[nomuffinforyou]

So, after getting my new-to-me 2016 M235i xdrive with the base "HiFi" system I listened to music, wondered how BMW did so poorly designing a sound system and set about looking to upgrade.

I was looking for cost-effective upgrades and ended up getting the Focal ISC100's on sale for $80/pr and, after a lengthy, lengthy search process I purchased the Integral audio under seat woofers. For now, I'm avoiding swapping the amplifier as the cost:benefit doesn't seem to be there, but will probably get there eventually.

Focal ISC100's-- bright, needed to knock 4 notches off the treble control to get them to sound even. MUCH better detail, better response sub 500hz, about as sensitive as the factory speakers, I don't seem to need to crank it up much higher than before for similar output. Install was kind of a pain with tracking down adapter brackets and trying to find any documentation as to available mounting depth.

Integral woofers-- Massive improvement over stock. Before the factory woofers would produce tones down to about 30hz if you did a frequency sweep but never seemed like they had any real authority or impact. These improve that dramatically with solid output down to about 40hz and sound far better with actual music. But the real improvement is the midbass. These fix that perfectly. With the factory system, I'd listen to metal or edm and just felt like something was missing, not with these. Install was super easy, came with spacer brackets and a wiring harness which, after trying to find them on eBay or other places was wildly convenient and saved about $50+ over other options.

Would I recommend the ISC100's? Yes, but I'd say they're in dire need of an amplifier replacement to get rid of the built-in DSP and the factory system's hiss.

Would I recommend the integral woofers? Absolutely, they sound great, are an easy, all-in-one install option and if you have questions/need help the company is very quick to reply to email and the owner is really nice and super helpful. I see a lot of people recommending the Earthquakes and there's a lot of other brands that can be hard to track down or need to be imported from Germany/Canada, but these are from the US and are readily available. If they make a complete system for the 2 series I'm getting that installed.

[yanks1]

Great to hear!!

I’m thinking of same Focals for my 230i coupe. Where did u buy the brackets & wiring adapters to make them plug-in and play? Or does someone sell the speakers including these 2 items.. And do you need same bracket & adapter for front door & rear deck?

Thanks a lot.. I am in NJ

[mr. zero]

I would have to agree. Replaced the fronts in my M240i vert HIFI with Focal IFBMW-Cs, and the subs with the Focal IFBMW-SUBs. All the difference in the world, and the stock amp does a much better job with them.

[nomuffinforyou]

Originally Posted by yanks1

Great to hear!!

I’m thinking of same Focals for my 230i coupe. Where did u buy the brackets & wiring adapters to make them plug-in and play? Or does someone sell the speakers including these 2 items.. And do you need same bracket & adapter for front door & rear deck?

Thanks a lot.. I am in NJ

I bought the brackets and wiring harnesses off of Technic PnP and Ebay. You only need the brackets for the front speakers but I'd recommend the wiring harnesses for all speakers you plan to replace. Unfortunately these things can be a pain to track down. The other set I seriously considered was the GRS replacements from Parts-Express since they're drop in replacements that don't need anything additional. Might be worth a look.

[nomuffinforyou]

Originally Posted by mr. zero

I would have to agree. Replaced the fronts in my M240i vert HIFI with Focal IFBMW-Cs, and the subs with the Focal IFBMW-SUBs. All the difference in the world, and the stock amp does a much better job with them.

Nice! How do you like the Focal subs? I tried to track them down for along time before going with Integral Audio since I like things to match.

Can't say I'm unhappy with Integral Audio though, the value they provide with including brackets and wiring harnesses is kinda unreal and they sound fantastic.

[mr. zero]

Subs needed the mounting bracket to clear the magnet, which in turn pushed up the grill cover a bit. But it all was covered by the seats. Nice feeling the bass in the seat of your pants.

[KjPerry]

I bought my 235i xdrive pre owned and didn't come with the HK sound system.

The audio is definitely sub-par and would love to upgrade.

After reading the comments above, is this pretty straight forward and reasonable priced?

Could anyone provide links for the speakers to swap out that was mentioned?

Any additional info would be appreciated for trying to search, purchase, and install myself.

Thanks

[mr. zero]

Got mine off of eBay. Just search for Focal IFBMW-C (unless you want the "S" models with the separate tweeters - requires more modification) and/or IFBMW-SUB. I think I got lucky on a leftover set of the "Cs" from the US, but the subs came from a guy in the UK. Overall it was just over $700 for both sets (you don't need to replace the rears). Was going to do the amp, but haven't found a need for it yet.