[cellarrat]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Yes, is hype and some just improve the experience. To me personally, the audio experience is important. It's like some people are fine watching a movie on a 77 inch OLED with the built in speakers and others are not. In the end, a car is an experience and experiences effect multiple senses…some would spend $2K on an individual paint, some on audio etc.

FWIW, even if you get the B&W OEM speakers, you won't get it back in resale value. So you are still doing it for the experience more so than the value…

My 2 cents worth.

100% agree. I'd never even consider paying $2k for "individual paint" but haven't pulled the trigger on a 45e because I can't get the stereo I want and a few other things that are important to me. It is all about what will make your personal experience better.

[silverstar335]

Originally Posted by HuskerNSC

How are feeling about the sub? I did all the others with Focal but not the subs (yet).

There is definitely a very noticeable difference, I currently have the stock one and the focal one.

[Wait What?]

Originally Posted by todd92

The expertise needed to pop off door panels and plug in speakers?

What can I tell you, that's what at least eight of them told me, even though I had told them the speakers were plug and play and I even email them the BavSound installation video. I was baffled. I guess they don't need the work.

[allinon72]

If we're honest, car audio shops aren't used to working on brand new luxury vehicles. And there's no reason to risk anything when they've got plenty of bread and butter work waiting for them.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by silverstar335

You may want to upgrade the amp as well, will wait couple of months before upgrading the amp. Waiting for the second Focal subwoofer, only speaker left to upgrade. Btw, I did not go with the ES100k because I did not know that was an option at the time.

So yours is the Focal Inside speakers? It's the same one I got on mine. Yeah, they are a big improvement. I was just wondering on the ES 100K since they are incredible speakers at $1K. They go close to that for just a pair if I recall correctly.

[Wait What?]

Originally Posted by allinon72

If we're honest, car audio shops aren't used to working on brand new luxury vehicles. And there's no reason to risk anything when they've got plenty of bread and butter work waiting for them.

Now, I think that's a very plausible explanation.

[silverstar335]

Originally Posted by FCX5

So yours is the Focal Inside speakers? It's the same one I got on mine. Yeah, they are a big improvement. I was just wondering on the ES 100K since they are incredible speakers at $1K. They go close to that for just a pair if I recall correctly.

A pair of ES100K is $450 shipped, will be upgrading the amp next.

I have these:

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by silverstar335

A pair of ES100K is $450 shipped, will be upgrading the amp next.

I have these:

Yes, I have the same ones. These are Focal Inside.

[FCX5]

For those willing to try it, another option is to just buy B&W speakers that are used in the X5 from China. All the speakers used in BMW whether HK, BO or BW are made in China and they can sometimes be found on Chinese sites.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...vTaYZ2&s=p


Here is a video that shows the speakers. Bavsound build quality looks better than even HK.

https://ae-cn.alicdn.com/9f8e1de3035...mp4_264_hd.mp4

[silverstar335]

Originally Posted by FCX5

For those willing to try it, another option is to just buy B&W speakers that are used in the X5 from China. All the speakers used in BMW whether HK, BO or BW are made in China and they can sometimes be found on Chinese sites.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...vTaYZ2&s=p


Here is a video that shows the speakers. Bavsound build quality looks better than even HK.

https://ae-cn.alicdn.com/9f8e1de3035...mp4_264_hd.mp4

I wonder how B&W speakers compare to Focal Inside speakers.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by silverstar335

I wonder how B&W speakers compare to Focal Inside speakers.

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=28072947

Here is a link on the F15 Forum on a similar topic of upgrading speakers. FWIW, the installer that did my Focal's insisted that they are superior to any speaker that BMW offers. But I'll take that with a grain of salt…but even they were aware that one could get 'real' OEM speakers for cheap from China!

Note from Alibaba you can get the BW speakers and the covers and lights. The full aesthetics. So you can add B&W covers to your Focal set up. LOL.

[silverstar335]

Originally Posted by FCX5

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=28072947

Here is a link on the F15 Forum on a similar topic of upgrading speakers. FWIW, the installer that did my Focal's insisted that they are superior to any speaker that BMW offers. But I'll take that with a grain of salt…but even they were aware that one could get 'real' OEM speakers for cheap from China!

Note from Alibaba you can get the BW speakers and the covers and lights. The full aesthetics. So you can add B&W covers to your Focal set up. LOL.

It would be interesting if they are able to do custom Focal covers with lights.

[10101X5]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Here is a video that shows the speakers. Bavsound build quality looks better than even HK.

https://ae-cn.alicdn.com/9f8e1de3035...mp4_264_hd.mp4

Those are not Stage I Bavsound. I don’t know how HK speakers really look but from the Bavsound video they don’t look like those. They look like HiFi speakers.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by 10101X5

Those are not Stage I Bavsound. I don’t know how HK speakers really look but from the Bavsound video they don’t look like those. They look like HiFi speakers.

the video is comparing HK with BO and BW. My comment was that the Bavsound speaker images you posted, at least on paper, the build quality of Bavsounds looks as good as the premium BMW speakers and better than the HK.

[10101X5]

Originally Posted by FCX5

the video is comparing HK with BO and BW. My comment was that the Bavsound speaker images you posted, at least on paper, the build quality of Bavsounds looks as good as the premium BMW speakers and better than the HK.

Lol it’s interesting how we comprehend when reading late at night! I see now. I thought you were adding your comments to the video. but are those HK from G05? They don’t look like those in the Bavsound video. In the video they look just like the paper HiFi speakers. In any case I was waiting and playing Grenade from Bruno Mars. Only half the volume but the bass is deep tight clean. Really like how they turned out. No complaint here.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by 10101X5

Lol it’s interesting how we comprehend when reading late at night! I see now. I thought you were adding your comments to the video. but are those HK from G05? They don’t look like those in the Bavsound video. In the video they look just like the paper HiFi speakers. In any case I was waiting and playing Grenade from Bruno Mars. Only half the volume but the bass is deep tight clean. Really like how they turned out. No complaint here.

These HK might be from the F15 although you can get them for the G05 from Alibaba and from what I can tell they are the same for both. The HK speakers are quite flimsy.

[Garycoral]

What do you guys think about this option? Plug & play??

Hi Gary Geiger
Good morning, my friend, I am glad to receive your message First of all, it is an OEM product of G05/G07. This kit contains 9 covers and 6 speakers. You can choose to buy cover or cover and speakers separately, they will work better. Our products are the highest quality products, and I can free shipping for you, if you need I think I can give you a great discount thanks Have a nice day

Bowers & Wilkins
13 Pcs LED For BMW G05 X5 G06 X6 G07 X7 Series Front Rear Door Glow Luminous Night Lighting Trim Horn Audio Speaker Cover Kit

1 Set/Sets US $ 676.99

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by Garycoral

What do you guys think about this option? Plug & play??

Hi Gary Geiger
Good morning, my friend, I am glad to receive your message First of all, it is an OEM product of G05/G07. This kit contains 9 covers and 6 speakers. You can choose to buy cover or cover and speakers separately, they will work better. Our products are the highest quality products, and I can free shipping for you, if you need I think I can give you a great discount thanks Have a nice day

Bowers & Wilkins
13 Pcs LED For BMW G05 X5 G06 X6 G07 X7 Series Front Rear Door Glow Luminous Night Lighting Trim Horn Audio Speaker Cover Kit

1 Set/Sets US $ 676.99

Funnily, when I found that you can get ANY BMW speaker and get them shipped. I was intrigued. I asked the tech just yesterday when I was getting my inspection and oil change on this exact option (why more people were not doing it since he had told me earlier he had done several speaker upgrades). He said the amp harness in the Hifi will not work on the B&W so you need to update the amp. But if you have the HK, no problems....just what I was told.

[VertigoAtHome]

My understanding is the B&W system uses active crossovers managed by the DSP in the receiver to protect the speakers; HiFi amp doesn't have this. You need either a passive or active crossover to protect the tweeters. You could easily add an inline capacitor (i.e. simple passive xover) for the tweeters; there are DIY instructions on the web that describe how to do this. This is what the HiFi system has although you would need to spec the capacitor to match the the B&W speakers. I have an upgraded amp with a DSP that would safely drive the B&W speakers but when I looked into the speaker/cover sets that are listed for sub $1k they don't include the diamond tweeters (in the A pillars) which are the most important part of the B&W Diamond sound system you pay up for in the G05. I suspect the speakers you get a very good (assuming they are not counterfeit) but it won't sound anything like the the factory option unless you buy the good tweeters which are something like $1k each to buy separately, might be able to find used ones for less, and you add an amp w/DSP to power them properly. At that point you'll be ~$4-5K to reproduce the B&W system and I guarantee a well designed custom sound system for $5k will be far superior to anything you'll get from the factory.

If you have the HiFi system get an amp (Audiotech) and good speakers (Focal, Bavsound, Bimmertech, etc) for around $2k and enjoy a sound system that is comparable if not superior to the HK system. Enough of us have done it, no disappointments going down this path.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by VertigoAtHome

My understanding is the B&W system uses active crossovers managed by the DSP in the receiver to protect the speakers; HiFi amp doesn't have this. You need either a passive or active crossover to protect the tweeters. You could easily add an inline capacitor (i.e. simple passive xover) for the tweeters; there are DIY instructions on the web that describe how to do this. This is what the HiFi system has although you would need to spec the capacitor to match the the B&W speakers. I have an upgraded amp with a DSP that would safely drive the B&W speakers but when I looked into the speaker/cover sets that are listed for sub $1k they don't include the diamond tweeters (in the A pillars) which are the most important part of the B&W Diamond sound system you pay up for in the G05. I suspect the speakers you get a very good (assuming they are not counterfeit) but it won't sound anything like the the factory option unless you buy the good tweeters which are something like $1k each to buy separately, might be able to find used ones for less, and you add an amp w/DSP to power them properly. At that point you'll be ~$4-5K to reproduce the B&W system and I guarantee a well designed custom sound system for $5k will be far superior to anything you'll get from the factory.

If you have the HiFi system get an amp (Audiotech) and good speakers (Focal, Bavsound, Bimmertech, etc) for around $2k and enjoy a sound system that is comparable if not superior to the HK system. Enough of us have done it, no disappointments going down this path.

You are right the diamond dome tweeters are the ones up front and probably not made in china. They are taken from the 800D series. These definitely need the B&W Amp. The other tweeters are aluminum. Just like HK tweeters.

Interesting article on Tweeters. I have Focal, inverted dome tweeters and they really do sound great!

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-prkWpH...cts-sound.html

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by VertigoAtHome

My understanding is the B&W system uses active crossovers managed by the DSP in the receiver to protect the speakers; HiFi amp doesn't have this.

I don't know about the HIFi, but don't the B&W and HK have different speaker locations, i.e., B&W has speakers in the roof?

B&W



HK



Maybe that wouldn't matter at all, but it seems like the overall systems having a different design might cause something hinky?

[10101X5]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I don't know about the HIFi, but don't the B&W and HK have different speaker locations, i.e., B&W has speakers in the roof?
Maybe that wouldn't matter at all, but it seems like the overall systems having a different design might cause something hinky?

My guess is one would be OK. May not get the full effect but should work, just like home system when you don't connect everything to it.