[dragon20]

Hi all,

I have been researching the forums for a while planning for my Stereo upgrade.

I have just bought a E90 325i 06 with M Sport package and iDrive.

Looking to complete a full OEM upgrade.

I am thinking of the following

1. Replace door speakers
2. Add tweeters
3. Replace rear speakers underneath seats
4. Replace rear speakers (I know a lot of people just leave these)
5. Add 1 to 2 amps - Try to fit them in the boot so that they are hidden

Most my previous Stereos are SQ type.
In my last car I have:
1. Focal front splits 6"
2. Focal Rears (not sure what size 5 1/4)
3. Full sound deadning
4. Rockford Fosgage P200 12" Sub (Sealed box)
5. Alpine V12 F545 Amp
6. Alpine V12 M300 Amp

I wanted to ask if i could re-use any of the above for my new car. I dont want to make any major modifications so if most of this wont suit then I will have to buy new stuff.

I am looking for a similar sound to what was in my previous car - In particular i am a big fan of a real tight punch in my bass / Sub.

I wanted to ask if the 8" SWS would be capable of somthing like this?

I know there are a couple of really good sponsors here who provide optimal set up's with all the extra stuff that is needed for the BMW.

I am looking to find 1 source to buy all my stuff from ( I am from Melbourne Australis so happy to purchase from the US as long as people are willing to ship to me)

I know people have spoken about a couple of things i am not sure about in particlar

1. Technics harness? What is this do I need it?
2. Processor? - If i plan to re-code my IdrIve to Hi-Fi is this really needed?
3. battery - With this kind of set up do I need a special battery? in my previous car I had to install a Optima as I killed two alternators.

Advise would be much apprecaited - really looking forward to completing this upgrade!

Cheers!

[dragon20]

Hrmmm, No suggestions?
I will do a little more searching and present what I think I should install

[dragon20]

Ok all,

I am looking at the following upgrade components:

1. Rainbow SLC 210 with CAL25 tweeter in BMW OEM sails
2. BMW tweeter sails part number: 51 33 7 184 198 <L & R sails are the only parts needed
3. Rears - Not sure what to do here? I'd prefer to change them but depends what every body reconmends?
4. Zapco DC360.4 (90x4) or Zpaco DC650.6. I want to try to hide all amps - But i want to en sure amps have enough guts
5. 2* SWS Earthquakes 8"
6. Technic's Harness (What does this actually do)
7. Sounded deadening?

Not sure if I will need anything else?

Let me know your thoughts!

[ctuna]

He has a link to his shop in all his responses and loves Zapco's he can tell you what can be done . Most people are probably doing Christmas things today and tommrow.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by dragon20

Ok all,

I am looking at the following upgrade components:

1. Rainbow SLC 210 with CAL25 tweeter in BMW OEM sails
2. BMW tweeter sails part number: 51 33 7 184 198 <L & R sails are the only parts needed
3. Rears - Not sure what to do here? I'd prefer to change them but depends what every body reconmends?
4. Zapco DC360.4 (90x4) or Zpaco DC650.6. I want to try to hide all amps - But i want to en sure amps have enough guts
5. 2* SWS Earthquakes 8"
6. Technic's Harness (What does this actually do)
7. Sounded deadening?

Not sure if I will need anything else?

Let me know your thoughts!

I didn't feel the need to do extensive sound deadening in the M3 and I'm sure the 325 is probably the same. Technic's harness will allow you to make a connection to the factory wiring (both HU and speaker) and extend them to your aftermarket amps without having to cut any OEM wires. Its a great piece if you want full reversibility without doing any wiring modifications. I'm running a DC650.6 with the SWS and a/d/s mids and tweeters in the front (I left the factory rears in place running off the factory hi-fi amp). I'm starting to feel the need for a trunk sub. If I were you, I'd leave the rears and use some of that budget to incorporate a trunk sub using VP Electricity's sub enclosure.

[ctuna]

If you left the factory amp in place how did you hook it back up since the Harness from Technic breaks it out(its not a pass through splitter to my understanding) or did you splice the wires? So with your DC650 did you use two channels each for the underseats?

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by ctuna

If you left the factory amp in place how did you hook it back up since the Harness from Technic breaks it out(its not a pass through splitter to my understanding) or did you splice the wires? So with your DC650 did you use two channels each for the underseats?

Good point. I did not use Technic's harness because I did my system before it was released but, IIRC his harness does not allow for you to retain the factory hi-fi amp. My DC650 runs four channels for an active front stage and bridged the last 2 channels mono to the underseats. My underseats don't play as high into the midbass frequencies as most people set them up to stereo separation is not as much of an issue there. I run them from 80Hz down and my fronts run from 90Hz up.

[ctuna]

It looks like those rear channels on the factory amp would sound pretty
bad in comparison to what you did in the front do you actually use them for rear fill?

[ctuna]

picture of Technics harness in this thread

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7994636

actually that is the one for the Hi Fi System I think you have the base system
since you are adding tweeters but the concept is similar its attached to the behind the
radio in the base system I think and the connectors may be a little different it also
has harness that runs to the the trunk for that one I think to.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by dragon20

Ok all,

I am looking at the following upgrade components:

1. Rainbow SLC 210 with CAL25 tweeter in BMW OEM sails
2. BMW tweeter sails part number: 51 33 7 184 198 <L & R sails are the only parts needed
3. Rears - Not sure what to do here? I'd prefer to change them but depends what every body reconmends?
4. Zapco DC360.4 (90x4) or Zpaco DC650.6. I want to try to hide all amps - But i want to en sure amps have enough guts
5. 2* SWS Earthquakes 8"
6. Technic's Harness (What does this actually do)
7. Sounded deadening?

Not sure if I will need anything else?

Let me know your thoughts!

My harness simplifies the connection between the OEM HU and the processor/amp of your choice, as it avoids the cutting, splicing or tapping of the OEM wires. All the wires in my harness are labeled, so it eliminates the guessing and the common mistakes of connecting the wrong wires together.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by ctuna

It looks like those rear channels on the factory amp would sound pretty
bad in comparison to what you did in the front do you actually use them for rear fill?

Rear fill is exactly what it sounds like. The only people who hear it are the rear seat passengers. They are faded such that they are not heard at all in the front seats. I have sat in the back seat and the sound is good enough for anyone who would be sitting back there. If anything, the sound back there is a little bass heavy but otherwise, I'm not really concerned with the back seat sound.

[deege]

sorry if i'm hijacking the thread but i can't send private messages since i don't have enough posts, i'm interested in upgrading the base stereo too and i live in South Florida, Technic can you pm me? thx in advance!.

[dragon20]

Guys,
Thanks for your response Seems as though most people were busy with Christmas. 808Mguy, Thanks for your response, I would probably agree with you now. I sent a bit of money on my last car and the rear speaker set up is a bit of waste in my eyes. Its really only for the passengers nearly all of them complain its too bass'y and too loud back there. lol!

Back then I though that the rear speakers would contribute towards a more filled cabin in terms of sound but looking back now I would probably say i didnt have to spend that sort of money. Can any one tell me what size the standard rear speakers are? might be an opportunity to reuse some of my old ones if the size is right.

808, in terms of VP Electricity's sub enclosure, I might look into this as I am used to having a good quality sealed sub, only reason i was thinking of leaving it was to maximize the boot space. But if there is a pre-molded enclosure that takes advantage of boot space then this would be excellent.

Cheers

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by dragon20

Can any one tell me what size the standard rear speakers are?

The rears are 4"

[ctuna]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365866

One of them has a list of all the speakers than most people use
and info on a lot of other stuff

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352586

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368847

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&highlight=BSW

[Technic]

Originally Posted by deege

sorry if i'm hijacking the thread but i can't send private messages since i don't have enough posts, i'm interested in upgrading the base stereo too and i live in South Florida, Technic can you pm me? thx in advance!.

I cannot PM you either... use ********************** email.

[oca123]

do you have the ski pass?
the problem with speaker sizes in our cars is due to the shallow doors and panels.

[AW335TT]

Only advice i can give you is go listen to the speakers yourself before buying, and buy what sounds good to you. I currently have Focal 100krs installed, before buying I listened to Focal, Rainbow and Dynaudio. Dynaudio was out of my budget but between rainbow and focal, I liked focal a lot more.

[oca123]

The problem is that you cannot predict what a speaker will sound like in a car. Speaker location, cabin materials and many other things change their response completely.

AW335TT, how are your 100KRS speakers powered? Stock amp? Aftermarket? If so what are your xover settings? I have a pair of 100KRS+tweeters and xovers and I ran them for a couple of months, and I ended up replacing them with the 130VRS Focal kit. I did not like how the 100KRS sounded. What are your impressions of them? How are they mounted?

[dragon20]

Guys thanks for the info. I have a view with regards to comparing speakers.

Reason for this is like its mentioned above. Doing a comparision outside is very different to how it will be in the car. Additionally what about all the other components and settings etc?

Not sure what you guys think but let me know your thoughts. I was very happy with my focals in my other car, but it took me a while to get used to them as I found the tweeters to be quite harsh.

[ctuna]

The Morels and Rainbows are less harsh than Focals and have a better lower midrange
with the Morels being the better low mid and the Rainbows for highs.
I can only find Focals in the stores in my area.

[AW335TT]

Originally Posted by dragon20

Guys thanks for the info. I have a view with regards to comparing speakers.

Reason for this is like its mentioned above. Doing a comparision outside is very different to how it will be in the car. Additionally what about all the other components and settings etc?

Not sure what you guys think but let me know your thoughts. I was very happy with my focals in my other car, but it took me a while to get used to them as I found the tweeters to be quite harsh.

I have the TNK tweeters and they were a little bright at first, but i got them turned down and they sound good to me now. I personally didnt like how rainbow sounded even tho the guy at the shop recommended rainbow, he also said he sells a lottt more focal. Rainbow sounded dull to my ears, i guess i like my sound a little emphasized. On a side note, I heard the Bowers and Wilkins 802 Diamond series speakers the other day and WOWW they make my car sound like broken apple headphones lol wish i had 15k to spend...