[ibuycash]

What should I get, I don't have the logic 7 setup....But I am not necessarily looking for the most watts, I want the cleanest sound possible when loud.....

[ejheverest]

any amplifier will get rid of the destortion. MB Quartz are good mid/highs.

[enforcerman]

I replaced the underseat subs and added an amp to the new subs. HUGE improvement w/ just that. Look around for posts, there are a ton. My little project only took a few hours and cost about $500.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by ibuycash

What should I get, I don't have the logic 7 setup....But I am not necessarily looking for the most watts, I want the cleanest sound possible when loud.....

Budget for this, please...

[scanboy]

^^ I was wondering how that would sound. Just got a PDX-5 and SWS, planning on install them this weekend. Eventually, would like to swap out the 4" also, but can't seem to decide what to get.

[Technic]

If the idea is to replace all the OEM speakers and the OEM amp in the base HiFi system I would stay OEM for the speakers and get the Individual Audio OEM speakers for the front doors and rear deck in the Sedan/rear quarter panels in the Coupe.

They are all plug 'n play, they fit the OEM mounts, each are 4 ohms, and they really sound great with the proper power. The fronts are full components with a separate crossover circuit, and the rears have a cap in the tweeter as a high pass filter. A pair of SWS-8 for under the seats and a 5- or 6- channel amp with some 600W max would drive this set loud and clear without any issues.

[Taxvictim]

Technic, what are the "Individual Audio OEM" speakers? Are these the L7 speakers? I'm trying to upgrade my 328 sedan's basic hifi system, too. I just put in a new Alpine head unit, and am thinking of getting the BSW drop in speakers next month. ($600). Some day, I'll add an amp and new subs.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Taxvictim

Technic, what are the "Individual Audio OEM" speakers? Are these the L7 speakers? I'm trying to upgrade my 328 sedan's basic hifi system, too. I just put in a new Alpine head unit, and am thinking of getting the BSW drop in speakers next month. ($600). Some day, I'll add an amp and new subs.

The Individual Audio speakers are these...

[Taxvictim]

I called the stealer and asked about those. We made it clear I didn't want replacements for what I already had, I wanted to upgrade to these higher end speakers. He said he couldn't guarantee they would work in my car. Then hHe went through this long process of getting my VIN and getting the prices, and at the very end, right as we were hanging up, he said, "these are the top of the line HiFi Professional speakers." D'oh! I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I have. Technic, got part numbers, by any chance?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Taxvictim

I called the stealer and asked about those. We made it clear I didn't want replacements for what I already had, I wanted to upgrade to these higher end speakers. He said he couldn't guarantee they would work in my car. Then hHe went through this long process of getting my VIN and getting the prices, and at the very end, right as we were hanging up, he said, "these are the top of the line HiFi Professional speakers." D'oh! I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I have. Technic, got part numbers, by any chance?

For the E90: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...24&hg=65&fg=20

For the cheapest prices try either Tischer or United BMW online parts.

These speakers cannot be used with the standard OEM amp, as they are twice the impedance of the standard OEM speakers.

[ibuycash]

Budget for speakers is $500-$800 for the set

[enforcerman]

500-800 is about enough to replace the underseat subs w/ SWS 8's and add an amp in the back to power the subs. You will love that BMW runs all the speaker wires to the trunk amp. You can tap into them back there instead of running wires all around your car. Finally, since the battery is in the trunk, powering the amp is a snap.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by ibuycash

Budget for speakers is $500-$800 for the set

The main issue of the E9x front door replacement speakers is that they must be shallow (less than 50mm in depth) or the magnet will hit the window mechanism. Therefore the few speakers that will easily fit and sound great will be plain expensive. For example, the excellent Focal 100KP set is around $500, the Morels around $400 a set. That's half you budget in just the front doors, without any aftermarket amp or underseat subs upgrade.

My recommendation for a budget like that is:

- Diamond Audio S400s (silk tweeters): $155 shipped a set http://cgi.ebay.com/Diamond-audio-te...2em118Q2el1247

I used to have a set of these in my MKV GTI front doors and these sound excellent, and for the price they cannot be beat. They also come with aluminum tweeters (S400a); personally I like silk tweeters better as they don't have the harshness of the aluminum version at certain volume levels. The mounting depth is around 40mm, however the magnet is pretty big and the crossovers are also bulky.

Check the installation of these speakers in this forum member in an E92 M3 to see if you are willing to install this set like this: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202384

You could replace only the front speakers to save some money and leave the OEM rears as they are.

- SWS-8 underseat woofers (in 4 ohms): you could offer $250 shipped for a pair http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=200319889134

DIY installation is here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163804

- Alpine PDX-5 amp: $450 http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ine+PDX-5.html ($450 shipped; backorder) http://www.woofersetc.com/p4736/PDX4...-Amplifier.htm ($450 plus shipping)

Although can be found much cheaper on eBay ($370 shipped), my experience on eBay and buying Alpine PDX amps have not been very good. Sellers at eBay might offer the cheapest PDX amps anywhere but it seems to me that they are either refurbished or simply defective amps. And if you have issues with them they are extremely slow to issue a refund, exchange or repair... if they actually agree to any of that.

This amp will more than nicely power all your speakers (the S400s, the SWS-8 and the OEM rears) and can be installed where the OEM amp is located, using all the OEM wires.

- JL Audio speaker wire to RCA cables (3 sets): $39 http://www.shopatron.com/product/par...r=91803/1451.0

You will need those 3 cables to connect the OEM HU outputs to the PDX-5; you will need to split (paralell) the rear OEM speaker outputs into 4 RCA outputs for a total of 6 RCA outputs into the 6 channel inputs of the PDX-5.

Total price: around $889 plus extra wires, cables, fuses and shipping charges for a full system replacement.

[Taxvictim]

Technic, this is great stuff, and I really appreciate all of your excellent input on this forum.

I looked at the Alpine amp you mentioned. The specs say

# RMS Power Rating:

* 4 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.
* 2 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.
* Bridged, 4 ohms: 150 watts x 2 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.

So I assume it can handle our stock 2 ohm speakers? Does that mean if I buy just the Alpine amp you mentioned, can I drop it into place? Would that make a big increase in sound quality by itself? I like the ability to set a separate gain for the subwoofers.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Taxvictim

Technic, this is great stuff, and I really appreciate all of your excellent input on this forum.

I looked at the Alpine amp you mentioned. The specs say

# RMS Power Rating:

* 4 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.
* 2 ohms: 75 watts x 4 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.
* Bridged, 4 ohms: 150 watts x 2 chan. + 300 watts x 1 chan.

So I assume it can handle our stock 2 ohm speakers? Does that mean if I buy just the Alpine amp you mentioned, can I drop it into place? Would that make a big increase in sound quality by itself? I like the ability to set a separate gain for the subwoofers.

The PDX-5 is stable down to 2 ohms. For intallation location check this thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131507

The PDX-5 by itself will provide a significant improvement in volume and thus definition (especially the bass), as the total power available then will be more than triple the OEM amp output. Replacing the front and underseat speakers is the minimum requirement to really get the best out of this amp.

There are other 5- and 6- channel amps available that will provide even better performance than the PDX-5 but most of them are either several times bigger, more expensive or not available yet.

[Hunter399]

Check out Reus audio (reusaudio.com)

We sell their product and our customers are very happy with it.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by enforcerman

500-800 is about enough to replace the underseat subs w/ SWS 8's and add an amp in the back to power the subs. You will love that BMW runs all the speaker wires to the trunk amp. You can tap into them back there instead of running wires all around your car. Finally, since the battery is in the trunk, powering the amp is a snap.

Do you mean even though the OEM harness provides power(+/-), I will still need to wire from the battery? I'm trying to install a PDX-5. Also, to get signal for the subs, do most ppl split from the rear speaker or front or it doesn't really matter?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by scanboy

Do you mean even though the OEM harness provides power(+/-), I will still need to wire from the battery? I'm trying to install a PDX-5. Also, to get signal for the subs, do most ppl split from the rear speaker or front or it doesn't really matter?

You should not use the OEM amp's 12V power wire for any aftermarket device, much less for an aftermarket amp. That line does not have enough current to drive a PDX-5 (60 amps vs. 20 amps) and this line is shared with other systems in the car. So if you blow this line you could damage something else.

Just don't mess with it unless you use additional fuses of lower value than the OEM's for protection.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

You should not use the OEM amp's 12V power wire for any aftermarket device, much less for an aftermarket amp. That line does not have enough current to drive a PDX-5 (60 amps vs. 20 amps) and this line is shared with other systems in the car. So if you blow this line you could damage something else.

Just don't mess with it unless you use additional fuses of lower value than the OEM's for protection.

Thanks, good thing I asked.
So if I do split the signal from the front for the sub, will I get less output for the front? I'm not sure less in terms of what, not as loud? I'm guessing it shouldn't seen the signal is going to get amplify.

[2kaccordocoupe]

+1 on the individual audio, I have in my car from the factory and it just pumps.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by scanboy

Thanks, good thing I asked.
So if I do split the signal from the front for the sub, will I get less output for the front? I'm not sure less in terms of what, not as loud? I'm guessing it shouldn't seen the signal is going to get amplify.

If you are looking to add just a sub then tap the OEM amp outputs to the underseat subs with either a LOC or with an aftermarket amp with high level inputs. The OEM remote turn on is the thin black wire on that OEM amp connector.

[scanboy]

Originally Posted by Technic

If you are looking to add just a sub then tap the OEM amp outputs to the underseat subs with either a LOC or with an aftermarket amp with high level inputs. The OEM remote turn on is the thin black wire on that OEM amp connector.

I'm planning to replace the OEM amp with the PDX-5 and use it to drive all the speakers no extra sub in trunk just SWS in stock location. Since the output from HU has only 4 channels, I don't know what to use as sub input to the PDX.