Howdy all! I have recently partnered with BavSound (formerly Bavarian Soundwerks, or BSW) to do an install of their Ghost Subwoofer system into my 04 M3 and in combination with the Avin USA Avant-2 android deck. BavSound offered me a discount when I purchased the kit, in exchange for sharing an honest review of the kit and installation. The installation guide I created in addition to the review, to supplement their provided install guide. Subjectivity first: Reviewing something as subjective as sound is hard, without very expensive equipment and controlled settings. That said, adding something like the ghost subwoofer system, it is easy to judge the improvements because they are so dramatic and obvious. In short.. GOOD GOD WOW. BavSound is turning me into an audiophile, as combining their stage 1 kit, now with the ghost sub, my car has the best sound system I own including in the house or other home audio. The quality is just unreal and the improvement is dramatic and absolutely worth it. Installation: The installation of the kit went well, though was honestly a little more complicated than I had first realized. I had thought it was a plug in play, bolt in addition and thought it would take very little time to install. While it still didn’t take long, it was more complicated than I realized at first. The new amp doesn’t replace the existing, it sits inline and boosts everything across the board. Because of that, it doesn’t plug in there the old amp does, it taps into the wiring harness for the old system and builds on it. The supplied installation guide from BavSound is quite good, along with hosted installation videos, though they are currently being updated to reflect recent slight changes in the hardware. I created my own additional installation guide to build out a few areas I thought were a little thin in the BavSound guide, and also provided that feedback. Overall installation isn’t hard as long as you can go slowly and follow directions. Tapping into a wire harness may seem a little daunting and there is room for error, but if done carefully it isn’t hard. Save yourself the possible installation costs of having a third party do it, and do it yourself. Sound: When I replaced the existing, and un-abused HK speakers with the BavSound S1 kit, I was blown away by the exponential improvement in sound quality. Everything was more clear, clean and simply more alive. I recently significantly tuned the detailed settings on the Avant-2 deck, and yet again there was a dramatic improvement in sound quality and clarity. I was left wondering as the Ghost Subwoofer arrived, what more is there to improve? WOW. Just wow. To be clear, for good bass, I am not looking to vibrate off the body panels or have my neighbors yell at me when I drive down the street. I was and am looking for that deep rich depth that comes from a good subwoofer to fill out the quality of the rest. After two weeks of running with the subwoofer installed, I wonder how I lived without it. I am hearing elements of my music I haven’t heard before... subtle bass guitar riffs, driving bass notes and rumbles and a richness to the music I haven’t had before. It was like I was missing the last few instruments in the symphony, and now I have it. I listen to a full range of music from current hip hop, to classical, to jazz and blues, to rock and country. Very few music genres are missed, and everything is improved dramatically. I will continue to fine tune my settings, but beyond very small adjustments left the system I believe is completely dialed in. Conclusion: This is absolutely worth the time of install and the cost of the product. If you are on a limited budget, like all of us, then start with the stage 1 kit but absolutely step up to the ghost subwoofer when you can. In many ways the only negative to buying this upgrade are the secondary effects. What are those? Well… my good headphones now sound like tin cans, and my home theatre system is terrible, all by comparison. Looks like I am going to be buying other upgrades there when I can. Thank you to Coby from BavSound for all of the support, and I recommend this product and this company with the highest level of satisfaction. They make extremely high quality products and are wonderful to worth with as well. Questions let me know.. The install DIY is linked here: http://1drv.ms/1kMp1fZ
