[garyt]

I have the Bimmertech amp and Bavsound woofers installed in my M235. While they sound better than the stock HK system I do not feel it was worth the expense. The sound is somewhat harsh and the woofers distort when certain songs are played and I usually am listening to it at 90% volume just to get some bass out of it. I previously own a Mini Cooper with the HK system (looks like the same speakers as in the M235). Not being satisfied with it I replaced it with the Integral Audio SoundStage. It sounded awesome. Everyone who rode in it commented on how good the stereo is, even my wife had positive comments on it and that is saying something. You can read about the system on the Mini Forum (www.northamericanmotoring.com)The system came with a subwoofer and enclosure, replacement door and tweeter speakers, crossovers and the wiring harness. It is plug and play.
I contacted Integral Audio about a system for the 2 series. They said they just completed the Soundstage system for the 3 series but have not thought about the 2 series but if enough people (15 – 20) would commit to it they would design a system for the 2 series. I am not an audio geek and therefore cannot speak to the specs of the system but if you would like more information please contact them or go to their website www.integralaudio.com.
If interested in the system please contact:

Kevin Bennett
Integral Audio, LLC
O: (646) 926-0011
F: (646) 585-1350
kevin.bennett@integralaudio.com
www.integralaudio.com
I am not affiliated with Integral Audio or any of its employees, I just want a well sounding system.

Thanks,
Gary

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by garyt

The sound is somewhat harsh and the woofers distort when certain songs are played and I usually am listening to it at 90% volume just to get some bass out of it.

I'll absolutely agree the hk tweeters are incredibly harsh and need a lot of toning down, but I've found there to be plenty of bass with the stock subs. The BimmerTech system will also let you hear all the compression artifacts in bad MP3 encodings (obviously, that's the fault of the MP3s, not the amp).

Past that, though, there's something funny going on if you're able to listen to it at 90% volume. My ears will start ringing if I get over 70% or so. At 90%, I think they'd be bleeding. What are you using for a source?

[garyt]

I usually listen to an Ipod, the SAT and HD FM have a little more volume but not much more. To get the best sound it needs to be around 90% for a lot of music (anything with a lot of bass) but others I don't need it at that volume. My issue is to get the bass to respond I need to turn it up then the tweeters are way to harsh. I have been wondering if it is possible to hook up the Match PP 8E-Q or PP 10E-D sub woofers to the match amp in the M235, not sure how it connects or if one would have to splice in the wires.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by garyt

I usually listen to an Ipod, the SAT and HD FM have a little more volume but not much more. To get the best sound it needs to be around 90% for a lot of music (anything with a lot of bass) but others I don't need it at that volume. My issue is to get the bass to respond I need to turn it up then the tweeters are way to harsh. I have been wondering if it is possible to hook up the Match PP 8E-Q or PP 10E-D sub woofers to the match amp in the M235, not sure how it connects or if one would have to splice in the wires.

What is likely going on is that the subs need more power then the Bimmertech is able to pump to them. To generate the same SPL (sound pressure level; basically volume), bass frequencies (basically anything below 250Hz) need as much as five times more power than a tone at 1Khz. This is why monochannel amps that typically power stand-alone subs -- whether in a car, in a home system, of wherever -- output hundreds of watts per channel instead of tens of watts per channel.

Are the Bavsound woofers 4 ohm or 2 ohm? Something to also note: the OEM subs are 2 ohm, which means they need about 40 percent less power to generate the same SPL as a 4-ohm sub. BMW did this on purpose so they'd work reasonably well with the underpowered OEM amp (either HiFi or HK).

[garyt]

Interesting you should ask that. When installing the Ghost woofers I noticed it said 8 Ohm which I thought was odd as most car speakers I have seen have been 2 or 4 ohm. Don't quote me on that but I am pretty sure that is what they said.

[BentZero]

Are you running the F22 tune that came out about a week ago?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by garyt

Interesting you should ask that. When installing the Ghost woofers I noticed it said 8 Ohm which I thought was odd as most car speakers I have seen have been 2 or 4 ohm. Don't quote me on that but I am pretty sure that is what they said.

Yipes.

Sounds to me that both those subs operate off of a single channel at 4 ohms (The rule: if you run two speakers of an equal given ohmage in parallel from the same power source, they will operate together at half that ohmage. So: 8ohm--->8ohm = 4 ohm). Bavsound probably did this to eliminate issues with aftermarket amps, most of which cannot drive channels at different ohm ratings -- and the vast majority of aftermarket car audio speakers are 4ohm.

Either way, yep: they're plainly underpowered compared to the rest of the system. That's your bass issue.

[garyt]

Yes, I am running the F22 tune. It made a big difference over the tune that came with it but still not the quality of sound I expected for the cost. I am a little nervous about replacing the rest of the speakers as I will have a lot $ into it and am worried that I will not be satisfied with it.

[Nelson@BimmerTech]

Originally Posted by BentZero

Are you running the F22 tune that came out about a week ago?

That tune was created with the stock HK speakers.

[garyt]

Thanks for the reply. I was aware of that and was already thinking about switching back to the oem speakers to see if that is it. The system is still better than stock.

[RDKing2]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

What is likely going on is that the subs need more power then the Bimmertech is able to pump to them. To generate the same SPL (sound pressure level; basically volume), bass frequencies (basically anything below 250Hz) need as much as five times more power than a tone at 1Khz. This is why monochannel amps that typically power stand-alone subs -- whether in a car, in a home system, of wherever -- output hundreds of watts per channel instead of tens of watts per channel.

Are the Bavsound woofers 4 ohm or 2 ohm? Something to also note: the OEM subs are 2 ohm, which means they need about 40 percent less power to generate the same SPL as a 4-ohm sub. BMW did this on purpose so they'd work reasonably well with the underpowered OEM amp (either HiFi or HK).

Originally Posted by garyt

Interesting you should ask that. When installing the Ghost woofers I noticed it said 8 Ohm which I thought was odd as most car speakers I have seen have been 2 or 4 ohm. Don't quote me on that but I am pretty sure that is what they said.

The Ghost subwoofers are listed as 2ohm for standard (HiFI) and 8ohm for premium (HK)
My logic would make me think that the HIfi setup is series and HK is parallel. Both situations I just listed would result in a 4ohm load for the amp. If series or parallel the subs would not fade left to right with the balance. Have not checked myself. I remember someone a while ago said that they do fade left/right. If they are series/parallel it will make the tap for my real sub easier.

[garyt]

I swapped the Ghost speakers out for the OEM speakers. The audio is a quite a lot better then with the ghost Speakers, the bass no longer distorts, more solid bass and the volume seems to be greater then before. I would suggest until their is a tune to go with the Ghost speakers you are better off using the OEM woofers. I would still like to see someone produce a complete system for this car.