no sound from front speakers, amplifier shot? Replace with modern Blaupunkt amp?

[chimpanzee]

I'm 3rd owner of '93 325i, it came with a nice JVC head-unit (w/CD).

I swapped it out with a newer JVC R870 BT (BT capable), realized I wasn't getting any sound from front speakers! Getting good sound from (stock) rear speakers.

I played with the JVC settings, Fade (front & rear). STILL no sound from front

I pulled back the driver-rear trunk, to examine the amp. I wiggle the connectors (2 of them), checked the 10A fuse (OK).

The amp takes speaker-level inputs

Any history of front circuits going bad on amp? Is there any easy fix? (open it up & replace something)

What do do?

Ditch the stock amp (you can get them $50 used off Ebay), & go with a modern

4x 150W Blaupunkt amp

I.e. just wire up the pre-outs (F & R) from the JVC.

1) amp out (F) spliced into the kicker twister-pair (replace the stock kicker woofer speaker with a decent 2 or 3-way 6.5"speaker)
or put in non-twisted pair wiring (thicker gauge). I hear the battery in the rear causes ground loops, so maybe just stick with the twister pair to kick-panel speaker?

2) amp out (R) wired to new 6x9 (get the 6x9 adapter)


^^^ I'll lose the 3-way component design for the fronts, the audio from kicker speaker is not optimal location

Any suggestions for a more optimal solution?

TIA for any tips



https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...From-A-BMW-E36

• Amplifier (amp): This is where the audio signal from the HU gets processed and then delivered to the speakers. An amps main purpose is to amplify this signal (make it louder). Many amps offer additional features that process the audio signal even further. A feature like this on the OEM amp is cross-over that divides the signal among several speakers to optimize the sound reproduction.

• SQ: There are many manufacturers of car audio amps, and quantifying which is better is difficult when trying to measure the quality of something that is based on personal bias. That said, Zapco amps aim to deliver a product that is absolutly customizable to whatever that personal bias is, and they have a reputation among many car audio professionals as being one of the best, so I think they are doing well on that delivery.

• OEM: The factory installed amp is in the trunk of an E36 (convertibles may be an exception). It is very weak and inadequate for driving anything larger than the factory speakers. Even at that it is a poor performer. People will try to keep the factory amp, while also adding an after-market amp, which I do not advise - just remove the factory one.

• POP: It will depend on your speaker selection to pair an appropriate amp, but generally a 4 channel amp is often selected to replace the factory amp and paired with component speakers in the front, and subs or mid-size drivers for the rear.

• Kick Panel: These are the largest of your speakers and are near the floor behind what is known as the "kick panel." The size of these speakers are roughly 5.25" and therefore will fit most 5.25" speakers with no modification. If you wish to fit larger speakers in these locations, you will need to remove sheet metal to fit them.

• Doors:Most doors also have two speakers a-piece in them (fronts only for sedans). There is a small tweeter and a mid-sized driver. A Few E36's have only the tweeter, and the speaker installed in these vary in size depending on the speaker package that was fitted factory with the car, but the size of the retaining brackets, when it has them, are the same for every E36 (that I have seen).
  
  • Tweeter: The inside cavity measures approx. 1 inch across, but it fits a 3/4" tweeter rather well using the clips that help the OEM tweeter in.
  • Mid-driver: The inside diameter is about 2.75" inches in size. You would not be able to fit a 3" driver in this space.
  
  
  
• Rear Shelf: The rear speaker are the most various in size, dpeending upon year and speaker package selected. The mounting brackets may also vary, but the mounting points are the same. Theese speakers mount on the inside of the trunk, and fire into the cabin through holes in the rear shelf. You can use these locations to mount many different size speakers. My suggestion is to remove, or disable them entirely but that decision is up to you

• SQ: The speakers are the devices that actually produce the sound from the audio signal. Converting an electrical signal to an audible reproduction is quite a feat, but to do so isn't very difficult - My brother took a first-year physics class and came home building speakers out of things in the junk drawer like plastic cups, paper-clips and wire. But to reproduce it in an accurate reproduction of the way that it was recorded is a matter for sound engineers. Kind of the way that you or I can make a rocket from a straw, but it takes a rocket scientist to put one in orbit. Scott Buwalda is the rocket scientist over at Hybrid Audio Technologies. You want SQ, you want HAT (obviously you should do your own research though). If there's someone making better speakers, I'm willing to be convinced .

• OEM: Ditch them, I don't care if you have the Harmon Kardon premium sound package, the speakers are poor quality. You can get better sound from your E36 just by replacing the speakers.

[chimpanzee]

...

What do do?

Ditch the stock amp (you can get them $50 used off Ebay), & go with a modern

4x 150W Blaupunkt amp

I.e. just wire up the pre-outs (F & R) from the JVC.

1) amp out (F) spliced into the kicker twister-pair (replace the stock kicker woofer speaker with a decent 2 or 3-way 6.5"speaker)
or put in non-twisted pair wiring (thicker gauge). I hear the battery in the rear causes ground loops, so maybe just stick with the twister pair to kick-panel speaker?

2) amp out (R) wired to new 6x9 (get the 6x9 adapter)


^^^ I'll lose the 3-way component design for the fronts, the audio from kicker speaker is not optimal location

I just got "educated" via


https://www.dvatp.com/bmw/hk_speaker_upgrade

Before we get started, some background is necessary. The HK system uses an external, trunk-mounted amplifier that contains passive crossovers. This means that the speaker outputs of the amp are not full range signals so you can't just plug those into a component set with its own crossover and expect to get something listenable. If you intend to keep the amplifier and simply replace the speakers (definitely the simplest solution), that limits the number of options for replacement drivers. See "Choosing Drivers" below for more.


There have been a couple revisions of the audio system over the production run of the E36. Early systems came with a complement of round drivers mounted to the rear deck in a large square enclosure, while later models like my 1998 came with a smaller oval enclosure consisting of a 6x9 driver woofer and 2" component tweeter. You can easily determine if you have 6x9 drivers by sticking your head in the trunk and looking up at the rear deck. A black plastic oval enclosure indicates you have 6x9s. If that's the case, you can follow this DIY verbatim to replace the drivers.

See pic, it looks like I've got the upgraded HK 6x9?

IMG_20220925_165035_004.jpg

It's a 2-component design..woofer w/tweeter. When I turn the volume up HIGH, the audio gets distorted. Is this the amp distortion, not blown speaker?

[chimpanzee]

Interesting solution, using a 2-way 5.25" for kick speaker:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...Front-Speakers

Here is what you need to do. It is the easiest option and sounds pretty damn good.

Get yourself some 5.25 2 way speakers. ( i think there is too much treble when you use tweeter pods, only my oppinion) And put them in the stock front location. You dont need the kick panel to hold your carpet in place, its not going anywhere. Get yourself a 200 watt amp, and run RCA wires from the headunit into the trunk. Run some speaker wire up to the front speakers. I highly suggest getting a small sub.

This is my setup, and it sounds great. I dont see the need in spending ungodly amounts of money on an E30 sound system, or installing 6x9s in the rear, (SO UGLY!)




You people who are complaining about not being able to hear your front speakers when you are driving, you need to get an amp!!!!

[chimpanzee]

This thread describes the solution I was thinking of, front (5.25") & rear (6x9) co-axial (Infinity) speakers w/Blaupunkt 4-channel amp (replacing the stock amp):

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-Audio-Upgrade!

He is abandoning the component-speaker (front & rear)

Looks like a thorough downgrade across the board to me.

My (2-way component, 6x9 woofer) rears seem to be working fine, but it's showing distortion at high HU volume level. Amp issues?

[ speaker doesn't seem to be blown, when I last took it out. AMAZED the paper cone is still holding up after 25 years!!. See pic from Doug's Domain site ]

rspkr_old_drivers_large.jpg

[Veleno]

This thread describes the solution I was thinking of, front (5.25") & rear (6x9) co-axial (Infinity) speakers w/Blaupunkt 4-channel amp (replacing the stock amp):

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-Audio-Upgrade!

He is abandoning the component-speaker (front & rear)



My (2-way component, 6x9 woofer) rears seem to be working fine, but it's showing distortion at high HU volume level. Amp issues?

[ speaker doesn't seem to be blown, when I last took it out. AMAZED the paper cone is still holding up after 25 years!!. See pic from Doug's Domain site ]

rspkr_old_drivers_large.jpg

How are you seeing distortion at high HU volume? Are you measuring it with a DD-1 or something similar?
I was watching a HU test on YT and it too was getting distortion at higher volumes. The problem was the HU and not the amp.

How much are you wanting to spend (or not spend) on the stereo system?

***update***

I decided to read more from your posts above and read you're getting distortion when you turn the HU volume up high. A couple of things come to mind.

1. Does your HU have a built in amp?
2. Does your HU have built in crossovers, eq, ta, etc?

My guess is that your HU is not sending the same signal as the oem HU to the HK amp and this is causing the speakers to distort.

Have you tried to test the speakers at the front to see if they're blown or if they're even getting signal?

[chimpanzee]

How are you seeing distortion at high HU volume? Are you measuring it with a DD-1 or something similar?
I was watching a HU test on YT and it too was getting distortion at higher volumes. The problem was the HU and not the amp.

How much are you wanting to spend (or not spend) on the stereo system?

***update***

I decided to read more from your posts above and read you're getting distortion when you turn the HU volume up high. A couple of things come to mind.

1. Does your HU have a built in amp?
2. Does your HU have built in crossovers, eq, ta, etc?

My guess is that your HU is not sending the same signal as the oem HU to the HK amp and this is causing the speakers to distort.

Have you tried to test the speakers at the front to see if they're blown or if they're even getting signal?

Yes, HU has built-in amp with cross-over/eq

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-0G8WkE...KD-R870BT.html

The stock Nokia 5.25" kick speakers look good. As a test, I plugged a *new* Boss 6.5" speaker to leads of kick-speaker..zilch

I already have a Blaupunkt 4-channel amp (1500W peak) lying around. Also have a couple sets of 6x9 speakers (Kenwood & Cerwin Vega). Just ordered some Sony 5.25" ($25) for front kicker:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NYTCJZ

Initially, I want to wire the HU (amplified) fronts to it. I figure it will work OK

HU has pre-outs for front & rear. For future, I can use the Blaupunkt amp for front & rear

[tjm3]

I didn't read the whole thread, only the first post. The trunk amp has two 20 watt stereo amp chips mounted to the main board and secured to the rear of the amp for a heat sink. Look at both chips and check for burn areas around the solder joints of one of the chips AND the associated circuits, a couple of resistors and caps, that might also be fried. The amplifier chip is an LA4495 and easy to change. Whether you replace the resistors and caps is up to you but a shorted cap will destroy the amp IC. The LA4495 is an old IC but can still be found for about $12.