How to upgrade BMW Speakers & Amplifier in F30 (BMW 3 Series) – Step-by-step installation guide

Whether you’re an audiophile or not, there always comes a time you want your music to raise the roof in your car. Sadly, BMW’s standard speakers and amplifiers often don’t tick all the boxes in terms of high-quality audio. 

That’s where we step in with our sound system upgrades for BMWs and MINIs.

BimmerTech’s Alpha One Speaker and Amplifier upgrades give you that deep bass, precise treble and well-balanced sound with low distortion you always wanted. Plus! No interference with the interior of your car. Both the speakers and the amplifier fit like factory ones to ideally match the rest of your BMW’s components to make you feel like the sound is the only thing that's changing significantly. What’s more, the installation is a fully reversible and simple plug & play process that should take no more than 4 hours. Doing OK with IKEA projects? You’ll do just fine with this one.  

Let us show you how to install our BMW audio upgrades step-by-step in your 3 Series F30 Sedan. This installation you’re about to see is also similar in 3 Series E90, 5 Series F10, 2 Series F22 or X5 F15.

What speakers and amplifiers does BMW use in F30?

There are 3 standard BMW audio options your F30 can feature. That is:

• Base (Stereo) – the lowest-level BMW sound system, unavailable in the US and Canada. It consists of 6 speakers (4x Midrange, 2x Underseat Subwoofer) which are powered by the iDrive head unit with no additional BMW amplifier.
• Hi-Fi (S676A) – an option one level above the Base system. Hi-Fi has 9 speakers (5x Midrange, 3x Tweeter, 2x Hi-Fi Underseat Woofer) and an 8-channel amplifier with digital equalizing. Only 7 of the 8 channels are used.
• Harman Kardon (S688A) – the top-tier BMW audio system available in the 3-Series. It contains 16 Harman Kardon BMW speakers (7x Midrange, 7x Tweeter, 2x Harman Kardon Underseat Woofer) and a 10-channel amplifier connected to the head unit with fiber optic cable. (NOTE: The Top HiFi system has a digital 10-channel amplifier. However, only 9 of the 10 channels are used.)
  There’s a lot more to learn about this prominent player in the audio industry. If your BMW is equipped with this audio system and you’re up for expanding your knowledge, hop over to BMW Harman Kardon Sound System Overview & Upgrade.

Before you lay your hands on any BMW sound system upgrade, it’ll be crucial for you to check which system your vehicle is equipped with. Enter your VIN on this website and you’ll be shown a kit you’re compatible with, as well as your current audio package.

What’s the difference between these 3 standard BMW sound systems? Get to know more specs in our blog post.

How many speakers are there in the BMW F30?

The amount of BMW speakers will differ depending on the audio system you’ve got in your car. 

The typical location of speakers in a BMW 3 Series (E9x/F3x/G2x) - your speakers may differ.

What size are the BMW speakers in F30

The BMW speaker dimensions are exactly the same in every BMW stereo system. For each speaker, there's a set size of cavity in the internal bodywork, and all mounting points are placed alike – all to allow for a flexible swap between speakers from various factory stereo options.

BimmerTech’s BMW speakers are also designed with these specifications in mind, to match the existing cavity and mounting points. Here’s a list of each speaker's dimensions:

• A90 Under Seat Woofer – 255 mm
• A45 Midrange speaker – 100 mm
• A40 Midrange speaker – 100 mm
• A10 Tweeter – 25 mm

BMW F30 speakers upgrade – How to install?

This Alpha One Speakers install overview will inform you how to replace your current BMW Hi-Fi Speaker System or Harman Kardon speakers. It’s all about disconnecting and removing your factory speakers, and putting in the new ones, so don’t be alarmed by the lengthy guide. Everything’s plug & play, 100% reversible and fits in like your factory speakers. 

If you’re interested in getting a vehicle specific guide, after the purchase you’ll receive a PDF with step-by-step installation instructions made specifically for your car. 

Now, let’s get to the install.

First and foremost, here are your kit components and tools you might want to use during the install:

Alpha One Premium Speaker Kit

• A90 Under Seat Woofers
• A45 Midrange speakers
• A40 Midrange speaker
• A10 Tweeters
• Crossover filters
• A40 Midrange speaker spacer (for cars with dashboard center channel)

Recommended and useful tools

• BimmerTech Trim Tool Kit (Highly Recommended)
• T20 Torx Screwdriver
• T15 Torx Screwdriver
• T50 Torx bit
• Phillips Head Screwdriver
• Zip Ties
• Electrical Tape
• Double Sided Mounting Tape (Recommended)

NOTE: At the start of any work on your BMW sound system, remember to disconnect the negative battery terminal to avoid the risk of damaging any electrical components on your vehicle. 

Front speakers replacement in F30

Beginning with the replacement of the speakers in the front of your F30, you’re gonna have to replace them in the front doors, in the dash and under your passenger and driver seats. 

Front door speakers replacement in F30

In your BMW F30’s front doors, you’ll use 2x A45 Midrange speakers and 2x A10 Tweeters. This procedure applies to both doors.

MIDRANGE SPEAKERS REPLACEMENT

1. Take the door panel off:
   
   • Remove the door handle cover and unscrew the screws holding the panel.
   • Pop the door panel off.
   • Disconnect a series of clips.
   • Put your door panel on the ground.
2. Take your current midrange speaker off:
   
   • Unscrew the 3 screws holding the speaker.
   • Take the speaker out.   
3. Using the 2-pin plug connect the A45 Midrange speaker to the speaker wire.
4. Insert the A45 Midrange speaker into the speaker socket.

TWEETERS REPLACEMENT

1. Remove the cover under your door's weather stripping.
2. Take out the foam covering the tweeter. 
3. Pull the current tweeter out with its wires.
4. In their place fit in the A10 Tweeter wire.
5. Clip the A10 Tweeter into place.
6. Put the foam back in.
7. Pop the weather stripping cover back in.
8. Connect the remaining wire with a 2-pin plug to the tweeter wire.

PUTTING THE DOOR PANEL BACK ON

1. Tie up the midrange and tweeter wires to keep everything secure and neat. 
2. Reconnect all the door panel wires you disconnected in step 1).
3. Put your door panel back on.
4. Put your door handle cover back on. 

Dash speakers replacement in F30

In your BMW F30’s dash, you’ll use an A40 Midrange speaker and an A10 Tweeter.

1. Slip your trim tool under the dash speaker cover and pull it out.
2. Unscrew, disconnect and take out your current midrange speaker and a tweeter hiding inside.
3. Connect one end of your 2-pin plug to the factory line sticking out of your dash.
4. Connect the other 2 ends of your 2-pin plug to an A40 Midrange speaker and an A10 Tweeter.
5. Stick your factory wire and a BimmerTech wire through the groove.
6. Pop your speakers in the dash.
7. Put your screws back in to secure your speakers.
8. Tie up the wires to secure them in place.
9. Press the dash speaker cover back in.

Underseat woofer upgrade in F30

The current BMW woofers placed under your driver and passenger seats will be replaced by A90 Under Seat Woofers. 

1. Feed out the bolts on the rails holding your seat in position.
   
   • Push your seat forward to gain good access to the back bolts of the seat.
   • Remove the two back bolts.
   • Push your seat backwards to gain good access to the front bolts.
   • Remove the two front bolts.
     
2. Tilt the seat backwards to uncover the plastic woofer cover.
3. Unfasten the 4 screws holding the woofer cover.
4. Remove the screws holding the woofer and pull it out.
5. In its place fit the BimmerTech’s A90 under seat woofer.
6. Plug in your speaker wire.
7. Once everything is set, screw the woofer bolts back in.
8. Cover the woofer with its cover and screw it in.
9. Put all rail bolts back in their place.

Rear speakers replacement in F30

Coming to the replacement of BMW speakers in the back of your F30, you’ll be replacing  them in the rear doors and in the rear deck.

Rear door speakers replacement in F30

The process of replacing rear door speakers is very similar to the front BMW speakers replacement. 

You’ll want to change your factory speakers for BimmerTech’s A45 Midrange speakers and A10 Tweeters, and follow the instructions from “Front door speakers replacement in F30” above.

Rear deck speakers replacement in F30

The last set of speakers you’re going to install is the rear speakers package – 2 x A45 Midrange speakers and 2 x A10 Tweeters. They’ll be set in your BMW F30’s rear deck.

1. Lever out the midrange speaker cover.
2. Unscrew, disconnect and take out your current midrange speaker and a tweeter hiding inside.
3. Connect one end of your 2-pin plug to the factory line sticking out of your rear deck.
4. Connect the other 2 ends of your 2-pin plug to an A45 Midrange speaker and an A10 Tweeter.
5. Stick your factory wire and a BimmerTech wire through the groove.
6. Pop your speakers in the deck.
7. Put your screws back in to secure your speakers.
8. Tie up the wires to secure them in place.
9. Press the dash speaker cover back in.

BMW F30 amplifier replacement – How to install?

Ok, so you’ve replaced your BMW speakers and now you're hoping for a spectacular change in your BMW sound? Not so fast ;) The ideal BMW sound system upgrade is not only about mounting plenty of midranges and woofers – it’s about adding a suitable amplifier letting you tweak all kinds of advanced settings, to give you the deep, crisp sound you’re hoping for.

Read more on why it’s worth upgrading your BMW amplifier.

BimmerTech’s Alpha One Amplifier will allow you to adjust the crossover, delay and EQ settings, as well as provide you with custom tuning files for the built-in 64-bit DSP. Thanks to the pre-loaded DSP files the music will be tailored to your car chassis and your specific taste. And for those of you who have ASD, we suggest adding our ASD deactivation harness. ASD (Active Sound Design) is responsible for the artificial engine sounds, which are amplified when you change your amp for a better version. This may cause some audio issues, or simply be annoying to listeners, hence the suggestion to add our ASD bypass.

Now, let’s see where to begin with an install.

Before you start rummaging in your car’s sound system, remember to disconnect the negative battery terminal to avoid the risk of damaging any electrical components. Then, tie a rug under your trunk latch to prevent the trunk from closing. If you’ve already done that, first you’ll want to remove your factory amplifier.

How to remove the factory amplifier in F30?

1. Remove the trunk liner.
2. Remove the 4 clips that secure the rear plastic trim in place.
3. Remove the plastic trim.
4. Now, remove all covers, clips and bolts that keep the left hand side carpeting in place.
5. Gently remove the left carpeting panel.
6. Unscrew the nut holding the tray cover of the amplifier.
7. Unscrew the nut holding the amplifier bracket.
8. Pull the amp with the bracket out.
9. Unscrew and slide the amplifier and the ASD off the bracket.
10. Remove your factory amp’s harness and your ASD harness.

How to connect an amplifier to a car? 

1. Connect the BimmerTech harness to the Alpha One Amplifier.
2. Slide the Alpha One Amplifier into the bracket and tighten it with a bolt.
3. Connect the BimmerTech harness to the factory harness.
4. Swap the housings between the BimmerTech’s wiring harness and the factory wiring harness – do that on both housings.
5. Connect the ASD bypass to the factory ASD.
6. Connect the jumper to the factory harness.
7. Slide the amp with the bracket back in the amp hole and tighten it with a nut.
8. Tuck all cables off to the side.
9. Put the amp cover back in its place along with all the trunk lining.
10. Put all plastic clips back in.
11. Slide the plastic trim into place and tighten it with plastic clips.
12. Put the storage bin back in place and fasten it with the clips.
13. Put the center cover back on.
14. Uncover your trunk latch.
15. Reconnect the negative battery terminal.

And that’s it! You’re all good to go. 

Summary

Taking the BMW sound system in your F30 to another level is more than simply replacing its stock speakers. The clue lies in upgrading your ride with a customized set of BMW speakers and a customizable BMW amplifier letting you apply a number of advanced changes that fit your specific taste. If you’d like to know more about choosing audio upgrades to fit your particular needs, check out this article and see which one you should try out first. Remember, when buying or installing speakers you have full access to our support team. If you come across a problem at any stage of the installation, we will help you solve it, so do not hesitate to contact us. Prefer a professional to handle the installation for you? Use our network of installers.