I have the factory HK Hi-Fi stereo with the factory amp, and years ago, my rear speakers fell apart, so I replaced them with 3-way Alpine 6x9s. For years, I really didn't have a big issue, although I did get some distortion with bass heavy music, so I just adjusted the fade for a forward based focal point. Now though, the distortion is getting worst. I pulled the speakers and they are good, no visible issues. I did notice that the amp gets REALLY hot, even after 20 minutes of use. I was able to find another amp that worked in another car, and when I swapped it into mine, the issue remained.
The Alpine speakers are 4ohm while I believe the factory speakers are 3ohm (or it's 3ohm and the factory are 2ohm, can't remember). The Alpines are 3-way while the factory are 1-way. I think THAT is my issue, but I don't want to keep buying speakers to test my theory. I'm asking for help to point me into the correct direction to remedy this. Is my problem using a 3-way speaker where the amp is already acting as a cross-over and the speaker isn't thrilled with the signal received? I can't get rear factory speakers anymore, and I can get some 1-way 6x9s if needed. TIA.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
Yep, that is exactly your issue. The factory rear box was a ported 2 way, with separate leads from the amp. If you are trying to drive a 3 way speaker from the amp, you have two issues. First is the factory amp is a POS and way underpowered, two is you are trying to send a weird signal to the crossover in the Alpine speaker.
My stock stereo lived in the car for a whopping 3 weeks after I bought the car in 1995... and I've never looked back.
I don't know how much you want to dive in on this, but I'd look at BAVSound and see what they offer.. You probably don't want to go with the digital signal processor, an Alpine V12 75Wx4 Bi-amped running Rainbow 6.5" mids in the kick panels and 1" tweets in the door, an Alpine V12 500W sub amp feeding JL Audio Stealthboxes (8" free air subs) in the rear shelf. But it sure sounds pretty good. ;lol
No matter where you go, there you are...
Thanks, BAVSound only has replacement speakers for the front of the car, not the rear deck. And I know I can update the entire system, but I'm just trying to get it back into stock form. My daily is where i'll put money for the stereo, but not this guy. I just want it properly functioning.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
You should check eBay and you can probably find a used set. Also, there is an advertiser in the Roundel classifieds that refurbs those speakers. But really, any 4” and 1” speaker would work. A 1 ohm difference isn’t a big deal.
No matter where you go, there you are...
I found a cheap 2-way 6x9 speaker and installed them yesterday so I'm hoping that will be the end of it. Then discovered the car battery died and my charger said it had less 0.5V charge and refused to charge it. Turns out Interstate had a batch of bad batteries from 2020 and mine was made in that window. Free replacement, but have to wait until Friday to go get it.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
It probably isn’t going to be any better. The root cause is you are trying to send either a low range or high range signal from the amp to a 6x9 with its own crossover. You best bet, it to get a sub and remove the rear boxes altogether. (All they really do is try to fill with some pretty crappy bass.
No matter where you go, there you are...
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