How to Improve Sound in Standard sound i3

[AudioSad]

I leased my i3 in August 2016.

The car is an excellent solution for city driving, however I'm suffering with my decision to NOT spring for the Harmon Kardon sound system.
The 4 speakers it has (two up front in the doors, and 2 kickers in the floors) produce acceptable sound....up front.
However NO speakers in the back make for a miserable audio experience for rear seat passengers.

The Dealership, and the preferred after market shop they recommend essentially say I'm stuck with the 4 speaker system I have.
I'm handy, but with things mechanical, I'm hesitant to start messing with electronics on my own on this car.

One solution I'm considering, placing a bluetooth speaker in the back.
The question, how to get 'Audio-out' bluetooth FROM the i3.

Is this an easy task, or am I asking the after market shop to move mountains again?

 

[gt1]

They will need to locate the audio outputs, wire a Bluetooth transmitter to it and locate a power source in the rear. Given the rarity and unique design of i3, I doubt that you can find a willing installer.
I didn't even realize that the car has no rear speakers until after the purchase. It never occurred to me to check in advance- I've never had a car like that before.

 

[bwilson4web]

A 'leased' i3 . . . forget about it.

Tell the back seat riders, 'sorry, you don't pay for this car, live with it.'

Bob Wilson

 

[AudioSad]

Appreciate both replies.

Agree, expect it's not likely I'll find an aftermarket installer willing to take this on.
The one recommended by the BMW dealership was leery, said they'd 'open some panels and see whats involved'.
But I'm not interested in funding a fishing expedition.

Also agree, back seat passengers will likely just have to suck it up.
Unfortunately one of my teenage daughter's favorite activities is driving in the car and listening to music.
Who'd think a car could impact the time I spend with my daughter!

 

[TheNickGuy]

Appreciate both replies.

Agree, expect it's not likely I'll find an aftermarket installer willing to take this on.
The one recommended by the BMW dealership was leery, said they'd 'open some panels and see whats involved'.
But I'm not interested in funding a fishing expedition.

Also agree, back seat passengers will likely just have to suck it up.
Unfortunately one of my teenage daughter's favorite activities is driving in the car and listening to music.
Who'd think a car could impact the time I spend with my daughter!

Umm... Just have your daughter sit in the front seat?

Also, you could buy the panels for the rear doors from an HK model (just the speaker frames/grills), splice the wires running from the amplifier and add speakers in the rear doors. Yes, the sound wouldn't be louder because you spliced the source, but you would have sound directed in the rear seats. Also, the amplifier is under the rear seat, so it should be an easy job any aftermarket shop could do. It's just a basic BMW stereo, there's nothing fancy about it.

 

[gt1]

There is a good chance this plan will not work. If you splice the speakers in parallel to the existing ones, the overall sound will be marginally louder, unless the amp will fail or shut down because of the high load. If you wire them in series, the sound level will decrease.

 

[TheNickGuy]

It will work, but yes, wiring them in series (which is what a shop would do) would decrease the sound level.

Otherwise, the option to add speakers in the rear would involve swapping the amplifier and I don't think the OP really wants to get into that...

Wiring additional speakers in series would be a minimal cost, I would think, and would include the price of the trim pieces, speakers and marginal labor costs.

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are auto stereo amps with speaker level inputs and multiple channel outputs, so adding one along with more speakers wouldn't be all that hard, but it is another heat source and electrical load. ON an ICE, it's not an issue, but would have a (small, unless you went wild) effect on an EV. There probably isn't a line level output you could tap, but I do not know for sure.