[asarkisian]

Got a new 230i and I hate the stock HiFi.

I looked into upgrading the amp except BimmerTech wants $1549 for the 2 series compatible version.

Are there any more budget friendly plug and play options? Is BimmerTech using their own amp or just simply rebranding it?

Just curious what would be the best bang for the buck to upgrade the horrible stock HiFi amp. I like to keep it simple and not have to deal with replacing speakers if i have to.

Appreciate and feedback or advice!

[AdonisP91]

Originally Posted by asarkisian

Got a new 230i and I hate the stock HiFi.

I looked into upgrading the amp except BimmerTech wants $1549 for the 2 series compatible version.

Are there any more budget friendly plug and play options? Is BimmerTech using their own amp or just simply rebranding it?

Just curious what would be the best bang for the buck to upgrade the horrible stock HiFi amp. I like to keep it simple and not have to deal with replacing speakers if i have to.

Appreciate and feedback or advice!

BimmerTech is just a rebranded Audiotech Fischer Match UP10 DSP, with a questionable sound tune on it. I don’t know of any other simple plug and play alternative. I do know of some more expensive options.

But the important question to ask is what is the problem with the HiFi system you have? What do you find the system is lacking? I will have the Harman Kardon sound system in my M240 when it is delivered. From my research I would say this is the order of priority for improving your sound (I can explain in more depth why if people are interested):

#1 Adding a subwoofer in the trunk with an amp. The biggest flaw in the HiFi and HK systems is they lack good low frequency responses. The bass is severely lacking and that should be the first thing addressed.

#2 Getting a DSP like the Match UP10 DSP (or Alpha One) and doing a proper tune on it to meet a specific target curve to get a good overall frequency response.

#3 Sound proofing the car.

#4 Upgrading the speakers.

Raw Cat on YouTube just released a video where he compared stock speakers on his Skoda to premium speakers vs sound proofing and the sound proofing did a bigger job to improve the sound quality than upgrading the speakers did. The great thing with Raw Cat he uses empirical measurements in his analysis, this isn’t just some feelings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFHiAaoFKQI

[asarkisian]

Wow, so speakers are last on the list huh? My biggest gripe with the current HiFi system is not only the lack of bass, but how 'weak' it is at lower volumes. I have to crank up the volume almost to 60-70% to hear some softer vocals and even then the sound isn't pleasant. Plus I don't like how the highs sound even if I boost the treble. It just seems like something is off. I had a HiFi system on my old 2 series and just upgraded the front speakers to HK tweeters and midrange and I really liked the bump in performance for how little I spent. But maybe HK tweeters were just better than stock and that was good enough for me.

I'm intrigued about the Match system you just mentioned. Do you know if it's a plug and play install or does BimmerTech have any custom cabling harnesses that would make the install more simple than the Match alternative?

[AdonisP91]

Originally Posted by asarkisian

Wow, so speakers are last on the list huh? My biggest gripe with the current HiFi system is not only the lack of bass, but how 'weak' it is at lower volumes. I have to crank up the volume almost to 60-70% to hear some softer vocals and even then the sound isn't pleasant. Plus I don't like how the highs sound even if I boost the treble. It just seems like something is off. I had a HiFi system on my old 2 series and just upgraded the front speakers to HK tweeters and midrange and I really liked the bump in performance for how little I spent. But maybe HK tweeters were just better than stock and that was good enough for me.

I'm intrigued about the Match system you just mentioned. Do you know if it's a plug and play install or does BimmerTech have any custom cabling harnesses that would make the install more simple than the Match alternative?

I made a mistake above, for the HK system the Match UP10 DSP is required and the BimmerTech rebrand. For the HiFi System the better choice is Match UP8 DSP (I’m not sure which model BimmerTech uses, presumably the UP8).

Match UP8 DSP https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...ifiers/up-8bmw

You then need the wiring harness MATCH PP-BMW 1.7HIFI:
https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...pp-bmw-1.7hifi

The BimmerTech model would likely only be different insofar as it would come with a custom mounting bracket for your car. Whether that is needed I don’t know. Perhaps the stock brackets that come with the Match UP DSP would be good enough, perhaps one would need a universal bracket from Audiotech-Fischer like the MATCH UMB.1

https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...essories/umb-1

And maybe the BimmerTech mounting bracket is better. I don’t know that but the price mark up from BimmerTech seems high given the poor quality tune. The links above are plug and play.

I just found this MATCH UP 8DSP - BMW 1.7HiFi Upgrade Kit:

https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...fi-upgrade-kit

This has everything you need and bypass dealing with BimmerTech. You would need to do a custom tune on it though.

Also I haven’t heard the HiFi speakers, perhaps they are so bad that the priority order I noted above would change. I’m just sharing my research for upgrading my HK system and what others have experienced with different cars, so these are general rules of thumb.

In case anyone is looking to upgrade the HK system, here are the parts directly from ATF instead of the Alpha One stuff from BimmerTech.

MATCH UP 10DSP:
https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...fiers/up-10dsp

MATCH PP-BMW 1.9RAM-HK (Wiring harness)
https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/m...-bmw-1-9ram-hk

ETA: I added one more part I just found to have a full plug and play directly from Audiotech-Fischer.

[AdonisP91]

Originally Posted by asarkisian

Wow, so speakers are last on the list huh? My biggest gripe with the current HiFi system is not only the lack of bass, but how 'weak' it is at lower volumes. I have to crank up the volume almost to 60-70% to hear some softer vocals and even then the sound isn't pleasant. Plus I don't like how the highs sound even if I boost the treble. It just seems like something is off.

Here is a really good explanation of why the sound might sound unpleasant or why the higher frequencies might sound off. The interesting thing is a lot of it can be fixed with a DSP to adjust to frequency response of the speakers, one doesn’t necessarily need to change the speakers themselves. He even gives an example where a high end speaker, in this example a tweeter, can produce unpleasant sound if not tuned right or installed in the wrong locations.

A good sound tune can go a long way to correcting things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIlDgqOR7do

[asarkisian]

Very interesting! I think I'm leaning towards the 8DSP but wondering how easy it would be to tweak. I know the manufacturer is based in Germany but do you think their support would help with general guidelines for tuning that would be suitable for most applications?

[AdonisP91]

Originally Posted by asarkisian

Very interesting! I think I'm leaning towards the 8DSP but wondering how easy it would be to tweak. I know the manufacturer is based in Germany but do you think their support would help with general guidelines for tuning that would be suitable for most applications?

I don’t know how the support is, but it is fairly easy to tweak. Over in another thread we’ve been talking about tweaking the UP10 DSP.
https://g87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...4#post31763204

Also there are a bunch of videos from ResoNix and Raw Cat on YouTube that show the process. They mostly show for Helix, but the process for the Match amp is the same and the software is the same. You would just need a Umik1 (or better) and laptop with windows on it to run the Audiotech-Fischer software and REW.
https://www.youtube.com/@ResoNixSoundSolutions/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@RAW-CAt/videos