This is the last post from me about this.

The speakers arrived, no instructions included. The website, as I write this, states: I was promised instructions will be on the website for several days last week.

I have returned the speakers.

 

You know what. I completely agree with your decision. Those speakers were delayed then they can't get instructions together ..does not give you much faith in their company or products.
That being said they are ready to install when you know how!....but why should you.

 

The main reason I passed on the Bavsound complete upgrade including the subs was lack of install directions. I was tempted with the $100 off so I requested an install video for the F56 and Megan sent me a link. There is no video for the F56.

 

I ordered the full upgrade. I just received the underseat woofers and installed them already. It was very, very, very, very easy to do and took approximately 1.5 hours for both. I am patiently waiting for the other speakers to arrive.

I saw the BMW installation videos and used that as reference. In fact, it is an almost equal install. The removal of the seat required removing 4 bolts. The seat then tilts back. There's no need to remove the seat out of the car. Luckily for me my husband has just about every tool known to man. If not, the toolkit would have been necessary.

 

So....how do they sound? I gather you have that base system as they don't list a woofer upgrade for the HK system.

 

GregoryK, they sound good. Yes, I have the horrible base. I am not going to do a review of the sound until they have been broken in. That normally takes 12 hours of playing. I also want to wait for the other parts and install them before making a judgement. That would be the only fair way to do a review. I wanted to share my experience with the install since it seems several people are concerned about the "no instructions" included.

 

Sounds like a fair way to proceed.
Did you have underseat a speakers that you replaces or were these an addition.

 

I drive a 2016 2 door hardtop with the base sound system. It has the prewired underseat woofers. So, as a result, it was very easy to replace them with the BAVSOUND underseat woofers. The original underseat woofers were awful. There was no remarkable change in bass when increasing the bass. I am hoping the BAVSOUND will be much better.

 

Layiyiyi. Thanks for the clarification.
I would guess that you get the Bravsound equivalent to the HK underseat subs. The problem that I have been told is that the HK amp would be tuned to play with the frequency response of the speakers the system comes with. So, without changing the amp the speaker change on the HK system is pretty pointless because even if the speakers are better the amp won't send them a "better" frequency response so they will likely sound the same.
Can't wait for you to get yours up and running!

 

Well, supposedly Bavsounds speakers are designed for use with the stock amps. But as you pointed out, there is no H/K upgrade sub (or other speaker ) choice.

 

With the base system there is no separate "amp". The line level sound comes straight from the head unit. With the HK those line level sounds go through the "active sound" then straight to the HK amp. Either system is very basic with no digital interface. This is why in some way you are better to start with the base system, Also adding an amp is easier because the Canbus does not "see" it and the system can be updated and programed without issue.
I'm sure you are aware that other companies make speaker upgrades to. Not specifically for MINI but for BMW and they will fit and work in our cars. I ran a set of these in my last upgrade in the back.
http://www.focal.com/canada/en/dedic...7-ifbmw-s.html
As the Focal rep says that "buying regular 4 bolt speakers and making a mod to fit them gives you way more bang for your buck" because these are small run and they have to cut corners to produce them for the price.

 

They sound amazing. I have the HK system and it is an unbelievable upgrade!

 

Wow. Couple of questions.

What year is your car?

Did you replace all 10 speakers (did you replace the backs and center channel)

 

2016

Yes I believe Bavsound replaced them all and center channel too. I'm going to go back and have them do the amp later this month. They filmed the install with my car so I imagine they are putting that video out soon.

 

Interesting. I am on my 2nd f56. 2014 with HK and 2016 with HK. The sound in the second car is way superior to the 2014. Don't know why.
So you are saying that the sound is night and day better after they replaced the speakers...but you are unsure what they replaced.
Are you connected with them in some way? Did they charge you for the install? or did you pay the $500 and change they charge for a full set of speakers?
I must admit that I find it weird that the speakers get replaced before the amp. The MINI speakers are low impedance (I think around 2 ohms). Most high end speakers are 4 ohms hence a step up to a bigger amp and 4 ohm speakers will give the best results.
Is the stereo louder now you have replaced the speakers or about the same?
Please take my questions in the way they are intended I am sure your system is way better - I am just trying to understand why. :-)

 

They replaced the speakers and the center channel. The crispness of the highs is much better and the new subs are awesome.

Am I connected to them? Huh? No they used my car for an install video. They are in San Diego and I am in San Diego and they wanted a car with HK to use for their video.

 

If you go to their site it won't let me upgrade the under seat speakers. Guess you were lucky to get a set as they are not for sale at the moment.
Glad you are happy with the outcome. The BMW metal tweeters on the HK system are pretty harsh I'm sure that aspect is greatly improved. Thanks for letting us know how it went.

Just saw that the sub upgrade is on another page. As I suspected they are 2 ohm subs. Do you notice more bass or is it just cleaner?

 

Under seat subs are not a concern. The A-pillar tweeters are my main install concern. When pulling panels you have to be careful not to break tabs otherwise you have to buy replacements or deal with rattles. It's good to know where the tabs are located before attempting the removal.

Removing my tail light and head light bezels were a breeze because forum members posted how many tabs there are and where they are located.

 

The base sound system does not have a-pillar tweeters so it's not something that I have to worry about. There are, however, many videos on youtube demonstrating how to remove the a-pillars.

 

GregoryK, I researched the FOCAL speakers. It looked awesome but the prices were much higher than what my budget would allow. By the way I listened to the underseat woofers last night and the difference in sound quality is awesome thus far. You can now feel the base. I can only imagine that with the other speakers, which should arrive next week, that it will only get better.

 

Unlike the gen 2 cars, it appears the A-pillars are held in with just clips, no screws. This looks pretty simple to pull:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=51_1331

 

Can't wait to read your report!

 

Bavsound now has the installation video available.


I'm still waiting, waiting, and waiting on the speakers to arrive...

 

I'm so interested in all this. I understand how silk tweeters can sound better than the metal HK tweeters but for the life of me a can't understand how there could be a big improvement in bass quality compared to the the HK subs. Yes they could be more efficient (slightly) but there is no room down there. Also these are not cheap so you would want a pretty decent improvement for that money. Really the under seats are mid range not true subs.

In the BMW forums the conclusion was that Gladen speakers were best for the under seats with there own amp. This is what I put in my MCS. Problem is that there is less Rom in the MINI. So I had to double the thickness of the spacer that came with the speakers. There is that little room.

 

I can only speak to the underseat woofers installed to replace the base system since that is what I have. It is a remarkable improvement. The base underseat woofer sounded muffled. Now I have actual bass. Maybe those who have replaced their HK underseat woofers will chime in and lets us know of their experience.