[ResIpsaLoquitur]

After multiple warranty replacements on my BavSound under seat Ghost Kit, I’ve decided to go a different route. One of the best audio shops in my half of the country has recommended the Focal ISUB BMW 4 drop ins as a better plug and play option. This is the 4 ohm version designed for use with the factory HK amp as opposed to the 2 ohm version designed for aftermarket amps.

Has anyone tried these?

https://www.focal.com/us/car-audio-k...lay/isub-bmw-4


They’re $499/each at all the reputable companies stateside, but I’m seeing them for less than half that amount on eBay from reputable car audio sellers, shipping from Germany. I know they’re made in France, but that alone can’t account for such a difference in price, can it?

[NCRob]

Never tried them personally but Focal is a household name in upper quality car audio for certain. I would think they would be much better than bavsound.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by NCRob

Never tried them personally but Focal is a household name in upper quality car audio for certain. I would think they would be much better than bavsound.

Thanks, Rob! I appreciate the input!

[Maverik259]

I wouldn’t mind an option for the BW sub upgrade. Shame.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

I wouldn’t mind an option for the BW sub upgrade. Shame.

There are some (questionable) threads on the internet that say the Focals are suitable for BW systems as well. If they’re the same size and BMW specific connector, I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. But BavSound has the connector and is the size (for HK systems) and it won’t work for BW, which leads me to believe the Focals would not work as a plug and play option for BW systems.

[Rafichicago]

A friend of mine purchased Focal Aria speakers from German seller. I think it’s the same you’re talking about. Practically half the price. Brand new in boxes. It just took a while since it turned out that they didn’t actually stock them. Took a while but for half the price it was a no brainer.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

A friend of mine purchased Focal Aria speakers from German seller. I think it’s the same you’re talking about. Practically half the price. Brand new in boxes. It just took a while since it turned out that they didn’t actually stock them. Took a while but for half the price it was a no brainer.

That’s great input, Rafi. Thank you very much! Estimated delivery is actually June 27 to July 14 if ordered today. Not bad at all. They even accept returns if things don’t work out. Seeming more and more like a no brainer!

I’ll still gratefully take any advice anybody has to offer, though!

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

That’s great input, Rafi. Thank you very much! Estimated delivery is actually June 27 to July 14 if ordered today. Not bad at all. They even accept returns if things don’t work out. Seeming more and more like a no brainer!

I’ll still gratefully take any advice anybody has to offer, though!

If they will have it in stock they will ship super quickly if not you’ll be on the mercy of Focal itself I’ve had things delivered much faster from UK or Germany than from Cali. Good luck!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

If they will have it in stock they will ship super quickly if not you’ll be on the mercy of Focal itself I’ve had things delivered much faster from UK or Germany than from Cali. Good luck!

Thank you!

[Thresherinc]

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

That’s great input, Rafi. Thank you very much! Estimated delivery is actually June 27 to July 14 if ordered today. Not bad at all. They even accept returns if things don’t work out. Seeming more and more like a no brainer!

I’ll still gratefully take any advice anybody has to offer, though!

Did you order these?

How do they stack up?

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by Thresherinc

Did you order these?

How do they stack up?

I ended up with another pair of drop in subs in the mean time. They last about 70 — 90 days, so I am using this time to explore more invasive options; i.e. an actual subwoofer. If I don’t go that route, I will order the Focals and will keep this thread updated when I do.

[Thresherinc]

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

I ended up with another pair of drop in subs in the mean time. They last about 70 — 90 days, so I am using this time to explore more invasive options; i.e. an actual subwoofer. If I don’t go that route, I will order the Focals and will keep this thread updated when I do.

I went back to the place that fitted a full Audison system in my SLK, the guy there recommended an external 10" sub unit in the boot(trunk) taking the feeds from the current underseat subs, the solution he suggested would leave the underseat subs working in conjunction with the sub unit.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by Thresherinc

I went back to the place that fitted a full Audison system in my SLK, the guy there recommended an external 10" sub unit in the boot(trunk) taking the feeds from the current underseat subs, the solution he suggested would leave the underseat subs working in conjunction with the sub unit.

These cars are so well insulated that that setup only really works well if you leave the trunk pass through open, or, in the alternative, going with something so powerful that it “overpowers” the insulation, so to speak. This is not the route I wanted to go. I don’t want a very “bang-y” or booming sub; just a little something to fill the void that the stock (HK) system has.

My shop discussed building a custom narrow box in the rear passenger footwell area. I don’t mind since I never have rear seat passengers, but it also seemed invasive to me. I may go this route after trying the Focals if necessary.

Powering off the under seat subs is totally doable, but as far as working in conjunction, you’re likely going to want a dedicated bass knob for an after market sub that is in any time of an enclosure as opposed to under seat drop ins. There is too much of a disparity between the stock system and an aftermarket sub in an enclosure to have the audio source feed them both the proper, comeasurate amounts of bass. Said another way, you’ll likely want your aftermarket sub to play bass at a different level than what the source would be pushing to the underseats. You’d probably want less power going to those, and more going to the aftermarket. If you can’t control them indepdendently, theyre going to be receiving the same level of output.

[ramparts]

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

I ended up with another pair of drop in subs in the mean time. They last about 70 — 90 days, so I am using this time to explore more invasive options; i.e. an actual subwoofer. If I don’t go that route, I will order the Focals and will keep this thread updated when I do.

Hold up what speakers only last 90 days ?!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by ramparts

Hold up what speakers only last 90 days ?!

For me, it’s been the BavSound Ghost Underseat Subwoofer Kit in 8 Ohm impedance. I seem to be the anomaly, but I’ve gone through I believe half a dozen sets now. There are multiple forum members, including UglyBuzzard that have had the whole kit, including door speakers, installed for about two years now I believe. I have recommended them highly on this forum previously. They sound amazing when they are working at full capacity, especially for a drop in subwoofer being powered off of the stock amp that’s part of the HK system. I don’t hammer on them, use their recommended EQ settings, and have always had perfect install. But somehow, they keep biting the dust at the three month mark, and begin operating at about only 40 to 50% capacity. BavSound has replaced them under warranty each time and their customer service has been great.

I thought that it was something wrong with my car. This is my second M5 and I thought I perhaps had an electrical issue that was causing this in my first. But I’ve had the exact same thing happen in my new car multiple times also already. They did once ask me to send a blown pair back for testing, but the results apparently came back inconclusive. After all these replacements, they offered me a complete refund or one last pair. I took the one last pair while I figure out what to do next. I’ve got a couple of months or so, lol.

[ramparts]

That sounds to me like impedance mismatching. I know they do 2-4-8 ohm versions of all of them, perhaps they are sending folks mislabelled ones !

Anyway, to chime in more usefully. I’ve tried both ghost and the alpha one, had A1 in my car until selling recently and found them to be the better speaker. Certainly from a subwoofer POV, a good amount of the muddyness in the low end went away.

I’ve also noticed that if you have a B58 ( 40i) , then it’s low end note seems to sit “over” the bass of music a lot. There’s a huge difference in bass performance engine off vs on, that I didn’t notice in the 4 cyclinder variants.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by ramparts

That sounds to me like impedance mismatching. I know they do 2-4-8 ohm versions of all of them, perhaps they are sending folks mislabelled ones !

Anyway, to chime in more usefully. I’ve tried both ghost and the alpha one, had A1 in my car until selling recently and found them to be the better speaker. Certainly from a subwoofer POV, a good amount of the muddyness in the low end went away.

I’ve also noticed that if you have a B58 ( 40i) , then it’s low end note seems to sit “over” the bass of music a lot. There’s a huge difference in bass performance engine off vs on, that I didn’t notice in the 4 cyclinder variants.

That sounds like a very plausible explanation. I’d like to think if that were the case that they would have figured it over the original purchase plus five sets of warranty replacements, especially since they purportedly investigated this issue multiple times.

Your point about the Alpha is indeed very useful. Thank you very much! I did a lot of research on BimmerTech and contemplated their products. The only reason I didn’t try them out is that they don’t (or at least didn’t at the time I looked) accept returns if I wasn’t satisfied, where as BavSound offered a no questions asked 100 day return policy.

Did you just do the subs or the amp also? What about the other speakers? Their $1249 PNP amp seems very attractive.

Interesting about the B58. I’ve never had one so I wasn’t aware.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

It took me a few months to get around to ordering these. I placed the order very late Thursday. eBay seller (located in Eastern Europe) was fantastic and very communicative. Received a message from the seller Friday morning to discuss the order. He had them shipped out via DHL Express International within a couple hours and I received them in the US about 48 hours after they were dispatched (on a Sunday!) — faster than some Amazon orders reach me.

These retail for $499/each plus tax and (and with some retailers, shipping) at all the reputable US retailers, including Crutchfield, Amazon, etc. I paid $482 for the pair with express shipping (and including the $40 one year extended accidental damage warranty, which made a lot of sense since I’ve apparently cooked a bunch of sets of the BavSound Ghost Kit subwoofers. It covers blown subs).

$607 less ($647 actually if you back out the warranty), got a one year accidental damage warranty I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, and they arrived just as fast as they would have from Crutchfield, if not a bit faster. The upshot of them is their fantastic customer service and support and return policy. The eBay seller does also accept returns (though minus the cost of the $50 shipping) but I really, really hope to not have to do so.

They arrived today and I just installed them. I have already done about 30 minutes of listening. They’re a little underwhelming initially, but so were the BavSounds. Review of actual subs to follow once I get through the break in period and can get an accurate comparison.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

These absolutely suck — at least without replacing the amp. Break in period is complete and they sound worse than my existing blown BavSounds. Essentially nonexistent bass.

Just took advantage of 23% off BF/CM through BavSound to try their newest Ghost Kit V3. Hoping it solves the problems of my V2s.

Pulling them out tomorrow to return them.

EDIT — It seems that BavSound is going to let me try the V3s under warranty and I will not have to pay for them out of pocket!

[NCRob]

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

These absolutely suck — at least without replacing the amp. Break in period is complete and they sound worse than my existing blown BavSounds. Essentially nonexistent bass.

Just took advantage of 23% off BF/CM through BavSound to try their newest Ghost Kit V3. Hoping it solves the problems of my V2s.

Pulling them out tomorrow to return them.

Oh wow, that’s surprisingly unfortunate! Sorry for my apparent misguided recommendation earlier. Maybe like you said, not a good match for the amp or otherwise just not a great option period!

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Originally Posted by NCRob

Oh wow, that’s surprisingly unfortunate! Sorry for my apparent misguided recommendation earlier. Maybe like you said, not a good match for the amp or otherwise just not a great option period!

Thanks, Rob! It wasn’t misguided! You were giving me your opinion, which I asked for. Also one of the best car audio outfits in this half of the country recommended them.

I’ll keep everyone updated on the new version of the BavSounds in my BavSound thread once I receive and install them.

[omgmike]

Thanks for continuing to keep us updated. I was going back and forth between doing the Focal Inside line to replace my H/K stuff or doing more of a true custom setup. With either though, every audio pro I talked to said I’ll need an amp or they won’t sound any better. Most recommend Helix Match w/ DSP because its a marked improvement and allows individual channel tuning. I think Bavsounds are designed to sound good using the factory equipment.

Long story short, I’ve decided to go more custom with Focal K2 line, customer a-pillar enclosures for highs/mids, and custom sub box and amp rack in the trunk for JL VXi amps to run everything. My only stipulation? I still want to be able to fit two golf bags in my trunk.

I’m too busy right now to get it done, so looking at early next year. I’ll definitely start a thread when the time comes with before and after pics.