e36 M3 HK sound and 6x9 wiring- HELP!

[SmokedBMW23]

So i have a 98 m3 with the HK Hi-fi 10 speakers and factory amp, I replaced the OEM HU with a JVC arsenal ahd69 (matches interior lights perfectly) I recently bought 6x9 adapters and Kenwood 6x9 KFC-6993PS they are 5ways ( i bought them really cheap like 45bucks shipped)... for my rear deck.

1. I want to know how to wire them?
2. Do I have to bypass the factory amp? if so how?

I'm lost...All help is appreciated! Thanks.

[Benny Z]

can't just do that... yes, have to rewire.

easiest/cheapest way would be to splice into the rear signal wires before the amp and extend them directly to the rear speakers. this would power them via your head unit's internal amplification...not ideal, but works.

otherwise, i highly recommend an aftermarket amplifier.

...and frankly i would have upgraded the front speakers and just deleted the rears.

[SmokedBMW23]

can't just do that... yes, have to rewire.

easiest/cheapest way would be to splice into the rear signal wires before the amp and extend them directly to the rear speakers. this would power them via your head unit's internal amplification...not ideal, but works.

otherwise, i highly recommend an aftermarket amplifier.

...and frankly i would have upgraded the front speakers and just deleted the rears.

Yeah I've read threads on splicing into the wires from the amp but I don't know which wires those are? Can you show me which ones? I also thought about removing the factory amp how hard would that be? I've heard its a hassle because of all the factory crossovers? Yeah my front midranges are blown I think i'm gonna get some BSW tweets and midranges. Anyone looking to sell theirs?

[Benny Z]

can't delete the factory amp and keep any of the factory speakers. just cut the wires at the amp's harness... you will just be cutting two pairs of wires (each pair is twisted together).

brown w/ orange stripe (right rear speaker negative)
blue w/ black stripe (right rear speaker positive)

yellow w/ black stripe (left rear speaker positive)
brown w/ orange stripe (left rear speaker negative)

[SmokedBMW23]

Ok so I cut these-
brown w/ orange stripe (right rear speaker negative)
blue w/ black stripe (right rear speaker positive)

yellow w/ black stripe (left rear speaker positive)
brown w/ orange stripe (left rear speaker negative)

What do I connect my 6x9 speakers to?

[Benny Z]

the wires you just cut... you'll need to splice speaker wire onto them so that they will reach the rear deck speakers.

just saw you are in portland.

if you are uncomfortable doing it, contact ken at musicar northwest.

http://www.musicarnw.com/contact-us/

tell him i sent you

[SmokedBMW23]

the wires you just cut... you'll need to splice speaker wire onto them so that they will reach the rear deck speakers.

ahh ok, I think I understand now I splice the wires that were coming INTO the amp, I strip those and maybe connect some crimp-on blade terminals? then just simply connect those to my 6x9s? Correct me if im wrong

[Benny Z]

that will work. i would solder the new wire instead of using spade terminals, but if you must do it that way it will work.

*also - i edited my previous post to include some more info about musicar nw. just want to be sure you see that.

[SmokedBMW23]

that will work. i would solder the new wire instead of using spade terminals, but if you must do it that way it will work.

*also - i edited my previous post to include some more info about musicar nw. just want to be sure you see that.

Oh Yeah i forgot that part solder a new wire to the wire I cut and then could I use the blade terminals to connect to the 6x9s or what would you recommend for making a connection?

Musicar NW is like 20-30min from me. Not bad I might have to drop in sometime.

[Benny Z]

Oh Yeah i forgot that part solder a new wire to the wire I cut and then could I use the blade terminals to connect to the 6x9s...

you got it!

[SmokedBMW23]

Wow! thanks seemed a lot harder. With this wiring are the speakers gonna function and sound as they should. I've read that I will still not be hearing the speakers full capabilities.

[Benny Z]

yes, this will run them properly, but ONLY because you are using an aftermarket cd player. the aftermarket cd player has amplification of the full range signal. you are intercepting that signal before the amp and sending it directly to the speakers, bypassing the oem amp.

you will have to fiddle with the front/rear fader to get them to blend well with the fronts, but they will get the full range signal this way.

cheers!
- ben

[SmokedBMW23]

Great! Thanks for all your help Benny. I'll post pics of my setup when I get them in

[el.duderino]

Benny, thanks for the props! We can't actually make those Kenwood 5-ways sound good, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker but if we can help shoot us an email off of our web site.

I'm pretty sure you'll decide that 6x9 don't help too much...

[SmokedBMW23]

Benny, thanks for the props! We can't actually make those Kenwood 5-ways sound good, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker but if we can help shoot us an email off of our web site.

I'm pretty sure you'll decide that 6x9 don't help too much...

What do you mean?

[steve1081]

What do you mean?

He is saying your speakers are no good. These guys do this for a living; they don't think anything that costs $45 bucks sounds good.

But, when compared to blown rear factory speakers I think you will notice a nice difference.

[Benny Z]

fyi - i'm a systems geek for a fortune 500 company completely unrelated to anything in the electronics industry.

i just love good audio!

it has nothing to do with the cost of the drivers.

[SmokedBMW23]

He is saying your speakers are no good. These guys do this for a living; they don't think anything that costs $45 bucks sounds good.

But, when compared to blown rear factory speakers I think you will notice a nice difference.

I bought them for 45bucks they sell on crutchfield and almost any other retailer for 100bucks...and if cost dictated how well my speakers would sound I guess I wouldn't be upgrading them because I wouldn't have enough money to buy all the "good" expensive products like what steve1081 has. My bad bro gzz.

[TroutSc]

So did this work? Im thinking of doing it this way. I have an aftermarket HU. I have the 6x9 adapters already, just need to get some speakers and splice in. The rears will be powered from the hu only, the fronts will all be through the factory amp. Im looking just to have a full functioning "normal" sounding system for now to get by. pulled out one of the rears and it was toasted. figured Id just throw in the 6x9s and splice into the head unit rears right before they enter the amp.

[SmokedBMW23]

Yeah It worked and have been working great. All my other speakers sound like crap so i have them tuned out and am currently running on my 6x9s only and they are fine. Big thanks to BennyZ he helped me through the whole process.

[TroutSc]

Good to know, thanks! I'll be doing mine this weekend I hope.

[SmokedBMW23]

Be carefull though, and make sure you know what your doing. If you do something wrong i'm not taking the blame!

[SmokedBMW23]

Be carefull though, and make sure you know what your doing. If you do something wrong i'm not taking the blame!

[jair24611]

...Thread Resurrecting clarification question: (SmokedBMW23 or anyone else who has done this)...

Yeah It worked and have been working great. All my other speakers sound like crap so i have them tuned out and am currently running on my 6x9s only and they are fine. Big thanks to BennyZ he helped me through the whole process.

Do you mean that the factory fronts sound worse after you spliced in the new 6x9's straight from the HU??

That doesn't sound technically sensible, but I'm not 100% on amps&crossovers, integrated to systems with other power sources. My fronts still sound good (ok) from the factory amp, which has been powering my added 6x9's (infinity reference series) low ends adequately. But now, I want to splice the 6x9's from my aftermarket Alpine HU (20W RMS for the entire two way speaker >/= 15W RMS filtered for low-end, post-crossover, from factory amp). Switching because I'm adding the JL 10" W3v3 powerwedge with JL XD300/1v2. I figure it will all sound nice if I turn up the highs/mids from all the speakers and give the sub the job of the lows.

Has anybody done this set-up with the splice and the sub? It seems pretty practical and efficient, especially considering the size/shape of the JL powerwedge enclosure and the small-ass JL amp which I want to mount right next to the factory amp.

[tyr283]

When you say splice the 6x9's, I assume you mean amp them? If so, I wouldn't. Amping the 6x9's will draw the sound stage towards the rear of the car and completely overpower the front. Just like you hear music from in front of you at a concert, you want the sound stage forward of you...you'd be best off amping the fronts (throw in some budget components), ditching the factory amp (fronts and sub off of an aftermarket amp) and leaving the rears on head unit power