[xtrozero]

Hey all,

I'm a victim of the speaker popping/bass disappearing/audio flattening debacle that occurs with my model year of M340i with Harmon Kardon speakers, and I've read a lot of posts about the amplifier needing to be replaced to fix these issues. I've spoken to a dealer that quoted about $3k to replace the H/K booster with 65-12-5-A5CA89.

HOWEVER, I feel that the system is lacking in bass, as my old car's system had a 300W 12 inch 4-ohm stand-alone subwoofer, powered by a 500W amp. Otherwise I'm happy with the speakers/tweeters in the car, but wouldn't be against upgrading if it's worth it.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to tackle both of these problems at the same time while making , and so far I'm settling on replacing the factory amp with either a MATCH UP10 DSP, or the Alpha One amp. Would doing this replacement fix the speaker popping issues/bass drop?

And after that, installing a subwoofer. Would getting one of these amplifiers allow me to do that? Would I just need an extra single channel amp that would connect to the new amp? I have some experience in audio but nothing crazy. Any recommendations on subwoofer setups that people like? Just need some guidance on how to make my $$ go the furthest and avoiding the dealer if I can.

Thanks!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by xtrozero

Hey all,

I'm a victim of the speaker popping/bass disappearing/audio flattening debacle that occurs with my model year of M340i, and I've read a lot of posts about the amplifier needing to be replaced to fix these issues. I've spoken to a dealer that quoted about $3k to replace the H/K booster with 65-12-5-A5CA89.

HOWEVER, I feel that the system is lacking in bass, as my old car's system had a 300W 12 inch 4-ohm stand-alone subwoofer, powered by a 500W amp. Otherwise I'm happy with the speakers/tweeters in the car, but wouldn't be against upgrading if it's worth it.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to tackle both of these problems at the same time while making , and so far I'm settling on replacing the factory amp with either a MATCH UP10 DSP, or the Alpha One amp. Would doing this replacement fix the speaker popping issues/bass drop?

And after that, installing a subwoofer. Would getting one of these amplifiers allow me to do that? Would I just need an extra single channel amp that would connect to the new amp? I have some experience in audio but nothing crazy. Any recommendations on subwoofer setups that people like? Just need some guidance on how to make my $$ go the furthest and avoiding the dealer if I can.

Thanks!

Booster cannot be replaced.

[phc77]

If your car is no longer under warranty, you need to get to know it. Check out what's going on with the hardware. It's easy to access, and very well documented here:

.

Then, the MATCH UP10 is the musical solution, Alpha One is the MATCH UP7 https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...ifiers/up-7bmw

First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the system, understand how the DSP works and discover the input curve you'll need to adjust.

Only then should you consider the speakers. For example, I've kept all my HK speakers except the G+D front tweeters. I have a high-level setup that I'll be documenting soon.

[xtrozero]

Originally Posted by phc77

If your car is no longer under warranty, you need to get to know it. Check out what's going on with the hardware. It's easy to access, and very well documented here:

.

Then, the MATCH UP10 is the musical solution, Alpha One is the MATCH UP7 https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...ifiers/up-7bmw

First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the system, understand how the DSP works and discover the input curve you'll need to adjust.

Only then should you consider the speakers. For example, I've kept all my HK speakers except the G+D front tweeters. I have a high-level setup that I'll be documenting soon.

Please do! Looking forward to reading through that when you're done.

[xtrozero]

Originally Posted by Technic

Booster cannot be replaced.

Is the booster a different part than is being referenced in this thread? https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1786245

Sorry, just trying to wrap my head around this.

[Jolbex]

Originally Posted by Technic

Booster cannot be replaced.

Of course it can. Theres a recall, hundreds of amps were replaced (Hungarian made for Mexico one, or maybe viceversa)

[SenmaS]

No aftermarket amp will help until the booster is fixed/replaced as the booster is the only place you can source a low frequency analog signal for woofers or a subwoofer. The RAM in HK cars only outputs high pass filtered analog signals so you can't custom re-work the input-output routing on a DSP enabled amp to deliver bass to the woofers without a booster present. There are some far east dongles out there that are capable of grabbing the digital audio signal from the ethernet which might be able to replace the Booster with another amp added without the booster being present - haven't tried it and those dongles are not cheap either.

I believe fixing up up the booster would be the way to go but 3K is ridiculous. I wonder if there is some company that fixes up dead boosters like with places that fix CCC's CIC's, optic HK amps etc.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Jolbex

Of course it can. Theres a recall, hundreds of amps were replaced (Hungarian made for Mexico one, or maybe viceversa)

Booster cannot be replaced by a Match amp, or by any other aftermarket amp.