[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

The pigtails are easy. In essence BMW to speaker is a plug in harness, and rather than simply cut it off and go bare wire into the JL, you go harness to pigtail to JL so that you can unplug the whole mess and not have harmed your precious new baby in any way.

Gotcha, thanks.

Yeah, not harming the new baby is a priority. Maiden voyage tomorrow with the puppy in the backseat. She's not a scratcher or a drooler (though I am!). Still going to be hard to keep my eyes on the road!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

Gotcha, thanks.

Yeah, not harming the new baby is a priority. Maiden voyage tomorrow with the puppy in the backseat. She's not a scratcher or a drooler (though I am!). Still going to be hard to keep my eyes on the road!

How big? I highly recommend the lookout seat fits nicely in the back of a 2er. My dog immediately passes out unconscious as soon as he gets buckled into his.

[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

How big? I highly recommend the lookout seat fits nicely in the back of a 2er. My dog immediately passes out unconscious as soon as he gets buckled into his.

Australian Shepherd, 9 months, probably 40 lbs on her way to 50. I think she may be big for a Lookout seat. I do put her in a harness, which I attach to the seat belt. She is pretty quiet back there (and trip is pretty short; maybe 15 minutes).

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

Australian Shepherd, 9 months, probably 40 lbs on her way to 50. I think she may be big for a Lookout seat. I do put her in a harness, which I attach to the seat belt. She is pretty quiet back there (and trip is pretty short; maybe 15 minutes).

The harness is the most important thing, anything else is purely for comfort (yours and dog's).

Sorry for going off topic folks but dog safety in cars is a cause I fully support. My puppy survived a head on collision with a drunk cab driver blowing stop signs in lower manhattan without a scratch on him due to proper safety gear. My Touareg had $30k in damage and a bent frame.

[JerryW235]

First post, and first BMW, so don't start flaming right away, okay? Just bought a used / demo 2016 M2351 coupe with 1300 miles and a CPO Elite warranty last week, and want to upgrade the audio. It's got Nav, and the Hi Fi audio (?) with 7 speakers. 1- center, 2 in the door, 2 in the rear and 2 under the seats. I've read every post on this thread, and researched Bavsound and other replacement brands and vendors as well, so I have an idea of what those options and suggestions are. I think the first thing I want to do is disconnect the center speaker, get the harness to eliminate the ASD, and replace the speakers. In regard to replacing the speakers has anyone tried to use speakers from another BMW model that had a higher end audio system in it? I see a lot of BMW speakers on Ebay from 7 series that at least look a lot like higher quality aftermarket speakers. The cones appear to be fiberglass / Kevlar / etc., and the magnets are a lot larger. Appearance wise, they look to be a lot better quality that what's standard in the M235i, and even better than the HK speakers in that car. The same with the tweeters, they look to be better quality. Size (diameter) and mounting look to be the same as well. The downside would be that they are used, you don't know how badly they may have been abused, etc. Just a thought, but any experience doing this, or opinions?

Next step will be an amp, and a question on the Technicpnp 7 channel amp harness. I assume it will work with any amp, is that correct?

[selmeralto]

I'd recommend against using the other BMW speakers.

First, you may end up buying blown or otherwise compromised speakers. Second, small differences in dimension matter: the mounting holes might not line up, the speaker frame might not line up to create a proper seal, the speaker depth might be off, etc. Since the speakers recommended in the thread are (a) known to fit, (b) they have the proper impedance, (c) they're not expensive, and (d) they sound good, I can't really see why one would opt for other BMW speakers, especially since you haven't actually heard them in operation.

I'd stick with what works.

Congratulations on your new car and welcome to the forum.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by selmeralto

I'd recommend against using the other BMW speakers.

Just using Bavsound site since it's easy to navigate, check things like under seat woofers. You'll see they offer 2ohm, 4ohm, etc. etc. so there's no consistency across different models of car. Yes you can probably score a sweet set of BMW speakers super cheap on eBay, but cheap can become expensive very quickly if you start frying your electronics.

[ryem3]

Initial comments. Focal coax pc100 speakers are super high quality. Got them very discounted from extreme audio in Germany. Great service too.

Super high quality means no break off tabs. The baskets are metal and cutting them off is not for the faint of heart! Also, directable tweeters are excellent, but barely fit under the rear shelf covers. Will likely need to cut off the tweeter covers for more clearance. I'll post pics at some point. Will move to the subs and doors next.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by JerryW235

In regard to replacing the speakers has anyone tried to use speakers from another BMW model that had a higher end audio system in it? I see a lot of BMW speakers on Ebay from 7 series that at least look a lot like higher quality aftermarket speakers. The cones appear to be fiberglass / Kevlar / etc., and the magnets are a lot larger. Appearance wise, they look to be a lot better quality that what's standard in the M235i, and even better than the HK speakers in that car. The same with the tweeters, they look to be better quality. Size (diameter) and mounting look to be the same as well. The downside would be that they are used, you don't know how badly they may have been abused, etc. Just a thought, but any experience doing this, or opinions?

I'll echo what selmeralto and BEM-S4 have said, and add some detail:

- With OEM speakers, you often don't have any idea about the speakers' specs: ohm rating, power handling, effective frequency range, efficiency, etc. That makes it very hard to implement them on another system, especially if you're mixing OEM drivers from at least two different models.
- OEM speakers from cars like the 7 Series are frequently designed to work at odd ohm ratings, which is a common tactic of system designers to keep SPL under control at louder volumes when those drivers are inherently underpowered with programming from a fiber-optic MOST network. This is precisely why cars like Volvos almost never have upgraded stereos; speakers that will work with the existing system simply do not exist because the speakers in, say, the XC90 operate at three different ohm ratings. To get them to work properly means $1,500-$2,000 in MOST interfaces, DSPs and amps just to start.
- Higher-quality OEM speakers frequently have a very specific sonic task within the system they're designed for, and are thus generally (but not always) poor choices to handle wider sonic duty. A great example of this are the ribbon emission tweeters that Burmester systems use in recent-model Porsches. Ribbons are phenomenal for treble, but they're fragile and are typically not the best choice for frequencies under 4k. Unless you've got midrange drivers dedicated to the 750-5k range, ribbons don't work well in a mobile environment.

[JerryW235]

Thanks for all the replies on my question. I had thought about and considered most of the "cons" mentioned regarding speakers from other BMW models. That's why I was wondering if anyone had done it, and what the results were.

[msa6]

Moving along, but still running into stuff...

ASD bypass successfully installed.

Now trying to pull the stock rear speakers, with JL replacements ready. How do I get the blue clips out of those rears? Is it just a hard pull? Or is there a tab that I need to depress, but don't see?

Thanks.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

Moving along, but still running into stuff...

ASD bypass successfully installed.

Now trying to pull the stock rear speakers, with JL replacements ready. How do I get the blue clips out of those rears? Is it just a hard pull? Or is there a tab that I need to depress, but don't see?

Thanks.

Yank. Watch the Bavsound video you'll see Jason do it just do the same thing.

[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Yank. Watch the Bavsound video you'll see Jason do it just do the same thing.

I've watched the video...and am a bit confused!

There are two separate clips on the speaker (+ and -), but the pigtail has a single "female" connector for the speaker clip(s). And two wires...a red and a black.

I appreciate all the help...and no "you have to be kidding me's"!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

I've watched the video...and am a bit confused!

There are two separate clips on the speaker (+ and -), but the pigtail has a single "female" connector for the speaker clip(s). And two wires...a red and a black.

I appreciate all the help...and no "you have to be kidding me's"!

You HK or hifi? Do you have tweeters back there?

[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

You HK or hifi? Do you have tweeters back there?

HK. Tweeters yes.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

HK. Tweeters yes.

Ok. So trace the wires. You'll see one goes from car to mid, then one from mid to tweeter. The one coming from car to mid is where you'd put your adapter then hook up your new speaker.

Not sure if your new stuff has separate tweeter or not. Bavsound for example separate mid and tweeter you plug a y cable into car harness then one end into mid and other into tweeter.

[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Ok. So trace the wires. You'll see one goes from car to mid, then one from mid to tweeter. The one coming from car to mid is where you'd put your adapter then hook up your new speaker.

Not sure if your new stuff has separate tweeter or not. Bavsound for example separate mid and tweeter you plug a y cable into car harness then one end into mid and other into tweeter.

No separate tweeter; built into the JL C2400X. So I'll connect the wire from the car to the new speaker via pigtail. Guess I'll leave the current separate tweeter in there, not connected.

Connectors to the existing speaker were super hard to pull out. Thought if I pulled any harder I'd yank the wire out of the connector. Will try again this morning.

Again, thank you.

[ryem3]

The connectors lock. Need to insert a screwdriver or pick to release them.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by msa6

No separate tweeter; built into the JL C2400X. So I'll connect the wire from the car to the new speaker via pigtail. Guess I'll leave the current separate tweeter in there, not connected.

Connectors to the existing speaker were super hard to pull out. Thought if I pulled any harder I'd yank the wire out of the connector. Will try again this morning.

Again, thank you.

Unplug the tweeter from the mid first for practice. You don't need that wire so if you screw anything up who cares.

Re other poster I actually found more prone to breaking clips w screw driver. A good yank is all you need. I've done what 20 speakers in multiple cars that way no issue.

[msa6]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Unplug the tweeter from the mid first for practice. You don't need that wire so if you screw anything up who cares.

Re other poster I actually found more prone to breaking clips w screw driver. A good yank is all you need. I've done what 20 speakers in multiple cars that way no issue.

Got them in...thanks. 3/4 of the way through the upgrade (center channel gone, ASD gone, rears replaced). Waiting for the Etons to arrive from Germany. Already sounds way, way better.

Appreciate all the help. Audio closer to being on par with the car...which is incredible. Perfect follow on to my '03 330ci.

[ryem3]

Worth noting on this thread that the Focal IFBMW-S Integration set with 100 mm woofers and separate tweeters DO NOT fit the F87, M2. Incorrect hole spacing.

HOWEVER, it appears that housing of the speakers can easily be drilled to accommodate the holes needed for the M2. I will likely try this as returning to Germany would probably be expensive and I enjoy the sound of the Focals. More to come.

[ryem3]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Just using Bavsound site since it's easy to navigate, check things like under seat woofers. You'll see they offer 2ohm, 4ohm, etc. etc. so there's no consistency across different models of car. Yes you can probably score a sweet set of BMW speakers super cheap on eBay, but cheap can become expensive very quickly if you start frying your electronics.

I've noticed this now and didn't see this particular comment. According to their site, the underseat woofer is 2 ohms. However, it seems that most, if not all, replacement units are about 4 ohms. The Focals are 4 ohms. It seems that these are recommended for almost every BMW application. Would it be harmful to run them? I understand running a 2 ohm speaker would increase the load on the amplifier. Would a more efficient speaker be harmful?