3er's BAVSOUND Stage 1 Review

[Xerxes480]

Speakers are in! In all it took me about 6 hours spread over two days. I'm slow and stopped to test every speaker before putting panels back on. People who know what they are doing can easily pull this off in four hours or less.

Initial impressions are that the clarity of the sound is much improved. That was my primary complaint with the HK setup - vocals and other upper range sounds always seemed "muddy" to me. I'm going to leave the EQ flat for a week, and then adjust from there after I've gotten some good listening time in. So far, I think it was definitely worth the cost. One thing to note: I have to turn up the volume much higher now than I did before. But since it sounds much better, I don't mind at all.

My few "gripes" with the install process:

- Tweeter in rear doors a bitch to get in! (thanks 3er for the pics!)
- Thin foam rings hard to keep aligned on back of speakers when mounting in the doors - would be nice if they also had a sticky side to keep them in place.
- The Torx screws in the door handles - very inconsistent with wanting to screw back in. A couple just kind of spin and don't tighten. But the when I tug on the door it's solid. I really don't want to tear the panels off to figure out what's going on there, so I'll wait to see if I develop any looseness or rattles.
- The 90 degree driver they provide - the Torx heads did not want to stay attached. You have to be extra careful to avoid dropping a head somewhere you can't retrieve it from (like the front dash).

Can't wait to see what kind of sub options BavSound comes up with.

-X-

[aussiedave87]

I am 85% done and now hit a problem and hoping someone can help. The sound quality improvement is excellent. I have completed all but drivers side rear door.

Some frustration along the way - the biggest one for me was I did not see to remove the rubber for the front center channel and spent an hour wondering why it didn't fit.

Anyway, to my problem with the final install on the drivers side rear door. I have removed the leather door handle cover to get access to the screws. The problem is the screws turn about 2 rotations to come out and then they just keep rotating but don't come out. It's like there is a lock washer or something missing inside the door. The door interior is definitely looser but still very connected. I can re-tighten and loosen again 2 rotations but it never comes out.

I have a feeling an important part was not included when the door was originally assembled. Any thoughts?

[3er]

Originally Posted by aussiedave87

I am 85% done and now hit a problem and hoping someone can help. The sound quality improvement is excellent. I have completed all but drivers side rear door.

Some frustration along the way - the biggest one for me was I did not see to remove the rubber for the front center channel and spent an hour wondering why it didn't fit.

Anyway, to my problem with the final install on the drivers side rear door. I have removed the leather door handle cover to get access to the screws. The problem is the screws turn about 2 rotations to come out and then they just keep rotating but don't come out. It's like there is a lock washer or something missing inside the door. The door interior is definitely looser but still very connected. I can re-tighten and loosen again 2 rotations but it never comes out.

I have a feeling an important part was not included when the door was originally assembled. Any thoughts?

There's no lock washer on the the screw, but I have found that the screw's threads can sometimes hang up on the plastic/nut when trying to remove it. Fortunately, I had a magnetic pickup tool to pull out the stubborn ones. Something like this should do:

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Magneti...V3SBC4KG53KAYJ

[Xerxes480]

Originally Posted by aussiedave87

The problem is the screws turn about 2 rotations to come out and then they just keep rotating but don't come out. It's like there is a lock washer or something missing inside the door. The door interior is definitely looser but still very connected. I can re-tighten and loosen again 2 rotations but it never comes out.

I ran into this exact issue on two of my doors. What I found is once I popped the panel off the clips, the screws just fell out.

Additionally, I ran into the issue when reattaching the door panel. The screw won't tighten - it just spins and spins yet it doesn't feel loose. I know it's lined up correctly because everything else is.

My plan is to take a closer look when I take care of a couple minor rattles I introduced (stupid clip washers). Honestly I just wanted to be done with speaker project, and the door panels feel very solid and attached for now.

-X-

[aussiedave87]

Originally Posted by Xerxes480

I ran into this exact issue on two of my doors. What I found is once I popped the panel off the clips, the screws just fell out.
-X-

Interesting. Sounds exactly what I am experiencing.

[alg200b]

Just for the record same thing is happening to me on the top screw of the passenger door handle. When the handle is pulled there is a little bit of give.

Went to the dealer to see if they could fix it. I was upfront and told them I replaced the speakers. They said it could possibly require a new door panel and said to just leave it alone because it would be a fortune to fix.

[snj49er]

Originally Posted by alg200b

Just for the record same thing is happening to me on the top screw of the passenger door handle. When the handle is pulled there is a little bit of give.

Same here. It looks like #11 "expanding nut" is the problem. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=51_8523 My dealer had pulled my front door panels for something unrelated and butchered 2 of the 4 nuts. The threaded back pieces were MIA.

Pic: http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2177581/

Originally Posted by alg200b

Went to the dealer to see if they could fix it. I was upfront and told them I replaced the speakers. They said it could possibly require a new door panel and said to just leave it alone because it would be a fortune to fix.

Priceless.

[alg200b]

Thanks for that bit of info!

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by 3er

Thanks! I'm not sure if the HU can play lossless or HD audio files. I'd imagine that it may depend on what your phone can play, but I haven't tested it.

I thought about playing different sources, but I ultimately just used Bluetooth via my iPhone. I chose this route because it's the most convenient and likely most leveraged audio source for our cars. I also have the far majority of my "seat time" in my and my wife's car listening to Bluetooth audio. The music I listened to was down-sampled to M4A @ 256 kbps from either CD quality or Hi-Res (HDTracks.com) audio. Although I'm a huge snob when it comes to Hi-Res audio (either via HD Tracks, SACD, or Bluetooth Audio) when listening to my home system, I'm more of a realist with car audio systems.

Great review! Thank you. However I wanted to highlight that Bluetooth audio streaming is probably the worst medium for listening to music on any speakers aside from wireless earbuds... It all depends on the codecs offered and negotiated between the source and the sink, wireless link interference, transcoding and other factors... I am also curious what the HU supports over Bluetooth? Most mobiles support both mandatory (SBC) and optional A2DP codecs (MP3, AAC).

Although BT audio streaming is convenient, I always opt for connecting my source material via a cabled medium. Most people are investing in upgrades to amp, speakers, subs but they are neglecting the transmission medium. Of course all this doesn't matter if the source material is your typical 128k MP3 pop music windows down or have kids screaming in your M

[3er]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Great review! Thank you. However I wanted to highlight that Bluetooth audio streaming is probably the worst medium for listening to music on any speakers aside from wireless earbuds... It all depends on the codecs offered and negotiated between the source and the sink, wireless link interference, transcoding and other factors... I am also curious what the HU supports over Bluetooth? Most mobiles support both mandatory (SBC) and optional A2DP codecs (MP3, AAC).

Although BT audio streaming is convenient, I always opt for connecting my source material via a cabled medium. Most people are investing in upgrades to amp, speakers, subs but they are neglecting the transmission medium. Of course all this doesn't matter if the source material is your typical 128k MP3 pop music windows down or have kids screaming in your M

Thanks, bud! BAVSOUND also recommended using another source, so I ended up testing CD's and, although the quality was improved, it didn't remedy the harsh frequencies in the 2kHz region .

"NOTE: I used Bluetooth as my source since it's the most convenient and likely the most used option of owners. After comparing CD's at BAVSOUND's recommendation (yes, I still have those), I didn't find much of a noticeable difference between the two. Any minor differences are further negated when driving."

Also, I just realized that I made a typo in my "High Res" audio comment. I meant to say "either via HD Tracks, SACD, or Blu-Ray Audio." Bluetooth has no place in my home, lol.

[aboulfad]

Hahaha I got that part given your B&W speakers. I have ProAc, proudly natural and made in UK. I can't listen to BT audio in my wife's Golf it sounds horrible.

To make the docking/undocking faster in my BMW, I use proclipusa.com

[Longbow64]

Just installed just the center and front doors Bavsound Stage 1 (with sound dampening) in my car. Install was a breeze, thanks to this write up, the Bavsound install toolkit, and that I did this before with my E90 M3. The only issue I had was trying to unplug the center channel. I wasn't sure if there was a tab, but in the end brute force prevailed. I plan on adding the sound dampening material to the back doors as well.

I went with 3er's recommended EQ settings and pushed the audio up front on the fader by 3. First I tested it with Bluetooth and their isn't that much of a difference from the OEM speakers to the Bavsound (will probably get a little better once broken in). I plugged my iPhone into the USB in the center console and the quality improved significantly. Not just the source quality for all speakers, but the Bavsound speakers improved significantly over the HKs on this source. The music tested was the new album from Third Eye Blind.

Note: I also found that you don't have to remove the window control panel if you don't plan on completely removing the door panel.

[mbollman]

Great write-up and awesome tips. I am actually going through the install myself right now and have run into a small hiccup. I cannot seem to get the grill cover to snap back into place for the center channel.

The midrange driver is installed without the rubber ring and with the spacer, but the tab on the grill (left side) closest to the windshield will not snap into place. I have tried pulling/re-installing several times, but no luck.

It appears to be hanging on the speaker itself. Has anyone else ran into this?

I'm looking for any suggestions.

Thanks,

Mike B.

[vonmayr]

Originally Posted by mbollman

Great write-up and awesome tips. I am actually going through the install myself right now and have run into a small hiccup. I cannot seem to get the grill cover to snap back into place for the center channel.

The midrange driver is installed without the rubber ring and with the spacer, but the tab on the grill (left side) closest to the windshield will not snap into place. I have tried pulling/re-installing several times, but no luck.

It appears to be hanging on the speaker itself. Has anyone else ran into this?

I'm looking for any suggestions.

Thanks,

Mike B.

Is the grill hitting the top of the speaker? If so check to make sure that the speaker is fully seated in the dash. If it's that then you probably have some wire underneath the speaker and you need to pull the midrange out and reseat it. Other than that I have no idea on what could be wrong.

[mbollman]

it appears to be stuck between the edge of the speaker ring and the dash itself.

I moved the wires to the left side (driver side) of the speaker since the hole in the dash for the speaker was deepest there. I will try pulling it back apart and moving the wires to a different location to see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the feedback

Attached is a picture showing what I'm talking about.

[MSportTune2]

Originally Posted by Xerxes480

Speakers are in! In all it took me about 6 hours spread over two days. I'm slow and stopped to test every speaker before putting panels back on. People who know what they are doing can easily pull this off in four hours or less.

Initial impressions are that the clarity of the sound is much improved. That was my primary complaint with the HK setup - vocals and other upper range sounds always seemed "muddy" to me. I'm going to leave the EQ flat for a week, and then adjust from there after I've gotten some good listening time in. So far, I think it was definitely worth the cost. One thing to note: I have to turn up the volume much higher now than I did before. But since it sounds much better, I don't mind at all.

My few "gripes" with the install process:

- Tweeter in rear doors a bitch to get in! (thanks 3er for the pics!)
- Thin foam rings hard to keep aligned on back of speakers when mounting in the doors - would be nice if they also had a sticky side to keep them in place.
- The Torx screws in the door handles - very inconsistent with wanting to screw back in. A couple just kind of spin and don't tighten. But the when I tug on the door it's solid. I really don't want to tear the panels off to figure out what's going on there, so I'll wait to see if I develop any looseness or rattles.
- The 90 degree driver they provide - the Torx heads did not want to stay attached. You have to be extra careful to avoid dropping a head somewhere you can't retrieve it from (like the front dash).

Can't wait to see what kind of sub options BavSound comes up with.

-X-

It took me 4.5 hrs to do all the front speakers and tweeters as I took my time to sound proof the door and door panels.
I agree with your assessment as I have the same problems you did.
I hope it would use back all the stock wiring locations but the tweeter connections do not recess into the tweeter pods like the HK ones did. So it is hanging below and wire tie to the rest of the wires.

Your door clip behind is broken or dislodged and that's why you can't tighten or loosen as it is moving in tandem and not gripping the doors. I had the same problem and had to replace one.

I still waiting to sort out my 2+ months underseat sub order. I have been told many times by Bavsound that they are a 5 employees company including the founders and I guess the long holiday is not helping matters. So frustrating as it is still not sorted out and ship!

[MSportTune2]

Originally Posted by mbollman

it appears to be stuck between the edge of the speaker ring and the dash itself.

I moved the wires to the left side (driver side) of the speaker since the hole in the dash for the speaker was deepest there. I will try pulling it back apart and moving the wires to a different location to see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the feedback

Attached is a picture showing what I'm talking about.

That's strange!. As I have the base stereo and no center channel, I took the wire mesh grill off and made a template and my installer cut the opening as well as cut the corresponding tabs and I don't have the same problem at all. Are you able to reposition the speakers a little to clear that tab?. It could also be the speakers is not seating flushed to the ring provided.

[vonmayr]

Originally Posted by mbollman

it appears to be stuck between the edge of the speaker ring and the dash itself.

I moved the wires to the left side (driver side) of the speaker since the hole in the dash for the speaker was deepest there. I will try pulling it back apart and moving the wires to a different location to see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the feedback

Attached is a picture showing what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the picture - it's really interesting. Seems like your midrange speaker is too close to the edge of the cavity. Is the midrange flush with the dash plastic (as low as it will go, in otherwords)? I would definitely loosen the three screws holding the midrange in and reposition it as far left as possible if it is seated properly.

[sittingmongoose]

I had the same center channel problem. It looks like the newer m3s have different center channel clips than what bavsound thinks.
I just broke the front left clip off that's hitting and it went in fine. It's still tight and doesn't rattle.

[MSportTune2]

Originally Posted by sittingmongoose

I had the same center channel problem. It looks like the newer m3s have different center channel clips than what bavsound thinks.
I just broke the front left clip off that's hitting and it went in fine. It's still tight and doesn't rattle.

Just FYI. I did a check on Realoem.
The part# for F80 LCI is still the same for HK center speaker cover which is part# 51459239291.

[sittingmongoose]

Originally Posted by MSportTune2

Just FYI. I did a check on Realoem.
The part# for F80 LCI is still the same for HK center speaker cover which is part# 51459239291.

Well it's different than what bavsound says in the video. I assumed the 2015 m3 wasn't like mine cause I thought they would have said something about it. :

[mbollman]

I was finally able to get it seat properly by taking a dremmel to the bracket.

Also, as others have said the rear tweeters are a real pain to get in. I had to skip the bottom tab in the mounting cup to get mine in.

Everything is in now and the sound is way improved. Now I just need a set of underseat subs