Sound System Solutions for Ragtops

[doulos4jc]

I want to upgrade, but not at the expense of losing the trunk as a storage area. Placing an 8"-10" sub in the ski pass is an option, any other ideas that don't take up much space?

[dieseldriver99]

What about an amp to power Boston Acoustics speakers front and rear. Bass is nice but what makes sound all around better is a tight mid range speakers. If you must, how about an OEM woofer that comes with HK system?

I want to upgrade, but not at the expense of losing the trunk as a storage area. Placing an 8"-10" sub in the ski pass is an option, any other ideas that don't take up much space?

[wallygator]

i put a set of 4" boston acoustic two ways in the stock location in the back..and put in sony head unit...i get great sound including great bass out of my system now..
i'm actually having to turn down the bass !!

[882001]

an 8 in the ski pass is the only option you could have a box as small as .35 for an 8. i went with a big ported box but thinking about getting back in the shop and building something smaller.

[882001]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/882001/bmw006.jpg

[Christophe]

882001 do you have any pics of your install?

this looks great and would be right up my alley....

[882001]

i put the crossovers where the factory amp was. i didnt take any pics of the install.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/882001/bmw009.jpghttp://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/882001/bmw007.jpg

[882001]

i used this calculator for the box
http://www.reaudio.com/speaker_box/LPort_Box_Calc.html

[bbroony]

you can get 6" components in the front stock locations and 5" ones in the rears with a little thinking, then you could fit a 12"sub in a stealth box in the boot behind the tail light(not that hard to make either)

[MParallel]

I'm gonna try an active sub in my skihatch since the OEM bmw doens't have a connector available to feed a amplifier.

Unless there are amplifiers that can have the radio's speaker outlets as imputs?

[boltsm3]

have you ever seen the BASSFORMS SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURES at bavarian autosport? they go like behind the tail lights... check out B.A. on the web

[RayMan]

I want to upgrade, but not at the expense of losing the trunk as a storage area. Placing an 8"-10" sub in the ski pass is an option, any other ideas that don't take up much space?

Depends on how you define not taking up much space. I built a box that housed two 8" subs that took a little less that 6" of trunk space. Here's a link detailing my design.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107099
Best part is, I still have enough room to store my wind deflector in the trunk.

[doulos4jc]

Depends on how you define not taking up much space. I built a box that housed two 8" subs that took a little less that 6" of trunk space. Here's a link detailing my design.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107099
Best part is, I still have enough room to store my wind deflector in the trunk.Thanks Rayman, your setup is what I am looking for...rockin' tunes and room for wind deflector, golfs clubs, etc...

Your system is a few years old, how is it holding up? If you had to build a similar system today would you do anything differently? Edit: Any idea how much it would cost? Thanks again for the input.

[RayMan]

Thanks Rayman, your setup is what I am looking for...rockin' tunes and room for wind deflector, golfs clubs, etc...

Your system is a few years old, how is it holding up? If you had to build a similar system today would you do anything differently? Edit: Any idea how much it would cost? Thanks again for the input.

The system is holding up perfectly. For cost reasons, my system was based on some old amps I had. That being said, I'm quite happy with my almost 20 year old a/d/s amps. If I had to do a new system for my car, it'd be essentially the same except I'd use a single multi-channel amp (like a JL Audio 500/5) rather than 2 amps. Other than that, I'm quite happy with what I have. I use to run an Alpine 9813 but upgraded it to a 9835 along with an Alpine iPod adapter. The 9835 also matches perfectly with the rest of the interior lights. As for subs, I noticed that Pioneer builds a super shallow sub...looks like it might be the ticket for a small enclosure. As for cost, it's hard to say. I built the box myself and I'd suggest you do the same if you're somewhat handy. I was able to find a hardware store that precision cut my 3/4" MDF (since I had no table saw). The pre-cut pieces ended up to be about $30 or so. A shop would charge a whole lot more.