[dankec]

Hello everyone,

I have a base sound system in my G20 (idrive 7) and I'm not very demanding when it comes to sound quality, but I only feel that the high tones are a bit lacking.

What is the cheapest (and easiest) way to add two tweeters to the system (only without replacing or adding an amplifier), where to place them (I see that there is a possibility of installing them in the doors and the front pillar) and is it necessary to buy any special wiring for that?

[Technic]

OEM tweeters plug into existing OEM mids, just get the OEM mounting grills for tweeters at your local dealer or eBay.

Originally Posted by dankec

Hello everyone,

I have a base sound system in my G20 (idrive 7) and I'm not very demanding when it comes to sound quality, but I only feel that the high tones are a bit lacking.

What is the cheapest (and easiest) way to add two tweeters to the system (only without replacing or adding an amplifier), where to place them (I see that there is a possibility of installing them in the doors and the front pillar) and is it necessary to buy any special wiring for that?

[CaleCro]

Originally Posted by dankec

Hello everyone,

I have a base sound system in my G20 (idrive 7) and I'm not very demanding when it comes to sound quality, but I only feel that the high tones are a bit lacking.

What is the cheapest (and easiest) way to add two tweeters to the system (only without replacing or adding an amplifier), where to place them (I see that there is a possibility of installing them in the doors and the front pillar) and is it necessary to buy any special wiring for that?

Pozdrav

Cheapest way...you can search on local market (njuskalo) to find tweeters and install them in locations where they should be, but even then it wont be as much... Try to install H/K system, buy it complete used from local dealers..

Or third option go check oem integrations from, STEG, Focal, Musway....

[Randy Johnson]

I'm in the same situation I believe. Not sure how to tell what level of audio I have but I do not have the door tweeters. What would be a good path for upgrading to add highs and subs? Looking for plug and play on a budget. I've seen the brava audio upgrades and they are way out of my price range.

[Dr.Apex]

Sorry to say but just adding tweeters, and or changing mids or woofers won't give a better sound quality for the Base Audio with Idrive 7 or higher.

The biggest issue in this setup is the RAM module which comes with the base audio system, and as that module does a lot more than just tweaking the sound, you are unable to have a system without it.

Due to the lack of tweeters the RAM module is programmed in a way to try to compensate that, and up till now, I have found now way to code that out.

So by adding tweeters, the sound becomes horribly flat with way to much high tones.

As there is no amp in the system, changing woofers does not do any good, as the idrive output is way too low to provide some decent bass.

I have been through this process, added tweeters front and rear, changed the mids, added a center speaker and tweeter and changed the woofers.

Without any amp the sound is still horrible, and without any amp you will not get any signal on the center speaker wiring (you will have to add yourself as there is none installed in the car).

I added a 7.1 channel DSP amp to the system which provided the opportunity to manually amend every channels output throughout it's frequencies, but still... the amp has a very hard time to compensate the absolute terrible sound the RAM module sends out.

I personally tried to change the RAM module to an original Harman Kardon one. Finally I had really good sound, immediately showing what the speakers are capable of, but unfortunately that RAM module provided some other issues.

At first it blew my amp, and when going around the amp the RAM module was not recognized by the car and DAB and some other system sounds did not work anymore.

Honestly, I thing there is no cheap solution to upgrade Base audio and doing so is a hell lot of work.

1. You would need a way to add tweeters to the doors. Aliexpress provides some stuff for that.
2. You cannot connect a tweeter to the original Mids.
3. Aftermarket subs do not fit "plug and play" in the Base audio woofers frames. These frames need to be heavily modified or replaced.
4. Guiding the center speaker line through the interior makes you need to demolish half of it.
5. If you would like to use an original RAM unit you will have to find the right pins in the original boom connector for the center speaker (I can tell you which ones these are).
6. If you use an original upgraded RAM unit you will probably have to find a way to code it into your car correctly.
7. If you add an amplifier you will have to find a place to add the amplifier.
8. If you use an aftermarket amplifier you will have to find a way to get rid of the horrible Base Audio RAM unit sound.

I am working on it for quite a while now, but am still not close to satisfies with the result.

In addition, if you are looking to program the B&W sound profiles into your Base audio system, or any kind of surround sound you will remain disappointed, as it is not supported by the RAM module. B&w sound profiles have no effect, just as surround sound adjustments. From the B&W equalized only the highest (treble) and lowest (bass) adjustments amend something.

I bought this car with the understanding that I would have plenty options to upgrade the audio, but if I would have known how much of a nightmare this is, I would have definitely not done the concession on the audio part of the options.

[Randy Johnson]

Thank you Dr. Apex. That is a lot of information. Very helpful in understanding the base audio system. Looks like I should have made sure my m340i had the HK system along with a few other features I am missing.

[incomplicate]

Originally Posted by Dr.Apex

Sorry to say but just adding tweeters, and or changing mids or woofers won't give a better sound quality for the Base Audio with Idrive 7 or higher.

The biggest issue in this setup is the RAM module which comes with the base audio system, and as that module does a lot more than just tweaking the sound, you are unable to have a system without it.

Due to the lack of tweeters the RAM module is programmed in a way to try to compensate that, and up till now, I have found now way to code that out.

So by adding tweeters, the sound becomes horribly flat with way to much high tones.

As there is no amp in the system, changing woofers does not do any good, as the idrive output is way too low to provide some decent bass.

I have been through this process, added tweeters front and rear, changed the mids, added a center speaker and tweeter and changed the woofers.

Without any amp the sound is still horrible, and without any amp you will not get any signal on the center speaker wiring (you will have to add yourself as there is none installed in the car).

I added a 7.1 channel DSP amp to the system which provided the opportunity to manually amend every channels output throughout it's frequencies, but still... the amp has a very hard time to compensate the absolute terrible sound the RAM module sends out.

I personally tried to change the RAM module to an original Harman Kardon one. Finally I had really good sound, immediately showing what the speakers are capable of, but unfortunately that RAM module provided some other issues.

At first it blew my amp, and when going around the amp the RAM module was not recognized by the car and DAB and some other system sounds did not work anymore.

Honestly, I thing there is no cheap solution to upgrade Base audio and doing so is a hell lot of work.

1. You would need a way to add tweeters to the doors. Aliexpress provides some stuff for that.
2. You cannot connect a tweeter to the original Mids.
3. Aftermarket subs do not fit "plug and play" in the Base audio woofers frames. These frames need to be heavily modified or replaced.
4. Guiding the center speaker line through the interior makes you need to demolish half of it.
5. If you would like to use an original RAM unit you will have to find the right pins in the original boom connector for the center speaker (I can tell you which ones these are).
6. If you use an original upgraded RAM unit you will probably have to find a way to code it into your car correctly.
7. If you add an amplifier you will have to find a place to add the amplifier.
8. If you use an aftermarket amplifier you will have to find a way to get rid of the horrible Base Audio RAM unit sound.

I am working on it for quite a while now, but am still not close to satisfies with the result.

In addition, if you are looking to program the B&W sound profiles into your Base audio system, or any kind of surround sound you will remain disappointed, as it is not supported by the RAM module. B&w sound profiles have no effect, just as surround sound adjustments. From the B&W equalized only the highest (treble) and lowest (bass) adjustments amend something.

I bought this car with the understanding that I would have plenty options to upgrade the audio, but if I would have known how much of a nightmare this is, I would have definitely not done the concession on the audio part of the options.

Thanks for sharing your valuable experiences, I've been trying to find if anybody has been able to find a way to improve base sound system.

What's your current setup looks like?

As far as I understand RAM module is a big deal-breaker, not sure what to do right now based on that, I was thinking about finding HK parts at least they'll be compatible with the car by default, but I don't know if it's possible or how to do it.

I hope you found a way to have something pain-free

[Mark Talbot]

Hi
I am in the same boat with an Idrive 8 in a g21 lci base audio.
May I ask, have you reached a conclusion with a system you are happy with?

[dankec]

Here is what I have done so far:

Maybe it was misunderstood, my BASE system already had an amplifier built into the trunk and subs under the seats, but the sound was totally muddled due to the lack of tweeters in the doors.

I bought new genuine door frames with built-in tweeters and additional small cables to connect to the existing door speakers. In order to install everything, it is necessary to disassemble the door trims, and the total time spent for this job was approx. 2 hours.

The tweeters, fortunately, come with filters installed that redirect the high frequency range to them.

What can I say, the sound is miles better than before! This is what I was looking for!

And now, since I also bought the front center speakers (PN: 6831281), the question is whether to install it at all or not, since I heard that with the previous F series, people often turn it off, since it spoils the sound image. (https://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1287550)

Is it the same with the G series?

Since I don't originally have a cable for the center speakers installed, the installation would be a bit more of a problem, because I would have to somehow get to the main line and plug it in somehow, or run a new cable from the amplifier in the trunk to the center speakers, which is quite demanding...

Maybe someone knows... how the center speakers was originally connected?
A separate cable to the amplifier or something else?

[I800C0LLECT]

The problem with anything in car audio is that you will need a lot of control over the signal to help it overcome the environment. Whether you realize it or not your brain processes how long sounds are and can compartmentalize that sound as it hits our ears…ie the shimmering is coming from vibrating metal on the right and the bouncing noise is coming from the left.

That’s important because reflections can confuse us…like looking for an airplane in the wrong area of the sky because the buildings changed the way we understand the sound.

Anyways, everything within 20 microseconds of the initial sound is processed by the brain as part of that. Reflections in the car are all within 20ms. This is the #1 reason cars sound like crap.

Unless you want to go down the rabbit hole of doing it yourself or chasing after the most confident/inspiring response…find a place that will install a JBL MS-8 . You don’t need their help setting it up as it’s very simple. But it’s the simplest way to start fresh and AUTO TUNE.

The few times I’ve installed one, EVERYBODY was blown away. Even the ones that really just don’t give a damn about the sound 😅

[dankec]

Originally Posted by I800C0LLECT

The problem with anything in car audio is that you will need a lot of control over the signal to help it overcome the environment. Whether you realize it or not your brain processes how long sounds are and can compartmentalize that sound as it hits our ears…ie the shimmering is coming from vibrating metal on the right and the bouncing noise is coming from the left.

That’s important because reflections can confuse us…like looking for an airplane in the wrong area of the sky because the buildings changed the way we understand the sound.

Anyways, everything within 20 microseconds of the initial sound is processed by the brain as part of that. Reflections in the car are all within 20ms. This is the #1 reason cars sound like crap.

Unless you want to go down the rabbit hole of doing it yourself or chasing after the most confident/inspiring response…find a place that will install a JBL MS-8 . You don’t need their help setting it up as it’s very simple. But it’s the simplest way to start fresh and AUTO TUNE.

The few times I’ve installed one, EVERYBODY was blown away. Even the ones that really just don’t give a damn about the sound 😅

This may be true if you already have good speakers and supporting equipment. If you don't have it, then it's garbage in - garbage out, regardless of the JBL MS8.

So, anyone with the center speaker wiring schematic?

[I800C0LLECT]

If it were up to me...I would buy a mid/tweeter combo. There's no great reason to have the tweeter separate from the mid unless you have a very specific tuning need. The JBL Club 34F or Eton UG B100 is probably perfect on a budget. For future upgrades, you can have a tweeter sit low or even in your kick panel area and sound can still image above the dash. The door location for the tweeter is actually pretty good.

Adding a center channel is not worth if you ask me; you can use one of those speakers I mentioned for the center channel. But I'm in the USA, our base comes with HiFi I believe, so we have one already. The only way to add one without factory wiring (for cheap) is to sum L and R channels and drive it off the door speaker channels. This is also the worst way to use a center channel but it'll add volume to the system if that's what you want. I think this is more trouble than its worth.

If you want better staging, I would tell you to have a dedicated processor/amp combo to drive the center channel. The center channel is only helpful if you want to keep stereo imaging for driver and passenger at the same time. Logic 7 is arguable the best algorithm on the market for center channel. I don't think you'll notice the difference if you ever upgraded with an Audiotech Fischer product.