Anyone try B.A Design works speakers/sub upgrades?

[rking0122]

If you are talking about just the speakers, then I suspect you are a shill. There's basically zero difference in the sound stage from the speakers alone in the car.

The sub adds a lot, as does the amp. But you can get the sub for about 1/6th the price from SoundQubed. The only golden piece of the puzzle is the drop in amp from LH. Everything else is either way overpriced (sub) or completely meaningless (speakers).

As much as I do not like the fitment, fit, finish, or QC of these (see my prior posts), I will strongly disagree with you on this. After spending hours adjusting the brackets, I finally got all four in. I have base audio, no special amp. No sub.

I am not going to tell you that these will take the car from crap to concert hall. But there is a marked difference in the sound between the stock speakers and these. The sound is improved significantly, and theres is a richness to the sound that was missing before. The bass and mids are more particularly pronounced than before. They put out more sound. No, the bass is not now magically sub quality. But it is much better than I started with.

I am a bit of a sound snob and to be honest, based on sound, I am happy. Even my wife noticed a difference, and generally she doesn't notice anything.

 

[rking0122]

An

I received my speakers today and can confirm that the rear door speakers are just a few mm to tall and the bottom of the door card does not sit flush. I managed to install the front ones ok. Sub is being installed on Friday. Might replace the stock rears and call it a day.

I hadn't tried to install the fronts, just the rears, assuming I'd have problems all around. Based on your post, I went to the fronts. Indeed, no problem, they went in fine.

I still have had no contact from BA, I assume they're simply never going to respond. So I decided to do what I could to install the rears.

I took an 4.5 in angle grinder with and used a 40-grit flap disc to grind back of the bracket to reduce the size. I took off about 2/3 of the fiberglass all around to try to make the speaker stick out less. This is a messy job but after a while I thinned out the back of the bracket as much as I thought I could while still leaving it thick enough to mount it. (Probably reduced it 2/3, leaving 1/3 the original thickness.)

Went to remount in the rears. Closer, but still wouldn't permit the panel to completely clip.

Then I looked closer and saw that one of the screws that holds the speaker together (on the front of the BA speakers holding in the stainless ring around the speaker) was directly striking the door panel. Coming from BA, some of those screws aren't straight. I had one missing altogether. Others, the nuts on the other side were only partially screwed in.

I took off the panel again, removed the speaker, then took out the offending screw (and nut) using a T10 bit. Replaced the speaker. I was able to make it fit. Both sides, by removing the one offending screw on each side and the reduction in the bracket size.

This was a lot of work. But if I am stuck with these, I guess it was worth it?

I really believe these speakers could have been really great, if they simply had been manufactured better. Photo is of another screw that you can see bending the plastic on the back of the door panel, but, I was able to get the panel around the screw and the panel to sit properly.

 

[maximizese]

How are your BA Design speakers holding up? I'm sad to see the company liquidate, but I noticed they are selling the bare speakers for only $50 (probably close to their cost) and without the mounting bracket and terminal adapter. I was thinking about picking up a pair or two as an inexpensive upgrade from the base audio system.

I spent 5 minutes to wedge a piece of pipe insulation into the port behind the front speaker grill. It definitely seems to have dampened some of the resonant road noise above 50mph, and the audio seems more enjoyable above volume level 4.

 

[Cheburashka]

Where would one source the brackets or adapters for these speakers? $50 seems like a good price. These would to in front and rear doors, correct?

 

[Naonak]

3D print a set is your best bet. Wouldn't be terribly hard to design.

$50 bucks a speaker is about all they are worth, for sure, so it's a good deal... but they don't add anything to the sound stage in the car.

 

[logan]

Where would one source the brackets or adapters for these speakers? $50 seems like a good price. These would to in front and rear doors, correct?

Also curious about brackets/adapters.

 

[FlatSix911]

RIP... another product that does not fit correctly or provide customer support. The free market works

 

[The T-man]

Anyone else tried the BA Design speakers are they exactly the same as LH?

 

[bnsfengineer]

Anyone else tried the BA Design speakers are they exactly the same as LH?

Yes installed the speakers in my MS and made an incredible improvement. The guys used to work for LH