I was wondering if the THX certified carver sound system upgrade was worth it?

I like it a lot, very pleased with it. Better sound quality than the Harmon Kardon system in my 330i.

However, for the money, you could probably buy a better system and install it yourself, if you're good at DIY.

Agreed... You can have a better system if you go the DIY route. I think I read somewhere that the THX system was originally designed for the Roadster models. So there may or may not be differences.

I actually like it and think it sounds alright...

No, speakers are really bad, especially mid range.

Thanks the dealer has quoted me an extra $440 for the upgrade to the Carver. So I think this is good value...it has gotta be better than the standard system I figure.

I am about to replace the whole thing... It's really not bad, but after hearing a coupe with another set up, I'm about to get

Alpine ida x001 Ipod w bluetooth, HD radio and 6 disc changer, 2 Rockford amps, boston ac 6.5 (kick panel) and 1 inch tweets (door pillar), 4 boston 3.5 inch (doors and rear of seats) and Rockford p2 8 inch woofs to replace the carvers.

This will have harness for steering controles and maintain voice dialing etc for phone. It will also let me use full Ipod controls rather than the crap DICE version.

After living with the Premium sound system for a couple of months I've come to the conclusion that it is tuned to be heard when the top is down and wind noise is loud. You really can hear the stereo pretty well while driving on the freeway and it's great when you got some good driving music cranked!

However, it doesn't sound so good (IMO!) when the top is up. The bass is way too loud and it's very bright. These are probably great characteristics for hearing music over ambient noise but I don't think it's tuned to be a "hi-fi" sound system.

My guess is a coupe would really benefit from a good, well designed after-market setup. With the roadster you may get a system that sounds great when the top is up or the car is going slow but not so good when you are driving fast with the top down. Just conjecture on my part, though!

I showed a co-worker my car today who has an RX7 and the first thing she asked was if the stereo was Bose or some other name brand. That just seemed weird to me.

Asking if it was a Bose is a BAD thing haha!

Yeah I am sure you will get better sound from an aftermarket setup. But hey, I can guarantee it will sound better than what I am used to now as far as car stereo is concerned!

I was impressed the Orb Audio speakers (home audio) that I recently purchased from the USA. They only use small drivers but sound amazing, so I thought the Carver would be along the same lines. I am consistently impressed by things that say "Made in the USA" on them actually.

Great point in Coupe versus Soft top and I think you're right.


Also, the carver system is as nice as a lot of other "premium" stock systems... I really want this for the clarity of IPOD use as much as anything else, but with the changer and or straight CD it's really a nice set up. I wouldn't think about changing it if not for wanting HD and Ipod.

My 06 Z4 Roadster has the premium sound and I think its the best I've ever heard. It takes some time to set it up for your personal preferences. Use the owners manual and you can make a great amount of difference in the way it sounds. I spent the better part of a whole day on mine when I got home from picking it up at the factory. It really paid off in the quality of sound. Not everybody likes the same setup. I think mine is perfect for me, but it might not be good for everybody.

No, speakers are really bad, especially mid range.

Huh? I respect you highly (and I even think you're cute!) but I have to disagree with you on that. I'm an audiophile, I spend several hundred on headphones, and I relish in the amazing sound they give me. I must say, the speakers in the upgraded sound system are excellent. They're not perfect though, still have trouble covering the open top noise, but they are MUCH clearer than the upgraded sound system on my dad's 04' X5, and 03 M5. They rival the sound quality from my brothers '01 M3 with THX sound system.

I have yet to make up my mind yet about how good the sound system is after about a week, but to me I have been unable to make it sound as good as my Mom's 96 Corvette despite playing with the equalizer. For hard rock at least, the premium system doesn't sound as good, especially in the lower frequencys so far. Anyone have any sugestions about what settings are best for rock music? And don't say the rock preset lol!

I think it is a good upgrade

I like it. It's not the best, but BY FAR NOT the worse. Like someone else said it's much better than the HK system in the 330i.