[coskunhc]

Hey all,

Does anyone tried to upgrade the hifi system to a complete harman kardon system? My F20 2014 has today installed :
S609A - Navigation system Professional
S676A - HiFi speaker system

My current hifi system does not have the front speakers. Can you guys tell me whether I need a special retrofit wiring set or not. I have bought all the speakers, tweeters, amp and so on. Is it just plug and play? Or does it need special wiring set + coding?

[TomoR]

Plug&play is not...On Harman Kardon system all speakers is connected directly on amplifier...that mean you need put for all speaker new wiring(from speaker to trunk).
And for amplifier....need connect supply and MOST optical cable!
After that headunit need to be coded with $688.

[bmwcoder75]

Plug&play is not...On Harman Kardon system all speakers is connected directly on amplifier...that mean you need put for all speaker new wiring(from speaker to trunk).
And for amplifier....need connect supply and MOST optical cable!
After that headunit need to be coded with $688.

No need to run new speaker wire for all speakers since he has Hifi all speakers are connected to the trunk already
New speaker wires he will need to run are for the dash middle speaker and rear door or shelf speakers.

[coskunhc]

Plug&play is not...On Harman Kardon system all speakers is connected directly on amplifier...that mean you need put for all speaker new wiring(from speaker to trunk).
And for amplifier....need connect supply and MOST optical cable!
After that headunit need to be coded with $688.

No need to run new speaker wire for all speakers since he has Hifi all speakers are connected to the trunk already
New speaker wires he will need to run are for the dash middle speaker and rear door or shelf speakers.

So I need to buy some new cables? If yes, then which cables do I need to buy? And why do I need to wire new for the shelf? I think that I already have tweeters in the shelf.

---

I've just went out and checked my car. I have front center speaker without tweeter. And I have also front 2 speakers in both front doors but doesn't have tweeters. And the same are for the speakers in the rear shelfs. I don't have tweeters there as well. And I have a amp in the left in the back trunk. Have anybody not tried to upgrade from hifi to harman kardon.

[bmwcoder75]

Plug&play is not...On Harman Kardon system all speakers is connected directly on amplifier...that mean you need put for all speaker new wiring(from speaker to trunk).
And for amplifier....need connect supply and MOST optical cable!
After that headunit need to be coded with $688.

No need to run new speaker wire for all speakers since he has Hifi all speakers are connected to the trunk already
New speaker wires he will need to run are for the dash middle speaker and rear door or shelf speakers.

So I need to buy some new cables? If yes, then which cables do I need to buy? And why do I need to wire new for the shelf? I think that I already have tweeters in the shelf.

---

I've just went out and checked my car. I have front center speaker without tweeter. And I have also front 2 speakers in both front doors but doesn't have tweeters. And the same are for the speakers in the rear shelfs. I don't have tweeters there as well. And I have a amp in the left in the back trunk. Have anybody not tried to upgrade from hifi to harman kardon.

Yeah many of us have done this thats why we are replying to you with tips

[coskunhc]

Great and I'm very thankful to read your comments. But isn't there somehow a DIY guide for upgrading? I have bought a complete used harman kardon set. I need to know if I just can plug and play or whether I need extra parts to install everything or not.

[bmwcoder75]

Great and I'm very thankful to read your comments. But isn't there somehow a DIY guide for upgrading? I have bought a complete used harman kardon set. I need to know if I just can plug and play or whether I need extra parts to install everything or not.

As pointed out already you will need to buy fibre optic plug, power loop socket and pins and speaker wires. But also speaker connectors.
If you have a device from factory that has fibre optic in the trunk happy days you can connect your fibre optic loop to it and extend it to your l7 amp.
If you don't have any fibre optic in your trunk, then extend it from the radio.
Amp plug is the same.
Power you will need 40-50 amps. Depends what amp you have. Usually 50 on later F series models.
You will need special socket with pins too to connect power to that amp as it is different from your hifi amp.
And you will need the amp fan too if you dont have it. And connector, wire and pins for it.
Oh and round pins for the new speaker wires to be fitted to the amp plug so you can add more speakers
You can find all the part numbers on Etk/realoem

[BaggieMatt]

Plug&play is not...On Harman Kardon system all speakers is connected directly on amplifier...that mean you need put for all speaker new wiring(from speaker to trunk).
And for amplifier....need connect supply and MOST optical cable!
After that headunit need to be coded with $688.

$688 is for surround sound which the F20 won't have. Think you will find it is $674 for Harman Kardon is this model. Also he needs to remove $676 from the VO/FA.

[coskunhc]

Great and I'm very thankful to read your comments. But isn't there somehow a DIY guide for upgrading? I have bought a complete used harman kardon set. I need to know if I just can plug and play or whether I need extra parts to install everything or not.

As pointed out already you will need to buy fibre optic plug, power loop socket and pins and speaker wires. But also speaker connectors.
If you have a device from factory that has fibre optic in the trunk happy days you can connect your fibre optic loop to it and extend it to your l7 amp.
If you don't have any fibre optic in your trunk, then extend it from the radio.
Amp plug is the same.
Power you will need 40-50 amps. Depends what amp you have. Usually 50 on later F series models.
You will need special socket with pins too to connect power to that amp as it is different from your hifi amp.
And you will need the amp fan too if you dont have it. And connector, wire and pins for it.
Oh and round pins for the new speaker wires to be fitted to the amp plug so you can add more speakers
You can find all the part numbers on Etk/realoem

Do you have a list of the part numbers? And do you know if BMW have a manual for retrofitting harman?

[BaggieMatt]

Amongst all the other stuff mentioned by bmwcoder75 you are also going to have to replace some trim.
51467271851 & 51467271852 Parcel shelf supports to accommodate the tweeters and 51337270759 &51337270760 front window frames for the tweeters.

You might want to give us a list of the parts you bought with p/n so we can tell you what other parts you need to buy.

There probably is no manual for fitting Harmon Kardon though. I don't think it is a standard retrofit.