rjcastr

Im glad this has become a good thread, guys, guys, guys, there is no way around customizing the doors if you really want to build a quality sound system. I agree with some of the things that you folks have adressed, but from what i have heard midbass should never ever be placed in kickpannels always in the doors trying to baffle them. there is very littel space to work with in the door so you will have to bring them out as much as possible without interfering with the seat and the door window tracking. A little difficult but doable. KU-- is right about center channel and i do beleive i will go with some high end tweeters passive up front customized just like you guys did. KU-- those tweeters that you put on the pillars are not pods are they? arent they just flushed on to the pillars? I'm not sure if those tweets requirements are to be completely sealed in the rear or not, i know mine are. If thats the case, is there clearance behind the pillars?

Speaker location in our car for staging is horrible, everyone who is in to sound systems know you never place tweeters in the mirror location like whe have them, you always want to place them in the "A" pillars so that the soundwaves can bounce on to the glass and in to your ears in front, same thing with the passanger side, this will provide a great sense of soundstage. i will attach this link, this BMW has 10 speakers in the front and subs in the rear, i have heard this car in person and its the most amazing sound staging i have ever heard not to mention the clarity. although i clearly beleive thta centerstaging makes a difference im wondering if tweeters were placed there what frequency would i run them at? I will have to do some research.

Good job on the processor choice KU--- that is the best processor in the world. You have great components and great set of amps and processor, your car will sound amazing.

Nelson , im glad you kept those rainbows they are great speakers, keep in mind guys the components are and will only be as good as the custom install. You can have great components installed stock and it can sound like ISHT or you can have decent components installed right in a good custom installation and will sound like a million bucks. rule of thumb is the install should always be very comperable to the price of the components.

Baffling the midbass is a challenge but even if you can't as long as you install them correctly and seal the front to the rear you will be ok. Make sure you do not , do not! remove the 4" speaker that will ruin your door sound install.

Make sure you insulate the doors completely
I did some work on my install at least started the box and took it to a shop so that they can finish it, i will have my baby finished by Friday can't wait!!

subterFUSE

No, I am not leasing the car. I paid cash in full on the day of purchase. So the car is mine to do what I want with it. I just don't want to cut or fabricate any of the panels. I have done so many competition stereo systems in my previous cars, but I promised myself that I was going to take good care of my E60. I am going to sell the car one day, and I would like to maximize the potential return I get. So far, my car is still in pristine condition and I aim to keep it that way. The system in my Acura was about $16,000, and the system in my Lexus after that was more like $20,000. But both cars were modified extensively, and I just don't want to go that route anymore.

Honestly, I doubt I will ever do anything to my current E60 stereo. As much as I want a better sounding system, I just don't think I am going to go through with what is necessary. Not only does modifying panels concern me, but I also don't want to lose any trunk space. The E60 trunk is so small to begin with, that I can barely get my golf clubs in. If I had a subwoffer installed, I would not be able to put my golf bag in without having to take my driver out of the bag first.

KU530

Actually you can run the midbass in the kicks it is a non directional freq. So aim them off axis and call it good. You can baffle the midbass depending on the driver. Rainbows like to play ib. Here is a pic of what I did in my maxima


I feel you not wanting to cut a panel in your car. I have been down that road and it cost me in the end everytime that is why I was looking for a simple solution but I don't think one will be found in this car if I can't find a midbass to go in stock location. To save you space in the trunk go IB from rear deck. Yes it requires cutting but you could cover that back up when you sale the car easily. Or aperimetric from the rear deck as well.

It is your car dont let the worry of resale keep you from doing what you want.

KU530

Oh RJ those tweets are not flush mounted. I had to glass them they are fairly deep and I made it so that the back of the tweet is flush with the factory a pillar that way I would not have any airbag issues.

rjcastr

Good job on the pillars KU, i didn't know if they were glassed, i saw from a pic that the actual tweets on the Rainbows are deep kind of sort of like mine, mine are extremely deep, so i had to make an mini enclosure for them. Anyhow i will love to see what the final product of this masterpiece looks like, i'll have mine completed by Friday. Trunk installed, monitored installed as well. Lets cross my fingers and hope all comes out okay. I was hoping to do the Alpine LCD in wood but my installed doesn't know where he can get the mold done in a matching wood trim, any suggestions?

subterFUSE

Yeah, I have used horns in my Acura. I have pictures of that install somewhere in this forum, I just need to look them up.
Image Dymanics CD2-Comp horns cost about $1000 for the pair. So the price is about the same as my Dynaudio System 220MKII components I had in my Lexus.

Tuning horns requires a good active crossover, and dual 1/3 octave EQs.

subterFUSE

I will probably look a little further into it with the local stereo shop. A close friend of mine is business partners with the guys who own Ultimate Audio here in Orlando, which is supposedly the best install shop in the area. They have already done a major system in an M5, so I should probably find out what they did to that.

rjcastr

PICS PICS PICS, lets show some pics, hopefully i'll have some pics to post up very soon here.
horns are probably the best in terms of highs but require a lot of high end crossover tunning capabilities.

good luck on the install , please show some pics, yes?

rjcastr

http://www.cdtaudio.com/come_and_listen.htm

Check this staging out

Centerstage tweeters
A pillar tweeters
Braxial midbass and tweeter mounted on the door
midrange 4" in the kickpannel

= amazing sound staging and clarity

nelson29

I live 10min from the main store in OBT. they showed me the pics of the m5 install..they wanted $800 to do my doors. you can see the pics in their website.