06-15-2021, 07:19 AM | #1 |
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Upgrade HK to Focal Inside Speakers and Subs
So over the weekend I decided to upgrade my current HK speakers and subs as I wasn't very happy with the sound even after tweaking the EQ. I decided on getting Focal as they were plug and play and easy for me to install. The speakers were the BMW 100L and subs were the ISUB 4
The 100L speakers units installation was pretty straightforward; remove the door panels, tweeter domes and just plug and play directly into the existing wiring. The subs, on the other hand, took a few hours as I had to remove the mounting bracket from the enclosure very slowly by using a heat gun. Once that was done, just mount the new subs into the enclosure and drop it back it. It will take me a few more hours to give my verdict on this, but so far first impressions were great- the vocals had considerably more clarity even at lower volumes. As for the subs, they also sounded less muddled than before and more pleasing. |
06-15-2021, 01:47 PM | #2 |
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You didnt upgrade the amp too, by any chance?
Thanks for posting, I'm debating between this or Bavsound for my x45e. HK is no longer an option for us new buyers, sadly |
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06-15-2021, 10:11 PM | #3 |
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07-07-2021, 01:58 AM | #6 |
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07-07-2021, 02:03 AM | #7 | |
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As for the door clips I was especially careful as they were kinda fragile. I brought a box of spare clips before starting, but in the end didn't use any. |
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08-03-2021, 07:52 AM | #8 |
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IllustriousMari I installed a Match amp recently and now I'm thinking about upgrading my HiFi speakers to Focal. I had a couple questions. Were there any issues installing the separate crossovers into the doors? Did you add any sound deadening material? Lastly, do you have any further impressions after listening to your speakers for a while? Some say Focal has a distinct sound.
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Damsph6.50 |
08-05-2021, 09:03 AM | #10 |
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08-13-2021, 11:12 PM | #12 | |
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VertigoAtHome136.00 |
08-13-2021, 11:25 PM | #13 | |
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1) The clarity in vocals, percussions, and wind instruments is a notch above the old HK. I normally set my EQ to flat anyway and while listening to Diana Krall's Live in Paris I was surprise to see how close it came to matching the Burmester in my 2012 Porsche Cayenne. 2) The subs themselves were kinda disappointing as while they did improve the bass response somewhat, using the existing 425 watt HK amp to drive this quickly showed its limitations. Perhaps a future project for me would be to add another amp. |
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08-14-2021, 07:38 AM | #14 |
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I ordered the Focal BMW 100 L speakers, should be here in about a week. Hope to have them installed by the end of the month if I can squeeze them in among my other projects. That said, the match amp greatly improved the sound... the base HiFi speakers really are not bad when they get power. My biggest concern now is going backwards trying to improve on what I have.
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08-14-2021, 10:44 AM | #15 | |
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cptcolo102.00 |
08-14-2021, 08:54 PM | #16 |
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has anyone tried these Match Up Subs ?
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-kntOuI...P-W8BMW-S.html |
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08-21-2021, 10:21 PM | #18 |
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Installed the Focal's in the front doors. Install took way longer than it should but I managed to push through it (first time is always hard). Haven't had much time to listen to them and I need to sort out the Match DSP crossovers tomorrow am and ultimately tune with them with the analyzer which will be a challenge. Excited to get it complete. Once I've given them time to burn in, I'll let folks know what I think.
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08-24-2021, 10:53 PM | #19 |
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For me personally I would leave the subs alone, but again this is kinda getting into subjective territory as for some even a slight upgrade in sub quality is worth the investment.
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08-28-2021, 04:59 PM | #21 | |
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Hey- any thoughts on sound quality improvement over the factory HK so far? Where did you mount the crossovers that came with the focal? |
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08-28-2021, 10:28 PM | #22 | |
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Regarding the crossover placement, I tucked them in a small cavity behind the mid-range speaker... very tight fit... so far no issues. BTW, the Focal crossovers that come with the 100Ls are pretty minimal, appear to be more like the inline capacitors in the OEM and other PnP 2-way component speakers. The Focal BMW ICC 100 center speaker is actually a coaxial speaker with an integrated crossover which I suspect is due to there being no where to place a separate crossover. So you lose separate components if you replace the center. I didn't replace it yet for that reason and I'm not sure if it would make much of a difference (and I'm a bit timid to pop the grill out of the dash, yikes that looks dangerous). So in summary, it's well worth the upgrades, particularly for those who have the base HiFi. EDIT: If you have the base HiFi I wanted to emphasize that I would add the Match amp before looking to upgrade to Focal speakers. While I believe the Focals are a nice upgrade, the amp really transformed the system from the base HiFi since the amp is the weakest component IMO. Last edited by VertigoAtHome; 08-29-2021 at 10:51 AM.. |
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