bsw dirac speaker upgrade review

coloradoe92m3 · 05-03-2014, 12:25 AM

Wow, first off I went in extremely skeptical because I have read how Dirac doesn't need speaker upgrades as that's not the weak point. I impulsively bought NSW front door drivers, tweeters and crossovers plus centerspeakwr before I researched. I spend about 70 miles a day in car so I know the Dirac very well.

First off the Dirac speakers are Eton very high quality kevlar hexacone speakers ( 2 layers of kevlar with a softer layer of material similar to what car racers outer clothes are made of. Reason being I learned kevlar is similar in response to a metal like aluminum etc which means it can produce some wacky high frequency harshness if not tuned well. Tweeters are silk.

Well the number one by far problem that has made Dirac not enjoyable was the piercing high frequencies at moderate to loud volumes. If you listen quietly or are not sensitive to highs it was great but part of why this system is great is it won't distort but it just was crazy high and not deep to me. Even with eq highs toned way down. So if that is a problem you have them read on.

I was considering also adding an amp to drive OEM woofers or maybe add jehnert 8 inches as I agree the bass is lacking in in clarity as volume raises but part of the problem was the highs got so harsh it threw all sound off to me. But my bsw speakers came and I almost returned them as I mentioned everyone said OEM speakers were just fine. And they are extremely high quality and quality wise a lot better than bsw but quality is meaningless IG they aren't suited to the system and bmw picked speakers of kevlar that you need to really get it right to make a system work. Had they went with a softer material this system would have rocked. OEM users neodyme magnets which are small, light and as powerful as a ceramic magnet twice the size like on bsw.

So BMW went all out and was no lack of top. End components down to lightweight speakers to save weight as I read even with 16 speakers the Dirac weighs same as the basic hi Fi with way less speakers but heavy.

So anyway no lack of quality but in my view they did not fit the tuning of the system as kevlar is to harsh and susceptible to high frequency harshness given how hard it is.

With bsw installed they are a much softer material and is clearly suited much better for the Dirac processing. I used to have eq with all high freq lowered by 3 or 4 bars and would still ear pierce at high volume. It also sounded bad having to turn them down as it seemed to impact overall sound.
.with NSW they include a big adjustable cross over which you can adjust to +3, 0 PR -3. In what signals it crosses. I left mine middle but if you liked more highs you could use +3. I put eq all flat and bass at same +1 and treble middle rather than -3. It sounded amazing!! Not ear piercing highs even with all high frequencies at middle and no lowering of treble!!! What a miracle as it was really crappy knowing I had a system with so much good but was just painful to hears rather than deep and rich . The pleasant surprise is the much tighter not distorted mid bass. Even on bass heavy songs its crisp mid bass punch as I'm betting their speakers are more efficient which allows the mids to put out a better punch? Or maybe being more efficient effects woofers? But much cleaner tight bass to the point I'll need to drive this week and see if I even want to upgrade woofer and an amp.
.I sm really pleased and wasn't expecting to be. Great thing is its super cheap as I only got front speakers as that's the major problem as the rears are behind you so the high frequencies aren't shot into your ears and their sound quality is good. I tried it with center speaker unplugged and it might even sound better and may leave it out to see.. the OEM center was a big part of the harshness.

So for about 500 bucks you absolutely transform this system IF
1. You listen at really loud volume
2. You though high freq was way harsh

And as an added surprise bands sounds much better and you can leave eq flat mostly which allows music the system to sound its best rather than adding noise by boosting.

Impressed!!

coloradoe92m3 · 05-04-2014, 03:25 AM

Just wanted to add if you really like the high notes of OEM Dirac, than I suggest keeping OEM. Bmw Dirac upgrade is actually simply the same exact setup as logic 7. Even boxes it arrives in say logic 7. So you lose 3 tweeters. Center channel and two rear decks. It worked for me as I hated the highs but you also.could buy logic 7 as I think its cheaper . The Dirac adds only a front crossover that's not in the logic 7 package. Or keep your center channel and rear deck co axial and replace doors if you want to maintain more highs like stock.

Really think bsw isn't transparent enough and sells Dirac as a setup designed for Dirac which clearly is not the case. Still super happy though!

05-03-2014, 12:25 AM	#1
coloradoe92m3 Banned Drives: m3 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: u.s Posts: 497 iTrader: (0)	bsw dirac speaker upgrade review Wow, first off I went in extremely skeptical because I have read how Dirac doesn't need speaker upgrades as that's not the weak point. I impulsively bought NSW front door drivers, tweeters and crossovers plus centerspeakwr before I researched. I spend about 70 miles a day in car so I know the Dirac very well. First off the Dirac speakers are Eton very high quality kevlar hexacone speakers ( 2 layers of kevlar with a softer layer of material similar to what car racers outer clothes are made of. Reason being I learned kevlar is similar in response to a metal like aluminum etc which means it can produce some wacky high frequency harshness if not tuned well. Tweeters are silk. Well the number one by far problem that has made Dirac not enjoyable was the piercing high frequencies at moderate to loud volumes. If you listen quietly or are not sensitive to highs it was great but part of why this system is great is it won't distort but it just was crazy high and not deep to me. Even with eq highs toned way down. So if that is a problem you have them read on. I was considering also adding an amp to drive OEM woofers or maybe add jehnert 8 inches as I agree the bass is lacking in in clarity as volume raises but part of the problem was the highs got so harsh it threw all sound off to me. But my bsw speakers came and I almost returned them as I mentioned everyone said OEM speakers were just fine. And they are extremely high quality and quality wise a lot better than bsw but quality is meaningless IG they aren't suited to the system and bmw picked speakers of kevlar that you need to really get it right to make a system work. Had they went with a softer material this system would have rocked. OEM users neodyme magnets which are small, light and as powerful as a ceramic magnet twice the size like on bsw. So BMW went all out and was no lack of top. End components down to lightweight speakers to save weight as I read even with 16 speakers the Dirac weighs same as the basic hi Fi with way less speakers but heavy. So anyway no lack of quality but in my view they did not fit the tuning of the system as kevlar is to harsh and susceptible to high frequency harshness given how hard it is. With bsw installed they are a much softer material and is clearly suited much better for the Dirac processing. I used to have eq with all high freq lowered by 3 or 4 bars and would still ear pierce at high volume. It also sounded bad having to turn them down as it seemed to impact overall sound. .with NSW they include a big adjustable cross over which you can adjust to +3, 0 PR -3. In what signals it crosses. I left mine middle but if you liked more highs you could use +3. I put eq all flat and bass at same +1 and treble middle rather than -3. It sounded amazing!! Not ear piercing highs even with all high frequencies at middle and no lowering of treble!!! What a miracle as it was really crappy knowing I had a system with so much good but was just painful to hears rather than deep and rich . The pleasant surprise is the much tighter not distorted mid bass. Even on bass heavy songs its crisp mid bass punch as I'm betting their speakers are more efficient which allows the mids to put out a better punch? Or maybe being more efficient effects woofers? But much cleaner tight bass to the point I'll need to drive this week and see if I even want to upgrade woofer and an amp. .I sm really pleased and wasn't expecting to be. Great thing is its super cheap as I only got front speakers as that's the major problem as the rears are behind you so the high frequencies aren't shot into your ears and their sound quality is good. I tried it with center speaker unplugged and it might even sound better and may leave it out to see.. the OEM center was a big part of the harshness. So for about 500 bucks you absolutely transform this system IF 1. You listen at really loud volume 2. You though high freq was way harsh And as an added surprise bands sounds much better and you can leave eq flat mostly which allows music the system to sound its best rather than adding noise by boosting. Impressed!!
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05-04-2014, 03:25 AM	#2
coloradoe92m3 Banned Drives: m3 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: u.s Posts: 497 iTrader: (0)	Just wanted to add if you really like the high notes of OEM Dirac, than I suggest keeping OEM. Bmw Dirac upgrade is actually simply the same exact setup as logic 7. Even boxes it arrives in say logic 7. So you lose 3 tweeters. Center channel and two rear decks. It worked for me as I hated the highs but you also.could buy logic 7 as I think its cheaper . The Dirac adds only a front crossover that's not in the logic 7 package. Or keep your center channel and rear deck co axial and replace doors if you want to maintain more highs like stock. Really think bsw isn't transparent enough and sells Dirac as a setup designed for Dirac which clearly is not the case. Still super happy though!
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