BMW 1-Series Forum (F20) 135i - 1Addicts.com > Second Generation 1 Series Forum > DIY Guides and Instructions > F20 Speaker upgrade
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      01-15-2021, 04:01 PM   #1
Jackmlgd
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F20 Speaker upgrade

Hi guys, this has probably been covered many times before but I have looked and I can't seem to find a straight answer.

I have a 2016 BMW F20 and the stock speakers in it are awful. I have combed the internet (albeit probably not very well) and I can only find speakers that are plug and play - these are too pricey for me as I cannot justify spending £200/£300 as I don't spend too much time in the car. I have 2x 4" Hertz speakers from a previous car but they are not plug and play and I would not a clue how to fit them. I also cannot find anywhere where it says what size speakers my car takes. I only have the front door speakers, the under floor speakers and the parcel shelf speakers if anyone would know what size they are.

So I guess my questions are:
1.Can I get any speakers as long as they are the correct size and how would I connect them to the blue connecter in the doors?
2. How would I fit the speakers under the floor and in the parcel shelf?

Thanks,
Jack
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      06-26-2021, 04:23 AM   #2
Berseker
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i recently upgraded my base system (no amp, no tweeters, paper speakers) on my F20 by purchasing a pair of 4.5 speakers & relevant tweeters from Aliexpress
+ the trims needed to install the tweeters directly from a BMW spare part dealer (but you can find the same on https://www.leebmann24.de/ as instance) with very nice results

very satisfied with the upgrade

for a very base upgrade you could also install only the tweeters.

tweeters are called
2-BW-Tweeter-629 model


mids are called
MidRange-BW-635 model




for F20 & F21, F22, F23
Alpine labels (1 kit needed, it includes two badges)
65 13 2 230 426

only for F20
Left Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 351
Right Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 350


only for F21, F22, F23
Left inside trim 51 33 2 349 059
Right inside trim 51 33 2 349 058

mounted myself following some tutorials on youtube. first time it's a bit tricky to unmount the door trims, second door that's a bit quicker.
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      06-27-2021, 05:13 PM   #3
MermenJazz
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Hello,

I'll be doing the exact same thing in my 2016 F20 with base audio.
I purchased the HK speakers from AliExpress, probably from the same seller as Berseker

2x 4.5" for front doors
2x tweeters
2x 4" for the rear shelf
2x 8" underseat woofers

Got the Alpine window trim from the local BMW dealer (cheaper than on eBay too).
All together it cost about 250€. Waiting on the parts to get in now.

Berseker are the high tones too harsh now with tweeters in?
Been reading from different sources that the base audio EQ has boosted highs to compensate the lack of tweeters.
Have you done any coding?
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      06-28-2021, 01:13 PM   #4
Berseker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MermenJazz View Post
Berseker are the high tones too harsh now with tweeters in?
Been reading from different sources that the base audio EQ has boosted highs to compensate the lack of tweeters.
Have you done any coding?
actually I did not do any coding for now, just modified the treble\bass settings in the normal menu.
of course with the tweeters in, the "audio scene" is really completely different, even without amplifying anything.

in any case I would like to try what suggested (changing to "hifi" or "alpine" coding) in the future, I'm still trying to get more infos\feedback.

I did not purchase any new subwoofers and maybe now they are a bit "covered" by the newer front speakers, but I'm happy with the new setup up until now ;D
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      06-28-2021, 04:31 PM   #5
MermenJazz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Berseker View Post
actually I did not do any coding for now, just modified the treble\bass settings in the normal menu.
of course with the tweeters in, the "audio scene" is really completely different, even without amplifying anything.

in any case I would like to try what suggested (changing to "hifi" or "alpine" coding) in the future, I'm still trying to get more infos\feedback.

I did not purchase any new subwoofers and maybe now they are a bit "covered" by the newer front speakers, but I'm happy with the new setup up until now ;D
Very nice to hear it sounds good! Can't wait to get mine and install them.

Found some info about coding here if you want to play with it -> https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threa...n-most.437890/

Check post #6 for the recommended settings by that user.
Please report back if you do it
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      07-12-2021, 12:33 PM   #6
Berseker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MermenJazz View Post
Very nice to hear it sounds good! Can't wait to get mine and install them.

Found some info about coding here if you want to play with it -> https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threa...n-most.437890/

Check post #6 for the recommended settings by that user.
Please report back if you do it
I coded as post #6 of that link, maybe a little upgrade on quality, but really little. I noticed however a small drop in the PDC sound volume. definitely need more testing though.
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      05-20-2022, 09:06 PM   #7
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Do you still have the new speakers and tweeters installed? Have they caused any issues?

I'm planning on doing the same upgrade and I've actually already purchased the parts. However, the way the base sound system is set up has the woofers under the seats and the mids in the doors running in parallel, and so adding a tweeter results in having 3 speakers on 1 channel.

All of this means that there is a chance that at certain frequencies the total impedance is lower than 2 ohms which could fry the head unit (theoretically).

There is a lot of talk on this topic on the F30 forums so I wanted to check if everything is fine before installing them.

The parts i got :
2-HK-MIDHORN-956 on aliexpress
Skar Audio TWS-01 tweeters

I went with different tweeters as I can mount them without replacing the door trim.

I will add an update once all the parts have arrived and I've installed them.
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      05-26-2022, 02:01 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanye View Post
Do you still have the new speakers and tweeters installed? Have they caused any issues?

I'm planning on doing the same upgrade and I've actually already purchased the parts. However, the way the base sound system is set up has the woofers under the seats and the mids in the doors running in parallel, and so adding a tweeter results in having 3 speakers on 1 channel.

All of this means that there is a chance that at certain frequencies the total impedance is lower than 2 ohms which could fry the head unit (theoretically).

There is a lot of talk on this topic on the F30 forums so I wanted to check if everything is fine before installing them.

The parts i got :
2-HK-MIDHORN-956 on aliexpress
Skar Audio TWS-01 tweeters

I went with different tweeters as I can mount them without replacing the door trim.

I will add an update once all the parts have arrived and I've installed them.
I still have everything installed without any issues
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      06-24-2022, 03:20 PM   #9
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I've had the new speakers installed for a little less than a month now and they are definetly better than the stock ones.
The only problem I've had is that on a couple of songs there's a small click/ clip sound that i hear a few a times during the song. I found out that it's only present if I'm playing music over bluetooth. I can even hear it on the rear speakers if I focus really well. Apparently the Entry HU still has bluetooth 2.1 which kinda sucks for music.
I ended up coding the HU according to the post above (HIFI, internal amp, variant 2), I also lowered the treble in the sound settings and I feel that the speakers sound much better now. It defintely solved the click sound problem. If I'm looking for it I can still hear it but if I'm just listening normally then the speakers sound absolutely fine and much better than before.
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      07-11-2022, 10:08 AM   #10
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Yep, same crisp sound on my car as well. Overall Im satisfied, but I thought that the sound will be clearer, it gets better on a high volume tho..

I had a system with an amplifier and basic speakers, upgraded to harman kardon twitters and front doors speakers and having this sound issue only when using Bluetooth or not playing music while connected via Bluetooth.
Went to BMW dealership and they said that's a known issue (when they do systems upgrades to customers).
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      09-30-2022, 06:00 AM   #11
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I'm looking to upgrade my speakers in my F20, I don't know if I have any under my seats though I'll have to check that out.
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      10-22-2022, 10:57 PM   #12
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Have you guys done a HK Retrofit?
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      12-12-2022, 05:54 AM   #13
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Talking Wiring looms?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Berseker View Post
i recently upgraded my base system (no amp, no tweeters, paper speakers) on my F20 by purchasing a pair of 4.5 speakers & relevant tweeters from Aliexpress
+ the trims needed to install the tweeters directly from a BMW spare part dealer (but you can find the same on https://www.leebmann24.de/ as instance) with very nice results

very satisfied with the upgrade

for a very base upgrade you could also install only the tweeters.

tweeters are called
2-BW-Tweeter-629 model


mids are called
MidRange-BW-635 model




for F20 & F21, F22, F23
Alpine labels (1 kit needed, it includes two badges)
65 13 2 230 426

only for F20
Left Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 351
Right Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 350


only for F21, F22, F23
Left inside trim 51 33 2 349 059
Right inside trim 51 33 2 349 058

mounted myself following some tutorials on youtube. first time it's a bit tricky to unmount the door trims, second door that's a bit quicker.
Planning on doing this fit myself. Are the AliExpress speakers legit? I got my headunit from there but I never considered speakers.

Also I am wondering if any wiring looms are needed prior to the install? I have the base audio system. I will take out one of the front seats soon to see if there's any existing wiring under there.
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      12-18-2022, 01:25 AM   #14
Berseker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by teeoh View Post
Planning on doing this fit myself. Are the AliExpress speakers legit? I got my headunit from there but I never considered speakers.

Also I am wondering if any wiring looms are needed prior to the install? I have the base audio system. I will take out one of the front seats soon to see if there's any existing wiring under there.
they are almost surely not original components. the wiring is basically not needed since these speakers are meant to be installed on BMWs, so the already installed wiring is ok. My experience is very good with these speakers. actually one of them at first install was broken\not good, I've sent a video showing the defect & the seller replaced it for free with a working one
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      12-19-2022, 12:13 PM   #15
teeoh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Berseker View Post
they are almost surely not original components. the wiring is basically not needed since these speakers are meant to be installed on BMWs, so the already installed wiring is ok. My experience is very good with these speakers. actually one of them at first install was broken\not good, I've sent a video showing the defect & the seller replaced it for free with a working one
I recently coded my head unit audio to “hifi” and the sound is instantly way better and super spatial. However the bass is lacking and I want to install the under-seat subs. Is the default wiring suitable for subs?

Last year I upgraded the front 2 speakers to focal coaxial speakers and now I’m debating on changing them to these AliExpress ones with a seperate tweeter. What do you think?
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      01-06-2023, 03:39 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by teeoh View Post
I recently coded my head unit audio to “hifi” and the sound is instantly way better and super spatial. However the bass is lacking and I want to install the under-seat subs. Is the default wiring suitable for subs?

Last year I upgraded the front 2 speakers to focal coaxial speakers and now I’m debating on changing them to these AliExpress ones with a seperate tweeter. What do you think?
i would stick with the coaxial since I suppose you could not get any particular improvement by changing those to aliexpress mids+ tweeters

eventually i'll add the subs. please be aware that without amps this system cannot do much in terms of "volume". default wiring is plug & play if you purchase suitable subs for F20
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      02-02-2023, 11:52 PM   #17
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Hey Berserker, I am looking to order the same. I have 2017/18 118i F20 with 2 front door, 2 behind back seats and 2 under front seats. Do you know what are the right sizes for each? And do I need to put tweeters or amp? And if I do, is the wiring for tweeter there? I know too many questions, and thanks in advance
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      02-11-2023, 11:07 AM   #18
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front doors are the "MidRange-BW-635 model", 4.5 inch size

if you are looking to a cheap solution I suggest you to put in

1) at least the fronts and the tweeters
2) then you could change the subs below the seats

putting in an amp is not so easy & plug & play on BMW, I do not have one and I am satisfied with my setup described on post #2.

I do not suggest to work on the back speakers, but if you like to change them, they are size 4" (so a bit smaller than the fronts)

about the wiring of the tweeters , basically you can connect the tweeters to the mids directly (the mids have an "in" port" where you connect the wiring from the car, and an "out" port where you connect the tweeters. in order to put in place the tweeters you need the trims, for F20 are the ones below


Left Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 351
Right Door Trim with Tweeter slot
51 33 2 240 350
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      02-15-2023, 07:15 PM   #19
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Thank you so much for the info.. I am actually getting Harmon kardon ones. Yes you are correct amp is not easy. I did however found a plug and play at aliexpress that gives cable harness that goes in between factory harness and splits signals with no cuts. However, it requires the harness to go from back of head unit to the boot, which is hard. Anyways, I will order the parts and thank you again
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      02-18-2023, 03:48 AM   #20
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Hello guys ,
I’m selling a complete Harman kardon f20 speaker set for £650

Let me know
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