Best value speaker upgrade from base system?

[thecremeegg]

My new M has the basic 6 speaker system which is a bit of a downgrade from the carver system in my other Zed!
From what I understand I don't have speakers in the doors so I would want to add those.

Anyone got any speaker recommendations that aren't hundreds of £ for me?

Thanks!

 

[enuff_zed]

My new M has the basic 6 speaker system which is a bit of a downgrade from the carver system in my other Zed!
From what I understand I don't have speakers in the doors so I would want to add those.

Anyone got any speaker recommendations that aren't hundreds of £ for me?

Thanks!

I believe the cheapest option is to use a pair of the standard speakers from behind the seats which are identical to the door ones, then splice them in to the tweeters on the door.
Disclaimer: I have no idea when it comes to sound systems, but I have heard a lot of people say this.

 

[Zedebee]

Yes, the speakers that would normally go in the doors are the same as the ones behind the headrests and readily available. You won’t have the wiring pre-installed, hence splice in from the tweeter as enuff suggests.

It won’t match your Carver set-up, sadly

 

[Meds]

I believe the cheapest option is to use a pair of the standard speakers from behind the seats which are identical to the door ones, then splice them in to the tweeters on the door.
Disclaimer: I have no idea when it comes to sound systems, but I have heard a lot of people say this.

Yep, I've done this..
It helps LOADS (once you move the balance forward on the HU setting) but still no match for anything modern or half decent.

 

[mr.tourette]

A set of Crunch DSX4.2E components in the doors will help and a set of new 4 inch mids behind the seats will make a big improvement to the clarity of the system

I made a thread on my upgrade here https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=125344&hilit=Crunch

Silverstar made a similar thread on his set up

 

[thecremeegg]

A set of Crunch DSX4.2E components in the doors will help and a set of new 4 inch mids behind the seats will make a big improvement to the clarity of the system

I made a thread on my upgrade here https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=125344&hilit=Crunch

Silverstar made a similar thread on his set up

Thanks! So the base system doesn't have tweeters either? I thought it had tweeters as other guides seem to take the feed from that wiring?

 

[enuff_zed]

A set of Crunch DSX4.2E components in the doors will help and a set of new 4 inch mids behind the seats will make a big improvement to the clarity of the system

I made a thread on my upgrade here https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=125344&hilit=Crunch

Silverstar made a similar thread on his set up

Thanks! So the base system doesn't have tweeters either? I thought it had tweeters as other guides seem to take the feed from that wiring?

Yes it does. Tweeters in the door front corners and speakers in the kick panels and behind the headrests.

 

[thecremeegg]

Ah ok thanks, I was confused hah

 

[mr.tourette]

Ah ok thanks, I was confused hah

A set of Crunch DSX4.2E components in the doors will help and a set of new 4 inch mids behind the seats will make a big improvement to the clarity of the system

I made a thread on my upgrade here https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=125344&hilit=Crunch

Silverstar made a similar thread on his set up

Thanks! So the base system doesn't have tweeters either? I thought it had tweeters as other guides seem to take the feed from that wiring?

Yes it does. Tweeters in the door front corners and speakers in the kick panels and behind the headrests.

Its been a while but im pretty sure it doesnt, iirc, big woofers in the footwell, 2 4" in the doors and 2 4" behind the the driver make up the 6 speakers.

From what i remember putting in the components made a big difference

 

[Fady]

Pinched from another forum:

 

[Zedebee]

That diagram is an E89 which is different

The E85/E86 standard 6 speaker is:
2 x woofers in the footwells
2 x midrange behind the headrests
2 x tweeters inboard of the door mirrors

The 10-speaker setup adds:
2 x midrange in the doors
2 x subwoofers in the cubbies behind the seats
An amp in the boot

The top-HiFi set up has:
Different subwoofers behind the seats (30v, so not interchangeable)
Other speakers are upgraded
Carver/DSP amp in the boot

 

[mr.tourette]

Oh bugger, didnt realise this was e85/86 in that case its correct it has tweeters but no 4 inch mids in doors.

In that case ..You can put a set of 4 inch mids in doors and take a feed from the tweeters as they recieve a full signal, I've done that mod for another member and its wortwhile

 

[enuff_zed]

Ah ok thanks, I was confused hah

Thanks! So the base system doesn't have tweeters either? I thought it had tweeters as other guides seem to take the feed from that wiring?

Yes it does. Tweeters in the door front corners and speakers in the kick panels and behind the headrests.

Its been a while but im pretty sure it doesnt, iirc, big woofers in the footwell, 2 4" in the doors and 2 4" behind the the driver make up the 6 speakers.

From what i remember putting in the components made a big difference

Having removed many a door card I can categorically state that the basic 6 speaker system is as I described. The black plastic triangles by the mirrors house tweeters. There are speaker grilles in the doors but they have a plastic blank fitted.

 

[mr.tourette]

Ah ok thanks, I was confused hah

Yes it does. Tweeters in the door front corners and speakers in the kick panels and behind the headrests.

Its been a while but im pretty sure it doesnt, iirc, big woofers in the footwell, 2 4" in the doors and 2 4" behind the the driver make up the 6 speakers.

From what i remember putting in the components made a big difference

Having removed many a door card I can categorically state that the basic 6 speaker system is as I described. The black plastic triangles by the mirrors house tweeters. There are speaker grilles in the doors but they have a plastic blank fitted.

You are correct mate as I posted up there^^^I mistakenly thought this was e89 not e86

 

[enuff_zed]

Its been a while but im pretty sure it doesnt, iirc, big woofers in the footwell, 2 4" in the doors and 2 4" behind the the driver make up the 6 speakers.

From what i remember putting in the components made a big difference

Having removed many a door card I can categorically state that the basic 6 speaker system is as I described. The black plastic triangles by the mirrors house tweeters. There are speaker grilles in the doors but they have a plastic blank fitted.

You are correct mate as I posted up there^^^I mistakenly thought this was e89 not e86

Oh sorry, missed that post.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

I’ve just added a set if standard 4” speakers to the doors of a 6 speaker system which made a modest difference.

I then swapped to the 4” speakers from the premium system and it’s made a more notable improvement, it’s really made the system feel better.

Both were just spliced into the tweeter wiring.

 

[darich]

I bought a couple of used speakers from ebay (2 different sellers, a single speaker from each. Something like £14 and £10) and installed them where the blanking plate is in the door card. Simply spliced into the tweeter cabling. I'm no expert but I reckoned splicing before the capacitor was the the best place.
It's made a decent difference but I'd like to upgrade the speakers in the footwell. I had a set of unused speakers I thought I could use but the factory units are specially shaped so any standard speaker will need trimming/modifying or the mounting template changed. I couldn't be bothered with either so put it all back together.

Would still like a footwell upgrade to give a clearer sound though.....to my ears, the sound is a bit muddy/muffled.

 

[thecremeegg]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Long shot, how easy would it be to transfer the carver system from my other Z4? Does it use special wiring or can I just run cables?

 

[Mojito]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Long shot, how easy would it be to transfer the carver system from my other Z4? Does it use special wiring or can I just run cables?

Think it would be a pretty big job, but I've never done it. I do however have a loom if it's of help. https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=142405 . If nothing else might be useful for connectors and cable runs if you go for an upgrade. PM me if of any use, it's just taking up space