[goldenrichard]

Hi,

I'm back in the fold now after a long time away from BMWs. I have a 2023 m340i xDrive with the HiFi sound system.

I've ordered a few things to start upgrading the sound system and while I wait (hurry up, FedEx!), I have a few questions--I'm hoping some of you have some experience with these components.

So far I've ordered a Bimmertech amp (rebranded MATCH UP8DSP), Morel IR-BMW42 for front door midbass/tweeter, and Morel subs for the under-seat sub locations. I don't intend to do any upgrades on the rear speakers at this time, but I do have a question about a potential center upgrade (see below).

My understanding is that the stock front tweeter/midbass pairs share an amp channel. Where is the crossover? It looks like the Morels require a connection to a single system pair on each side and then branch to separate (included) midbass and tweeter crossovers (see attachment).

I'm trying to figure out where I intercept the single input on each side.

Regarding a center upgrade, how many of you who aimed at a similar sort of system upgrade upgraded the center and what did you use? It would seem that another Morel there would be a nice balance but I'm not sure if it's possible to buy just one? On Crutchfield, all I saw was a Focal coax speaker.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

--Golden

[goldenrichard]

It looks like Morel does have a center (appears to be simply a single midbass/tweeter from the Morel IR-BMW42 set, and the price seems to indicate that, too). The part number is Morel IR-BMW42-CTR and I've found them online only via Dynamic Autosound.

[goldenrichard]

Following up on my own posts with some experiences, in case it's helpful for others following this route.

I have now installed the Bimmertech branded 8DSP and this is a relatively painless installation, given the bracket and harnesses they provide. I will say that I do have significant experience with tuning and I had some significant problems with the virtual channels feature in the new Audiotec Fischer PC-Tool (v5). Mapping virtual channels created weird configurations that I most certainly did not explicitly set up and ultimately I dumped the idea of using virtual channels and just did things manually. Your mileage may vary and I'd like to hear your experiences. The RTA worked well and getting a reasonable starting point for some future tweaking was relatively painless.

This has certainly been beaten to death by now, but if you're (still, somehow) wondering about the quality of the stock BMW speakers in the HiFi setup, they're simply trash.

As I indicated in my first post, I decided to go with Morel speakers in the doors and for the center and because of the poor quality of the BMW stock speakers, I changed my mind and ordered a pair of Morel IR-BMW4INT for the rear doors. These are a coax version of the reference series that I used in the front (Morel IR-BMW42).

After a basic tune, the Morel speakers sound simply amazing. I've previously favored Focal components, but I really love the lack of harshness and the warmth of the Morels.

To answer my own initial question, the Morels come with harnesses with separate, inline crossovers for the midbass and tweeter and everything hooks up with no wire cutting or splicing.

While the setup is pricey, it's awesome that we have the ability to make an improvement this huge with plug and play components.

Cheers,

--Golden