Minor Audio Upgrade (updated 12/7/2020)

[Anonymous]

Ohh nice sound system

It is...just gone issue left which I forgot to mention..the Eton door mounted speakers’ magnet is too large to sit in the plastic backing shield that prevents water ingress from the door to the back of the speaker.

Originally I just tightened the 3 mounting screws down..the result was horrible distortion so I slackened then off so that the speaker was not fully tightened against the door frame and just resting against the plastic water shield..

I notice I’m getting on certain notes a small amount of resonance from the speakers against the plastic shield/ door ...so I’m going to take the door cards off again and use a hole cutter to punch a hole in the plastic trims so that the speaker magnet can go through, that allows the speakers to be fully clamped down..

 

[Anonymous]

Well driving the door speakers hard with them not clamped properly has resulted in some damage..so I’ve now drilled a hole in each door speaker mount to allow the bigger magnet Etons to sit properly..

I’ll update my audio notes to save someone else from this grief..

 

[Wolter]

Thanks all for putting all this very interesting info for the Z4 in this forum and specifically the audio upgrades in this thread.
Very helpful for the novice “do it yourself” car modifier I consider myself to be.
I own a 2010 E89 (2.3 engine with manual gearbox) for little more than a year now and i’m overall very satisfied with this car. However, only thing I’m not to happy with is the sound system.
My car has the S676A hifi system installed and i’m considering the match up7bmw upgrade.
Before I take the final decision on this amp I have some things i’d like to have clarified:
1) after changing the amp will there be a loss of functionality regarding steering wheel controls for volume and next/previous song when playing music over bluetooth(i’m using the ViseeO Tune2Air device)?
2) will the sounds for PDC and in-car warningsounds remain hearable?
3) I have the pre sept 2010 676 option which has most-bus connection to the factory amp. Does the match wiring harness take care of the optic signal and/or is additional hardware/software modification needed?

I have looked around on the forums for this specific info but seems hard to find.
I have called the local distributer with these questions as well, answer pending...

Hope one of you can help me with info on these topics.

And a last question for PBondar after checking the first picture of all the to be installed audio parts; where did you put the extinguisher and the toaster in your car and how did that help on the audio improvement? :rofl: :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

The amp change doesn’t affect the headunit and interfaces so whatever worked before still works..so steering wheels buttons, iPod , usb, Bluetooth support, PDC, bongs, gongs etc..only issue is that the volume level and tone may be affected a little by the amp DSP settings you use/speakers

676 is an analogue 4 channel two wire per channel input amp with 8 channel output driving 11 speakers..

MOST. was used on the 677 amp only..that one has the 14 speaker set up

Toaster goes next to the cappuccino machine in the boot..fire extinguisher is in the bonnet next to the chaff and flare dispenser

 

[Wolter]

Thanks for the quick and helpfull reply.

I think I assumed the "bus-compatible" from this piece of text was the most-bus but reading it again its refering to the can-bus.

Note for Service department:
The hi-fi amplifier is encodable and can be programmed. After the hi-fi amplifier is replaced, the new amplifier must be programmed and coded. From September 2010 a bus connection will no longer be installed for the hi-fi amplifier. Replacement parts for the hi-fi amplifier that were bus-compatible until then will also no longer be bus-compatible. The voltage supply can only be checked manually.

Source:
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...sound-output/hifi-loudspeaker-system/AqT0tCbW

Still wondering if this is something that needs extra modification in my car when swapping the amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Simple answer is no..

The outputs from the hi-fi version of the head unit are flat..so any equalisation / DSP processing is in the hands of the Match 7 amp..

The one main issue is that the Match 7 amp and harness is for 'normal' 3/5/7 series whereas the Z4 E89 has both woofers AND subwoofers that need to be managed in some way..and depending on how you want to do that there may not be enough amplified channels available...hence in my case I added a subwoofer dedicated amp hanging off channel 8 the unamplified channel output to drive the subwoofers as a single channel as stereo seperation is not needed for outputs at that frequency range..

 

[Ronniefesta]

Ha ha your so complex,me am a simple sole wi simple needs .
Having this fitted tues at halfrauds,that should be fun.

How much did this cost inc fitting? Would you recommend it ? ANy pics of it fitted?

 

[Anonymous]

Ha ha your so complex,me am a simple sole wi simple needs .
Having this fitted tues at halfrauds,that should be fun.
[/quote

How much did this cost inc fitting? Would you recommend it ? ANy pics of it fitted?

It’s was £2000 ish..price break down and pictures if you scroll back..fitted it myself..

 

[Ronniefesta]

Ha ha your so complex,me am a simple sole wi simple needs .
Having this fitted tues at halfrauds,that should be fun.
[/quote

How much did this cost inc fitting? Would you recommend it ? ANy pics of it fitted?

It’s was £2000 ish..price break down and pictures if you scroll back..fitted it myself..

I was on about the head unit from halfords, not all the sexy stuff :rofl:

 

[AlienZed]

There ya go ,the plastic surround is a different colour but i can live with that, cant be arsed spraying the top part black.
Hmmm Peter and sexy stuff :rofl:
Tbh my criteria was blutooth for mi fone and aux for the wifes ipod , i got em both .

 

[Anonymous]

Maurice it it works for you it’s works for me

 

[AlienZed]

Maurice it it works for you it’s works for me

Wot we talking , music or sex .
Maybe sexy music

 

[Anonymous]

Maurice it it works for you it’s works for me

Wot we talking , music or sex .
Maybe sexy music

Behave..especially at your age! :rofl:

 

[BadgerDog]

"popping off the door cards was emotionally traumatic"
Having done a complete overhaul of every bit of wiring / electronics in my Miata... I felt this comment.

Mazda used these odd connectors for the door wiring instead of just running the harness through a grommet or something. So no room for new wires. I had to re-pin the connectors to create some unused space, then dremel out several of the unused pin slots so that my large-gauge wiring could go through it. :rofl:

 

[Colin_E]

Well driving the door speakers hard with them not clamped properly has resulted in some damage..so I’ve now drilled a hole in each door speaker mount to allow the bigger magnet Etons to sit properly..

Hope these questions aren't too dumb...

#1 Does this mean that the speakers are no longer protected from water ingress or did I misunderstand? If It left them exposed did you take any countermeasures to protect or waterproof?
#2 Do I need anything more than an appropriate diameter hole-saw (& drill/driver of course) to cut the mount? Would be very helpful to know the right size if you can remember.
#3 Did you cut the mounts in situ or is it better to do a full disassembly to get good results?

 

[Anonymous]

Well driving the door speakers hard with them not clamped properly has resulted in some damage..so I’ve now drilled a hole in each door speaker mount to allow the bigger magnet Etons to sit properly..

Hope these questions aren't too dumb...

#1 Does this mean that the speakers are no longer protected from water ingress or did I misunderstand? If It left them exposed did you take any countermeasures to protect or waterproof?
#2 Do I need anything more than an appropriate diameter hole-saw (& drill/driver of course) to cut the mount? Would be very helpful to know the right size if you can remember.
#3 Did you cut the mounts in situ or is it better to do a full disassembly to get good results?

Questions are never dumb if you don’t know and others can help...happy to help..

The hole in the back shield does expose the speaker to possible water contamination but...due to the shape the only bit that is now hanging in the unprotected air is part of the speaker magnet...I didn’t see anything to suggest that water ingress would be an issue but obviously that’s your call..

I can’t remember the exact diameter ..you need to ensure there is no part of the magnet touching the remaining back of the shield as you could reasonances aka buzzing..

All you need is a normal screw fix type holesaw set and drill the optical centre of the inner circle of the shield and that’s it..

If you put the holesaw ring to the back of the magnet and add about 2mm ish then it should be fine

I did it in situ it looks like a pain to get the shield out and there’s plenty of space behind AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE WINDOW UP!!!

 

[Colin_E]

Questions are never dumb if you don’t know and others can help...happy to help..

The hole in the back shield does expose the speaker to possible water contamination but...due to the shape the only bit that is now hanging in the unprotected air is part of the speaker magnet...I didn’t see anything to suggest that water ingress would be an issue but obviously that’s your call..

I can’t remember the exact diameter ..you need to ensure there is no part of the magnet touching the remaining back of the shield as you could reasonances aka buzzing..

All you need is a normal screw fix type holesaw set and drill the optical centre of the inner circle of the shield and that’s it..

If you put the holesaw ring to the back of the magnet and add about 2mm ish then it should be fine

I did it in situ it looks like a pain to get the shield out and there’s plenty of space behind AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE WINDOW UP!!!

Thanks very much for this. The job itself seems straightforward enough. My concern about water ingress (or maybe even water vapour?) stems from my experience with my old Z3 where I had to pop the door cards off once or twice a year to lubricate the window mechanisms because it was getting a bit damp in there.

 

[Z4C_er]

Questions are never dumb if you don’t know and others can help...happy to help..

The hole in the back shield does expose the speaker to possible water contamination but...due to the shape the only bit that is now hanging in the unprotected air is part of the speaker magnet...I didn’t see anything to suggest that water ingress would be an issue but obviously that’s your call..

I can’t remember the exact diameter ..you need to ensure there is no part of the magnet touching the remaining back of the shield as you could reasonances aka buzzing..

All you need is a normal screw fix type holesaw set and drill the optical centre of the inner circle of the shield and that’s it..

If you put the holesaw ring to the back of the magnet and add about 2mm ish then it should be fine

I did it in situ it looks like a pain to get the shield out and there’s plenty of space behind AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE WINDOW UP!!!

Thanks very much for this. The job itself seems straightforward enough. My concern about water ingress (or maybe even water vapour?) stems from my experience with my old Z3 where I had to pop the door cards off once or twice a year to lubricate the window mechanisms because it was getting a bit damp in there.

The 'outdoor' part of the door assembly shouldn't remain damp. There are drainage holes that sound like they were blocked?
Anyway, regards poking the backside of the speaker out into the elements, well the only real danger would be if you left the window down fully and poured water through the gap at the top of the door, or drove through deep water. If you think about it, with the window up, the water shouldn't pass the seals and even if it did (unless you were power washing directly down into the seals) it would only be at most a few drips. Personally though, and because I'm 'like that', I'd probably make a weathershield pocket for the magnet to sit into. Even just a circle of heavy plastic sheet would do, and attach it with butyl, silicone or similar.

 

[Anonymous]

Following on from the previous post I can’t really see how the plastic shield matters that much to moisture integrity...to be of use in that context you would need to have the inside of the metal frame of the door sloshing around with water....whic it doesn’t...I think the primary purposes of the shield were to provide a relatively robust mounting for the speaker, provide an infinite baffle and stop sound entering the door space...

There were dire warnings somewhere about modifying the doors to except larger / more bassy speakers as they could damage parts of the door systems with excess vibration !

 

[Z4C_er]

The water shields/moisture barriers were just that. But some OEMs have made them quasi-structural. Also helping resonance etc. It'll be up to Colin_E in the end what he'd like to do I guess.