[b58powah]

Hello comrades

looking to upgrade sound and looking for a few opinions.

Would upgrading the HK to Focal bmw IC100 and IS100 make a significant difference ? I upgraded the amp to Match up 8 to power the stock speakers, I also added a kicker 49l7tdf122 sub powered by Match 1fx mono amp

I feel the bass is good but the speakers are a tad underpowered in comparison. Thinking about changing the front and rear speakers but my concern is negligible gains in sound quality

Car is bmw m140 f20 and my apologies if I posted this in the wrong section.



Thank you comrades

[zx10guy]

Not sure if my experience will correlate to your situation. I initially upgraded the stock amp to a Bimmertech branded Match PP 82 DSP amp. I don't have the HK speaker upgrade but just the base HiFi speakers. While there was some improvement, I wasn't satisfied. I ended up upgrading the speakers to the Focal BMW PnP speakers. I have the older versions of the ones you're considering. To me it was a worthwhile upgrade, particularly since I have the sound/EQ file custom tailored for the speakers and with the characteristics of my E82 interior. A fellow forum member spent the money to have an audio specialist dial in the base EQ of his E82 using a real time spectrum analyzer. He further did some tweaks to dial in the sound to his tastes which coincidentally are the same as mine.

The Focals until they the DSP was dialed in were a bit aggressive/sharp in the highs for me. I don't know if the current versions of the speaker have this audio characteristic.

As to your HKs, my understanding with my E82 had I had the HK option is that the head unit needs to be coded to remove the HK option as there is a specific EQ used for HK speakers. The base HiFi setup does not have any EQ added.

[b58powah]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Not sure if my experience will correlate to your situation. I initially upgraded the stock amp to a Bimmertech branded Match PP 82 DSP amp. I don't have the HK speaker upgrade but just the base HiFi speakers. While there was some improvement, I wasn't satisfied. I ended up upgrading the speakers to the Focal BMW PnP speakers. I have the older versions of the ones you're considering. To me it was a worthwhile upgrade, particularly since I have the sound/EQ file custom tailored for the speakers and with the characteristics of my E82 interior. A fellow forum member spent the money to have an audio specialist dial in the base EQ of his E82 using a real time spectrum analyzer. He further did some tweaks to dial in the sound to his tastes which coincidentally are the same as mine.

The Focals until they the DSP was dialed in were a bit aggressive/sharp in the highs for me. I don't know if the current versions of the speaker have this audio characteristic.

As to your HKs, my understanding with my E82 had I had the HK option is that the head unit needs to be coded to remove the HK option as there is a specific EQ used for HK speakers. The base HiFi setup does not have any EQ added.

those hifi speakers are close enough to the HK i got. From the reading ive been doing, the real upgrade is the amplifier.

Any idea where would the best place be to find a Match up 8 tune file for the stock speakers ? I think I might start here before upgrading to the focals

[bmwDJ440i]

just finished replacing all my HK speakers in my 440i with the Morel Integration BMW speakers (From Crutchfield; the Reference Line was a little too much $$ for me, and some reviews about the Focal tweeter had me a bit concerned about choosing that one) and also changed the HK amp with the new BimmerTech Lightwave amp...major difference in the sound quality now. I've already adjusted some settings in the DSP software, but I have a tuning session scheduled with their audio engineer on Jan 3.

I took a lot of pics during the installation process, I'm hoping I can make a post soon about the process.