[JerryW235]

I know there have been a number of audio upgrades documented on this forum, so after getting some of the basics out of the way I'll focus on what I did a little differently.

After reading a lot of posts and reviews, and researching and comparing speaker prices, I went with the Bavsound component system, (H-K upgrade) for the F22. Our car only had the base Hi Fi, so I bought a pair of the sail panel tweeter housings on Ebay to be able to have separate tweeters front and rear.

Phase one (Wednesday) was disconnecting the front center channel, and installing the Bavsound speakers. That in and of itself was a definite improvement, even my wife noticed it after only one ride with the new speakers. There are a lot of pictures out there already comparing the OEM speakers to upgraded ones, so I won't repeat that, but the physical difference is increadible, even the Bavsounds with the "neo" magnets weight over twice as much as the OEM's. The OEM speakers look like something that came out of a 1960's transistor radio. And I had plenty of those back then.

One issue I ran into was that since I was adding separate tweeters to the rear shelf, my original speaker grills would not work, as there was no opening or grill for the tweeters. After determining that BMW wants over $100 for each grill, I thought I'd compromise. I used a hole saw to cut a 1-1/4" hole, painted some window screen black, and glued it in. It doesn't look great, but will do until I can find a set of grills at a reasonable price. (Anyone know of a wrecked F22 with a black interior and H-K audio?)

Phase two (Thursday) was the amp and Technic harnesses. I read over and over the install post by Viffermike and akuan99, and others, but took a little different approach. I liked the accessibility of Viffermikes install, to be able to make adjustments if needed, but also liked the way askaun99 hid the amp under the side panel. So, I combined the two approaches.

I ripped out all the appropriate panels to get to the battery, ASD, Amp, harnesses, etc. I cut the tabs that the wiring harness attached to off of the OEM amp bracket, screwed some 1 inch wide strips of 1x wood to the bracket, and put Velcro on those and the bottom of the amp to secure the amp to the OEM bracket. I used the strips of 1x to get some airflow under the amp, as well as on top, since the amp will be covered up by the trim panel.

Next, I cut the cross pieces off of the plastic support that serves as the support or bracket for the small storage bin on the bottom of the trim panel. After that I cut out the small storage bin in the bottom of the trim panel, so that I would more or less have a removable tray that was still supported by the plastic bracket. The two pictures of this are still more or less "proof of concept", and show the access I'll have to the amp when the trim panel is in place, and how it will be covered up when the panel is in place and the "tray" is in place. I may have to put some Velcro on the tray to hold it to the plastic bracket, or run some door edge trim around it to make it look a bit neater.

After hooking everything up and testing it, I think it sounds great. It now sounds like 4 channel stereo, not 5 channel mono. A lot more bass, much more of a soundstage, not as muddled a sound as the OEM system was. And of course, a LOT louder, and clearer. Overall, very satisfied.

Phase three (Friday) was reinstall the trim panels, run a volume control for the woofers to the center console, and adjust the gain and frequency settings on the amp. (Anyone have any recommendations for that that they are willing to share? ) The last two pictures show the panel back in place, and the storage bin dropped in, and the bin removed and access to the amp.

Phase four - installing a pair of MB Quart under seat woofers. Got them for $120 on Ebay, so if I don't like them, I'm not out too much money.

I've tried to keep this short and not too redundant to other DIY posts on audio upgrades, but do have more pictures and detail if anyone is interested.

[Viffermike]

LOVE that compromise, JerryW235 ! Slick. I'd thought about doing a door there, too (the F30 actually has one there), but didn't want to alter the trunk liner that much for trade-in reasons ...

... and I'm glad I didn't, because I took out my 600/6 this past weekend (took about 40 minutes, including trim) in preparation to say good-bye to my 2er. Four 1" black hole plugs filled in the holes I drilled in the liner perfectly and (relatively) stealthily.

Stay tuned to the General Forum for the swan song post ... the new ride arrives by this weekend -- and, yes, I will be upgrading the audio on it, hehe.

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

LOVE that compromise, JerryW235 ! Slick. I'd thought about doing a door there, too (the F30 actually has one there), but didn't want to alter the trunk liner that much for trade-in reasons ...

... and I'm glad I didn't, because I took out my 600/6 this past weekend (took about 40 minutes, including trim) in preparation to say good-bye to my 2er. Four 1" black hole plugs filled in the holes I drilled in the liner perfectly and (relatively) stealthily.

Stay tuned to the General Forum for the swan song post ... the new ride arrives by this weekend -- and, yes, I will be upgrading the audio on it, hehe.

Sorry to highjack OP but my curiosity has been piqued with VMike's pending vehicle change...! Curious indeed.