[Bbbeemer]

Hi from from across the pond and can I first say what a great forum this is and has provided a wealth of information so much so, I am confused on which direction to go with my audio upgrade.

I have a 2007 E92 Coupe with the hi fi oem system at present and I guess what I am looking for is SQ above all else but I like my music across the range with good sub bass.

So .... having done a lot more research i have considered the plug and play options from BSW, Gladon and Jehnert but like most people, I am very particular about how I like my music to sound so I would rather go down a route that I can listen first to the kit I am installing.... and there are no retailers of these anywhere near me.

I then considered the focal/earthquake path but I think with that option I will lose the mid bass so in terms of set up I think I am looking at the following:

1. 4" Focal 100KRS K2 - to provide the mid range and top end in the oem locations.
2. 4" components in the rear to provide fill.
3. 8" midbass in the underseat location.
4. 12" sub in an enclosed box, I don't have a ski hatch but intend on creating one

Questions I have therefore:

1. Focals - are these the best options or do Morels provide a better option and if so which ones are recommended?

2. Amplifier- if I am looking at amplifying the front components, underseat midbass and the boot sub, what are my best options. I am not looking for massive power, the focus is on SQ.

2. 8" midbass - I did consider the Earthquakes but being sub bass I want to make sure I have no holes in the range so opted for a midbass. Are the Jehnerts my best option, or are there better alternatives?

3. DSP - Again, its something I have considered but I am not sure it would warrant the extra expense. If I did, what would be my best option. I have used the JL clean sweep in the past and been impressed, but most seem to go with either the Audison bit or JBL MS8.

Thanks guys and apologies for a long first post on a subject covered many times!

[ctuna]

Morels are better
There all good the price kind of doubles to go to the next
level though.
Why because they play lower and are not harsh.
Also Gladens , Jehnerts seem to be better.
The best mid bass under seat you can get is the Jehnert xe-200
next up is the German Mastro but way more expensive and requires
housing modification.

Helix 82 dsp is gaining in popularity. 8 channels at 55 watts rms with dsp.
The Mosconi 120.4 dsp has 120 watts ab power plus dsp but only 4 channels
many think that is enough and the rear speakers are a waste of time.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1110480

see system examples in above .

subwoofer threads
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...2&postcount=66
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...t=Ultimate+Sub
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ight=subwoofer

[Bbbeemer]

Thanks for the info. and most of those threads I have been through over the past four weeks or so, they have provided some invaluable advice on what potential routes there are to go down, and also some of the pitfalls but equally once you have been through them all, your left wondering which path is the best one to take.

Rather than a plug and play I am leaning towards going down a Morel/Jehnert/boot sub build to get the highs/mids/mid bass/sub bass but my only reservation is not many people see to have gone down that road so would I be spending out unnecessary $$ to achieve very little difference in say a Morel/Earthquake upgrade?

Morels .... very difficult to get over here so I may have to get these from the US, what are the favoured ones for a three series, still the Hybrids? Jehnerts are fairly easy to source over here which is a relief.

Thanks for the info on the Helix, not come across it before but is a nice alternative to the Mosconi, and would avoid the extra cost of a DSP.

[ctuna]

Mosconi 120.4 dsp has DSP
Helix dsp82 had Dsp.
They make them without to .
I have Morel Dotechs and Jehnerts with a Jl 600/6
this was a a popular combo a few years back and its really good.
Its the best system I have ever had in a car.
But I drool over the specs on that Mosconi 120.4 DSP
As I was told and now now the rear speakers are pretty much a
waste.
After reading the reviews on the Mosconi/Gladen specs the system it really
has everything well matched.
There are now many more BMW specific speaker sets and it kind
of clouds the choices especially when it is so hard to demo anything.
If you are not a big bass Head you might find that upgraded under seats
with proper power have plenty of bass. If you want your side panels and trunk to rattle and the car next to you to rattle then you need a true sub
and sub amp.
Most of this stuff is pretty plug and play with the proper connectors and harness. The only extra thing you need with the Morels is speaker adapters.

[Bbbeemer]

Your right in that there are so many different routes that people have taken its hard to know what the best option especially when that are no installs anywhere near me so I am pretty much going to have to go on what I want from an install, so SQ, an install giving the full range, and a nice punchy bass, along with reviews of other installs.

Having read up on the Helix I like what I have seen, it may be a little under powered but I am sure its plenty enough for what I need and the added bonus that its pretty much a plug and play replacing the oem amp. Not sure if its that straightforward or its going to need a harness of some description.

Speaker wise, I was leaning towards the Jehnert underseat woofers but I am now thinking that the Jehnert flatline system may be a nice way to go given they are built specifically for the BMW. if the Helix can produce some nice improvements on the oem speakers, I am thinking that the Jehnert kit should be sufficient upgrade for a decent sounding system. If the Helix is a plug and play, then it avoids any changes to oem wiring as well!

I have considered the Jehnert doorcards in the past with the 3 woofers in the doors but I can't find anyone who has installed this, and have a feeling it may be overkill.

That would then leave a sub install in the boot to run off a separate amp.

Thanks for your help so far, been extremely helpful.

[Bbbeemer]

Living across the pond we only seem to have one authorised morel dealer so figured it would be easier to ask this in here!

I think I am getting close to deciding on my speakers at last and considering the following:

Morel virus 402 2 way components for the doors
Jehnert xe200 underseat woofers

Question is not having heard the morels... is the above going to give me a nice balance of highs/midrange/midbass or would the morel 2 ways be biased towards midbass and therefore too much along with the Jehnert woofers?

[ctuna]

Jehnert Xe-200's are the preferred under seats.

[mathematics]

the Helix PP82 is CONSERVATIVELY rated at 55x8. it gets VERY loud.

consider the Jehnert Flatline kit. we install a TON of them and they sound incredible. the midrange and tweeter are very detailed, transparent, and lifelike.

you may also like the Micro-precision (Germany as well) 5.8 midrange and a 3 or 5 series Micro-precision tweeter. I have the 5 series tweeter in my own e93 and it's one of the best tweeters I have heard (compared to dynaudio esotar 110, dynaudio esotec md102, numerous Focal's, BSW, Morel, etc.)

[Bbbeemer]

I am going for the jehnert in the underseats but trying to figure out what the best optons are for the door locations. I am tempted by the flat line but think I may be able to do better and seriously tempted by the morels but my fear is i will lose the balance as morels seem to be more midbass on the 2 ways than midrange.

[mathematics]

I would personally choose the jehnert midrange over the morel midrange based on experience. Morel gets way more hype than it deserves.

[kaigoss69]

Many good choices to consider, but don't discount the importance of a DSP. In my mind it is the most important part of the system. My DSP allows me to undo all the processing with its remote and you can switch back and forth between unprocessed and processed, and so far I have not had anyone audition my system who wasn't utterly shocked at the difference. It's one of those things that once you experience it, there is no going back. Without going into too much detail, the DSP will dramatically improve the sound stage, the imaging, and the frequency response of the system. However, it usually requires tuning by a trained ear, so keep that in mind. I will say though that there are some people who do not benefit from a DSP and who may end up hating the way a properly staged system sounds. It is the folks who like Electronic dance music. They usually prefer the music to come from all around the car and be "engulfed" in it. In this case a DSP can still be useful, but it would have to be tuned differently.

As far as the speakers go, you have a lot of choices. I have done quite a lot of upgrades to my speakers over the years, and I have learned that certain characteristics are more important than others in this case. For example, metal dome tweeters do not sound good to me, they are harsh and cause listening fatigue. I like silk domes, or ring radiators. The midranges need to be able to play into the 100 to 150 Hz range, otherwise the sound stage gets pulled down because the 8" woofers have to play some of the frequencies that belong on the dash and you will be able to hear them coming from under the seats. My door midranges are high passed at 100 Hz now, compared to 160 Hz with the previous set (and I also tried 200 and 250). The difference between 100 and 160 alone is remarkable, and there is no way I would ever go back to a component set whose mids cannot play 100 Hz. Like I said, there are many choices for speakers, but few that can do what I just said. I would recommend Morel Hybrid or Virtus 402, they both fit the bill, and they sound great.

For the under seat woofers, I would actually recommend that for now you stay with the OEMs, because they do quite well once you drive them with an aftermarket amp. Put the money you save into a DSP!

For the trunk sub, I would advise you to research what others have done on this forum. There are many examples and reviews to be found.

Good luck.

[ctuna]

Now Helix has a 120 watt per channel dsp combo
6 channels of 120 watt rms plus and a extra two channels of
pro dsp to do what you want with . But I have seen the estimated
price at around 1400 US just about double the 82 dsp price .
I only managed to track down the price a one location so it could
be more or less.

mathmatics has heard a lot of stuff as he works with it daily so I would
trust his opinnions. Its so hard to hear this stuff most of the time to even
find it. The common knowledge here for a long time was the Morels
filled the gap on the low end of the frequency range better besides being
warm and accurate. Don't know how well the Jehnert door sets do the same but since it comes as a set you would think the designer took the
frequency gaps between the speaker sizes into consideration.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ighlight=Helix