[bandersen]

Originally Posted by YuicyYumboYack

To be fair, loudness and sound quality, though related, shouldn't be lumped together. I would bet that the sound coming out of your speakers more closely resembles what the artist intended, compared to the Civic blasting his music so everyone in a three block radius can hear it.

Originally Posted by YuicyYumboYack

To be fair, loudness and sound quality, though related, shouldn't be lumped together. I would bet that the sound coming out of your speakers more closely resembles what the artist intended, compared to the Civic blasting his music so everyone in a three block radius can hear it.

Like I said…I'm a neophyte

[Wait What?]

Originally Posted by YuicyYumboYack

To be fair, loudness and sound quality, though related, shouldn't be lumped together. I would bet that the sound coming out of your speakers more closely resembles what the artist intended, compared to the Civic blasting his music so everyone in a three block radius can hear it.

Totally agree with you: for me the upgrade was not about being able to go louder (for which I think a new amp would be kind of a necessity), but to listen to better quality sound regardless of volume - it was about getting rid of that tinny sound that would butcher any song that would play on the base speakers.

And IMHO the Stage One upgrade fully delivered on their promises of a much better quality sound, which makes me enjoy listening to my music way more than before.

[todd92]

Ahhhh, so there we have it. Bavsound is 'underwhelming', because it's not loud enough to drown out a rice wagon with a trunk full of speakers and amps.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Like I said…I'm a neophyte

I'm confused - are you trying to just make whatever you're playing loud without distortion when the windows are down?

Or do you have a specific thing you're looking for like sub-bass, or vocal clarity, or top-end sizzle?

Cause if you're looking for great sounding music, but don't know what that is, you might be better off buying a nice pair of cheap audiophile headphones, like the Senn hd 600/50/60s & powering them with a schiit modi/magni stack to figure out what you like - you can do that for $400 and it'll help you know what you're looking for, and then you can better decide what $$$ to drop on a larger car system. Just a thought ...

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I'm confused - are you trying to just make whatever you're playing loud without distortion when the windows are down?

Or do you have a specific thing you're looking for like sub-bass, or vocal clarity, or top-end sizzle?

Cause if you're looking for great sounding music, but don't know what that is, you might be better off buying a nice pair of cheap audiophile headphones, like the Senn hd 600/50/60s & powering them with a schiit modi/magni stack to figure out what you like - you can do that for $400 and it'll help you know what you're looking for, and then you can better decide what $$$ to drop on a larger car system. Just a thought ...

Nah...I 'want' loud AND clarity - and maybe that's too much to ask for...so I'm going to a high-end dealer to listen to set ups...maybe it is just me. And no - I don't want a 'rice burner' with a suitcase sized subwoofer in the back. I'm more a schnitzel guy...but do prefer listening to AC/DC vs Wagner!

Thanks for the posts (almost) everyone.....I'll continue to experiment.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by bandersen

I 'want' loud AND clarity [for] AC/DC

Well, yeah, then for sure drivers alone ain't gonna get you there: first you need POW-AH! Specifically you need clean power, i.e., high quality amps, and then you'll need drivers to match and for sure a decent sub-box - might be able to use a discreet small one, but you'll definitely need one.

Depending on the system you may also need a larger alternator and/or capacitor to power the amps (you'll probably need at least 2 amps, 1 for the sub, 1 for the rest, but maybe more)

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Well, yeah, then for sure drivers alone ain't gonna get you there: first you need POW-AH! Specifically you need clean power, i.e., high quality amps, and then you'll need drivers to match and for sure a decent sub-box - might be able to use a discreet small one, but you'll definitely need one.

Depending on the system you may also need a larger alternator and/or capacitor to power the amps (you'll probably need at least 2 amps, 1 for the sub, 1 for the rest, but maybe more)

Somehow...I think TurtleBoy had the right quote

I'm just going to go buy a Walkman. Cheaper

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Somehow...I think TurtleBoy had the right quote

I'm just going to go buy a Walkman. Cheaper

Given you have Bavsound. Assuming it isn't a lease. Getting a dedicated amp to power a standalone sub would be the best option IMHO. A pro shop would be able to do it even with the HiFi amp. Even at home, I have found a good sub is the best bang for the buck for audio experience.

The amp in the HiFi system is the weakness, now that you have Bavsound. I used to suffer from audio upgradetitis back in the day, so now I stop at good enough. LOL.

First upgrade is always to start with the source material…GIGO

[VertigoAtHome]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Somehow...I think TurtleBoy had the right quote

I'm just going to go buy a Walkman. Cheaper

I think the simple answer at this point is to just install an amp ~$1200. It'll sound great with your Bavsound speakers, no need for additional subs unless you are reaching for the next level.

[nomoracin]

my '11 e89 z4 has the hifi sound system and i think they sound amazing!

...i guess it could be because of how small it is though. haha

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Somehow...I think TurtleBoy had the right quote

Yeah, it's a great warning for certain personalities.

On the walkman side, if you don't wanna go more powAH for your setup (i.e., amps and/or sub+amp) Campfire makes a GREAT earbud for AC/DC with their Mammoth, Polaris, or Vega if you can find it. Add a cheap phone dongle like monoprice's monolith and you've got a killer setup.

Inanity is my specialty!

[10101X5]

It reminds me a discussion decades ago... We were talking about pre amp, amp, mixer, speakers... for home theater. There was this one guy who said, "nothing beats my Bose headphones." He had a point for sure. Once in a while I do see a driver with headphones on.

[todd92]

He's going to be underwhelmed with anything less than this.

[bandersen]

Sooo....
After 30 hours break in time....I am changing my tune (no pun intended). Seems my biggest obstacle has been what I've been listening too (SIRIUS) and not so much the speakers. After going to Spotify through the phone - sound upgrade has been noticble, both quality and loudness/little distortion. Spotify - through the USB C cord - better than Spotify over wifi/BT, but even that route is better than Sirius. Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.

[YuicyYumboYack]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Sooo....
After 30 hours break in time....I am changing my tune (no pun intended). Seems my biggest obstacle has been what I've been listening too (SIRIUS) and not so much the speakers. After going to Spotify through the phone - sound upgrade has been noticble, both quality and loudness/little distortion. Spotify - through the USB C cord - better than Spotify over wifi/BT, but even that route is better than Sirius. Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.

That's awesome to hear. Glad you're enjoying it more.

Totally agree on Sirius. Not exactly a fair comparison because I still have HiFi, but music through Sirius it pretty terrible.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by YuicyYumboYack

That's awesome to hear. Glad you're enjoying it more.

Totally agree on Sirius. Not exactly a fair comparison because I still have HiFi, but music through Sirius it pretty terrible.

If you like the Sirius XM content, like I do. Going through their app at maximum bandwidth is much better than in inbuilt iDrive version. I suppose the iDrive Sirius XM app is fine if one listens to a lot of news and talk radio, which I don't….

[cellarrat]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Sooo....
After 30 hours break in time....I am changing my tune (no pun intended). Seems my biggest obstacle has been what I've been listening too (SIRIUS) and not so much the speakers. After going to Spotify through the phone - sound upgrade has been noticble, both quality and loudness/little distortion. Spotify - through the USB C cord - better than Spotify over wifi/BT, but even that route is better than Sirius. Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.

Sound quality for Sirius/XM is awful. Just awful. I only use it for spoken word (sports and news) and even then I sometimes have to cut it off because it sounds so bad.

[Killramos]

I’ve never met a car audio system someone wasn’t willing to complain about on the internet.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Killramos

I’ve never met a car audio system someone wasn’t willing to complain about on the internet.

I've never met an anything someone wasn't willing to complain about on the internet ...

Car audio combines two high-passion internet topics into one giant internet battle royale!

[VertigoAtHome]

For anyone thinking about upgrading, I'm selling my Focal IS BMW 100L speakers in the classified section.

[jeannieliv]

Originally Posted by YuicyYumboYack

That's awesome to hear. Glad you're enjoying it more.

Totally agree on Sirius. Not exactly a fair comparison because I still have HiFi, but music through Sirius it pretty terrible.

Someone who still has the STD HiFi system! Would love to hear your thoughts. I'm not an audiophile by any means and just ordered an X5 45e with HiFi. Have always ordered premium sound option on all my other cars, but no option here. Not excited to spend more $$$ on the system and hoping the HiFi is okay for people like me who are okay with mediocre (but not horrible) sound.

[Garycoral]

Originally Posted by jeannieliv

Someone who still has the STD HiFi system! Would love to hear your thoughts. I'm not an audiophile by any means and just ordered an X5 45e with HiFi. Have always ordered premium sound option on all my other cars, but no option here. Not excited to spend more $$$ on the system and hoping the HiFi is okay for people like me who are okay with mediocre (but not horrible) sound.

Yes - Let's "hear" the latest on this topic!