Well, I pulled the trigger and ordered a full set of 2010 HK speakers at http://www.minigenuineparts.co.uk/mi..._Upgrades.html

Looking forward to a cure for the dreaded muddy factory Hifi speakers......

 

You'll have to let us all know if it's worth the $600 (US plus shipping) upgrade.

BTW, is it as simple as swapping out the A-pillars and the speakers, or do you have to swap out amps, wiring, anything in the dash, etc.?

I've noticed that that HiFi system in my '09 MCS is relatively stinky when playing the built-in Sirius, but MP3s from a USB drive sound not too bad.

 

I should have dropped a line earlier, but anyways I installed the HK front door woofers and they are the business ! This is definitely the first uprade over the HiFi that you want to make. Contemplating finishing off with the remainder of the HK set, but geez, my HiFi was already a $500 upgrade.

Word of caution for fellow DIYs, be careful not to unhinge your door lock **** when removing the door panel.

 

Which one is the door lock ****?

 

When you unlock your door, it's the little **** on your door that pops up. It's connected via long wire with hook to the interior of the door frame.

 

I get it now, thanks. So should I just pop open the bottom on the panel without removing it completely?

 

Just be careful when you are removing the panel. You will need to take it off completely.

 

The 2010 HK Speakers arrived this week. While I am at it I am going to add a bit of sound deadening from www.sounddeadenershowdown.com. Based on posts here these 2010 HK speakers plug in place of the crappy ones that came with the '07 thru '09 Hifi systems. The existing amp is said to work just fine and the speaker changeout alone is supposed to provide a large improvement. I'll report back when installed in a few weeks.

 

Does anyone know when the H/K speakers will be available Stateside and when they will be listed on RealOEM.com?

 

Bad news, too. Just saw BMW North America is going to stop all European parts shipments to North America dealers. So it is going to get real tricky to get these.

 

That has been their policy any way but now they seem to want to enforce it.

Some I can see as they may not meet US safety standards but most of the Euro parts we want don't have safety issues.

As for the parts in this thread there should be no problem getting them as they are parts of US Spec cars.

 

Hey, gawannamini,

Any update on the results of the install and is it worth the effort?

 

Sorry, I have not installed the speakers yet as we have been on vacation and I will install some sound deadening when I have the rear side panels and the door panels off. I am probably a 2-3 weeks away depending on work travel schedule but I will be sure to report back after installing.

The cost including the new A pillars and tweeters was about 406 english pounds including freight (about $600 US total). The VAT shows up on the website but is not applied to shipments to the US. The total time from order to arrival was about 3 weeks as the vendor orders them from BMW upon receipt of order. Shipping was about 3 days.

One screw up was that I ordered the A pillars for an R56 and I have an R57 convertible. I will transfer the new HK tweeters and the HK logo to my original A pillars as R57 A pillars have cut outs for the top latch claws.

 

BMW is halting shipment of Euro spec parts (brake rotors, mirrors....) to dealers, not other importers. So you can still get whatever you want, just not from the dealer.

 

I ordered the H-K speakers yesterday to replace the prem stereo speakers in my R57. Didn't have any problems. Should have in a couple of weeks!

 

Good thread everyone. I want to upgrade my HiFi system speakers as well and this looks like a strong option. I heard the HK system recently and thought it sounded much better than the HiFi offering.

Does anyone have any updates? How does it sound with the HiFi amp? Does it play loud enough?

 

I'm still stalled out on my install. Too much travel right now but I will report when I get them installed. Sorry to not be of any immediate help.

 

The HK speakers I ordered many weeks ago finally arrived! 1 midrange was on backorder. Hopefully I'll get installed this weekend. Will report with my thoughts - hope the wait and $$ is a satisfactory choice!

 

I swapped out the Hi-Fi Speakers with the HK Speakers this weekend and am very pleased with the results! The sound is much crisper and the installation was EASY. The front anyways....

My car is a convertible and there isnt much information on how to replace the rear speakers. It's not hard, but I should have researched more first before diving in.

I'm pleased and the total cost was $411. Well worth the expense!

 

Great news Randyg!

Just to confirm, any issues with the amp power? I assume you didn't update the amp and just updated the speakers. Just want to make sure!

Congrats on the upgrade!

 

No problems with amp/oower. I think it sounds great.

 

After installing the HK door woofers (great improvement), I picked up a set of the mid range for the doors and the rear woofers. I will let you know how the install goes. I don't really see the need for the tweeters, plus they are pricey.

 

OK, I FINALLY installed the HK speakers. I did not change the HIFI tweeters yet but did replace the door woofers and midrange speakers and the rear woofers. Sound volume is fine with HIFI amp.

Sound is MUCH improved and the HIFI's muddiness is gone. Bass response is much better - in fact I had to drop the bass level adjustment quite a bit from where the setting was for the HIFI speakers.

The imaging is much deeper too. To me, the improvement was well worth the money and the HK speakers have not even had a chance to break in yet.

The install is truly plug and play - the connectors are the same as with the HIFI speakers and the HK speakers screw in place with the exact same mounting hardware. The nice thing is that all the features of the original set up (steering wheels controls etc.) work as before - not the case with a start-from-scratch aftermarket amp installation.

I can turn the volume all the way up with no distortion and no speaker rattling. One discovery - most of the rattling of the rear HIFI woofers is the panel rattling. Before I installed the HK rear woofers I added an additonal gasket that I cut from closed cell foam behind the speaker. The speaker mounts to the car and the speaker grill is installed on the removable side panel. The extra gasket behind the speaker pushed the speaker front tighter against the panel and eliminated much of the rattle. BUT the HK rear woofers are much cleaner.

I'll report back after they have a week or so of break in but these speakers were what I was looking for. I wanted improved sound without blowing $2K+ and I wanted my phone interface controls (Bluetooth) to remain intact. I am pleased.

 

Thanks for the review. It'll help those of us with the same goals. Great write up.


Mark

 

I have a 2009 convertible and the rear speaker is not bad. IT IS NOT A 6" x 9". IT IS A 5 1/2" (inside cone dimension) ROUND SPEAKER. It is different the R56 which is a 6" x 9"

You have to pull the seat bottom out (no tools req'd), then remove the seat backs by removing the center bracket by unbolting the three torx 40 bolts (one in trunk, two in front), use screw driver to release the seat backs from the center bracket. As you pivot the seat back the end can be removed from the outer edge pivot points - only comes out in one seat back pivot position.

The side panels have three of the snap clips at the front edge ( see drawing below), a screw at the front edge in the door frame, a screw in the black recessed hole that is used for a mount for the wind deflector, and three funky expanding rivets at the back The top and bottom are the same. The middle one is fatter.

Remove the two screws and the plastic rivets at the back, pop the front clips (pop straight toward center of car - easy with plastic trim removal tools) then lift the panel straight up to release 3 hidden clips that hold the top of the cover down ( area near the top fabric).

Disconnect the tweeter connector and the LED colored ambient lighting assembly that clips to the bottom of the speaker grill. The woofer is removed with four Philips head screws. Pull the speaker out. The speaker electrical connection is on the back of the speaker.

I added a 1/8" foam gasket behind the speaker to force it to press on the speaker grill in the panel a little tighter. I did not replace the tweeters.

When you reassemble make sure to pull the door seal rubber away to keep it from preventing the three snap clips on the front edge from snapping properly. Also test fit to ensure that the 3 plastic clips are going to hit the holes before you try to snap them in place. Otherwise you can crush a clip,

Good luck!!