Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 67

Thread: Speaker upgrade

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci

    Speaker upgrade

    Dayton Audio mids and mid woofers.
    For the mid woofers same dayton audio 4.5 carbon woofers fit in the front as a drop in replacement. For mids the oem basket needs to be cut off to adapt the dayton audio mid, it needs to be epoxyied in. Sound is very chrisp and clean.



    Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Liberal Loontown, CA
    Posts
    2,658
    My Cars
    Cool Volvo, Ugly BMW
    Stealth install. Well done.
    What "thumbs up" really means




  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    Sounds very clean, just waiting for a second pair of carbon mid woofers to arrive to replace footwell speakers, they are being overloaded currently. Its a similar drop in situation there. And the door speakers is similar cut in solution to the rear mids. Decided to retain stock tweets and they are both actually 8ohm and the replacements were 4ohm, plus originals looked ok.

    Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    I would be interested in knowing part numbers for the three different speakers you are using so I can do the same conversion. Looks easy enough. I don't need a high-end stereo system but the car does need some replacement speakers. Thanks,

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    Alex, can you pitch in with the part numbers, I forgot.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by dragon850 View Post
    Alex, can you pitch in with the part numbers, I forgot.
    I would appreciate the help! Installation looks good without any major mods.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Brisbane, QLD, Australia
    Posts
    23
    My Cars
    2011 Benz W212 E350
    Hi All,

    Great photos. Now I know what they "should" look like. I was going down this path only to find a previous owner has butchered the rear speaker boxes to fit 16 cm (6.25 in) Clarion speakers along with ditching the foot well speaker box and shoving more 16 cm (6.25in) Clarion speakers. Another job on the back burner...
    Regards,

    Philip
    Brisbane, Australia.
    The other side of the planet, south of the Equator

    1969 BMW 2000 Mountain Green - Long gone in the 80's
    1976 BMW E12 520i Blue - Long gone in the early 90's
    1995 BMW E31 840ci Fjord Grey - Gone Thankfully (2018)
    2011 Mercedes W212 E350 Calcite White (The "armchair")

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Jose CA
    Posts
    676
    My Cars
    1991 850i S70 6 speed
    For the kick panel and larger speaker in the rear box:
    Dayton Audio CF120-4 4-1/2" Woven Carbon Fiber Midwoofer 4 O
    For drop in replacement even the holes matchup for the mid size speaker in the rear box and front door (this is an exact drop in replacement) just a little more money than Daytons. I had a sound engineer friend of mine give both speakers a listen and he said no significant difference between the two:
    FaitalPRO 3FE22 3" Neodymium Professional Woofer 4 Ohm
    Or if you want to do the mod Dragon did for the mid size speaker in the rear and front door:
    Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm

    Now here is kicker: the front door tweet is 4 ohms while the rear box tweet is 8 ohms. I used this for drop in replacement for the front tweet:
    Dayton Audio ND20FB-4 Rear-Mount 3/4" Soft Dome Neodymium Tw

    In the last month or so dragon and I have gone through $1000+ in speakers trial and error for a drop in replacement for a stock system. This has been our findings. Put it to good use

    Still no solution for the rear tweet that is 8 ohms

    Good news on a side note, my 850ci 6 speed manual sunroof was repaired after playing a "puzzle game" with dragon and new headliner went in. The headliner was more work than anticipated for me.....definitely a two man job and my knee surgery recovery didn't help the situation.


    Quote Originally Posted by dragon850 View Post
    Alex, can you pitch in with the part numbers, I forgot.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Interesting I thought we had 5 1/4 speakers in the front foot well.
    Last edited by killian665; 02-19-2018 at 06:45 PM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    So just completed the last part of the upgrade, footwell speakers. Same as rear, drop in just the screw holes need to be re drilled. All I can say is wow! What an improvement in sound!!

    Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Those look too small is that the same size they are factory?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Jose CA
    Posts
    676
    My Cars
    1991 850i S70 6 speed
    Quote Originally Posted by CDO5OO1A View Post
    I have always felt that the weakest link in the sound system was the nokia drivers. A cone, a magnet, a coil of wire and a frame...
    It's amazing how good or BAD some engineers and technicians can manufacture them to sound.
    The 3 1/2" mid are good actually, just paper. Paper is still one of the best mediums in my opinion BUT they are prone to wear and tear.
    I don't know much about the tweets....still trying figure out a rear drop in 8 ohms tweet.
    The Mid Base in the kick panel and rear box are ok also but the with Daytons they sound much tighter.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by killian665 View Post
    Those look too small is that the same size they are factory?
    Ed take a side by side pic of old and new.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Do you have any pictures of the door speaker with the door panel off? I just took mine off and some of the wiring has been cut and I’m totally missing the tweeter it looks like. I don’t know how it’s supoosed to look.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Like this is where my tweeter was. Looks like someone tried to glue it in.



    And then this is the door speaker. They’ve cut the wire off and butt connectored it for some reason? The little plug with the cut wires on top of the housing is where they came from I don’t understand what’s happening here. What is this supposed to look like all plugged in and proper? It looks like I’m going to be replacing some wire harness.




  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Jose CA
    Posts
    676
    My Cars
    1991 850i S70 6 speed
    You bet I did return the ones I didn’t use.

    Good idea on posting the part #s numbers that I tried.

    Here are a few that were NOT drop in replacment:

    Dayton Audio RS100P-4 4" Reference Paper Midwoofer 4 Ohm
    Peerless BC25SC08-04 1" Silk Dome Neodymium Tweeter with Wav
    Dayton Audio PS65LP-4 6-1/2" Ultra Efficient Low Profile Ful
    Dayton Audio AMTPOD-4 Air Motion Transformer Automotive Tweet
    Dayton Audio DMPC-6.8 6.8uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
    Dayton Audio RS125P-4 5" Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm
    FaitalPRO 4FE32 4" Neodymium Professional Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio RS150P-4A 6" Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio LW150-4 6" Low Profile Woofer 4 Ohms
    Peerless GBS-135F25AL02-04 5-1/4" Aluminum Cone Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio ND25TA-4 1" Titanium Dome Neodymium Tweeter


    Quote Originally Posted by CDO5OO1A View Post
    You're spending too much on speakers. Return the ones you didn't like and get your money back! Drivers are real hit and miss and sound quality usually has little to do with price.

    For example, these Celestion 4-1/2" neodymium magnet drivers were $12 each. Xlnt sound quality. (see pic)
    Attachment 622991

    These CSI/Speco for 4 times as much are just awful !!!

    Attachment 622992
    As you have found out it's real hit and miss, and got expensive... searching.

    Other forum members will benefit from your leg work. (Big thumb's up)

    Maybe you should post a list of the speakers that you tried that you didn't like so forum members will know.
    Last edited by alex840; 02-21-2018 at 12:56 AM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by alex840 View Post
    You bet I did return the ones I didn’t use.

    Good idea on posting the part #s numbers that I tried.

    Here are a few that were NOT drop in replacment:

    Dayton Audio RS100P-4 4" Reference Paper Midwoofer 4 Ohm
    Peerless BC25SC08-04 1" Silk Dome Neodymium Tweeter with Wav
    Dayton Audio PS65LP-4 6-1/2" Ultra Efficient Low Profile Ful
    Dayton Audio AMTPOD-4 Air Motion Transformer Automotive Tweet
    Dayton Audio DMPC-6.8 6.8uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
    Dayton Audio RS125P-4 5" Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm
    FaitalPRO 4FE32 4" Neodymium Professional Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio RS150P-4A 6" Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio LW150-4 6" Low Profile Woofer 4 Ohms
    Peerless GBS-135F25AL02-04 5-1/4" Aluminum Cone Woofer 4 Ohm
    Dayton Audio ND25TA-4 1" Titanium Dome Neodymium Tweeter
    Would you post the part numbers for the speakers that were fitting into Ed's car? I am interested in replacement speakers that will work without any major mods. And, it looks like you guys found some very good subs for the oem speakers.

    Here is a photo of the 3/4" tweets someone had suggested using that I installed when I needed to repair the door handle on my car. Took a little work to modify oem mount to fit new speaker that I glued on!
    IMG_20171002_201608390.jpg

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    Quote Originally Posted by JDP530 View Post
    Would you post the part numbers for the speakers that were fitting into Ed's car? I am interested in replacement speakers that will work without any major mods. And, it looks like you guys found some very good subs for the oem speakers.

    Here is a photo of the 3/4" tweets someone had suggested using that I installed when I needed to repair the door handle on my car. Took a little work to modify oem mount to fit new speaker that I glued on!
    IMG_20171002_201608390.jpg
    Part numbers are listed above in the thread by Alex 840

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by alex840 View Post
    For the kick panel and larger speaker in the rear box:
    Dayton Audio CF120-4 4-1/2" Woven Carbon Fiber Midwoofer 4 O
    For drop in replacement even the holes matchup for the mid size speaker in the rear box and front door (this is an exact drop in replacement) just a little more money than Daytons. I had a sound engineer friend of mine give both speakers a listen and he said no significant difference between the two:
    FaitalPRO 3FE22 3" Neodymium Professional Woofer 4 Ohm
    Or if you want to do the mod Dragon did for the mid size speaker in the rear and front door:
    Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm

    Now here is kicker: the front door tweet is 4 ohms while the rear box tweet is 8 ohms. I used this for drop in replacement for the front tweet:
    Dayton Audio ND20FB-4 Rear-Mount 3/4" Soft Dome Neodymium Tw

    In the last month or so dragon and I have gone through $1000+ in speakers trial and error for a drop in replacement for a stock system. This has been our findings. Put it to good use

    Still no solution for the rear tweet that is 8 ohms

    Good news on a side note, my 850ci 6 speed manual sunroof was repaired after playing a "puzzle game" with dragon and new headliner went in. The headliner was more work than anticipated for me.....definitely a two man job and my knee surgery recovery didn't help the situation.
    Thank you!

    PS I installed 'replacement' speakers in the driver's door when I repaired the door handle. I used the Kicker CST20 (3/4"/20mm) and they are 4 ohm but I think the oem tweeter in the door was actually an 8 ohm. I also used the FaitalPRO 3FE22
    in the door. Would there be a significant difference in sound quality or level if the 4 ohm tweeters are used in back in place of the 8 ohm oem units? Thanks,
    Last edited by JDP530; 02-21-2018 at 01:44 PM. Reason: add

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Orlando, FL USA
    Posts
    1,209
    My Cars
    91 850
    Quote Originally Posted by JDP530 View Post
    Thank you!

    PS I installed 'replacement' speakers in the driver's door when I repaired the door handle. I used the Kicker CST20 (3/4"/20mm) and they are 4 ohm but I think the oem tweeter in the door was actually an 8 ohm. I also used the FaitalPRO 3FE22
    in the door. Would there be a significant difference in sound quality or level if the 4 ohm tweeters are used in back in place of the 8 ohm oem units? Thanks,

    As long as your amp can handle 4ohm speakers, than it should be fine. However, the most significant difference between the 4ohm and the 8ohm speakers are that the 4ohm speakers will require more power from the amp to drive.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Jose CA
    Posts
    676
    My Cars
    1991 850i S70 6 speed
    I checked the Tweet in the door on 840ci parts car and it was 4 ohm, maybe 850 and 840 and years make a difference? IDK

    The reason I went with the speakers that I did was to use the original amp so higher 90+dB was a must and drop in replacment (sensetvity of Speaker) was a must.

    Also the frequency ranges were reviewed.

    Quote Originally Posted by JDP530 View Post
    Thank you!

    PS I installed 'replacement' speakers in the driver's door when I repaired the door handle. I used the Kicker CST20 (3/4"/20mm) and they are 4 ohm but I think the oem tweeter in the door was actually an 8 ohm. I also used the FaitalPRO 3FE22
    in the door. Would there be a significant difference in sound quality or level if the 4 ohm tweeters are used in back in place of the 8 ohm oem units? Thanks,

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    In the parts diagrams it lists a different door tweeter for cars made after 9/1993. So maybe that’s why.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by killian665 View Post
    In the parts diagrams it lists a different door tweeter for cars made after 9/1993. So maybe that’s why.
    Maybe so, my car is '91 model.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Anybody know a part number for those little copper coin looking things that retain the door tweeter grill to the door card? You stick em on the pegs.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Woodstock, GA
    Posts
    566
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 540i6
    Apparently the E36 Harmon Kardon amplifier bolts right in to the factory location and plugs right in just as easily. After comparing the stock unit with the E36 one this turns out to be true. I was reading they’re capable of driving 2 ohm speakers as well. Do you think this would be a worth while upgrade? I don’t know much about sound systems.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,778
    My Cars
    Supercharged 850ci
    Quote Originally Posted by killian665 View Post
    Apparently the E36 Harmon Kardon amplifier bolts right in to the factory location and plugs right in just as easily. After comparing the stock unit with the E36 one this turns out to be true. I was reading they’re capable of driving 2 ohm speakers as well. Do you think this would be a worth while upgrade? I don’t know much about sound systems.
    I heard about that, well I am getting pretty good sound quality right now from my stock amp but maybe the e36 amp will do even better... hmm worth exploring. How much more powerful is it over the stock unit?

    Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Speaker upgrade
    By Sherbie in forum 1991 - 1999 (E36)
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 03-26-2004, 10:36 PM
  2. H/k 12 Speaker Upgrade
    By chemdog in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-22-2003, 11:07 AM
  3. hk speaker upgrade
    By ACS320i in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-19-2003, 05:19 AM
  4. M Coupe Rear Speaker Upgrade
    By acetymekai in forum 1996 - 2002 Z3 (E36/7, E36/8)
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 09-25-2003, 03:09 PM
  5. Ideas for speaker upgrade on 330 HK?
    By adc in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-12-2003, 05:06 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •