Bavsound "Stage One" Speaker "Upgrade" Review

[Fried_Chicken]

Complete and total waste of time and money. They absolutely sound like shit, and only my four mid-tweeters for the doors were broken that I could have ordered from the dealership, saved myself hassle gluing them, and been done.

If ALL of your speakers are blown, buy used HK's off eBay, because right now what I have is garbage.

Grain of salt, I just installed them, got inside, and listened. Maybe something will change once I drive, but at this point I doubt it and I'm skeptical.

Nobody online has this opinion, all the "reviews" are by sunk-cost-fallacy victims.

This is a warning to anyone out there, DON'T get the bavsound for your ZHP.

[edit]

I took them for a drive and it's not as bad as I initially thought. I really hope my opinion changes. They're definitely not a huge improvement (if any) over 20-year-old stock HK.

[edit2]

It's... o.k. You can tell it has a "modern" (IMO artificial) sound. If I'd known I owuld have just bought for new mid-drivers from BMW, fixed the front left tweeter, and called it good.

[Oli77]

That sucks! I've heard about bavsound since I bought my E46 around 15 years ago.
So you changed like 10 speakers and it sounds poor? Perhaps they need to break in. Hifi home speakers I think also need some play time before they soften up.

[///Mark_D]

Thanks for the honest review. I've been considering the Bavsound system for my touring, and it doesn't even include the two rear woofers for w/ the HK setup.

I've got half a dozen used HK speakers from salvage cars so I'll probably just spends some time swapping those in to see if it solves the random buzzing issues I've been having. I've replaced one obviously blown speaker in the front door and removed some pieces of plastic trim clips loose in the bottom of the door. That seems to have helped some.

[cakM3]

That sucks! I've heard about bavsound since I bought my E46 around 15 years ago.
So you changed like 10 speakers and it sounds poor? Perhaps they need to break in. Hifi home speakers I think also need some play time before they soften up.

Before the Bavsound speakers begin to sound great, they need a break in period. Give it some time for the speakers to "break in" and the sound should improve. I have done the Bavsound speaker stage 1 upgrade to my ZHP and I love them!

[Oli77]

Good news, I hope Fried_Chicken notices improvement over time.

[Fried_Chicken]

They have improved.... I have gotten used to them.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Fried_Chicken]

Thanks for the honest review. I've been considering the Bavsound system for my touring, and it doesn't even include the two rear woofers for w/ the HK setup.

I've got half a dozen used HK speakers from salvage cars so I'll probably just spends some time swapping those in to see if it solves the random buzzing issues I've been having. I've replaced one obviously blown speaker in the front door and removed some pieces of plastic trim clips loose in the bottom of the door. That seems to have helped some.

The issue is the parts speakers aren't going to be good. The only option really is have them refurbished or getting them brand new.

I've amended my original judgement, and they're better. They have a "modern" sound with a more distinct soundstage than the harman kardons, but the blown mid tweeters (small ones in the door) likely play a role with that.

My four main HK drivers were fine, but my four mid-tweeters were all totally shot and my front left tweeter was only occasionally tweeting.

Personally if I did this again I would buy four new mid-tweeters from BMW, fix the front left original tweeter (bad wire or something), and of course replace all the door clips that were broken from all the window regulator jobs of the past decade. There is real meat-and-potatoes engineering in the door to stop rattles, but only if ALL your clips are in place and your foam insert thing is intact.

More comments on the bavsound: the install is as elegant as aftermarket gets, but the key word there is aftermarket. You still have large wiring harnesses you have to shove into the door somewhere, with plugs that aren't nearly as reliable/secure as OEM, and there is annoying gluing into sensitive plastic involved.

[ZHPizza]

Before the Bavsound speakers begin to sound great, they need a break in period. Give it some time for the speakers to "break in" and the sound should improve. I have done the Bavsound speaker stage 1 upgrade to my ZHP and I love them!

This x 1000

I don't know where it is in my build thread, but when I installed them I only did one side of the car so I could compare. The initial impression was just like you: no difference from the old HKs. I drove around like that for a year not thinking about it, then did a side to side comparison again and it was night and day.

It's annoying because you put in the effort to install and want your sound upgrade NOW, but trust me it'll come. I think I remember people saying that speakers need about 100hr of break in time before they get right.

Edit: https://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/show...308#post566308

[cakM3]

This x 1000

I don't know where it is in my build thread, but when I installed them I only did one side of the car so I could compare. The initial impression was just like you: no difference from the old HKs. I drove around like that for a year not thinking about it, then did a side to side comparison again and it was night and day.

It's annoying because you put in the effort to install and want your sound upgrade NOW, but trust me it'll come. I think I remember people saying that speakers need about 100hr of break in time before they get right.

Edit: https://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/show...308#post566308

Absolutely!!! To me this is the best way to go if you desire to keep the OEM stereo setup.