And this time it’s E85/6 Audio….

C

CliveN

Active member
Thanks to AnubisZed, B21 and ARCS I now have a fully functioning new speaker system in my E89. It wasn’t quite plug and play but it works well enough! I even reactivated my soldering skills - or lack of.

This time it’s simpler. My E86 ZM has the basic system so (as far as I can tell by listening) it lacks the mid ranges in the doors. Here it just has a grill. Advice on here is to remove the door card and splice it into the tweeter wiring. As I am a numpty, can anyone please advise how I do this in simple terms. Is it in series or parallel - a wiring diagram would be helpful - and does it need a crossover (my E89 upgrade kit came with one)? And finally where do I find (to buy) please the little two pin connectors that go into the back of my (secondhand) BMW Philips mid range speaker I have obtained? Thanks again.
 
Clive having done this several times I’ll give you my fourpenneth

The install of speakers into the doors using the tweeter feeds actually for me degraded the sound quality of the later e85/6 facelift cars as the sound was too high end and distorts rapidly

To make a decent impact I now only add the behind seat subs, simply run from the feed to the behind head speakers

That gives good base and better high end performance.

You’ll pay 75-100 quid for the speakers and associated hardware but it’s worth it IMHO

Stuart
 
Hi Stuart thanks. I think you are saying that (like the e89 but that didn’t have tweeters) the balance of the sound is already pre programmed so as to take account of the fact that it’s “missing” a speaker. When I did the e89 I replaced all six (now eight) speakers with a crossover and the sound seems reasonably balance me and better. With the ZM I actually find the existing sound to be okay but ASSUMED that it improve if I put in the missing speaker. You say not. So is the solution to put in an upgrade kit from say matchup? This would provide a matched tweeter and mid range. I think I can live with the woofers
 
I think you are right. If you are aiming to do stuff with the doors it would be better to have an aftermarket solution (note- I’m not an audio expert) where the tweeter has a high pass filter and the mid range would handle better

To me, when I put those speakers in the doors it was far too focussed on that area which ruined the balance and quality of the rest of the system

When I add the subs in the bins it adds to the quality and balance

👍🏻
 
Stuart - with your optimum system can you explain more what you did please? Did you leave all speakers the same (including keeping the hole where the door midrange should go) and just add woofer to augment the mid ranges in the bulkhead? If so, and excuse my ignorance, how and where were they mounted, where did the wires come from to feed them, and what speakers did you use please ? Thank you
 
CliveN said:
Stuart - with your optimum system can you explain more what you did please? Did you leave all speakers the same (including keeping the hole where the door midrange should go) and just add woofer to augment the mid ranges in the bulkhead? If so, and excuse my ignorance, how and where were they mounted, where did the wires come from to feed them, and what speakers did you use please ? Thank you
Click to expand...
Exactly that

Holes in the doors as they were
No changes to other speakers
I wired the subs to the cables that run up the back of the rear firewall
Note also- there are 2 types of speaker available I believe with different impedance: @Zedebee knows which is which but I believe the lower resistance are better

As for mounting I usually seek out a job lot that has the speakers, brackets, cables and connectors, sound deadening and bolts. You’ll also need the expanding rivets in the holes that it attaches to

If you pop one of your cubby holes out you’ll see where they attach to and where the wires run
 
Okay thank you. Again as a numpty I presume these woofers are in their own enclosures? Can you remember what you purchased please? Sorry for the questions but I need to do the research and there doesn’t appear to any bespoke woofers for the E86.
 
I've fitted the mid-range speakers in the doors on both prefacelift & facelift E85's, with an aftermarket head unit both times. Both times it's "filled in" the sound for me, especially with spoken word (podcasts, phone calls). Less so on the facelift, it did make a smaller difference so I would agree they've tuned something there.

My 3.0si does have extra "gubbins" in the boot in terms of amplifiers, etc that I've not investigated. I assume the aftermarket head unit is going through them still, but I'm not sure. Possibly I've not noticed the issue Stuart mentions because its not using the stock head unit.

To be honest, I hardly ever have it playing anything but the occasional message being read out or a quick phone call. Roof down, CarPlay maps on the screen and listen to the engine. Or sometimes the passenger.
 
Hi Clive,

I recently stripped out a six speaker system and replaced it with a ten with the extra amp, all OEM. This was a great learning experience for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it due to the cost (c.£500) and effort involved.

If you are sticking with the basic amp (head unit), you can add door speakers (cheap and easy) or bass speakers behind the seats (significant investment in speakers, mounting plates, foam boxes and grilles). But I wouldn’t do both, as the amp probably can’t cope with that much load. Also, if doing the bass speakers, you should stick with the 4 ohm version that match the footwell speakers, not the more powerful 2 ohm from the 10 speaker system. Don’t go near the 10 ohm subs from the DSP system, as they won’t work without the DSP amp.

Good luck.
 
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