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Speaker upgrade

Specific discussion about the E89 2009 Z4 (sDrive35is, sDrive35i, sDrive30i, sDrive23i)
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Nick9one1
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Speaker upgrade

Post by Nick9one1 » Tue May 15, 2018 2:15 pm

I'd say the sound was closer to the clinical side, so maybe a 3/4 on your scale.

I'm yet to install the amp, which I expect to change the sound profile quite a bit.
I'm currently running 3 speakers from stock output (25w?). So the bigger low range drivers probably aren't performing their best. Especially at lower volume levels.

Those Focals would be a good option - Heard good things about them.
Z4 35i Space Gray, Red Leather
Stepped Intercooler
De-Cat Downpipes
HKS SSQV
MHD 98RON Stage 2+
395 BHP :driving:

vr6er
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Speaker upgrade

Post by vr6er » Tue May 15, 2018 4:32 pm

Thanks for that. Is the InPhase crossover true 3 way? Looks like a 2 way in all of the marketing stuff.

Can you advise how the wiring is setup in the std BMW setup? Is there a crossover? do they run in parallel?

Where abouts are you based?

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Nick9one1
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Speaker upgrade

Post by Nick9one1 » Tue May 15, 2018 5:08 pm

The two way crossover (6.5 & tweeter) is supplied with a two way crossover.
The mid speaker is sold as an upgrade. the idea being you can swap out the 2 way crossover with the 3, and add the mid.
If you get the full 3 way set they come with a 3 way crossover. (You can tell by the number of coils in the crossover. )


Wiring is pretty straight forward.

I took the input from the 6.5" speaker in the footwell, hid the crossover behind the speaker (plenty of room). Then routed the two pairs of wire for the door speakers through the existing hinge/harness assembly.

I'm based in Newark. You're welcome to come over and listen if you're local.
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Last edited by Nick9one1 on Sun May 27, 2018 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Z4 35i Space Gray, Red Leather
Stepped Intercooler
De-Cat Downpipes
HKS SSQV
MHD 98RON Stage 2+
395 BHP :driving:

vr6er
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Speaker upgrade

Post by vr6er » Tue May 15, 2018 5:38 pm

Thanks Nick for the info and offer Nick, I'm in the South, so Newark is a bit far! I'm buying the focals later in the month and will do a write up.

Did you Dynamat the door or cavity behind the woofer?

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Speaker upgrade

Post by vr6er » Sat May 26, 2018 10:55 pm

Nick your car is coded to base stereo and so the treble is boosted to reflect the lack of tweeters. Having the car recoded to Hifi will take the harshness away from the system. Also the midbass would benefit from a sealed baffle.

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Nick9one1
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Speaker upgrade

Post by Nick9one1 » Sun May 27, 2018 3:28 pm

vr6er wrote: Sat May 26, 2018 10:55 pm Nick your car is coded to base stereo and so the treble is boosted to reflect the lack of tweeters. Having the car recoded to Hifi will take the harshness away from the system. Also the midbass would benefit from a sealed baffle.
Thanks! I thought the treble was a bit high. I'll have a go at re-coding it today with NCS Expert.
Z4 35i Space Gray, Red Leather
Stepped Intercooler
De-Cat Downpipes
HKS SSQV
MHD 98RON Stage 2+
395 BHP :driving:

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Nick9one1
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Speaker upgrade

Post by Nick9one1 » Sun May 27, 2018 7:04 pm

Just re-coded..sounds much warmer :)

I followed this guide
E90 ENTERTAINMENT AND COMMUNICATION.zip
(1.51 MiB) Downloaded 21 times
with a couple of exceptions...

After step 8 I had to choose 'chassis', 'CAS' before it would take my VIN.

After step 19 (FA_Write on CAS) I chose change ECU, and performed the FA_Write on CIC.

Then change process to SG_Codieren, and Execute Job - this will change a line in the coding from Stereo to hifi.
Z4 35i Space Gray, Red Leather
Stepped Intercooler
De-Cat Downpipes
HKS SSQV
MHD 98RON Stage 2+
395 BHP :driving:

vr6er
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Speaker upgrade

Post by vr6er » Mon May 28, 2018 5:44 pm

Glad it worked out. The power of forums eh? :D

On the bass front, the standard woofer is 2 ohm and the InPhase is 4 ohm, so harder to drive. How is the bass at low medium and high volume?

Do you think you need the amp? The reason I ask is that there is no room (the 4 channel amps I have are monster huge) and I don't have the time to take the whole car apart.

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Nick9one1
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Speaker upgrade

Post by Nick9one1 » Mon May 28, 2018 8:29 pm

To be honest, I haven't fitted the amp yet... and I'm wondering if its worth the hassle.

I had the same concern as you - changing from 2 to 4 ohm. But the bass seems really punchy at low, mid and 'quite high'. I'm yet to really crank it up!
Z4 35i Space Gray, Red Leather
Stepped Intercooler
De-Cat Downpipes
HKS SSQV
MHD 98RON Stage 2+
395 BHP :driving:

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