i have the HK system in my F30 and imho it sounds much better than the HK.

The speakers can be bought for about £300 and the amp is between £400 - £620 depending on whether you bothered about getting it from the UK or Europe

Speakers:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401218911783

Amp:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122263469898

You will also need the tweeter housings assuming you have the base system.
Thanks for your reply, yes I had read earlier about these speakers, I have seen good reviews but was unsure off the difficulty to install them. What is the process to install all this mate?
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      03-05-2017, 11:16 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottieboi94 View Post
Thanks for your reply, yes I had read earlier about these speakers, I have seen good reviews but was unsure off the difficulty to install them. What is the process to install all this mate?
Not sure mate as i got a professional fitter to do the install. However the speakers are a direct replacement for the standard speakers so no need cut holes and make any modifications. Only thing is installing the amp which will be more time consuming i think
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      03-09-2017, 12:00 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Panchoa View Post
Not sure mate as i got a professional fitter to do the install. However the speakers are a direct replacement for the standard speakers so no need cut holes and make any modifications. Only thing is installing the amp which will be more time consuming i think
How much did that cost you? I want a lot more bass also, did you notice any extra punch from the new subs?
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      03-11-2017, 02:03 AM   #7
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Looking at doing the same with the amp, but have a couple of questions:

Does the Audison amp accept balanced differential high level inputs?

Does anyone know the part numbers for the plugs that make up the Technic 2/4 stereo cable? I'm damned if I'm paying best part of £100 for a cable that I could make myself with £5 worth of plugs from the parts department.

I think it might be:

Sockets 61132360044
Plugs - poss 61132359996

Anyone else gone down this route?
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      03-11-2017, 09:29 AM   #8
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I actually used a Technicpnp stereo 4/6 harness when I upgraded my base stereo.

However I would say it was very difficult to install behind the dash, there is only just enough space in there and you need to use considerable force to push the head unit back into position and somehow push the quadlocks down into a small gap.

If I were doing it again I would use the Eton solution below.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ETON-F-Seri.../dp/B01BQYZ8S2

This will allow you to pick the high level signal up from the underseat subwoofers and run to an amp. This amp would then drive your subs and your front woofers independently.

Your rears would remain powered by the head unit. Although you could make a similar wiring to run to an amp that tales high level inputs for the rear as well.

The amp I use is the Eton DSP CAN 8 and the quality of sound is unbelievably better than base.
It is a full processor and has a 8 channel output, I only use 6, but i did toy with the idea of adding a centre channel.
In the end due to other forum comments I did not install the centre speaker.

The processor takes the high level signal, flattens the EQ, then for each channel you can set high and low shelves, peaks and equaliser setting via their software.
There are 5 user programmable sound stages on the DSP, I only use one. But if I had the time and skill set I could have 5 different sound settings including time delay etc.

I actually was so impressed by the Eton DSP that I purchased a set of Eton 195NEO subwoofers and a set of the B150T front speakers. Which are very well manufactured.
They are Germany company and take pride in the fact their products are made in Germany.

If I am honest I copied an install from the US (without the 3D printing). All credit to Phil, a great guy who even gave me some good advice.

See below
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...-jl-audio.html


I would say you can probably make a similar cable to the Eton by purchasing the connectors from aliexpress (cheaper than BMW dealer), but you would need to identify the correct wiring and whilst it would be a nice project which would be cheaper it depends on how much time you have.

I hope this is useful.

I really should post a build thread......
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      03-11-2017, 10:46 AM   #9
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I'm looking to upgrade my speakers just a tiny bit, probably just add new front speakers with tweeters. Is this likely to cause an issue in terms of load for the head unit?
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      03-11-2017, 11:13 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Apples12 View Post
I'm looking to upgrade my speakers just a tiny bit, probably just add new front speakers with tweeters. Is this likely to cause an issue in terms of load for the head unit?
No but buy speakers that have some adjustment for the tweeters as you may find that the head-unit is currently boosting the treble to compensate for the lack of tweeters.
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      03-11-2017, 11:52 AM   #11
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Apples you will have no problems.

Before I undertook the Eton upgrade, I swapped out my base speakers for a set of Harman Kardon front and rears from a M5 breaker.
I run HK speakers front and rear for over 18months and there were no issues from my CIC.

The HK speakers are totally plug and play and you will notice an improvement in sound quality due to the tweeters.

For the fronts you will need the BMW tweeter housings, approx £25 from Cotswold BMW.

Fitting is easy, just follow the bavsound videos on youtube.


In order to mount the rear tweeters in the precut section you need the following parts to fit them:
4 screws - BMW part number: 07 11 9 905 746 - these are the same as the rear woofer screws.
4 body nuts - BMW part number: 07 12 9 904 150 - these fit onto the rear deck to allow you to mount your HK tweeters as OEM intended.


I've actually a set of front and rear Harman Kardon speakers which I no longer use, but they are at the other end of the country from where I am this month.
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      03-11-2017, 12:48 PM   #12
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That's almost exactly what I want to do, except I really like the idea of the Audison 4.9 to run things. Built in DSP too.

What I can't get my head around is why those cables are so damn expensive. Technic's just looks like telephone cable and while the Eton one uses proper twisted pair, it's still a hell of a price for 9m of cable and 4x plastic plugs!
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      03-11-2017, 01:29 PM   #13
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The other half of me thinks that I could bite the bullet about the difficulty with the quad lock technic harness and get a 4/6 harness, re code the head unit to hifi and just get a normal 6 channel amp.
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      04-11-2017, 02:33 AM   #14
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I did the Gladen 201 Extreme fit in my E60 about 3 years ago. planning on doing the same in my F10. only downside to buying second hand is you can end up with the shocking awful base system.

I haven't yet heard the MB Quarts but have read some great reviews on them.

im planning on going for the Mosconi 120.4 amp, which will power the door components and under seat 8 inch woofers.

regarding connecting the amplifier connection, I think just to keep it simple, and because it worked in the past I am going for the Gladen Quadlock which connects to the back of the stereo, in between the original wiring which gives a RCA line in for signal and gives power to the speakers with no additional wiring. a bit on the pricy side I must say.

just out of curiosity has anyone heard the Direct fit Focal speakers?
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