Adventures in E34 car sound - my biased conclusions thus far.

[pundit]

Warning - this contains some audio techno-garb!... ;)

I'm in the process of looking to upgrade the sound in my 535i. After checking out the existing system I have come to a few conclusions which are based on sound quality rather than trying to piss off the neighbours who live four blocks away with 'doof, doof'! Car sound is now strongly driven by fashion, 'doof, doof' & 'bling' factor. This may excite those who want to hear 60hz/120BPM's 'doof, doof' @ 125db but it doesn't do much for me. Remember modern car sound is now a major marketing excercise with style tending to predominate over quality in many areas. Extreme sound pressure levels don't necessarily equate to good sound.

Personally I don't think the factory system is all that bad when one takes into account it's limitations and looks for someway of improving some of what's there without 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater'. Bear in mind this is a subjective opinion.

1. The original E34 'bass' speakers are a 5" doped paper cone with a rubber surround. The same drivers are both in the footwells and the rear shelf. I tend to find that paper coned speakers generally sound more pleasing to my ear than the polypropelene and plastic coned car speakers that predominate the market. These 'bass/mid' speakers, as I would prefer to call them, are capable of very good 'semi-low/mid' performance - not *'sub' bass (*more about this later) provided they are operated in their 'comfort zone'. The catch is they really shouldn't be asked to do much below 100hz but because they are 'the' bass driver, they are supposed to do just that. However they very quickly run out of steam when asked to perform at little more than moderate levels at/or below this frequency. In fact the footwell cavity won't allow for much below 100hz anyway no matter what kind of driver is fitted here. However between 100 to 500hz I think they perform very well. Remember less than this and they struggle, above 500hz and too much of the midrange band is going to be lost down at floor level.

2. The 2" Nokia made 40w? paper cone midrange speakers fitted to the dash are also not exactly "state of the art" but again they are not operating in the comfort zone for their best performance. These are small and relatively cheap speakers which probably are mainly suited to the 1000hz to 5000hz range. However With a fairly steep crossover slope of 18 to 24db/oct between the original bass driver at 500hz (at the low end of the mid's range) and the tweeter at around 3000hz (at the upper end of the mid's range) the results may prove subjectively quite pleasing. By reducing the middle frequencies eminating from the original bass drivers (to not too much above 500hz at foot level) this will provide more subjective midrange presence from the dash area. The sharper crossover slope is required to help reduce the intermodulation distortion due to the mids working at the lower 500hz frequency. If anyone can suggest a better quality retro-fit midrange for the dash; please do!
Although one of the best speakers I heard for mid-range performance was a twenty year old small Scan two-way system with a cheap looking 2" cone mid-tweeter fitted to it. No domes, ferro fluid or 'bling' factor - go figure?

3.The tweeters are probably the hardest to do much with as they are not particularly good. They could be replaced with something like the metal dome Vifa D25AC-05-06 (http://www.speakerbits.com/net/catalogs/showpic.aspx?ID=VIFD25AC) (if you like a bright peaky top end). However I think I would rather go for a modfied (to fit the original location) silk dome Vifa 26NC-55-06 (http://www.d-s-t.com/vifa/data/d26nc-55-06a.htm) As mentioned a crossover frequency of around 3000hz @ 18-24db/oct should work quite nicely.

4. Of course if we are not operating the original bass speakers below 100hz then we will need a bass* speaker to cover the range below 100hz. Fired from the boot through the rear center armrest cavity seems the preferred method here. *(I prefer to call it just a bass speaker rather than the misused 'sub' tag - sub bass is below about 16hz and is felt more than heard, most marketed 'subs' don't go flat much below 30hz anyway) If one is not trying to crack concrete then 40hz is probably an adequate lower limit for a car bass speaker providing you are not trying to enter competitions. Most modern music doesn't contain much frequency information below 40hz anyway. (exceptions apply, but more so in film soundtracks) Realistically even the wavelength of a 40hz sound wave can't be accurately reproduced within a car's cabin anyway due to the limited dimensions. So really low bass is only going be heard/felt at some distance outside the car. A cars interior will also play havoc with low to low mid frequencies and require some careful design work to reduce standing waves and excessive frequency response irregularities.

5. The factory amp (Blaupunkt) appears to use both active and passive crossovers. (If anyone has a schematic for this factory amp please let me know) The passive crossovers appear to be 12db/oct and possible a similar slope for the active crossover which appears to be for the bass drivers. I would think that this amp doesn't deliver much more than around 10watts per/chan RMS and probably with several percent distortion. Solution here is to replace the factory amp with one unit (100w RMS minimum) to just drive the new bass drivers (2 X quality 8" units) and a second 4 channel amp (50w RMS/Chan) to drive the existing speakers using active crossovers. The power factor here is more for headroom (no clipping at moderate levels for a cleaner sound) rather than excessive volume.

So basically this is what I am in the process of doing. As for the existing head unit rad/cass I can't seem to find a compatible stacker to suit. As a result I am now looking for a new head unit and believe me there is plenty of 'bling' crap out there! The best quality unit I have seen appears to be the Clarion DRZ9255 (http://www.clarion.com/usa/products/source_units/DRZ9255.html) (known as the HX-D2 in Australia) but at around $1,800.00 AUS it is somewhat 'off the planet' (though it does include 24bit/96khz convertors (Burr Brown) and 2 x 4 way active digital crossover with time alignment... sheeesh!... and no screwy flashing 3D display (hooray for that bit!!)

I will post some progress reports as I go.

Any other suggestions glady accepted (remember I'm over 40 so forget the 'doof, doof' factor!! :p)

Cheers. ;)

[Interceptor]

Warning - this contains some audio techno-garb!... ;)
Yay!


Any other suggestions glady accepted (remember I'm over 40 so forget the 'doof, doof' factor!! :p)Well, I'm 23 and I don't care about the 'doof-doof' factor either :p

Anyway, I was considering the isobaric push-pull woofer with 2 x 8" units in the trunk, using the hole in the back seat as a bass reflex. That way you get all the bass INSIDE, not OUTSIDE of the car, as many of the doof-doofers preffer. :) The problem is - you lose some of the trunk space, but if you can live with it, that would be the best choice for pleasing bass in your car.

The other option is to modify your trunk cover (the one behind the back seats) to make room for a pair of oval speakers. I, personally, don't like the ovals very much because they have unsymmetric sound dispersion characteristic.

[Javier]

In my car, the Amp is also the radio receiver, so if I ever change it, I would also need to change head unit (an CD changer). I have allwas avoid it, just to keep original look of the dashboard.

Javier

[pundit]

Well of course the original head unit fits the car cosmetically (it was designed that way) and most of the aftermarket head units I've seen look like a bunch of 3D 'techno-color-yawns'. Nakamichi make some units that look almost 'E34 factory' but if I did go nuts and went for the Clarion I think it could fit something like a small piece of colored 'gel' filter (as used on band & theater stage lights) to match the E34 display color. The Clarion uses a whitish fluroescent dot matrix display that is very similar character wise to the E34 head & OBC character display. A piece of this correctly matched colored gel material fitted behind the display window of the Clarion head unit would act as a color filter and allow one to closely match the display color to the original unit.

[pundit]

Yay!

Well, I'm 23 and I don't care about the 'doof-doof' factor either :p

Anyway, I was considering the isobaric push-pull woofer with 2 x 8" units in the trunk, using the hole in the back seat as a bass reflex. That way you get all the bass INSIDE, not OUTSIDE of the car, as many of the doof-doofers preffer. :) The problem is - you lose some of the trunk space, but if you can live with it, that would be the best choice for pleasing bass in your car.

The other option is to modify your trunk cover (the one behind the back seats) to make room for a pair of oval speakers. I, personally, don't like the ovals very much because they have unsymmetric sound dispersion characteristic.
I tend to think cheaper car speakers are not very good quality and the better quality car speakers are overpriced. Even quite expensive 2 or 3 way car speakers often just have a capacitor across the mid/tweeter which only gives a 6db per octave roll off. This can result in quite high levels of distortion at anything but low volumes as the tweeter is forced to operate at too low a frequency. I think home hi-fi drivers with either properly designed passive, or active crossovers are a far better choice for someone prepared to spend some time building a system. The isobaric may be a good option provided it doesn't turn out to be too peaky due to the often narrow bandwith of the design. The catch is the relatively small volume of a car creates many quite extreme equalisation problems. ;)

[infinity5]

excellent post pundit! very informative. I've got to upgrade my amp and speakers at some point, but i'm seriously considering keeping the factory headunit. it looks so damn good to me, its really simple,nice big mute button, and it integrates into the dash so my radio stations appear right under my speedometer :D. Like you said, the stock setup isn't really THAT bad. and particularly for me becuase i'm listening almost exclusivly to the radio right now. Someday i'll get component speakers up front and a nice amp and stuff.. but for now i can only dream as mechanical repairs and upgrades are a little more pressing.

[Elekta]

Here's my upgrade (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=2379&page=2&pp=10&highlight=upgrade)

kept head unit and cdxm30 all rest is new

[Incantation]

hmm.. the best thing to do is gut the entire system and re-wire the whole puppy. the existing wiring is setup .. well.. strange. i know that on the amp-out there are some shared wires going to different speakers.. which of course makes the amp work harder and should never be implemented on a new amp.

it's funny because the dash speakers like you said are actually not that bad. i mean.. the stock system is pretty decent (for a stock system).

i guess my only piece of advice for you is that if you want some bass, not too much, but just enough, but some 8's or 6's for the back.. the trunk has way too much soundproofing to run anything unless you get rid of all the sound-proofing and/or push some ridiculous power back there (more $$$).

on my setup i have some focal polyglass 165v2 in the front kickpanels.. and running those alone would probably satisfy most listeners (considering you mentioned you are not a basshead).

having installed 3 sound systems in my car, using every available way to do it (stock wiring, fm modulator for cd changer, line-in wires for the amp, etc).. the best thing to do if your budget is limited is:
-gut original stuff
buy a head unit, components for the front, and a 2 channel amp
if you get some components with nice response (like my focals) that is all you will need

if you want some filler.. or are concerned about back passengers.. or want more bass, buy:
head unit, components for front, components for rear, and 4 channel amp, or
head unit, components for front, 8's for rear, and 4 channel amp

get new wiring in all cases; stock is nice for stock speakers but if you are pushing some high-quality speakers it will not do the job.

regarding 24bit.. pretty much a waste of money considering all cds are 16-bit, and most mp3s are also 16-bit. not sure about satellite radio.. including both what quality it can transmit and also what quality music it is transmitting.

[Incantation]

my clarion dxz845mc has a mandarin display colour option that matches the dash perfectly, i will post a pic later

[pundit]

hmm.. the best thing to do is gut the entire system and re-wire the whole puppy. the existing wiring is setup .. well.. strange. i know that on the amp-out there are some shared wires going to different speakers.. which of course makes the amp work harder and should never be implemented on a new amp.

it's funny because the dash speakers like you said are actually not that bad. i mean.. the stock system is pretty decent (for a stock system).

i guess my only piece of advice for you is that if you want some bass, not too much, but just enough, but some 8's or 6's for the back.. the trunk has way too much soundproofing to run anything unless you get rid of all the sound-proofing and/or push some ridiculous power back there (more $$$).

on my setup i have some focal polyglass 165v2 in the front kickpanels.. and running those alone would probably satisfy most listeners (considering you mentioned you are not a basshead).

having installed 3 sound systems in my car, using every available way to do it (stock wiring, fm modulator for cd changer, line-in wires for the amp, etc).. the best thing to do if your budget is limited is:
-gut original stuff
buy a head unit, components for the front, and a 2 channel amp
if you get some components with nice response (like my focals) that is all you will need

if you want some filler.. or are concerned about back passengers.. or want more bass, buy:
head unit, components for front, components for rear, and 4 channel amp, or
head unit, components for front, 8's for rear, and 4 channel amp

get new wiring in all cases; stock is nice for stock speakers but if you are pushing some high-quality speakers it will not do the job.

regarding 24bit.. pretty much a waste of money considering all cds are 16-bit, and most mp3s are also 16-bit. not sure about satellite radio.. including both what quality it can transmit and also what quality music it is transmitting.
The 'shared' wiring is actually commoned speaker grounds. Some units use discrete or floating grounds. Most aftermarket amps will use floating outputs so the standard common wiring configuration cannot be used. My understanding however is the factory wiring is 'commoned' about 18" back from the speakers and can be seperated or 'uncommoned' at this point and converted to independant floating wiring. As for the 24bit convertors in the head unit, yes CD's are 16bit. MP3's are compressed and data reduced. A car is not the best environment to hear the nuances of a recording with a wide dynamic range. A car's acoustic environment is probably unable to even make full use of 16bits of dynamic range unless you park somewhere really quiet with the motor switched off - and then flatten your battery! However the Clarion's inbuilt 4 way digital crossovers are probably one of the units best features and the time alignment will help even out some phase issues due to unequal path length from speakers to ears although the amount of reflected sound will tend to diffuse that to some degree. :)

[Am Piobaire]

Here we go... time for a really dumb question!

Pundit's discourse on E34 speakers was really enlightening - especially as I have just replaced the head unit in my 88 525. So far I have found the bass speakers in the rear parcel shelf, the speakers in the footwells and the midranges in the dash but where are the tweeters located? I know they are probably looking at me everytime I get in the car but haven't found them yet.

After the new head unit, i'm really keen to upgrade the speaker system as well - but you all know how it goes ... $$$$

[pundit]

Here we go... time for a really dumb question!

Pundit's discourse on E34 speakers was really enlightening - especially as I have just replaced the head unit in my 88 525. So far I have found the bass speakers in the rear parcel shelf, the speakers in the footwells and the midranges in the dash but where are the tweeters located? I know they are probably looking at me everytime I get in the car but haven't found them yet.

After the new head unit, i'm really keen to upgrade the speaker system as well - but you all know how it goes ... $$$$
The rear speakers are 2 way with the tweeters mounted along with the bass drivers under the grilles in the parcel shelf. The fronts are 3 way with the tweeters hidden behind the small black triangular mesh grilles which reside on the leading edge of the front doors directly adjacent to the side mirrors. If you stick your ear right next to them with the sound on you should hear them okay. :)

[Incantation]

well.. maybe that the built in x-over is useful if you don't plan to run an amp and/or external x-overs.. and if the time alignment is what i'm thinking, it is a pretty much useless feature

[Mobius]

My understanding however is the factory wiring is 'commoned' about 18" back from the speakers and can be seperated or 'uncommoned' at this point and converted to independant floating wiring.Just to correct you - the grounds are combined in splices that are about 18" back from the amplifier connector. Once you break those splices; you have both terminals of every speaker in the car available to you right there.

Also many Clarion head units allow you to pick from a rainbow of backlighting - it's really easy to find a color that matches the BMW amber nearly perfectly.

[pundit]

Just to correct you - the grounds are combined in splices that are about 18" back from the amplifier connector...
Thanks - I hope no one has started stripping the insulation off their speaker looms from the wrong end! :p

[bahnstormer]

lets see your clarion incan! =]

[Elekta]

I still stand behind sticking with the OEM headunit and CD player and replace the amp, wiring and speakers. My Sub is self amped and detachable which works well for the touring. Adding the eq in the glovebox was an afterthought and not essential but it gives me the option to adjust sub volume, fine tune acoustics and the aux input for other devices.

I guess I'm a bone stock appearance, but with sleeper mods kinda e34 owner.

I'm debadged, oem shadowlined, tastefully cleared, and one day will be slightly lowered, chipped and T-Star'd.

I also don't mind getting dirty (6 miles of greasy caliche getting to the ranch last weekend for the annual quail shoot)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ggil-tx/bmw/DSCN1995.jpg

[best535iever]

A piece of this correctly matched colored gel material fitted behind the display window of the Clarion head unit would act as a color filter and allow one to closely match the display color to the original unit.

Where can i get this "colored gel" your talking about? That was a main objective of mine. To get a unit to closely match my dash. But head unit that looks like the dash sux. So i gave up and got a Kenwood :( If you could give me some detalis, itd be great. THANKS

[Incantation]

from a stealth point of view i agree.. but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and the stock deck puts out almost nothing for power.. and has no RCA outs which means you have to use speaker-line-ins on an amp.. not nearly as good a way of doing thing imho

[Elekta]

from a stealth point of view i agree.. but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and the stock deck puts out almost nothing for power.. and has no RCA outs which means you have to use speaker-line-ins on an amp.. not nearly as good a way of doing thing imho

If I ever get tired of this, I still have invested in a great base system. I can add this at anytime for the 21st century upgrade...the only head unit I would consider...comes with amber setting.

http://www.indoaudio.org/cd4002.JPG

[Incantation]

yea that deck would be adequate for your existing setup

[warton]

You represent the antithesis of current after-market car audio gear hype. Congratulations. :-) When it comes right down to it, the vast majority of time spent listening to music in a car is over at least 60+ dB of ambient engine/road noise. The rest of the time is spent listening inside a very small, oddly shaped room with a bizarre variety of reflective/absorptive surfaces at strange locations relative to the listener. Less than ideal at best...

Peter

[E34-520iSE]

I think the ideal head unit has not been built yet! To get a true replica of the sound recorded on a CD you would need to have your speakers set to match the flat EQ of the audio mastering studio. This could be achieved by head unit's having a built-in multiband (say 15 frequency bands to cut/boost 15dB), built in pink noise generator and a small mono mic to "listen" to the produced sound. You can then tailor your system to be EQ flat and compensate for speaker resonant frequencies "booming" and "honking". A passive crossover can't even hope to do this! If you wear a good pair of headphones you will understand this - music sounds clear & vocals leap out at you.

Let me know what you guys think!!

Shaun




You represent the antithesis of current after-market car audio gear hype. Congratulations. :-) When it comes right down to it, the vast majority of time spent listening to music in a car is over at least 60+ dB of ambient engine/road noise. The rest of the time is spent listening inside a very small, oddly shaped room with a bizarre variety of reflective/absorptive surfaces at strange locations relative to the listener. Less than ideal at best...

Peter

[Messerschmitt]

It's good to see something from someone who appreciates sound quality. You sound like an audio industry person, if so maybe we've met before. Anyway...

I've been thinking about some ways to improve my stock system in my "94 530i without going nuts and starting from scratch. My recent experience has been in upgrading (for sound quality) the Bose system in my VW Jetta. I think that this could be done in a similar fashion with the E34.

I would replace the dash mounted mids with 2" domes, and eliminate the door mounted tweeters. A 2" textile dome can handle a wide range at low to moderate output (with the right crossover)and will provide much better imaging and staging than the "two-way" setup that comes stock in these cars. The main issue with the door mount tweeters is that real imaging is impossible due to the close proximity of the "near tweeter" for each passenger. The dash locations are a little better and will at least provide a single "point source" for midrange and higher frequencies. I use a custom inline passive EQ circuit to compensate for the high frequency roll-off of the 2" drivers in my Jetta.

With a little work the 5" bass drivers can be replaced with MUCH LARGER drivers. I've seen 12" drivers mounted in the E34 kick panel location, but I wouldn't go to that extreme ($$$). Maybe a nice 6.5" or 8" would due nicely. You will need to be able to work with ABS to create custom mounts for any of these larger drivers.

I haven't solved the rear speaker issue yet but they seem to be suffering from limited enclosure volume. The low frequency response of these drivers should be the best in the car, but it isn't. The rear shelf prevents the drivers from using the trunk as enclosure volume and limits their F3 to midbass range.
My solution will probably be to eliminate the rear mid-high speakers and vent a "well-damped" enclosure into the interior through their former locations.

I expect to keep the stock head unit and amplifier, but I will utilize a single sub-amp.

This project will begin soon so I will try to post pics as things progress.

Messerschmitt

[pundit]

It's good to see something from someone who appreciates sound quality. You sound like an audio industry person, if so maybe we've met before. Anyway...

I've been thinking about some ways to improve my stock system in my "94 530i without going nuts and starting from scratch. My recent experience has been in upgrading (for sound quality) the Bose system in my VW Jetta. I think that this could be done in a similar fashion with the E34.

I would replace the dash mounted mids with 2" domes, and eliminate the door mounted tweeters. A 2" textile dome can handle a wide range at low to moderate output (with the right crossover)and will provide much better imaging and staging than the "two-way" setup that comes stock in these cars. The main issue with the door mount tweeters is that real imaging is impossible due to the close proximity of the "near tweeter" for each passenger. The dash locations are a little better and will at least provide a single "point source" for midrange and higher frequencies. I use a custom inline passive EQ circuit to compensate for the high frequency roll-off of the 2" drivers in my Jetta.

With a little work the 5" bass drivers can be replaced with MUCH LARGER drivers. I've seen 12" drivers mounted in the E34 kick panel location, but I wouldn't go to that extreme ($$$). Maybe a nice 6.5" or 8" would due nicely. You will need to be able to work with ABS to create custom mounts for any of these larger drivers.

I haven't solved the rear speaker issue yet but they seem to be suffering from limited enclosure volume. The low frequency response of these drivers should be the best in the car, but it isn't. The rear shelf prevents the drivers from using the trunk as enclosure volume and limits their F3 to midbass range.
My solution will probably be to eliminate the rear mid-high speakers and vent a "well-damped" enclosure into the interior through their former locations.

I expect to keep the stock head unit and amplifier, but I will utilize a single sub-amp.

This project will begin soon so I will try to post pics as things progress.

Messerschmitt
I tend to drive mainly on my own (selfish bastard!) so the rears tend to be semi-superfluous. I don't think the lack of real bass from the rears is a problem if you intend using a seperate bass driver for below 100-120hz or so. In fact if I were you I would 'hi-pass' filter the rears at around that frequency anyway which would clean them up and let the real bass speaker do the work of producing the bass. The factory rears, at best, are only going to produce a marginal sense of 'surround' rather than any real grunt. As for the front bass speakers it is going to be difficult to produce anything very useful at much less than 100hz or so due to the limited volume and lack of tuning scope in the space behind the footwell kick panels. Even if you can shoehorn something much bigger it still won't be possible to make use of a decent bass driver's potential in such a location. So I wouldn't really bother with much less than 100-120hz there either. Bi-amp and use a seperate bass driver firing through the center rear armrest cavity from the boot. Taking out most of the energy below 100hz will really improve the performance of the factory 5"'s in the 100-500hz range both in terms of possible SPL (sound pressure level) and distortion. The dash mounted tweeter is an option but 2" will require a fair bit of EQ to get much over 15,000hz. (Can I still even hear 15khz??!! :D ) High frequency reflection off the glass, while technically destroying the image, will ofter give a degree of 'air' at the expense of focus. All in all there's many way to skin the cat. The catch is after you've spent your cash and skinned your knuckles only then you can ask yourself... 'I wonder if I'd fitted brand 'X' instead of brand 'Y' would have it sounded better or not? ;)

[Incantation]

too much hypothesizing guys.. let's get some systems installed ;)

[Paul in NZ]

I guess I'm a bone stock appearance, but with sleeper mods kinda e34 owner.

I'm debadged, oem shadowlined,oem lowered and one day will be ,tastefully cleared, chipped and T-Star'd and nakamichi mb 75 or mb 100.


amen bro.....

[Nick.Hay]

After almost 2 years of owning my 535i, I finally hads the stereo installed just before christmas.
(I do have photos... But not a scanner :( )

I installed a VDO (german made) headunit. Its black, with orange lights... Matches the dash PERFECTLTY!!! I didn't want a silver unit with blue lights, as it would have looked ridiculously out of place!!

I replaced the factory front 'split' 5.25in component speakers with Candence Audio 5.25in split component with remote crossovers.

Parcel shelf received Jaycar (aussie generic, but good quality electronics company) 6in 3-way co-axials.

Best thing is that the upgraded components fit in the factory places... so it all looks factory, and un-modified.

The "doof" thing works for me!! (being a DJ, it explains itself really) So the trunk/boot received 2x 10in 1000w JBL Subs, and a Jaycar 400w 4-channel amp, In a tuned, ported box, these little subs sound great, and don't have to work very hard.

This system works really well in the car, as it is not stupidly powerful, and the car is so well sound-deadened, that you can have the system cranked-up, and yet barely hear it from the road-side (coz we know how stupid it looks and sounds when a car-full of hoons fly past with windows down and stereo blasting!!)

System is great... Installing was a bit tough (have you seen HOW much deadening and padding is under the carpet!!)...

[pundit]

After almost 2 years of owning my 535i, I finally hads the stereo installed just before christmas.
(I do have photos... But not a scanner :( )

I installed a VDO (german made) headunit. Its black, with orange lights... Matches the dash PERFECTLTY!!! I didn't want a silver unit with blue lights, as it would have looked ridiculously out of place!!

I replaced the factory front 'split' 5.25in component speakers with Candence Audio 5.25in split component with remote crossovers.

Parcel shelf received Jaycar (aussie generic, but good quality electronics company) 6in 3-way co-axials.

Best thing is that the upgraded components fit in the factory places... so it all looks factory, and un-modified.


The "doof" thing works for me!! (being a DJ, it explains itself really) So the trunk/boot received 2x 10in 1000w JBL Subs, and a Jaycar 400w 4-channel amp, In a tuned, ported box, these little subs sound great, and don't have to work very hard.

This system works really well in the car, as it is not stupidly powerful, and the car is so well sound-deadened, that you can have the system cranked-up, and yet barely hear it from the road-side (coz we know how stupid it looks and sounds when a car-full of hoons fly past with windows down and stereo blasting!!)

System is great... Installing was a bit tough (have you seen HOW much deadening and padding is under the carpet!!)...

Wouldn't mind some pics if possible. I take it the Cadence components are a 2-way system which means the factory dash mounted mids are now redundant. At least you saved yourself some work butchering the front kick panels to fit 6.5"s... not needed as the subs will more than compensate for the 5.25's lack of 'doof' below 100hz. ;)
P.S. I've bought 2 Jaycar amps myself. The 150 RMS x 2 channel and the 50 RMS x 4. These are actually pretty goods amps with real specs minus the 'name' brand pricing. I have a Jaycar Trade card so I got about 20% off the normal price. I'm still deciding on a head unit. I've decided to retain the original factory 5.25"s (f & r) and dash mids. The tweeters are being replaced with Vifa silk domes. The rear shelf speakers will be passively crossed, with the fronts being actively crossed and a sub firing through the armrest cavity from the boot using 2 x Response (Jaycar) 6.5" carbon fibre bass drivers. They maybe small but taking into account cabin gain, they will be good down to at least 30hz with plenty of volume for me. ;)

[genphreak]

Hey all,

Great thread, sensible outcomes discussed...

I have to say I'm happy with the stock setup in the front, except for the bass. As such I added a big sub and amp to run it.

Would like to remove the stock amp and replace with a 4x100W however it is too hard- it sounds ok- the sub amp and bass box have been added in the middle of the boot like some others posting have done.

Would like to remove say everything below 170Hz from the 5" drivers though, I am sure it'd work more smootly. Anyone able to tell me how to do this, ideally with the amp's crossover system- the removable eq plug.... ;) And add an mp3 player... now that'd be nice... :) thanks in advance!

:) GP

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt etc.

My system went through a few iterations before the current (final I hope) version. My first attempt used the factory head and CD changer with custom tapped RCA line outputs to an external amp but its output levels were too low, requiring high gain at the amp which caused a lot of hiss.

As it stands today:

Sony head with single CD and 10 disc control (old school, no MP3) replaced stock head. '98 vintage with nice orange backlighting but a paltry 2V output on the line-outs.

Sony 10 disc changer in trunk replaced Pioneer type 6 disc. I've yet to have this changer skip.

Alpine 75 x 4 + 180 x 1 power plate replaced amp portion of the stock booster and the 4 channels feed directly into the factory crossover to drive the factory speakers. The factory power amp module un-plugs from the rest of the circuit leaving the inputs open for hacking, no need to cut or splice to any of the factory wiring.

Custom Rockford Fosgate 8" sub in custom enclosure to finish off.

Sound? Very good - a buddy who used to compete in car audio wars said that it is one of the better systems he's heard. Of course it lacks the "doof-doof" factor, it is nicely defined and smooth sounding - just what my aging ears want.

My opinon of the E34 setup is that it is partially marketing hyped "10 speaker stereo" but also sound engineering for the crossover points and high quality drivers employed.

Carmina Burana never sounded better (apologies to PW).

Pictures of my install are on Bruno's site:

http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/upgrade/stereo_subwoofer.htm

Cheers,
Anthony

[bimmerd00d]

I still stand behind sticking with the OEM headunit and CD player and replace the amp, wiring and speakers. My Sub is self amped and detachable which works well for the touring. Adding the eq in the glovebox was an afterthought and not essential but it gives me the option to adjust sub volume, fine tune acoustics and the aux input for other devices.

I guess I'm a bone stock appearance, but with sleeper mods kinda e34 owner.

I'm debadged, oem shadowlined, tastefully cleared, and one day will be slightly lowered, chipped and T-Star'd.

I also don't mind getting dirty (6 miles of greasy caliche getting to the ranch last weekend for the annual quail shoot)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ggil-tx/bmw/DSCN1995.jpg

Where is your ranch?