The amp is powered by the head unit when you turn on the car the loom it comes with is specific to the Z4. I had no speakers in my car behind the seats. Take out the panel and the holes are there for the original bmw ones so loads of space. The footwell speakers you can put a 5 inch in with no mods at all. The 6.5 i put in required a bit of fiddling on the passenger side. Drivers side goes straight in.
Replace stereo head unit
- Thread starter Stealth00
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VIBE Slick 4" Coaxial speaker -... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07215XLBK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
VIBE Slick 6.5" inch Coaxial... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073SXGG21?
ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Pioneer TS-A6834i 6" x 9" 4-way... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7MU3XV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
VIBE Slick 6.5" inch Coaxial... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073SXGG21?
ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Pioneer TS-A6834i 6" x 9" 4-way... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7MU3XV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Cheers for the replies so far. Couple of questions, does the amp hide away behind the dash okay, is the room to hide it securely?
Do the 6x9s fit into the rears without modification?
If I'm honest, it's been either raining or dark since I've owed this car, so haven't had a chance to see exactly what's behind the seat.
Also, what are your honest thoughts on the vibe speakers? I was looking at Focal, but I don't really have an appetite for spending thousands on a 2010 car, so a £300 upgrade sounds appealing.
Do the 6x9s fit into the rears without modification?
If I'm honest, it's been either raining or dark since I've owed this car, so haven't had a chance to see exactly what's behind the seat.
Also, what are your honest thoughts on the vibe speakers? I was looking at Focal, but I don't really have an appetite for spending thousands on a 2010 car, so a £300 upgrade sounds appealing.
That Vibe amp will fit on top of the glovebox.
Ive attached photos of where the OE subwoofers fit, without the panel fitted, so you can see. And in the boot on the opposite side also with the panel removed.
Also on my first post on page one I posted the video I made, in which I fitted the BO (Bang & Olufsen) copy speakers from Aliexpress. Well after quite some time now I can safely say these have been great speakers indeed. They are fully plug-n-play, and a very reasonable price!
Ive attached photos of where the OE subwoofers fit, without the panel fitted, so you can see. And in the boot on the opposite side also with the panel removed.
Also on my first post on page one I posted the video I made, in which I fitted the BO (Bang & Olufsen) copy speakers from Aliexpress. Well after quite some time now I can safely say these have been great speakers indeed. They are fully plug-n-play, and a very reasonable price!
Attachments
AnubisZed said:
Thanks Dave, I will go back and have a look when I have more time. I wonder if they are better than the Vibe speakers.
I have the basic 6-speaker stereo, so don't have those subs, so presumably not the wiring either, or is the idea to extend the wiring from the speaker 5 in this diagram to the sub position, assuming I wanted to add bigger speakers?
Actually, I just checked my car and I only have a solid panel in the rear, no hatch or even cutout/grills for the subs.
Looks like my best bet would be to replace speakers 1&2 and 5&6. Apologies, but can somebody confirm the sizes of both sets. I believe the 1&2 are 6.5", but what about 5&6?
Looks like my best bet would be to replace speakers 1&2 and 5&6. Apologies, but can somebody confirm the sizes of both sets. I believe the 1&2 are 6.5", but what about 5&6?
Here’s a link to my post
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148411
where I have fitted the factory subs which may help, I’d suggest fitting a vibe 400.1m amp
https://audiovisualworld.co.uk/vibe-powerbox-400-1m-v7-class-d-mono-800-watts-rms-micro-amplifier.html
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262348882339?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hmkaGOdZT1i&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=JZNgRjNbROm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
and fit it behind the rear bulk head where the factory amp would be, you could probably use the wiring from speakers 5 and 6 (4” speakers), it also comes with a volume dial, I’ve fitted mine inside the arm rest so that I can adjust the amount of base volume.
You could power it directly from the battery in the boot and it with turn on and off from the audio input from the speakers.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148411
where I have fitted the factory subs which may help, I’d suggest fitting a vibe 400.1m amp
https://audiovisualworld.co.uk/vibe-powerbox-400-1m-v7-class-d-mono-800-watts-rms-micro-amplifier.html
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262348882339?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hmkaGOdZT1i&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=JZNgRjNbROm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
and fit it behind the rear bulk head where the factory amp would be, you could probably use the wiring from speakers 5 and 6 (4” speakers), it also comes with a volume dial, I’ve fitted mine inside the arm rest so that I can adjust the amount of base volume.
You could power it directly from the battery in the boot and it with turn on and off from the audio input from the speakers.
Stealth00 said:
Can't say the Aliexpress ones are better than the Vibe, as I've not had the Vibe, but they are decent ones. The ones I have are the "BO", but you can go slightly better with the "BW" option ones for a few more £ each, I might consider doing this if I go for the 677 amplifier upgrade.Stealth00 said:
It's a BMW, so if you've not got it, then you wont have the wiring either :rofl: I can 100% confirm it wont have the wiring. That photo of my boot shows the (676) amplifier on the right side. The wiring loom there is totally made up from scratch by myself to do this retrofit (so is the one for the Combox on the left, but that's another story!). As the speaker wires go directly from the headunit to the speakers, for the standard system, then you need to produce a loom for the 676 retrofit. Here it is, pre-install, as I made it on the bench
Personally I'd just upgrade the standard location rear midrange speakers and not go to the hassle of cutting the rear panel.
As for positions 1 & 2, these are Woofers (not Sub-Woofers), and on the standard system are piggy-backed from the door Midrange speakers, so you're not going to hear much improvement from fitting normal speakers here. Just upgrading the door speakers and adding the tweeters into the pods will make a huge difference, especially if you're adding the Vibe amplifier.
The midrange speakers in positions 3, 4, 5, & 6 are all 4"
Like I've said, I was going to fit the Vibe amplifier, along with the Vibe subwoofer, but in the end I chose to retrofit the 676 amplifier, along with the OE subwoofers and front centre midrange. With this, though, I also fitted tweeters to the rear midrange (you need to cut a hole in the plastic, but the holding surround is molded in already) and bought the front centre speaker with the tweeter built-in (677 version). So I'm running a 14 speaker set-up and it sounds great. I'm now currently considering upgrading again to the 677 Pro system, which will mean altering the wiring slightly and adding the rear centre speaker and tweeter, but it's all good fun :rofl:
Just ordered a Vibe basic 4 channel amp. See if it improves my set up.
Original speakers the sound was if the speakers were out side about 10 feet apart, slightly muffled.
I fitted those China BO speakers that improved sound a lot, now it sounds inside the cabin.
But the "sound stage" to me sounds like being in a sports hall at times. The mid range is missing a bit.
Fitted in series the BMW rear woofers, that was worth while.
Original speakers the sound was if the speakers were out side about 10 feet apart, slightly muffled.
I fitted those China BO speakers that improved sound a lot, now it sounds inside the cabin.
But the "sound stage" to me sounds like being in a sports hall at times. The mid range is missing a bit.
Fitted in series the BMW rear woofers, that was worth while.
sakamoto said:
If, like myself, you have an external amplifier powering the rear midrange, then adding a tweeter each side will improve the sound quality coming from the back of the car. I hear the crispness of the rear sounds over my shoulder while driving, so I'm glad I added them.
Here are a few photos I took while adding the tweeters.
私のように、リアミッドレンジに外部アンプを取り付けている場合は、両側にツイーターを追加すると、車の後部から聞こえる音質が向上します。運転中に肩越しにリアの音が鮮明に聞こえるので、ツイーターを追加してよかったと思います。
ツイーターを追加しているときに撮った写真をいくつか紹介します。
