[sittingmongoose]

Originally Posted by noushy

Less boomy, tighter, quicker with a snap. Overall much more detailed and musical.

Noushy

So I I had full bavsound on my f80 m3. It was much better, but certainly lacked bass. Would you say the focals go as deep and hit as hard as the bavsound speakers? Or less? (Not that the bavsound hits deep or hard, it's just a point of reference)

[noushy]

Originally Posted by sittingmongoose

So I I had full bavsound on my f80 m3. It was much better, but certainly lacked bass. Would you say the focals go as deep and hit as hard as the bavsound speakers? Or less? (Not that the bavsound hits deep or hard, it's just a point of reference)

Hard to say but I have the upgraded BAVSound subs as well. The Focal subs are better but you have to run their amp and wiring not a drop in. I wanted to keep stock wiring in case I sell or keep the car.

Noushy

[sittingmongoose]

Originally Posted by noushy

Hard to say but I have the upgraded BAVSound subs as well. The Focal subs are better but you have to run their amp and wiring not a drop in. I wanted to keep stock wiring in case I sell or keep the car.

Noushy

Def won't do the focal subs then. I just want drop in.

For the doors, do you think the bavsounds or focals would have better bass response? I'm less concerned about tightness and more want volume. As that's really what the HK systems lack.

When I went with focal in door speakers like 10 years ago, they had a lot less bass than stock or other low end speakers. I'm assuming that's because they expect you to use a proper sub with them.

[noushy]

Originally Posted by sittingmongoose

Def won't do the focal subs then. I just want drop in.

For the doors, do you think the bavsounds or focals would have better bass response? I'm less concerned about tightness and more want volume. As that's really what the HK systems lack.

When I went with focal in door speakers like 10 years ago, they had a lot less bass than stock or other low end speakers. I'm assuming that's because they expect you to use a proper sub with them.

I think both are better than stock. I think Focal is cleaner and snappier and gives the impression of more low end without boominess.

Noushy

[Klazu]

I was always surprised by people wanting up upgrade from the Harman Kardon system as I was very pleased with the OEM HK system I had on my 2017 X1. Now that I finally have my 2021 X3MC, I have to agree that the sound is missing the punch.

I was today listening to an Ultra HD stream from Amazon Music and it is definitely lacking in comparison to X1. I think the difference is that on X1 there is a subwoofer just under the front seats which made you feel every beat through the seat, whereas on X3M you cannot feel the beat punching at all. It is surprising and unfortunate.

I do think that the speaker system itself produces a rather nice quality sound but the punch is missing.

[sittingmongoose]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I was always surprised by people wanting up upgrade from the Harman Kardon system as I was very pleased with the OEM HK system I had on my 2017 X1. Now that I finally have my 2021 X3MC, I have to agree that the sound is missing the punch.

I was today listening to an Ultra HD stream from Amazon Music and it is definitely lacking in comparison to X1. I think the difference is that on X1 there is a subwoofer just under the front seats which made you feel every beat through the seat, whereas on X3M you cannot feel the beat punching at all. It is surprising and unfortunate.

I do think that the speaker system itself produces a rather nice quality sound but the punch is missing.

There are subs under the x3 driver and passenger seat. Same as the x1. Not saying the x1 doesn't sound better, but the sub placement is the same.

[dazzin]

Still got the car? Satisfied with the sound?

I’ve got the LCI and the sound is terrible. With your references to Sonus Faber you got me convinced to do the Focal upgrade. Just finished install a stand alone sub so thats nice besides it sounds like a Kitchen Radio with a hell of a subwoofer 😂

Originally Posted by noushy

So in my desire for better sound but keeping the appearance stock with all factory electronics I decided to tackle it from 3 spots.

First was to replace the factory subwoofers with upgraded Bavarian Autosound Ghost subwoofers at around $600. This took a few hours labor since the factory subs are also glued in and under the seats which made labor around $400. Immediately tightened the low end but not quite the punch I wanted but much better than stock

Second was to replace the factory drivers. There are several kits out there including BavAutosound but I wanted better clarity from a company known for making their own drivers... JMLabs also known as Focal. They just announced a new set for drop in the Focal ISBMW100L separates to replace the 8 drivers in the doors. They are drop in with replacement crossovers and run on the factory amp or you can upgrade the amp if you wish. BTW they are not yet in the US and I ordered mine directly from Europe at around $600. Took 3 more hours of labor and another $450 but wow. Immediately sharp and crisp midbass with clarity in the tweeters totally absent before.

Finally and the last step which is still in process is to add an outboard amp and either Focal subs or JL subs. We are still deciding on a location and cabinet to not interfere with the rear space. I will keep you posted.

One other note, yes there is a 9th driver the coaxial center but although Focal has announced a replacement it is currently not in production. I will get it when it becomes available next month

Update: new Focal center arrived from Europe and took all of 5 minutes to install. Adds even more clarity and in fact with some music sounds better than the B&W system in my 3 other vehicles.

[Acc-Risk]

I know old conversation but since someone else brought it back to the top...

I've done 4 full BavSound upgrades. My last was my old M40i, which due to the number of drivers in the car, along with BavSound's price increase end of last year, made for easily the most expensive. I've always been happy with the Ghost subwoofer upgrade, (more of that inna bit,) but I didn't feel that I got as much value out of the m40i upgrade. It was sonically improved, but not $1600 improved. I think this time around, if I even decide to upgrade my X3MC, I might look at Focal for the doors, rear, pillars and Ghost subs from Bav.

Now I have never taken my system back to stock when I've sold. Starting in 2021, (maybe earlier,) the sub enclosures use an adhesive sealing the driver to the enclosure. I've found the best way to install these is to destroy the stock drivers. Once you have the center of the driver cut out, you gain access to the bottom of the drivers to sever that adhesive. The rest of the installs are super easy if you go slow and take your time.

[noushy]

Originally Posted by dazzin

Still got the car? Satisfied with the sound?

I’ve got the LCI and the sound is terrible. With your references to Sonus Faber you got me convinced to do the Focal upgrade. Just finished install a stand alone sub so thats nice besides it sounds like a Kitchen Radio with a hell of a subwoofer 😂

Sold it to my best friend. He absolutely loves it then again got $20k worth of mods (akra exhaust, intake, tune, laser jammer and radar, custom steering wheel, m perf wing and diffuser and carbon trim, vossen wheels, audio upgrades). The focal web site has a link that lets you input the car and it gives you the speaker upgrade kit number. Hardest part is finding them and or a dealer to ship them here. I found one in Germany several years ago.
Noushy

[TacosRule!]

Originally Posted by Acc-Risk

I know old conversation but since someone else brought it back to the top...

I've done 4 full BavSound upgrades. My last was my old M40i, which due to the number of drivers in the car, along with BavSound's price increase end of last year, made for easily the most expensive. I've always been happy with the Ghost subwoofer upgrade, (more of that inna bit,) but I didn't feel that I got as much value out of the m40i upgrade. It was sonically improved, but not $1600 improved. I think this time around, if I even decide to upgrade my X3MC, I might look at Focal for the doors, rear, pillars and Ghost subs from Bav.

Now I have never taken my system back to stock when I've sold. Starting in 2021, (maybe earlier,) the sub enclosures use an adhesive sealing the driver to the enclosure. I've found the best way to install these is to destroy the stock drivers. Once you have the center of the driver cut out, you gain access to the bottom of the drivers to sever that adhesive. The rest of the installs are super easy if you go slow and take your time.

You can use a heat gun in low setting and heat it up constantly moving around to avoid warping the plastic. Pry off a little at a time, heat up, pry off, heat up, pry off...


Took me like 15 mins per enclosure to remove the old OE HK drivers.

[TacosRule!]

Originally Posted by noushy

Sold it to my best friend. He absolutely loves it then again got $20k worth of mods (akra exhaust, intake, tune, laser jammer and radar, custom steering wheel, m perf wing and diffuser and carbon trim, vossen wheels, audio upgrades). The focal web site has a link that lets you input the car and it gives you the speaker upgrade kit number. Hardest part is finding them and or a dealer to ship them here. I found one in Germany several years ago.
Noushy

Their website will point to the focal Inside, which are fine. I installed the K2 Power (kevlar) ES 100 K kit and only needed a small plastic ring on the tweeter to mount it to the OE enclosure. The mids are also 4" so they mount directly to the door.