E84 - Sound upgrade with Focal

laforce37 · 08-16-2020, 08:33 AM

Hello everyone

I have a E84 with basic sound system. The most basic one possible, "professional", with no amp.

I just upgraded the 4 inches door speakers with the Focal system ICBMW100L. It is worth every dollar, I am very satisfied (I always had high respect for that brand). Now I am looking for phase 2 and I need advice.

What I'm trying to achieve: Enjoying more sound quality in my car (not looking for massive high volume competition killing). I have read on this forum that the under seat speakers are coming to life when plugged with an Amplifier, and I would like to try this. Also I would appreciate a little more juice from the rear speakers, since with my Focal upgrade they simply don't seems to exists anymore.

1- Does it make sense to look for a 4 channels Amplifier? One or two channel for the speakers under the seats and two channels for the rear speakers? Leaving my Focal on the original sound system since it is already sounding good?

2- My Focals have tweeters integrated but can I also add tweeters into the door? Looks like there is a kind of hub for that in the Focal (just like on the original one). Would this makes sense?

3- I would like to avoid cutting the original wire harness behind the sound system, can someone point me to something that could help me achieve this? Like a 3rd party harness plugins or something?

4- Anyone have an good "money / quality" ratio amp to recommanded that fit well for my needs?

Many many thanks

Sulphurman · 10-09-2020, 01:29 PM

I am about to embark on upgrading my 'basic' stereo in my e84.

There is a lot of very useful info on the e90 forums about this - I recommend you search on there, as the e84 is basically the same under the skin.

I'm going to use a 6 channel amp, and will bridge two of the channel pairs to run the front underseat speakers, and the door components.

I was lucky enough to get a loom to break into the wiring behind the head unit with the stuff that I bought. The guy had already put together a system for his 335i e93 some years ago, then had kids and shelved it all. The wiring is from Blaupunkt and is a loom to connect their own amps: 7607622011001 with a vehicle specific harness to access the HU: 7607622016001.

I plan to use the basic loom and cut off the Blaupunkt connectors at the amp end and connect to a JL Audio XD600/6.

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Views: 344
Size: 1.08 MB

08-16-2020, 08:33 AM	#1
laforce37 Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW X1 2013 Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Montreal Canada iTrader: (0)	E84 - Sound upgrade with Focal - next steps? Hello everyone I have a E84 with basic sound system. The most basic one possible, "professional", with no amp. I just upgraded the 4 inches door speakers with the Focal system ICBMW100L. It is worth every dollar, I am very satisfied (I always had high respect for that brand). Now I am looking for phase 2 and I need advice. What I'm trying to achieve: Enjoying more sound quality in my car (not looking for massive high volume competition killing). I have read on this forum that the under seat speakers are coming to life when plugged with an Amplifier, and I would like to try this. Also I would appreciate a little more juice from the rear speakers, since with my Focal upgrade they simply don't seems to exists anymore. 1- Does it make sense to look for a 4 channels Amplifier? One or two channel for the speakers under the seats and two channels for the rear speakers? Leaving my Focal on the original sound system since it is already sounding good? 2- My Focals have tweeters integrated but can I also add tweeters into the door? Looks like there is a kind of hub for that in the Focal (just like on the original one). Would this makes sense? 3- I would like to avoid cutting the original wire harness behind the sound system, can someone point me to something that could help me achieve this? Like a 3rd party harness plugins or something? 4- Anyone have an good "money / quality" ratio amp to recommanded that fit well for my needs? Many many thanks
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10-09-2020, 01:29 PM	#2
Sulphurman New Member 20 Rep 28 Posts Drives: BMW X1 E84 1.8d Xdrive Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: West Sussex UK iTrader: (0)	I am about to embark on upgrading my 'basic' stereo in my e84. There is a lot of very useful info on the e90 forums about this - I recommend you search on there, as the e84 is basically the same under the skin. I'm going to use a 6 channel amp, and will bridge two of the channel pairs to run the front underseat speakers, and the door components. I was lucky enough to get a loom to break into the wiring behind the head unit with the stuff that I bought. The guy had already put together a system for his 335i e93 some years ago, then had kids and shelved it all. The wiring is from Blaupunkt and is a loom to connect their own amps: 7607622011001 with a vehicle specific harness to access the HU: 7607622016001. I plan to use the basic loom and cut off the Blaupunkt connectors at the amp end and connect to a JL Audio XD600/6.
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