1st class support. Gold standard. Phil should be teaching classes on this stuff.

Rookie error when installing my Maximo Ultra woofers- got distracted and put the tip of the screwdriver through the cone.

I emailed Morel to see if they could supply just a new woofer, and within an hour I had a reply from Phil (who I think may actually be the real Santa). He told me I wasn’t the only idiot in the room (too kind), and asked for my address to send the new woofer to. He gave me a really great deal and sent me the payment details, and said as soon as the money hit the account, the woofer would be coming by express post. Phil then called me to confirm the model details so I got the correct replacement, and the next day (22nd Dec) he went back into the warehouse to get the woofer and post it for me.

I checked my watch to confirm that I hadn’t warped back in time to when this type of after sales service was more of the norm, and it was still 2023 which makes this experience even more special. I tested the Focal waters in my last vehicle, and with this experience (and Morel’s awesome products) it means that I will never stray again. #morel4eva

Equipment Reviewed:

Morel IR-BMW42

Morel IP-SUB82

I have had numerous cars over the years, nearly all end up with fully custom audiophile grade systems. Back in the day I was a sound quality competitor for several years, and later an IASCA sound quality judge.

I recently bought a BMW X3 SUV because I needed a car I could carry stuff in. It was no surprise that the factory audio system didn’t meet my expectations. But in this car I just didn’t want to go down the track of another $20K plus-plus-plus custom audio system.

So the brief was: audiophile quality on a budget.

In order to keep costs down, I was definitely going to have to minimize the amount of custom install and fabrication work, so I went looking for speaker options that would fit into the stock speaker locations in the BMW X3.

I have owned and/or heard several of the regular suspects you’ll come across when researching BMW PnP speaker options. Bavsound, Focal’s integration line, even the Bowers and Wilkins (with diamond tweeters) that are a common retrofit option. While they all improve upon the OE speakers in one way or another, none of them have ever really nailed it for me.

When discussing options with my go-to guy – Marty at FHRX Studios – he suggested I give the (newly released) Morel BMW integration speakers a try.

So here I am. Doors and floor sound treated, Canare & QED speaker cables run throughout, Morel IR-BMW42 components in the front doors, with the IP-SUB82’s mounted in the factory underseat locations.

All powered by a Zapco 12 channel amp with 16 channel DSP with lossless source signal via a Mobridge DA1 converter. Bottom-end is anchored by a single Audiofrog GB12 in a 33L sealed enclosure.

How do the Morel’s sound?

Bloody impressive.

Even after being installed for a few weeks, I am still pleasantly surprised at the sound vs cost. The Morel’s have a proper high-end sound that punches well above their price point. They are warm and smooth with plenty of detail, and have a beautifully delicate and airy top-end.

Staging and imaging is rock-solid with some of the most accurate and well defined center (and L/R of center) images I’ve ever heard – from factory speaker locations! And before you say that’s the time alignment from the DSP (which of course is necessary) – it’s not *just* that. I’ve had time alignment in my cars since the 90’s – what I’m talking about here is a combination of speaker performance and location – and the latter was forced. There’s definitely some Morel magic happening here.

Does it sound as good as my > $50K system in my special car? Well no, but in some ways I actually prefer the Morel’s in the X3. They make all music enjoyable with zero fatigue – and score highly in all the traits you’d expect from a high end system.

If you have high sonic expectations and want the best for your BMW without committing to a multi-tens-of-thousands custom install, these are must-listen.

I have not heard a better plug-and-play speaker option for BMW’s.

Now about that off-brand sub…..

I was surprised that just a simple swap out of my stock Mazda speakers / tweeters to the Morel Maximo Ultra 602 HE set could level-up the quality of sound as much as Phil described, but he was spot on, very impressed.

I got myself the Morel “ACUDAMP – 227.8” to quiet down the floor noise while cruising around every day. Gotta admit, setting it up was a bit of a chore and ate up a lot of time. But you know what? Once I got it all in place, holy smokes, it was like night and day! I’ve tested out a few other soundproofing brands, but this ACUDAMP thing is seriously in a league of its own. If you’re in the market for car soundproofing, I’m telling you, this is the one to go for.

My setup:

Front: Elate Carbon 62 Splits

Rear: Hybrid Integra 62 (twitters not connected)

Sub: Ultimo Ti 10″ – Sub Amp: MPS 1.1100 LE (Limited Edition)

Speaker amp: non-Morel Head unit: factory

My system was installed and tuned by Phatt Audio Concepts and it sounds absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend them.

I’ve had the system for just over a year now and still puts a smile on my face. The mids and highs are excellent – very detailed and clear but the lows are out of this world!

I’m very happy with the performance of these speakers, wouldn’t go for another brand. Who uses high-res files these days? Most of my music is compressed, from music streaming services, and it still sounds amazing on these speakers.