Factory Speaker replacement question

[SpecialSauce]

Ok I'll make this brief. I don't feel like hassling with a sub. I'd like to replace the the rear with 6.5s that will give off enough musical oomph to satisfy me (Factory is doing ok, just need something a bit more updated). I think both tweeters in the front are blown so I need to replace those as well. Kick panel speakers seem fine. What would this infinitely intelligent board recommend using? (I guess if I had to replace tweeters I might as well replace the kick panel speakers as well and buy a component set) I'm not looking to go high dollar, but I'm not really on a tight budget either. Let me know fellas! P.S. Cutting is not an option I can take.

Dave

The question is will my dad respond to this as well ;)

[pgrindstaff]

I have heard good things about the Bavarian Soundwerks (http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/index.php) speaker set for our cars. They are a direct fit and use the existing wiring to my knowledge. The price for the kit also seems fair.

[AngryPopTart]

Why would you think the tweeters are blown? Are you talking about the midrange speakers in the dash or the actual tweeters that sit on the door? IIRC, if you don't live in the U.S. there is the possibility that your E34 does not have the door-mounted tweeters.

[billy]

Why would you think the tweeters are blown? Are you talking about the midrange speakers in the dash or the actual tweeters that sit on the door? IIRC, if you don't live in the U.S. there is the possibility that your E34 does not have the door-mounted tweeters.

I live in the UK, mine came with door tweeters, it was part of the premium sound package

[nearle]

I live in the UK, mine came with door tweeters, it was part of the premium sound package

I would spend your money on the front. Get a nice 5.25 component set. The rear should just be for fill. The next upgrade would be a new amp.

[gmannino]

Without replacing the amp or the factory head unit, even with new speakers or upgraded speakers, you will not notice a difference in output. You might notice a slight increase in clarity but you will not increase the output. Upgrading to a larger speaker in the rear might even decrease output since more wattage is required to drive the larger driver.

In order to increase output you need to add more wattage to the system. This can be done in only two ways with the e34. Replace the factory amp or replace the factory head unit.

Replacing the factory head unit with a good aftermarket unit will have a very noticeable increase in output and clarity. The factory deck in the BMW is considered the weak point of the audio system and by replacing it, you will notice that extra output and clarity you were looking for. Some people will say that factory radio is not a weak point but they are simply mistaken.

I have installed thousands of audio systems in BMW's and replacing the head unit alone always made a good increase in sound quality and output. Replacing the amp and the speakers are to be done at the same time.

[pundit]

Ok I'll make this brief. I don't feel like hassling with a sub. I'd like to replace the the rear with 6.5s that will give off enough musical oomph to satisfy me (Factory is doing ok, just need something a bit more updated). I think both tweeters in the front are blown so I need to replace those as well. Kick panel speakers seem fine. What would this infinitely intelligent board recommend using? (I guess if I had to replace tweeters I might as well replace the kick panel speakers as well and buy a component set) I'm not looking to go high dollar, but I'm not really on a tight budget either. Let me know fellas! P.S. Cutting is not an option I can take.

Dave

The question is will my dad respond to this as well ;)

Forget the rears completely.

Don't waste your money there.

Mine are disconnected completely as they sound like crap and totally ruin the front stage.

Bigger rear mounted parcel shelf speakers will not give you real bass anyway - you'll just get a bigger version of crap!

Oh and NEVER, EVER believe any car audio manufacturers specifications - either power output/handling or frequency response - most car audio specs are total ********.... Phew! Glad we got that out of the way! :p

If you want real bass either put in a sub or just live with what you have.

The location for quality sound in a car is in the front and is often referred to as the 'front stage'.

So forget the rear and concentrate on the front.

The factory speaker locations of the 'premium sound system' ie 5.25" bass/mids in kick panels, 2.5" mids in dash and 3/4' tweeters in 'A' pillars cannot be improved... only the speakers themselves can.

Don't make the mistake of removing the tweeters altogether from the 'A' pillars and then fitting a 2 or 3 way 6.5" to the kicks.

If you do that you should be driving a VN Commodore instead of a BMW! ;)

The tweeters give you the nice high frequency stereo spatial effect and the 'A' pillars are absolutely the best place for them.

Upgrading the factory speaker is problematic unless you change the amplifier and crossover and probably the wiring.

This may work but I can't vouch for it...

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product/607/174/BMW-Speakers-Upgrade-5-Series-E34/

The problem with upgrading the BMW factory 'premium sound' system is you can't really just change the speakers unless you change (or modify) the amp and crossover.

The simplest option would be to replace the tweeters with the same and modify the factory crossover (requires dismantling the factory amp) to work with a more powerful after market amp.

There's a thread somewhere on this forum which covers this mod and I used it for six months with a marked improvement over the stock amp (without a sub) until I upgraded the whole system.

The factory amp is mounted inside the boot (okay 'trunk' for you Yanks!) and has an internal custom 3-way crossover matched to the existing speakers.

I have since totally upgraded mine with new speakers, amp and a custom hand built crossover + sealed 10" sub.

I am putting together a DIY guide on how I did it along with things to be aware of and suitable high quality drivers that don't cost the earth.

I've got plenty on my plate at the moment but I'll try and get it online in the next few weeks. - Cheers

[Nick.Hay]

I replaced my rears with 6.5in 3-way coaxials... Brand not specific, but they have a HUGE magnet and kevlar cones!! I had to ditch the 'cup' that the rear speakers sit in, and coz of the 3-way element, they only just fit!! But they don't rattle...

The front stage was replaced with 5.25in component (splits), so that I could retain the factory locals. They are built by a company called Cadence, but any decent 5.25in split setup would be fine. I had to make a couple of little brackets (look like exhaust manifold gaskets... and the same as the casing of the oem tweeter), to match, but all went well there too.

Upgrade your headunit too maybe, as you can get some nice, feature-packed units today with 4x50w channels to run speakers... The factory amp was not something I was willing to mess with. I also noticed that the speakers (made by Nokia) were 8 ohm...

At the end My headunit, speakers, wiring, amp, 2 10in subs, and a custom ported enclosure cost me under $2k AUD (Some special pricing in there tho...)

[Jehu]

Without replacing the amp or the factory head unit, even with new speakers or upgraded speakers, you will not notice a difference in output. You might notice a slight increase in clarity but you will not increase the output. Upgrading to a larger speaker in the rear might even decrease output since more wattage is required to drive the larger driver.

In order to increase output you need to add more wattage to the system. This can be done in only two ways with the e34. Replace the factory amp or replace the factory head unit.

Replacing the factory head unit with a good aftermarket unit will have a very noticeable increase in output and clarity. The factory deck in the BMW is considered the weak point of the audio system and by replacing it, you will notice that extra output and clarity you were looking for. Some people will say that factory radio is not a weak point but they are simply mistaken.

I have installed thousands of audio systems in BMW's and replacing the head unit alone always made a good increase in sound quality and output. Replacing the amp and the speakers are to be done at the same time.

So If one with an E34 wanted the simplest upgrade is the CD 43 the Plug and play option available? I have an Alpine 5 in there stock.

[mamilapon]

I'm in the process of updating my system myself.Installed a Sony Xplod GT270 CD player and installing 2 pairs of JBL"s 5.25" front and rear. Soon a JBL 250WRMS 2 channel amp driving a JBL 12" Sub complete with enclosure

[Derek A.]

The factory speakers sound remarkable well when they have some real power put to them. I ended up using an active crossover to kill a little of the low end that went to them and then adding a sub and a couple of amps. Just adding a high power amp to a totally factory setup will greatly improve the sound quality

This is a picture of the factory amp circuit inside the amp - as you can see, its pretty weak:
http://www.opus45.com/pics/e34_famp.jpg

[AngryPopTart]

I think the factory system just plain sounds good, but not every radio station sounds good. Unfortunately, the tape player doesn't work in my deck, but oh well.

Do you mean using an aftermarket amplifier, but using the factory crossover board? I've heard someone mention that before and I think that's a good idea. I've also aquired another factory amplifier and I plan on recapping it with better capacitors and then swapping it with the current one to compare quality. I can't wait to get started on this thing.

[Derek A.]

I have 160 watts of a/d/s power going to the factory speakers. I have obtained some ear shattering volumes and have not destroyed the factory speakers. I give BMW a lot of credit for their OEM speaker choices.

Recapping a factory amp not going to do much for you. There is so much ambient noise that new caps are just not going to make a difference. In my opinion here are the best budget ways to upgrade e34 audio:

1. Install sub fed off factory speaker level amp. Using a dedicated sub amo, you can pull a signal off the factory amp, wire the sub to the battery and have some bass.
2. Replace head unit. This gives you better source and a little hotter signal to the factory amp does improve the sound.
3. Add an aux amp(s) to power the factory speakers off a line leve out from a new head unit. Major power increases, huge improvement
4. All of the above - with an electronic crossover to kill some of the low end that goes to the factory loudspeakers. Helps to keep them from breaking up.

[Ross]

Has anyone replaced their speakers with new OE speakers?
At best our speakers are 13 years in a hostile environment and likely are beat.
This would seem the least complicated "upgrade".

[attack eagle]

Without replacing the amp or the factory head unit, even with new speakers or upgraded speakers, you will not notice a difference in output. You might notice a slight increase in clarity but you will not increase the output. Upgrading to a larger speaker in the rear might even decrease output since more wattage is required to drive the larger driver.

In order to increase output you need to add more wattage to the system. This can be done in only two ways with the e34. Replace the factory amp or replace the factory head unit.

Replacing the factory head unit with a good aftermarket unit will have a very noticeable increase in output and clarity. The factory deck in the BMW is considered the weak point of the audio system and by replacing it, you will notice that extra output and clarity you were looking for. Some people will say that factory radio is not a weak point but they are simply mistaken.

I have installed thousands of audio systems in BMW's and replacing the head unit alone always made a good increase in sound quality and output. Replacing the amp and the speakers are to be done at the same time.

one caveat: replacing the head will not increase wattage... you just drive the 20x4 peak amp with a cleaner, more dynamic, and larger signal. it is still only 20x4 peak.

IF you are lucky enough to not own a MY94-95 you maybeable to 'bypass' the amp and use the more powerful headunit amp section. That does make a huge difference.

[525i winter driver]

Has anyone replaced their speakers with new OE speakers?
At best our speakers are 13 years in a hostile environment and likely are beat.
This would seem the least complicated "upgrade".
i'm not sure if speakers actually deteriorate - if the cone is toast you will hear it. the factory amp really is awful, anything is going to sound pretty brutal no matter what else you install unless you can bypass that amp, it kills anything that runs through it. (it's about fifth on my clear-weather job list, i'll let y'all know...)

edit: (afterthought)

I think both tweeters in the front are blown so I need to replace those as well.

if you have installed an aftermarket head i would suggest to you that maybe your tweeters are only just barely working because the upper frequencies of the 40-60 watts from the hu are being seriously muted as they run through the 10 or so (i don't know but pretty feeble) watt factory amp. this is i think (i'm pretty sure) what my problem is... if i listen very carefully for the high-hat i can tell they are working.

[attack eagle]

I have 160 watts of a/d/s power going to the factory speakers. I have obtained some ear shattering volumes and have not destroyed the factory speakers. I give BMW a lot of credit for their OEM speaker choices.

Recapping a factory amp not going to do much for you. There is so much ambient noise that new caps are just not going to make a difference. In my opinion here are the best budget ways to upgrade e34 audio:

1. Install sub fed off factory speaker level amp. Using a dedicated sub amo, you can pull a signal off the factory amp, wire the sub to the battery and have some bass.
2. Replace head unit. This gives you better source and a little hotter signal to the factory amp does improve the sound.
3. Add an aux amp(s) to power the factory speakers off a line leve out from a new head unit. Major power increases, huge improvement
4. All of the above - with an electronic crossover to kill some of the low end that goes to the factory loudspeakers. Helps to keep them from breaking up.

I'm currently running an 80x4 rms amp on the factory speakers as well. mids are too bright and I do NOT like where they are positioned, so I would love to replace them later on... but what is the point. It needs Kickpods and a 6.5 component set.

[AngryPopTart]

Are you using the crossover board from the factory amp? If not, no wonder it sounds messed up!