Is it possible to fit 6.5 inch into E46 doors?

[GreenGhost]

Hey fellow enthusiast!My name is jOn. This question has been bugging me fer a while now.I have a set of 6.5 inch Focals that i would greatly like to fit into my E46. Problem is, it seeems to small. The magnet is way too fat for that area.Has anyone successfuly done this? Fit a 6.5 inch speaker into their E46 doors?Please tell me how without the need to weld the metal open behind the speakers.Thanks in advance. jOn

 

[3er]

Not without major surgery work on the door panels. I decided not to go thru with that so i sold my 6.5" a/d/s/ off without ever mounting it.

 

[wirelessjunkie]

I have seen Tehnichi Audio do it without any cutting. They actually customise an enclosure within the door panel so that from the outside, it looks original.

 

[3er]

Darn - shoulda gone there to check it out

 

[skycon]

depends on yr mid's depth and also the size of the magnet. For focal (assuming is K2 or Utopia) I doubt it will fit without cutting.

btw, the surgery is not that major lar. Probably just enlarge the hole by an inch in diameter or so only. sup sup sui lah. after properly seal and water proof and cover it up, no one will ever notice and won't effect on any of the door's integrity at all.

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Well, not sure about the actual size but one was a pair of PHD Firenze into an E46 and the other was a pair of PHD Roma into an E39. I saw the priginal car as well as pictures of the internal enclosure they built.

 

[affan66]

the guys have already answered it. Depends on what 6.5" speakers you put in. Deep depth speakers you must cut, else you are okay.

 

[Vanquish]

Yeah ... something with a slim magnet design shud do the trick. But don't expect serious mid bass ... something's gotta give at the end of the day. Remember seeing a few shops in SIN stocking after-market door speaker pods for E46 ...

 

[saat]

The E46 presents a lesser challenge than the E39 because the speaker is mounted on the inner door trim instead of being mounted onto the door structure.

It currently takes a 5.25", so to mount a 6.5", mount the speaker on a spacer ring which is then mounted onto the door from outside the trim, instead of from the inner side. It will stand out a bit (say about 0.5-1") out of the trim. But with proper dessing, it should look nice. This way you dont have to make any cuts. The real issue is to create sufficient volume behind the speaker for the speaker to work efficeintly. A low profile speaker or a speaker with lower depth will help.

FYI, even a 5.25" focal will not fit the E39 speaker box.

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Saat, I think my OZs are 5.25". I'll see if I can get a picture to post here. Give me a few days.

 

[saat]

Just read Hantu Hijau's first post. Focals would definitely not fit if mounted in the original mounting because of the depth.

I had to give up the Focals for my E39.

 

[yoke]

So Mr. Saat, you have to give out your focal ha, give it to me la cheap-cheap one. Hehehe (Is it the Utopia). I'm looking for one..

 

[saat]

Didnt buy it cos it wont fit.

 

[Vanquish]

Yoke,

You want a pair of Utopias ? PM me ... I know someone who's selling his 6 month old pair off. You can discuss price and etc directly with him.

Cheers,

 

[erica34]

the 'Utopia' components imo (admittedly only heard them once - don't fark me) don't do justice to use of the 'Utopia' name from memory of hearing the JMLab Grand Utopia in action (also one time only but cukup farking impressive)...

 

[skycon]

Not fair to compare with the grand mama utopia lar. There are still others like Nova Utopia, Alto Utopia, Micro Utopia, etc ler. But anyway, the same tweeter technology on Grand Utopia, using the beryllium foil, are available now on car audio comp too, the new "Utopia Be".

darm sui.

 

[erica34]

aik?! didn't know now got so many different grades of utopia already... dem i already ketinggalan zaman... dem them marketing people...

 

[GreenGhost]

Thanks alot all you guys.

Sorry i havent replied earlier. . . apologies.

Hmm.... i will try and fit it in. i am all okay with it sticking an inch out or so. Yes dressing would make it look nice im sure.

Could someone who had installed their E46 sound system let me know where they had their car done please.

Shedden recommended CV Audio but that place is like BUSY around the clock.

Any help is very much appreicated. Thanks in advance.

j O n

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Dont have to spend too much on expensive 6.5"....Just 2.5k on a pair of the new PHDs will do

 

[Vanquish]

erica34 ... frankly the Focal's are over-rated. Yes, they are superb speakers ... at a price and have excellent IASCA wins track record but they are not the all and be all of speakerdom in the HiFi and ICE fraternity. But they are not without their weaknesses and many who have heard them will attest to this. The older TN series metal tweets that they used to have can be a pain to the ear if not matched to the rite kinda amp or toned down via the passives. The current TN 51 onwards are much better but still retain much of the typical characters of metal tweets.

Jacques Mahul, the founder and previous CEO of the company once commented that there were no longer any respected speaker makers left in the UK which ruffled a few feathers. B & W responded with the 800 series and topped it up with Signature 800 series which kicked the Utopia series butt in every aspect. Typical French arrogance.

The Utopia BE for the car is technological tour de force but one that is simply over-rated again. For approx. RM 25K if I am not wrong ... there are better bargains elsewhere. I have listened to enough Focals to know that they are just NOT my cup of tea ... the K2 Power series are an exception but similar models from Eton, DLS, Dyna, SEAS and etc will still give it a good run for its money.