BMW 135i 2011 question

[VladtheImpala]

Hello all,

I'm the proud new owner of a lovely 2011 135i, and I have a question for any other former/owners.

Is it me, or is the stereo just not quite loud enough, and in case I am not going deaf (I'm 33, come on) is there a way to increase it (without buying new speakers etc)?

It feels like it only goes up to 8/10 and I would love 10/10 for when Jamiroquai comes on. Or George M.

I've been through all the settings, there's no noise limiter anywhere I can see and the other settings are all fine.

[Mr Tidy]

The basic "BMW Professional" system is nothing special but I think it can be improved by replacing or adding speakers, although I haven't done it.

[greygoose]

I added tweeters to mine which made it sound a bit better, they were quite easy to install and came with the replacement mouldings for the door frame.

[Jamescrs]

I have the later 240i and I don't think it's great. I think I've got used to it now though and don't think about it.

Even people with the HK upgrade state there's aren't amazing

[anonymous-user]

Needs tweeters for a start. As staging is off.
Depending on the base model you may or may not have 6” mid-woofers under the front seats.
As you move up the range those are 8” instead of 6” or none.
Many add an amp to achieve dsp
It’s fixable at a cost.

[XR]

I had a lovely 2011 135i which was the same, your's isn't silver is it? lol. The rest of the car more than made up for it.

[Watchthis]

There's an Alpine upgrade kit for these which is a tremendous improvement ( was for me anyway ). Officially sold by BMW, comes with amp, MIDs and tweeters. Depending on your car you may need to purchase door frame part with grille for tweeters

[anonymous-user]

Watchthis said:

There's an Alpine upgrade kit for these which is a tremendous improvement ( was for me anyway ). Officially sold by BMW, comes with amp, MIDs and tweeters. Depending on your car you may need to purchase door frame part with grille for tweeters

Yaas. He’s right:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18...

Admin please delete if the link breaches forum rules.

[Limpet]

It's not just you, BMW fit some of the worst standard stereo systems of any manufacturer. The idea presumably is to railroad buyers into splashing out for the Harman Kardon upgrade which, in the 1 series, just gives you what you might reasonably expect as standard.

Fortunately, given its a common complaint, the aftermarket has stepped up to the plate. There are a number of upgrades readily available, but unfortunately, you might need to dig deep.

One potential route to saving a few quid might be to join some owners groups and keep an eye on the for sale listings. Speaker upgrades are exactly the sort of thing people rip out of cars and sell on separately before they trade a car in or sell it on. You never get the value back for things like this. You might find decent used gear at a sensible price.

[brillomaster]

Are you listening through the aux port? In my 2008 bmw at least, theres some resistor or something that means the aux port is really quiet for some reason. Switch back to the radio and its deafening.

[aeropilot]

I was well aware from the forums that the base stereo in the E82 135i was pants, so I made sure I ticked the HK upgrade when I ordered my 135i way back in 2011