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gaulfinger

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2014
Messages
11
Location
Memphis, TN
My first post here. I'm a Volt owner looking for what's next after my lease runs out. I test drove an i3 this past weekend. What a delight to drive! The two samples available at my local dealer have the base radio. It is 'eh' in sound quality. I'm sure the h/k system is awesome (had h/k in a MINI and a SAAB), but I really don't need 360W, DSP, etc. I'm looking for a middle ground.

Has anyone looked into upgrading speakers in the base unit? Seems like $200-$300 might deliver something worthwhile, assuming all the dimensions fit and the door panel can be accessed. Has anyone explored this yet?
 
It's probably too new, but you might try calling Crutchfield. If you have enough money, any stereo shop can fit new speakers. It may or may not be easy to do yourself.
 
gaulfinger said:
My first post here. I'm a Volt owner looking for what's next after my lease runs out. I test drove an i3 this past weekend. What a delight to drive! The two samples available at my local dealer have the base radio. It is 'eh' in sound quality. I'm sure the h/k system is awesome (had h/k in a MINI and a SAAB), but I really don't need 360W, DSP, etc. I'm looking for a middle ground.

Has anyone looked into upgrading speakers in the base unit? Seems like $200-$300 might deliver something worthwhile, assuming all the dimensions fit and the door panel can be accessed. Has anyone explored this yet?

Well first off wether or not yo need the watts or not I suspect it would be cheaper to get the HK option than getting someone to install better speakers. First off the HK option has more speakers then std, so the locations for more speakers would not be available, and would therefore half to be cut into pristine surfaces, something I would not want to do myself. Buy the HK option and save yourself a lot of grief.
 
We've got an i3 REx w/ the HK sound system. We love it. I've had vehicles w/ premium sound systems and one with a standard sound system that I tried to upgrade with aftermarket speakers and amp. I never got equivalent sound with the aftermarket stuff, ended up spending more money and had extra boxes stuffed in intrusive places in the car. Based on this limited experience, I've decided to buy only premium sound systems in new cars. It's not worth the hassles and compromises just to save a few hundred bucks (and you may well not save anything after all). Just close your eyes, spring for the HK sound system, and enjoy it. It's only a one-time expense.
 
gaulfinger said:
My first post here. I'm a Volt owner looking for what's next after my lease runs out. I test drove an i3 this past weekend. What a delight to drive! The two samples available at my local dealer have the base radio. It is 'eh' in sound quality. I'm sure the h/k system is awesome (had h/k in a MINI and a SAAB), but I really don't need 360W, DSP, etc. I'm looking for a middle ground.

Has anyone looked into upgrading speakers in the base unit? Seems like $200-$300 might deliver something worthwhile, assuming all the dimensions fit and the door panel can be accessed. Has anyone explored this yet?

I've done it on other vehicles and have always ended up spending more money when I went that route. I must admit though that I ended up with much better sound a couple of grand later...heh.

The reason is because when you buy good speakers, you often need more power than the stock head unit will provide in order to get the best sound. This means that without upgrading your head unit, and possibly your amp, you may not the sound upgrade you were hoping for. Just upgrading speakers will almost certainly sound better, but in my experience, it won't be $200-300 better.

Also keep in mind that if you decide the speakers don't give you what you want, adding a bigger amp/head unit has the potential to cost you range depending on their power draw. I personally decided to spring for the HK system rather than deal with it.
 
You may want to test out the H/K before taking this option. In Canada, H/K come in the Tech package. I must say, the H/K is not as good as the Monsoon in my old VW GTI.
 
I got a chance to listen at length to both the base and h/k systems. I was surprised at what I found.

This harman/kardon sounded nothing like the units I had in my '03 MINI or '06 SAAB.

The i3's h/k is immensely clear and precise. Distortion was minimal, but it felt somewhat thin in base, where the MINI could launch canon attacks and the SAAB was more balanced. Overall, the i3 h/k struck me as somewhat artificial sounding. Maybe I was reacting to the DSP going on - I didn't play with those settings. It reminded me of the early days of CD players where things just lacked the warmth of analog gear, at lest until 4x oversampling smoothed things out.

The base model has a simple stereo field that felt more accessible. The high frequencies were muted a bit, but the overall warmth - coloration I'm sure that is not hi-fi - felt easier to listen for extended time. It doesn't get terribly loud, which is okay for my aging ears.

I don't feel compelled to upgrade. If I did, swapping the midrange to include a mid+tweeter would probably add a little sparkle for little cost... something that could easily be done aftermarket, if need be. But even bumping up the treble a little seemed like a decent option. For now, I'm content to pursue the base unit and not worry about it.
 
At $800, I thought bmw was actually going easy on us and I ticked the box without much thought. Compare for example the B&O stereo option in the M5--- $3700!!
 
The HK speaker part numbers are:

Rear Midrange: 65 13 9 210 452
Rear Tweeter: 65 13 9 226 357
Woofer: 65 13 9 285 272
Front Midrage: 65 13 9 169 690
Front Tweeter: 65 13 9 184 795

The HK amp part number varies:

till 3/14: 65 12 9 323 886
from 3/14-7/14: 65 12 9 346 572
from 7/14: 65 12 9 363 102
 
Probably non, when the production run changes they rev the part numbers.

There is no difference listed in http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/selectCar/I01/MCV/BMW+i3+Rex/ECE/65/65_2498/
 
jackt said:
Probably non, when the production run changes they rev the part numbers.

There is no difference listed in http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/selectCar/I01/MCV/BMW+i3+Rex/ECE/65/65_2498/
I have never heard of revving a part number solely for a new production run. Configuration management is a very hard problem, and extra changes in part numbers that do not reflect an actual change within the part seems completely wrong to me. With that said, the change could be as insignificant as a slight repositioning of a mounting hole or other change completely irrelevant to the consumer resulting in no differences described in a consumer facing document.
 
I ran a loan Rex for a week or two with the standard system and now have my own i3 at last with the HK option.

Although i understand the comments about the sound feeling a little 'processed' i must say i am very impressed. I find the bass rather good but then i have noticed many systems (specially headphones) seem to peak the bass up in way that sounds wrong to me.

That said the standard system with just 2 speakers is perfectly ok and better than i expected. Nevertheless well worth the extra for the Harman Kardon for me. I am with mindmachine and others here, trying to upgrade the standard system is a recipe for disappointment and ending up with a non standard system that may well depress resale value more than the initial cost of the option.
 
It's rare that you can recoup the cost of an 'enhancement', either on your vehicle, and often on your home (depending on what it is). You do it for your pleasure, but should be aware of the financial consequences. This is probably more true if it is leased.
 
I was really referring to the devaluation the car might suffer from installation of a non standard audio system (specially in a car with an unusual composite structure) relative to the standard audio system.

I dont think the HK system will return anything like its cost at resale time, however it might make the car more desirable relative to one with the standard system? For me the listening pleasure is easily worth the extra. I think you are correct about 'enhancements' in general, although if budget is crucial a less costly car in the first place might be the answer.
 
TO some, a particular option on the car from the factory is a make or break situation, but most aftermarket items tend to be very polarizing...people either love it or they hate it, and most don't want to pay extra for it. If a few years, an i3 without the DC fast charging option may end up less desirable, and since BMWUSA is making it standard equipment next model year, that one may come back to bite you when you sell, but that is probably in the minority. If you like it, go for it. Just don't expect it will ever get paid back in money when you resell the car - only if you're very lucky!
 
Does anyone know the size of the stock speakers? I'm having a hard time figuring it out other than seeing 150mm for the kick panel speakers, and that is an odd size so either wrong, or does not directly translate to a normal speaker size (e.g. 6.5").

Any guides or take apart on the door would be helpful to me as well.

I would have gotten the HK for sure if given the option. Now I'm left with speaker replacement, and/or maybe an under-seat subwoofer (woofer). On the bright side, I may put in some dynamat or something, this car is the loudest on the highway I've ever had :'(
 
Does anyone know if the stock amplifier is like the HK one in that it takes balanced outputs from the head unit?
 
hphpize said:
Does anyone know if the stock amplifier is like the HK one in that it takes balanced outputs from the head unit?

There is no separate amplifier in the base stereo system, the Headunit does the amplification.
 
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