1997 328I Speakers Replacement Question

[seb]

My back speakers are busted after 11 years of service. The rubber surrounds are brittle and alrady crumbling at places. This explains the muddy sound of the stereo lately. I have now a good justification forall speakers replacement from the home minister :smokin:. Question: I am planning to install a good quality components speakers for the front. Does bmw system has crossover already installed? The wiring diagram from Bentley manual suggest that is is a straight wiring from the head unit output, which probably explain the substandard quality of BMW standard system. My headunit is the factory installed Kenwood unit. Thinking of installing components for the rear as well since the speaker casing has an existing empty space to mount a tweeter. Anyone has any experience replacing the speakers? Please help..

 

[Ashnaz]

heyaz...nope BMW does not have built in crossovers. and a component system is good. but what i personally recommend is to change the speaker wiring while ur at it. my set up are as follows.
1. Alpine Head unit
2. Kicker 2 way speakers front and rear
3. 6 channel amp in boot
4. 2 channel additional amp for woofer
5. 10" Mohawk gold edition woofer
6. DLS tweeters with crossovers.
7. Pre-amp in glove box.
8. New wiring for everything.

this is just a basic setup for my E36. but i can assure u great sound and a never boring drive anywhere..hahaha..

cheers..

 

[rubes72]

Hey Seb, Why go for component systems, their sound delivery is not good. IF you still must go for it, may I suggest a two way unit, then purchase a seperate tweeter. Anyway The wiring for the stereo is straight forward. they are all connected to the head unit directly. The only problem you might encounter is connecting the existing cables to the head unit as the original unit comes with a plug type ( forgot what is that plug is called ) however you can buy an adapter for it in Jalan Pasar. Unless of course you don't mind cutting off the plug and connecting directly. The colour coding of the cables are also standard, so no problem there. As for the setup, you have to ask yourself what sound preference you. If you are crazy like me who parties in the car, the you can easily spend 30K and still feel it is not enough. You can either go for an intergrated Amp or you can opt for mono blocks, of cause the latter is for audiophiles and for guys who do have to get prior approval from home cum finance ministry.

 

[Strider]

Hey Seb, Why go for component systems, their sound delivery is not good. IF you still must go for it, may I suggest a two way unit, then purchase a seperate tweeter. Anyway The wiring for the stereo is straight forward. they are all connected to the head unit directly. The only problem you might encounter is connecting the existing cables to the head unit as the original unit comes with a plug type ( forgot what is that plug is called ) however you can buy an adapter for it in Jalan Pasar. Unless of course you don't mind cutting off the plug and connecting directly. The colour coding of the cables are also standard, so no problem there. As for the setup, you have to ask yourself what sound preference you. If you are crazy like me who parties in the car, the you can easily spend 30K and still feel it is not enough. You can either go for an intergrated Amp or you can opt for mono blocks, of cause the latter is for audiophiles and for guys who do have to get prior approval from home cum finance ministry.

So what had you have in your UDM. Show us some photo. At least seb can learn/copy something from yours

 

[Strider]

seb,

what is your budget look a like. if you don't mine, you can get used items such as head unit, amp or even speaker. this will reduce your cost at least by half. otherwise, if the moolah not a problem, i don't think the question will be raised here.

my concept;

If you are listening to audio only. installed only front component, 2 ways good enuf. no rear speaker. reason; you only need a stereo. unless you have a video in your car, than the 5.1 or even 7.1 come to place.

the other thing, once the car fully occupied, the occupants busy talking to each other rather than listening to the "quality music".

this will reduce your cost a bit.

Get a decent HU. It all start here. if the origin of the sound produced are crap, you can't help much on the output.

An amp. will help a lot to produce a good sound. Get at least 4 channel amp. and probably the one that can be bridge if you had an intention to have a sub woofer. play those front component by 2 channel if not actively by all 4 channel.

i'm not good in explaining things. other sifu may help you. good luck

 

[machinehead]

Seb,
I have the original OEM Kenwood adapter for E36. There is also an adapter for rear 6 x 9 speaker. No need to cut to a bigger hole to fit the larger speaker. PM me for details.

 

[affan66]

if you don't want to go big mods, replace the front speakers. 5 1/4" mids and 1" tweeters will do the trick. Go with components as you will need to adjust the settings to suit listening preference and car ambience. Later, if you decide to upgrade, plonk in an amp to drive the front speakers.

If you insist on going for fill-in sound, then plonk in an 6x9 in the rear shelf, running direct from the HU. Don't expect to blast it as the HU power may not be sufficient at higher dB.

 

[seb]

Thanks guys for the replies. I am not thinking of going too much for power or going crazy with mods. What I am looking for is upgrade the stock speakers with quality component speakers and keep the old head unit. I like the stock simple look and the classic retracting action. It's getting a bit noisy lately but it still catches attention of any new passenger in my car .

So in short really I am looking to install better speakers without mods to existing placement . After that perhaps when money becomes available again get a quality power amp to drive the speakers. I understand that the kenwood output is around 35 watt rms and that it has pre outs as well. So I guess if I need more power there is always a possibility of keeping the old unit put amplifier and even a sub to balance things out.

Does this sound like a reasonable approach for some one whos is tight on budget??

I read some where that it is not a good idea to install components i.e. woofer + tweeter for the rear shelf as this would destroy the imaging. Is this true? They suggest just instal a mid woofer only.Also will the treble be too overwhelming? I can't stand very bright sound. Expereince is greatly appreciated.

 

[affan66]

yup.. go for it. If you are going for components, make sure the tweets can be tuned(typically there are three settings, lo/mid/hi) for medium budget sets.

 

[rubes72]

So what had you have in your UDM. Show us some photo. At least seb can learn/copy something from yours

Hey Strider,

I do not have pics with me but my set up is as follows:

2x 12 4 ohms Oz Woofers driven by MONO Kicker Amps I think it's 150 Watts RMS
4 x 1" Polk Audio Tweeters driven by MONO Nakamichi Amps 50 Watts
4 x 51/4" Oz Mid Bass Driven By 2x MONO Nakamichi 150 Watts
2 x 6" Cervin Vega ( spelling ?? ) Driven by Thunder Intergrated Amps 150 Watts
8 x Pasive Crossover by TrueSound
1x Active Crossover By Nakamichi
2x 900MA Capacitor ( Can't remember brand )

All Amps are bridgeable

Indipendant Bass control
Alpine 3 Channel Head Unit ( Front / Back / Sub )
Monster Cables
and My fav 8G iPod Nano.

This was installed when I was younger and had more cash. Now the money is spent on wife and kids

Cost aproxx : 25K

However Seb, since you just want to change your speakers may I suggest a set Cervin Vega Infinity component set comprising of the follow

1. 2x6" Mid bass and Mid Range
2. 2x1" Tweeter
3. 2x Pasive Crossover

This will set you back about RM 600-700. It sounds resonably good. You can also try Blaupunkt Concorde speakers which is in the same price range.

cheers

 

[Strider]

Wow Rubes, I would love to see the photo of your installation. May be can copy if you don't mine. You got 5 amps if i'm not mistaken to drive all those 12 component speakers. The sound must be xcellent. Wish i have those 25K for my installation. By the way Rube, thoose woofer, is it concealed or free air.

Thanks for the info

 

[rubes72]

I will try to get the photos. Car is back home and I'm in kemaman. i think it is air free. For concealed i think you need 2 amps to drive in reversed polarity for push and pull. 25K was back in 2002, I think the price of ICE has dropped considerably.