Bavsound Stage 1 Speaker Package - E46 3 Series Coupe with S674A Harman Kardon
Bavsound took your factory BMW speakers and re-engineered their upgrade for one thing: clarity. So you can simply swap your original speakers for Bavsound's without changing anything else in your audio system, and the result is smooth, natural, yet unbelievably detailed reproduction of your favourite music.
*This kit is suitable for E46 3 Series Coupe only (including M3).
HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH AUDIO SYSTEM YOUR VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH
BASE STEREO SOUND SYSTEM
The base level stereo sound is standard on pretty much all Australian delivered models. Specifics vary by vehicle, but this audio system is generally characterized by a lack of an external amplifier, and usually just 6 total speakers (often without tweeters), and generally very poor overall performance. There is no option code for the base stereo system.
HI-FI SOUND SYSTEM - S676A
Hi-Fi Speaker System comes as standard on only a few Australian delivered models. Although exact specifics vary from vehicle to vehicle, this audio system is generally characterized by 10 total speakers and an external amplifier, no user adjustable "DSP" processing or equalizer settings, and "average" overall performance. The option code for this system in a VIN search is S676A.
HARMAN KARDON SOUND SYSTEM - S674A/S688A
If you have "HK" or Harman Kardon labels in your interior, you have this audio system. If you do not have those labels, then you do not have this audio system. The option code for this system in a VIN search is S688A. On some models such as the 1 and 2 Series, option code S674A 'Hi-Fi System Harman Kardon' may be installed. This system is very simlair to the normal Hi-Fi sytem but comes with more speakers and is not as powerful as the premium Harman Kardon system.
TOP HI-FI / LOGIC7 / PROFESSIONAL DSP - S677A
This is BMW's "premium" audio system referred to internally by BMW as "Top Hi-Fi" or "Hi-Fi System Professional DSP." There are a number of different names under which this system may be marketed depending on the year and model of your BMW including Logic7, Premium "DSP" and Professional DSP. If your vehicle is equipped with one of these audio system types listed above or referred to by your dealer or invoice as having option code S677A. If you have an "M" vehicle (M3, M5, etc.) you may have DIRAC or Enhanced Premium Sound (EPS). Please view the descriptions of those audio systems to determine whether you have DIRAC or EPS, or check with your dealer.
DIRAC SOUND SYSTEM - S752A
Available only on "M" model BMWs such as the M3, M5, M6, and so on, this was BMW's "ultimate" audio system, positioned above the Premium audio system offerings. This offering was later replaced by BMW's "Enhanced Premium Sound" system. Changes from the Top Hi-Fi Premium (S677A) system are different speakers, a more powerful amplifier, additional DSP processing, and better hardware crossovers. DIRAC can be identified by silver trim rings on interior door speaker covers and a silvery metallic speaker cone visible through the front speaker covers.
ENHANCED PREMIUM SOUND - S752A
Available only on "M" model BMWs such as the M3, M5, M6, and so on, this is BMW's "ultimate" audio system, positioned above the Premium audio system offerings. This offering replaced the earlier "DIRAC" system. If you do not have an "M" car, you do not have this audio system. Changes from the "normal" Premium (e.g. Logic7, Harman Kardon, etc.) system are different speakers, a more powerful amplifier, additional DSP processing, and better hardware crossovers. Enhanced Premium Sound is difficult to identify physically as it has the same number of speakers and locations as the "normal" Premium audio systems.
If you aren't sure about what system your BMW is fitted with just send your VIN number through to us and we will be more than happy to assist you. Your VIN will also be required to place an order so that we can make sure you have the suitable kit for your BMW.
WHY BAVSOUND? BECAUSE BMW AUDIO UPGRADES SHOULD BE EASY AND WITH BAVSOUND, THEY ARE
GET UNBELIEVABLE, CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND. JUST BY REPLACING YOUR BMW'S SPEAKERS
Bavsound took your factory BMW speakers and re-engineered their upgrade for one thing: clarity. So you can simply swap your original speakers for Bavsound's without changing anything else in your audio system, and the result is smooth, natural, yet unbelievably detailed reproduction of your favorite music.
PLAY YOUR MUSIC LOUDER, AND ENJOY EVERY NOTE
Bavsound engineered the Stage One speakers to produce higher quality sound: a wider range and more balanced reproduction of the bass and treble you are currently missing. That's because, unlike your factory BMW speakers, Bavsound use proven audio technology: woven fiberglass cones, butyl rubber surrounds, and silk composite tweeters. These technologies working together, result in speakers that remain distortion free at higher volumes for accurate, natural, beautiful sound volumes much louder than your factory speakers.
DESIGNED TO FIT AND OPERATE JUST LIKE YOUR FACTORY SPEAKERS, ONLY BETTER
Bavsound engineer our speakers with the same unique size, shape, connectors, impedance, and efficiency as your factory speakers. That means installation is as simple as unbolting your factory speakers and bolting ours in, and it's totally reversible, too. No one will ever know you've upgraded your audio system except you. Unless, of course, they hear it.
INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND, EXCEPT TOOLS
Replaces every speaker in your BMW (except subs), and includes everything you need except basic tools, available separately.
100% PLUG & PLAY INSTALLATION
Simply unbolt, unplug, and remove your factory speakers and plug Bavsound's in. It's that simple. Really. (NOTE: 1996-1999 BMW 3 SERIES / M3 excluded).
SO SIMPLE, YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF
Ever put together IKEA furniture? Then you can install the Stage One. Includes step-by-step instructions, and is designed to be easy enough that anyone can install it in just a few hours.
4 YEAR WARRANTY
Everything Bavsound sell has been engineered for durability and longevity, and we know what they sell will last. And last. And last. That's why Bavsound's upgrades are backed with an industry leading 4 year limited warranty. So if something breaks, send it back. We'll replace it at no charge.
INSTALLATION GUIDES
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I install the Stage One myself?
If you can put together IKEA furniture, you can install the Stage One in your BMW. Here’s why it’s so easy to install:
The Stage One is designed from the ground up to be easy to install. Installation doesn’t involve complex wiring or modifications to your BMW. Just unbolt the factory speakers and install ours in place, plug in the factory connections, and play! (Some older E36 applications require slightly more work (a dab of glue here and there), but it’s always easy stuff!)
Every Stage One comes with extremely detailed installation instructions with photos, or a step-by-step video install guide, or both, so you’ll know exactly what to do.
I’m still not sure. Who can install my Stage One for me? Can you recommend an installer?
The great news is that because Bavsound's products are incredibly easy to install, virtually any place that works on cars can perform the installation. You could take the car to your local mechanic, the BMW dealer, or even any well-regarded local car audio shop - it’s your choice. If you are local to us in Melbourne, we can also assist with installation in our Moorabbin workshop.
Does the Stage One really enhance sound quality? What if I have standard audio system? What about the premium audio system (Harman Kardon, Logic7, DIRAC, etc.)?
Yes, the Stage One really does work and make a dramatic difference in overall sound quality, clarity, and performance, regardless of the type of audio system your BMW was equipped with from the factory (even your “premium” system).
How is that possible? Well, every audio system in every BMW is the makes compromises to reduce manufacturing costs, even the premium audio systems. When Bavsound develop each Stage One, they first perform an analysis of the factory audio system in which the kit is being installed, and optimize it to help overcome the issues of the factory audio system, whether that's lack of midrange detail, harsh tweeters, poor imaging, or anything else.
So no matter which audio system you have in your BMW, the Stage One yields incredible results.
How does the Stage One improve sound quality?
Simply put, by using higher quality materials and better engineering, Bavsound are able to achieve a much more accurate, and more importantly, enjoyable listening experience for you and your passengers.
All speakers have a variety of characteristics which determine their ability to reproduce recorded music faithfully and accurately: magnet design and materials, voice coil design, suspension, surround material, cone material, and so on.
Vehicle manufacturers make compromises in many of these areas in order to keep costs down.
The end result is often a poorly designed speaker made with sub-par materials (cheap paper cones, plastic tweeters, etc.) that hits the price target they’ve set... and also sound terrible.
The result, sonically, is generally distortion or poor frequency response and transient response. Translation? Muffled, muddy, sloppy, and harsh reproduction of your favourite tunes.
Bavsound make no compromises with their product design or the materials used because they don’t have to, so you get great sound without having to change any other components of your vehicle's audio system.
But not only that; every speaker is engineered for the exact BMW in which it’s installed, right down to the smallest details. Rather than building your speakers for a specific price point, we’ve built them to sound great in your exact car and audio system configuration. No other company can say the same thing.
Does the Stage One Audio Upgrade improve bass response?
Yes and no. Because Bavsound's speakers are so much higher quality than the factory components and because they are better designed, they’ll play more loudly without distortion than factory speakers. In most cases you're working with 100mm midrange drivers, which can only move so much air. However, due to the lower levels of distortion, and with our speakers being slightly less efficient than the factory speakers, the factory woofers will skew slightly higher in terms of output throughout normal listening levels. This means you can enjoy higher listening volumes, or alternatively, slightly higher bass settings on your radio.
However, none of the Stage One kits replace factory subwoofers, and they do not increase the amount of overall bass that is produced (despite the perceived improvement due to the factory speakers no longer distorting). If you really want a serious improvement in bass response and overall sub-bass performance, you’ll need one of the Bavsound Ghost Subwoofer Systems.
What type of speakers are included in the Stage One Audio Upgrade? How do the Bavsound speakers compare to "big name" brands like JBL or Infiniti?
Every Stage One is 100% BAVSOUND exclusive, and uses their proprietary, vehicle specific speakers. They’re designed for your exact model and application, and available exclusively through BAVSOUND.
Making a comparison between the speakers that make up our BAVSOUND Stage One kits to off-the-shelf speaker pairs is like comparing apples to oranges.
First and foremost, off-the-shelf parts just plain don't fit in most cases without modifying the vehicle or the speakers. Our speakers are always a direct fit in your BMW, with no modifications to your BMW required. Ever.
Second, aftermarket speakers are designed to be used with an aftermarket amp, and have "standard" impedance profiles and efficiency. If you're planning to use them with your factory amplifier, odds are they won't sound very good. That's because BMW, in most cases, uses non-standard impedances and very high efficiency speakers. When installing aftermarket speakers with your factory amp, generally they won't present the correct impedance to the amplifier, leading to imbalanced output (some frequencies too loud, others too quiet), not to mention possible damage to your factory amplifier.
Bavsound speakers are always correctly impedance and efficiency matched to work in perfect harmony with the rest of the factory audio system and ensuring the continued excellent performance of your factory amplifier and/or head unit.
All of that said, when comparing the actual speaker design and how the Bavsound speakers sound in real world use compared to many, many aftermarket brands, they are, quite simply, exceptional when compared to most aftermarket speakers offered at similar price points. The reason is simple: Bavsound are able to use better materials and speaker designs at the same price point because they don't sell through traditional retail channels with 4-5 middlemen. Instead Bavsound buy from the factory and sell to you, and that means more speaker for your money.
So in the end, there really isn't a comparison.
What are the specs for the speakers used in the Stage One?
Bavsound does things a bit differently than a typical speaker company. In the context of what they do - direct speaker replacements for BMWs - the typical specifications are highly irrelevant to the end user. They ARE relevant during the engineering phase, however.
Take wattage, for example: A typical one-size-fits-all speaker company provides this information either to sound as "powerful" as possible or in order to allow a customer to choose an aftermarket amp to match the RMS of these speakers. This might be 50 watts RMS, 120 watts peak, for example, which means that the speaker can HANDLE a constant load of 50 watts, with higher peaks. It says nothing about the level of output or any other aspect of speaker performance.
What Bavsound do is very different. They design speakers to work off a factory amplifier that has a set wattage and impedance for each channel, and those values are very different from generic aftermarket values. For example, the factory amp may be putting out (in a Harman/Kardon E46 configuration):
32 watts @ 2.6 ohms - Midbass
24 watts @ 8 ohms - Midrange
12 watts @ 6 ohms - Tweeter
These values are all over place. Furthermore, they vary between the "Standard" and "Premium" versions of the audio system, and they don't really tell the whole story, as we haven't even talked about the all-important efficiency values which would need to match the factory speakers - or the actual quality of sound reproduction.
Long story short, Bavsound decode this mess of information in the engineering phase, use that data to make the best sounding speakers for the exact system in your exact BMW, and then shelve it - as it will only lead to confusion. Why? The general public typically wouldn't see "12 watts @ 6 ohms" as a good thing, even though it's the best sounding option for their car aside from fully custom systems in the $5,000 - $10,000 range.
Finally, regarding frequency range data for each speaker, again, this doesn't tell us much as we are working with the factory amplifier crossover settings - but typically, all said and done, you'll be hearing as much of the spectrum as humanly possible given the limitations of the factory system's configuration: about 50Hz - 20,000Hz.
Do I need to replace my factory amplifier or head unit to install the Stage One?
No, you don't. Because Bavsound have carefully selected the speakers used in Stage One Audio Upgrade, they're optimized to sound great with your factory amplifier.
Even though many customers approach Bavsound with the idea that they would like an amplifier upgrade, the vast majority of those who install the Stage One are incredibly happy with the upgrade, and never think about an amp upgrade after it's installed.
But don’t I NEED to upgrade my amp to get great sound?
We get this, well, a lot. Again, no, you don’t.
The question to ask yourself is why you want an amplifier upgrade. Most customers think they want an amp upgrade for their interior speakers because they want more punch. In other words, they are looking for the overall sound to have more weight and power.
In reality, while an amplifier upgrade for your interior speakers will help to deliver that, a subwoofer system in general does much more to enhance the perceived "impact" of the audio system AND perceived volume. It also relieves the interior speakers of some of the burden of bass response, allowing them to play more loudly distortion free.
How does this work? Well, many don't realize that the vast majority of sonic energy in recorded music is in the lower frequencies (i.e. bass), and a subwoofer system that can accurately and powerfully reproduce those frequencies gives music its heft and impact when played back. Upgrading the amp for the interior speakers helps in this regard, but interior speakers just aren't optimized to produce bass, and ultimately won't get you there -- but a sub system will.
So, if the Stage One isn't enough for you in terms of overall volume output, we recommend one of our Ghost Subwoofer Systems.
Will the Stage One be visible from within the car or require any permanent modifications?
No, the Stage One Audio Upgrade is completely invisible within the car and totally reversible after installation.* Only you and your fellow listeners will know that you've upgraded your stereo since your car will maintain a 100% factory appearance within the vehicle.
*Some exceptions do apply, though this is rare.
Will my BMW audio system be louder with the Stage One installed?
Yes and no. While the Stage One provides lush, detailed highs, more defined lows, and significantly more midrange detail, your factory BMW audio system's output is limited by your amplifier, which isn't changed with the Stage One.
However, the speakers included in the Stage One are capable of playing at higher volumes distortion free, meaning the usable volume limits of the system are indeed higher. Practically speaking, this means your BMW’s audio system will indeed play more loudly!
Does the Stage One Audio Upgrade come with a warranty?
Yes, and it’s one of the best in the business because Bavsound have engineered and built their speakers to last. You’re covered for 4 years from the date of your purchase. If you ever have any issues, we're just a phone call away. Some limitations apply.
The guys are great, definitely take your BMW there.
David Veeken
Google Review
One of (if not THE most) professional outfits I’ve dealt with - in the auto industry or otherwise. Needless to say, all work was carried out as promised and to an impeccable standard. Thank you Sean and team - you’ve renewed my faith in the auto business!
Jason Hiddlestone
Facebook Review
Took my e60 there, Jimmy was an absolute pleasure to deal with, very honest, explained everything in detail, and provided some great recommendations due to my individual circumstance. Can not recommend highly enough.
Jared Flower
Google Review
Sean arranged a Quaife LSD for my 135i and I couldn't be happier. He advised multiple seals and bearings needed replacing unbeknownst to me so these were done as well. Now I have a more reliable car and one with tonnes more mechanical grip!
Nathan Mann
Google Review
Great blokes down there, Eric is great for those chinese speaking customers looking for either some general quality servicing or even higher end modifications. Good team of humble and honest people, will definitely be back!
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