[bacchus7]

Hi all

Saw a handful of similar threads but not an exact answer.

A broker helped me on a great deal to lease an (almost) fully loaded 2020 330i xDrive MSport, picking up this week

black saph/black sensa inside
aluminum mesh (not ideal but ok)
executive pkg (same)
m adaptive, parking pkg, wireless, etc etc

The 1 thing I'm missing is HK sound. I've read mixed things about hifi & HK & they were nearly impossible to find with similar specs to I have without going with a funky color (no offense its hard for me to go without black)

He just told me its not a problem to upgrade the the audio system, BMW won't mind since it enhances the car & it doesn't violate anything on the lease.

My question is - is that correct? Does anyone strong advise agains tit? I see all the 'plug & play' options & figure why not at the very least swap the speakers. Anyone love the HIFI regardless?

Thanks a lot

[firetitanx]

It depends on how much you love your sound.
If you do Hifi will not cut it , even the HK system is not IMHO audiophile quality.
Looking at replacing all the speakers and the amp possibly with 3rd party options for the HK system now :- Bavsound or Bimmertech
Again it depends on what your "ear standards" are and if you can discern good sound from great sound and whether it matters to you.
To me after listening critically, HK is not very good , the high frequencies lack that musical sparkle and is not very smooth and the amp does not control the midrange very well it's not tight.
I have a 2 month old BMW 330i M Sport G20 with HK 16 speaker system
I like female vocal and sometimes techno(lots of bass) so opposite sides of the spectrum, when I put the system up to high volumes it does not sound good , so HK is only for mid volume listening.
Also bass is just not there from the underseat speakers
So if you get the car you can always replace the speakers and amp to better ones, so dont let that discourage you from getting it
Good luck

[bacchus7]

Originally Posted by firetitanx

It depends on how much you love your sound.
If you do Hifi will not cut it , even the HK system is not IMHO audiophile quality.
Looking at replacing all the speakers and the amp possibly with 3rd party options for the HK system now :- Bavsound or Bimmertech
Again it depends on what your "ear standards" are and if you can discern good sound from great sound and whether it matters to you.
To me after listening critically, HK is not very good , the high frequencies lack that musical sparkle and is not very smooth and the amp does not control the midrange very well it's not tight.
I have a 2 month old BMW 330i M Sport G20 with HK 16 speaker system
I like female vocal and sometimes techno(lots of bass) so opposite sides of the spectrum, when I put the system up to high volumes it does not sound good , so HK is only for mid volume listening.
Also bass is just not there from the underseat speakers
So if you get the car you can always replace the speakers and amp to better ones, so dont let that discourage you from getting it
Good luck

good insight - thanks a lot. car is en route picking it up any day now, so going to see how my ears react. i cant call myself an audiophile per say but i do absolutely love my music - im rarely a podcast or talk radio guy.

im 100% going to replace my speakers, leaning towards bavsound since they seem the most straight forward. my next thought is how bad i need an amp upgrade for them? subs are out of the question too much of a hassle with the new g20's & i think itll have enough knock for my taste..just need that clean, crisp punch from the speakers like you mentioned

[firetitanx]

Originally Posted by bacchus7

good insight - thanks a lot. car is en route picking it up any day now, so going to see how my ears react. i cant call myself an audiophile per say but i do absolutely love my music - im rarely a podcast or talk radio guy.

im 100% going to replace my speakers, leaning towards bavsound since they seem the most straight forward. my next thought is how bad i need an amp upgrade for them? subs are out of the question too much of a hassle with the new g20's & i think itll have enough knock for my taste..just need that clean, crisp punch from the speakers like you mentioned

Originally Posted by bacchus7

good insight - thanks a lot. car is en route picking it up any day now, so going to see how my ears react. i cant call myself an audiophile per say but i do absolutely love my music - im rarely a podcast or talk radio guy.

im 100% going to replace my speakers, leaning towards bavsound since they seem the most straight forward. my next thought is how bad i need an amp upgrade for them? subs are out of the question too much of a hassle with the new g20's & i think itll have enough knock for my taste..just need that clean, crisp punch from the speakers like you mentioned

Ah that's great

I think you will need to replace the amp when I have been doing the research the HiFi amp is underpowered , I think even my hk amp is underpowered
When I say underpowered it's not that it does not go loud it does but the control over the speaker cone is not there so the bass is not tight and the highs are not smooth sometimes very bright
Another forum member with a Hifi system is getting a German amp made by Fischer Audiotek they seem to be the best
The model is a Match UP7DSP
Have a look
Yup I agree proper subs in the boot in a box will take up too much space and maybe I am too old for my boot to go doof doof

[Montaver]

Picked up my car yesterday, Hi-Fi sounds better than I expected it would and is certainly listenable. It helps that the cabin so is well insulated. It has decent higher end separation (if a touch bright), the bass is muddy and the mid range lacks warmth. It's a little flat overall, but better than the HK in my M2C (which was absolutely awful). I upgraded to Bavsound in my M2C which was a big improvement, but in my experience you end up sinking a lot of cash into a sound space which is always going to be compromised. I don't plan to make any changes as this car is a lease. The enhanced premium sound in my E90 M3 still has the best sound system of any BMW I have owned by a significant margin.

[bacchus7]

Originally Posted by Montaver

Picked up my car yesterday, Hi-Fi sounds better than I expected it would and is certainly listenable. It helps that the cabin so is well insulated. It has decent higher end separation (if a touch bright), the bass is muddy and the mid range lacks warmth. It's a little flat overall, but better than the HK in my M2C (which was absolutely awful). I upgraded to Bavsound in my M2C which was a big improvement, but in my experience you end up sinking a lot of cash into a sound space which is always going to be compromised. I don't plan to make any changes as this car is a lease. The enhanced premium sound in my E90 M3 still has the best sound system of any BMW I have owned by a significant margin.

good to know! glad youre enjoying it man, good luck

picking mine up tonight or tomorrow - couldnt be more excited

[bacchus7]

Mont - you were right. Hifi sounds waaay better than expected. So much so its holding me off from any upgrades for now, but we shall see

sooo mean love this car

[ssgm1x]

Originally Posted by bacchus7

Hi all

Saw a handful of similar threads but not an exact answer.

A broker helped me on a great deal to lease an (almost) fully loaded 2020 330i xDrive MSport, picking up this week

black saph/black sensa inside
aluminum mesh (not ideal but ok)
executive pkg (same)
m adaptive, parking pkg, wireless, etc etc

The 1 thing I'm missing is HK sound. I've read mixed things about hifi & HK & they were nearly impossible to find with similar specs to I have without going with a funky color (no offense its hard for me to go without black)

He just told me its not a problem to upgrade the the audio system, BMW won't mind since it enhances the car & it doesn't violate anything on the lease.

My question is - is that correct? Does anyone strong advise agains tit? I see all the 'plug & play' options & figure why not at the very least swap the speakers. Anyone love the HIFI regardless?

Thanks a lot

I have the HIFI system in my G20 and upgrade to the Bimmertech Amp from KIES MOTORSPORTS and the sound is now amazing. It blows away the HK System. The sound is clear and crisp and loud and does not break up at all. And the BASS is stunning !!!!!!!! Do yourslef a favor and get the AMP. I installed it myself and it took about 40 minutes total. It totally changes the sound.My best Mod yet....

[MarcusFong]

Hi All
I just bought a 2021 G20 320i with iDrive7. I read that the audio system in my car (standard with only 6 speakers) has a RAM (receiver audio module) build-in.
I would like to improve the overall SQ and loudness and after asking a few well known installers around my area, there are 2 options recommended:

1. Change the 2 front (with tweeters) and 2 rear door speakers to B&W speakers (original OEM).
2. Add a DSP (example an Audison 4-CH amp with DSP) without upgrading the stock speakers.

I don't mind upgrading in stages in the near future but I need to stick to a specific budget now.. :-(

Which option do you think will produce better results?

Thanks!