Using stock speakers except for upgraded door mids courtesy of alex840.
Head unit is Jvc KD avx77 running through stock amp.
Purchased clarion compact xc2110 mono amp which fit right into the place of stock phone amp and polk audio db840 sub. Purchased 8" enclosure on amazon for $24 shaved one side to get the sub more centered, bolted the enclusure with sub to firewall.
Got to say the sound is pretty freaking nice!! Super happy with the look and performance!
Next is to install a mesh into the stock med kit holder.
Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk
nope... speaker has to be positioned so that no part of it is encumbered by any edge of the enclosure... that speaker has a throw that comes outward... and you won't like what happens if it hits something.
'91 Dinan 860 Stage III (new 6L engine)
'91 Dinan 850 TT stage III (brand new engine) 21st Century Tech meets 18th Century Dinan...
'91 850i 6sp (mint) (sold)
'90 Dinan 750iL TT stage III (Guido - The Beast)
'94 850 CSi The Detroit Auto Show car (restored to factory perfect) (sold)
'96 850Ci, The George Carlin car
''73 3.0 csi, '08 535i, '03 X5 4.6is
...and a few other non BMW cars
Its not encumbered by anything, on the left hand side where it looks close to the edge there is atleast 3" space between the sub diaphragm and the side of the hole. I already tested, it hits super hard and is far from hitting anything. One way to get the sub perfectly centered is to remove the stock amp enclosure and I do not want to do that, it holds stock amp and my mono amp perfectly. Not necessary to have the sub centered, it is just important that it is not hitting anything when it is pumping hard.
Next step is to have a nice mesh grille installed into the stock med kit holder.
Last edited by dragon850; 12-17-2017 at 08:03 AM.
Links to what I have purchased for this install:
1) Amp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2) Sub: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3) Enclosure: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4) Sub cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One thing I have trouble finding is the square mesh grille to install into the stock med kit holder just like they did on the clarion 8 build. Anyone has a link to one?
These cars easily make good sound with audio upgrades, Seem they are pretty air tight, Almost like a enclosure.
Congrats
Last edited by 8eights; 12-17-2017 at 10:28 AM.
Nice work and thanks for sharing!
I'd like to do something very similar with my car but I don't have a ski pass through. Has anyone done anything like this to a car without ski pass-through? I assume it just requires to cut a hole in the bulkhead.
The bulkhead already has the hole cut - just need to cut a hole in the first aid kit (front and back)
The Infinity BassLink is a popular/relatively simple way to go that several of us have added to our cars - no metal to cut, although I did drill 4 holes to mount the enclosure
I have the ski pass through but I ended up not doing anything with it. I removed everything with the sub in the trunk and it sounded great. Then I put all the ski pass through stuff back in place and
I left 10" sub cabinet in the trunk on it's back, tied it down, and it is more than enough.
What mid-ranges did you drop into the doors?
SteveCT
E31s
F30 daily driver
Too bad I did not take pics, but maybe alex840 can pitch in on the brand and type of speakers..
Basically what we did is cut out the oem speakers leaving just the part of the bracket that mounts in the door, then the new speakers drop right into that mount and get epoxied all around, oem seal fits around the new speaker and it looks stock.
Each speaker took 10min to mod and then had to give it some time for epoxy to dry, huge improvement over rotted OEM speakers.
System sounds bad ass right now, even wife is impressed
Last edited by dragon850; 12-19-2017 at 11:52 AM.
I can't wait to hear Dragons new setup with the Sub.
We used below from Parts Express. If my memory serves me correctly the dB was in high 80s (88 I believe). Basically the mid in the door came out the frame of old speaker was cut, very easy to do with three small cuts and it dropped right in and a little glue / epoxy and let it settle for 12 min or so and you got a drop in replacement. Please note this is good if your not upgrading your current amp. I personally like to see the sensitivity / dB a little higher (mid 90s).
295-380 Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm 2 EA $21.55
On my Red 850ci I am planning to test out the following for higher dB / sensitivity speakers. All will be connected to the stock amp except the Sub which is Arc 8" in a box ski hole shooting into the cabin. I have also a Kenwood 22W Media player going in and and contemplating whether a New old stock 5 channel amp that I have should be used in this application. Please note the 6 1/2" speaker, it is one of the most efficient / senative speakers I have seen (99dB)! Peerless Tweets, is also very efficient but I heard they are too bright (their highs), FaitalPro will be used in the door and there rear panel in replacement of what Dragon and I used in his car.
Please note, they are being shipped right now and I am not 100% of the fitment yet. Goal is not to cut anything or at least keep in minimal.
95-369 Dayton Audio RS100P-4 4" Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm 2 EA $33.20 $66.40 264-1390 Peerless by Tymphany BC25SC08-04 1" Silk Dome Neodymium Tweeter with Waveguide 4 Ohm 2 EA $19.74 $39.48 294-1100 FaitalPRO 3FE22 3" Neodymium Professional Full-Range Woofer 4 Ohm 2 EA $32.00 $64.00 295-348 Dayton Audio PS65LP-4 6-1/2" Ultra Efficient Low Profile Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm 2 EA $65.00 $130.00 275-195 Dayton Audio AMTPOD-4 Air Motion Transformer Automotive Tweeter Pair 2 PR $39.90 $79.80 027-424 Dayton Audio DMPC-6.8 6.8uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor 4 EA $0.00 $0.00
I installed a pair of those Faital Pro Neodymium drivers in the doors and there is no cutting of any sort. They sound really fantastic.
In total, I replaced my rear shelf speakers with new stock ones, added the pair of the Faital pros in the doors, added a cheap pair of 5.25" 1 way drivers in the kick panels. Then, my 10" sub in a homemade cabinet to the volume specs of the driver, lying on its back in the trunk (ski bag still in place and the door closed) and a JL audio motorcycle sub amp which is very similar to the Clarion in size, and installed in the exact same spot, and a Becker 7910 DTM head unit. I really love driving alone so I can blast whatever music I want, Zappa, Vai, Satraini. And I am pushing 60.
As I recall, it was a perfect fit.
Yes 3FE22 is a direct replacement for door speakers. I just did it.
These things are subjective. I don't believe for one second that you can get good sound by doing things that are documented above.
In my book if you want a good sound you have to do at least this,
- Get rid of the original kick panel pods and install a decent midbass driver using free air and solid mounting surface and some sound deadening.
- Install high guality tweeter, example hybrid audio L1pro R2, up dash level, aligned to the listening point.
- Install decent subwoofer in the trunk and make a custom enclosure following manufacturers advice. Sub facing the ski pass.
- Install a decent 6 channel amplifer, or one 4 channel and one mono amp. Connect each speaker to individual amplifer channel to get an active setup.
- Install a high guality head unit with integrated dsp. (active cross overs and time alignment to be able to individually adjust every speaker). A good example would be pioneer deh80 prs.
Nothing goes to rear shelf. Sound coming from the rear only disturbs your sound image.
Also nothing goes to doors. Most of the cases you get better results with less speakers. Less is more. With two-way active front you only have to get the mid and tweet to work together ( levels, time delays, cross overs, phase...) Also with mid in the kick panels instead of doors you get much more air between your ear and the speaker and that is always positive thing.
Last edited by mikae31; 12-20-2017 at 10:58 AM.
You are correct it is highly subjective, in my first 8, I have done something similar to what you are describing in your post. Total cost was around 7k, this was with me getting around 30% off with my work discount.
This is the way I look at it, was the sound better? Yes it was, was it 7k better than my current set up? Hell NO!!! LOL
Current set up is about 90% as good and it rocks! (this is coming from someone that was in high end home audio scene for years..) Another plus for me is that most of the system is kept stock with no hacking.
For someone that is looking to keep stock look, does not want to hack and wants a good sound this is the way to go IMO.
- - - Updated - - -
Great to know!
In car audio the most important thing to remember is. The system is only as good as the install. It basically means that even if you have 7k equipment the end result can be worse than with 1,5k eguipment. It's all about the install. With expensive equipment like that the car should be stripped clean and start with the complete sound deadening from top to bottom. Then custom speaker placement and so on. If you put expensive speakers in stock places it's all the same to go with 5 times cheaper speakers.
I have been doing car audio installs for 15 years as a hobby and at one of my own cars i spent about 1500 hours just doing the install. Needless to say the sound was good. With those same equipment the sound could have been a lot worse. No one is willing to pay that kind of amount for the installers to do the install so basically if you can't do the custom install yourself you are losing a lot of potential.
Reading some reviews and looking at specs Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" might be a tad better than FaitalPRO 3FE22 3" for use with a stock amp. They are both great mid drivers but for a bit cheaper price I think the minor mod to the stock bracket might be worth it to go with RS75-4 3".
mikate31,
It all depends how far you want to take it. What your doing is complete rebuild. Some stuff you mentioned I 100% agree with. Like most time and sound stage is in the front, amp with 6 channels. 99% of the work in my opinion is done in engineering / design of it. I have gone so deep into that my brain all to way to the tip of hair hurts As an example I know someone that has High End Rockford Fosgate Speakers in his car but the AMP is stock so does not drive the speakers. It actually sound worst than what he started with.
For my specific application on my Red 850ci my goal in the R&D work: I am looking to keep speakers as close as possible and in some cases drop in replacement with Higher dB (more cleaner and sensitive sound). As an example Dayton Audio PS65LP-4 6-1/2" Ultra Efficient Low Profile Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm in the kick panel, is like having an amp attach to it, but then the rest of the speakers/drivers need to be close to that dB and also be drop in replacement or at least close to it. That is why I ordered many different specs of Tweeters to try them out...
My theory is: higher dB + newer higher RMS Head unit + stock amp = cleaner and louder sound by being more efficient.
Ed,
I don't think I agree with your statement, but I might be wrong. The FaitalPro has much higher dB. Basically, you need less power / RMS to drive them accurately. Either way we will know soon.
Here are the specs for FaitalPros:
https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs...ifications.pdf
and Here are the Daytons 3":
https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs...et-revised.pdf
Dragon 850,
Where'd you dredge up that AVX77? I've been looking to maybe get another one as a backup to mine. (its fine now but... I have that kinda luck). I know its out of production. Was yours found "sitting on some shelf online" as was mine? I've had mine 10 years now and its been flawless. Your thoughts?
Bob
My AVX77 came with the car when I bought it, since then I absolutely fell in love with it, by the looks of it many others did too as you can see by this ebay listing, its a new unit with BIN price of 2k, that's 1k more than it originally sold for!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-KD-AVX7...MAAOSwTO9aIliv
Bookmarks