4" HIFI speaker upgrade-Contraversial
03-16-2016, 07:06 PM
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4" HIFI speaker upgrade-Contraversial
I've had a hard time compiling info about our cars stereo system and achieving better sound. I respect the complexity as well as the beautiful degree to which our cars are neatly integrated, and as such, would never (and could never) mess with the stock CD player/M-ask I-drive unit. I also did not wish to mess with amplification, because i'm not after volume, and it would tip the time and money scale in favor of leaving it alone.
What i decided to do is universally shunned and ostracized the world over on every BMW and non-BMW forum. I did the dreaded speaker-only upgrade. I am astonished at just how happy i actually am with it, and what a great value it was.
First a rundown of our cars stock stereo system, as it's been tough to find details on it. I have a 2006 BMW 530xi with HIFI stereo, and M-ask non-nav idrive. I discovered 4" component speakers in each front door, with the tweeters in the a pillar pod, and a similar 4" component setup behind the rear headrests, however, the tweeters are right next the the midrange, in a "plate speaker" type setup. There are 8" woofers under both drivers seats, which i have not investigated.
The stock speakers are wired in parallel, the tweeter is always variations of green wire. The woofer receives the signal from the stereo, and shares it with the tweeter. There is an inline crossover protecting the tweeter from low frequencies. Many people say they run at 2 ohms in parallel, which is probably true. I used 4 ohm speakers as they are more common, with no side effects.
I elected to use Rockford Fosgate Prime Series R14x2 4" coaxial speakers in all 4 locations. The prime line is marketed as a stock upgrade, with low power handling, and a very low $35/pair price. I also like that these feature silk-dome tweeters, which i absolutely insist on. I only used 2 of the 4 available mounting holes on the speaker, as bmw uses a triangle configuration. for the "point" of the triangle, i simply placed a washer on the screw, and secured it with the original nut. The demands of securing a low powered 4" speaker are not that high, so i see no need for brackets. a little inginuity should be able to secure the just fine. in the back, i had to break off 2 mounting tabs in order to conform to the triangular depression in the padding. It will make sense when you see it.
I connected the wire that originally went to the woofer to the coaxial speaker, i did not include the tweeter, as i felt doing so would allow the poor quality stock tweeter to drown-out my new upgrade. I simply left both tweeters in place but unplugged. In the front i do give up some imaging, as the tweets are no longer elevated and pointing at me, but there is way more upside than down.
I am completely astounded by the night and day improvement over factory, the detail is so much greater, with more mid bass, and more bass. The silk dome tweeters absolutely shimmer without harshness. A drummers cymbals are clear and smooth. Slash's "woman tone" is noticeably smoother vs. stock. In a funny twist of events, going from 2 ohm to 4 ohm is going to result in a slight volume drop, especially with the relatively low sensitivity of these speakers at 86db. However, the slightly decreased volume means the subwoofers are driven harder at more reasonable volumes, providing for increased mid-bass.
In summary, some of these cars are 10+ years old, and we need to start accepting more practical solutions. I can safely say this is the best $70 and 3 hrs i've ever spent on this car.
PS-don't touch the front side airbags, just work with them plugged in. You need a 7mm, 10mm, phillips-head, t25, trim tool, and electrical supplies.
What i decided to do is universally shunned and ostracized the world over on every BMW and non-BMW forum. I did the dreaded speaker-only upgrade. I am astonished at just how happy i actually am with it, and what a great value it was.
First a rundown of our cars stock stereo system, as it's been tough to find details on it. I have a 2006 BMW 530xi with HIFI stereo, and M-ask non-nav idrive. I discovered 4" component speakers in each front door, with the tweeters in the a pillar pod, and a similar 4" component setup behind the rear headrests, however, the tweeters are right next the the midrange, in a "plate speaker" type setup. There are 8" woofers under both drivers seats, which i have not investigated.
The stock speakers are wired in parallel, the tweeter is always variations of green wire. The woofer receives the signal from the stereo, and shares it with the tweeter. There is an inline crossover protecting the tweeter from low frequencies. Many people say they run at 2 ohms in parallel, which is probably true. I used 4 ohm speakers as they are more common, with no side effects.
I elected to use Rockford Fosgate Prime Series R14x2 4" coaxial speakers in all 4 locations. The prime line is marketed as a stock upgrade, with low power handling, and a very low $35/pair price. I also like that these feature silk-dome tweeters, which i absolutely insist on. I only used 2 of the 4 available mounting holes on the speaker, as bmw uses a triangle configuration. for the "point" of the triangle, i simply placed a washer on the screw, and secured it with the original nut. The demands of securing a low powered 4" speaker are not that high, so i see no need for brackets. a little inginuity should be able to secure the just fine. in the back, i had to break off 2 mounting tabs in order to conform to the triangular depression in the padding. It will make sense when you see it.
I connected the wire that originally went to the woofer to the coaxial speaker, i did not include the tweeter, as i felt doing so would allow the poor quality stock tweeter to drown-out my new upgrade. I simply left both tweeters in place but unplugged. In the front i do give up some imaging, as the tweets are no longer elevated and pointing at me, but there is way more upside than down.
I am completely astounded by the night and day improvement over factory, the detail is so much greater, with more mid bass, and more bass. The silk dome tweeters absolutely shimmer without harshness. A drummers cymbals are clear and smooth. Slash's "woman tone" is noticeably smoother vs. stock. In a funny twist of events, going from 2 ohm to 4 ohm is going to result in a slight volume drop, especially with the relatively low sensitivity of these speakers at 86db. However, the slightly decreased volume means the subwoofers are driven harder at more reasonable volumes, providing for increased mid-bass.
In summary, some of these cars are 10+ years old, and we need to start accepting more practical solutions. I can safely say this is the best $70 and 3 hrs i've ever spent on this car.
PS-don't touch the front side airbags, just work with them plugged in. You need a 7mm, 10mm, phillips-head, t25, trim tool, and electrical supplies.
Last edited by Andrew06; 03-16-2016 at 07:17 PM.
03-18-2016, 06:06 AM
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My Ride: 2010 535i xdrive
Model Year: 2010
check out this post for audio upgrades. Everything from DIYs to budget upgrades to high end upgrades. Reviews of products and it gets specific for your audio system.
I have the HiFi and the single best upgrade was the amplifier first then build around that with speakers.
Audio Table of Contents: Upgrading? Start HERE!
03-18-2016, 04:50 PM
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No pics I'm sorry. There are threads ad-nauseum about adding amps, and doing things the "right" way, i was simply wanting to share something that i was unable to find information about.
For $1,000, and an entire weekend i could surely do better, but i am not going to do that on this car. There is a need for a $70, 3 hour solution, and until now no one has shared it.
For $1,000, and an entire weekend i could surely do better, but i am not going to do that on this car. There is a need for a $70, 3 hour solution, and until now no one has shared it.
03-21-2016, 08:27 AM
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The stock midbass is 4 ohm, as is the stock Tweeter. They are wired in parallell though, so the effective resistance that matters to the amp is 2 ohms.
You are correct (maybe a little random?) about the subwoofers being amplified in the boot. Please also be aware that the stereos available in the UK did differ from the American offerings.
03-21-2016, 01:01 PM
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My Ride: 2010 535i xdrive
Model Year: 2010
No pics I'm sorry. There are threads ad-nauseum about adding amps, and doing things the "right" way, i was simply wanting to share something that i was unable to find information about.
For $1,000, and an entire weekend i could surely do better, but i am not going to do that on this car. There is a need for a $70, 3 hour solution, and until now no one has shared it.
For $1,000, and an entire weekend i could surely do better, but i am not going to do that on this car. There is a need for a $70, 3 hour solution, and until now no one has shared it.
Your $70 improvement is cool for people who are in a similar boat, but to say "there are threads ad-nauseum" about adding amps is 100% off base. Those threads will walk people through the basic installations to the more extreme installations. So if you only want to change your mids/tweets, there are plenty of threads in there offering you step-by-step procedures, with pics, as well as other brands that can be used.
The only controversy is self created by yourself. Most people will really help you out when building your system, no matter how big or small. I met another forum member in person to check out his audio set-up, most people on here are like that.
03-21-2016, 08:45 PM
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The link I posted was not attacking your solution, I posted because the other poster asked for pics which you did not have. That link has plenty of install pictures, especially for the front mids/tweets which you modified. Plus there are threads walking you through removing the trim and your front seats, if you want to replace your underseats as well.
Your $70 improvement is cool for people who are in a similar boat, but to say "there are threads ad-nauseum" about adding amps is 100% off base. Those threads will walk people through the basic installations to the more extreme installations. So if you only want to change your mids/tweets, there are plenty of threads in there offering you step-by-step procedures, with pics, as well as other brands that can be used.
The only controversy is self created by yourself. Most people will really help you out when building your system, no matter how big or small. I met another forum member in person to check out his audio set-up, most people on here are like that.
Your $70 improvement is cool for people who are in a similar boat, but to say "there are threads ad-nauseum" about adding amps is 100% off base. Those threads will walk people through the basic installations to the more extreme installations. So if you only want to change your mids/tweets, there are plenty of threads in there offering you step-by-step procedures, with pics, as well as other brands that can be used.
The only controversy is self created by yourself. Most people will really help you out when building your system, no matter how big or small. I met another forum member in person to check out his audio set-up, most people on here are like that.
My sincere apologies if i've offended you. I was unable to find any information on speaker only upgrades, and what i did find was against it. I appreciate your addition to my thread, and learned from it myself. I hope to buy an LCI 535xi in a couple years, and i will use your resources on that car.
I also agree and appreciate how most people here would help another member in real life or otherwise. I love the community BMW drivers have, i am anxious to experience a bimmerfest.
I simply sought to bring slight validation to the infamous speaker only upgrade. I have read since high school that it is not productive, but had try it for myself.
03-22-2016, 05:17 AM
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My Ride: BMW 530xiT (E61)
Model Year: 2007
My sincere apologies if i've offended you. I was unable to find any information on speaker only upgrades, and what i did find was against it. I appreciate your addition to my thread, and learned from it myself. I hope to buy an LCI 535xi in a couple years, and i will use your resources on that car.
I also agree and appreciate how most people here would help another member in real life or otherwise. I love the community BMW drivers have, i am anxious to experience a bimmerfest.
I simply sought to bring slight validation to the infamous speaker only upgrade. I have read since high school that it is not productive, but had try it for myself.
I also agree and appreciate how most people here would help another member in real life or otherwise. I love the community BMW drivers have, i am anxious to experience a bimmerfest.
I simply sought to bring slight validation to the infamous speaker only upgrade. I have read since high school that it is not productive, but had try it for myself.