Speaker upgrade

[B21]

There is a big difference between all 3 audio systems..the basic system has no external amplifier..the other two have amps on the rear bulkhead…..the mid range amp uses analogue signal cabling the top end amp uses fibre optic…there may be some common wiring but it’s not that obvious..

 

[wanderer]

OK. So I purchased two sets of the Vibe OptiSound 4's for BMW.

Went to install one set on the rear mid-ranges only to find that they are too large.
Simply won't fit.

Are those speakers smaller than the door speakers?
Would like to know before I go removing the door cards.

 

[wanderer]

Anyway, I have a spare set of brand new door speakers & tweeters if anyone is interested.

I will be in Stevenage over the weekend so I I can bring them over.

 

[mr.tourette]

The speakers in the rear are the same size as in the doors.. possibly the depth might be an issue though, not sure what the max depth is on the rears

 

[AnubisZed]

Vibe OptiSound AMP is in.

There is a huge amount of cabling that is not required. Vibe could have optimised this.

It does take quite a bit of space.
I have to figure this out as the head unit does not fit.

There is an improvement in sound quality.
Nothing major / stupendous. You wouldn't notice it if you didn't do a before & after. But considering the price, it's probably worth it.

So where were you thinking of putting it?
A couple of suggestions...
1) On top of the glovebox.
2) On the bulkhead in the boot (same place as OE amp, if there is enough cable to do this).

How long is the cable loom?

 

[mr.tourette]

Which Vibe amp is it? mine was a doddle to fit with no excess wiring using an Iso loom T harness, very small too so easy to tuck away, mine is attached to the lower dash cover in the footwell with extra strong velcro

 

[wanderer]

I finally got that Vibe amp sorted. I was trying to install it in the space behind & below the head unit. Togther with the wiring, that was too little space.
I realised that there was a bit of space at the very end of the center console tunnel where it could sit - Just to the left of the footrest.
I already had the footwell cover removed, so one less thing to do for me.

I fed the cabling from the amp via the drivers side footwell into the back of the head unit space.
Connected, tested and fitted the head unit - it fitted back fine this time.

The AMP fits perfectly in that space and allows for easy access and adjustment as well.
The amp i installed is the VIBE POWERBOX65.4M - 520Watts Micro Class D Amplifier.

In my previous post above i had simply plugged it in without making any adjustments.

This time I adjusted the gain on both the left and right channels and i have to say that it is quite a change!
Even on the standard basic speakers it provides quite a bit of OOMPH!

For £135 i'm happy knowing that this is probably the best plug & play amp that i can get.
Chances taken and lessons learned in ordering & installing.

Altogether a good buy.

 

[wanderer]

Here's how to setup the AMP once installed:

To correctly set the gain control of the amplifier to match that of the source (headunit) use the following setup routine:
• Turn the gain control to minimum on the amplifier.
• Ensure the bass boost on the headunt is set to 0 dB.
• Set all crossovers on the headunt ( if applicable) to flat and both bass and treble to zero.
• Turn up the source (headunit) to approx 3/4 volume.
• Very slowly turn up the gain on the amplifier until distortion can be heard in any of the speakers or until the volume reaches an uncomfortable listening level when this is reached turn the gain control down slightly.

The gain control is now set.
The setting of the crossover will depend on what kind of speaker you are installing.

Note: The smaller the speaker, the less bass it can handle, so for a larger speaker FULL would be preferred, and HPF for a smaller speaker..
By using the crossovers correctly you will not only lengthen the life of your speakers but you will also get better performance from them.

 

[AnubisZed]

I finally got that Vibe amp sorted. I was trying to install it in the space behind & below the head unit. Togther with the wiring, that was too little space.
I realised that there was a bit of space at the very end of the center console tunnel where it could sit - Just to the left of the footrest.
I already had the footwell cover removed, so one less thing to do for me.

I fed the cabling from the amp via the drivers side footwell into the back of the head unit space.
Connected, tested and fitted the head unit - it fitted back fine this time.

The AMP fits perfectly in that space and allows for easy access and adjustment as well.
The amp i installed is the VIBE POWERBOX65.4M - 520Watts Micro Class D Amplifier.

In my previous post above i had simply plugged it in without making any adjustments.

This time I adjusted the gain on both the left and right channels and i have to say that it is quite a change!
Even on the standard basic speakers it provides quite a bit of OOMPH!

For £135 i'm happy knowing that this is probably the best plug & play amp that i can get.
Chances taken and lessons learned in ordering & installing.

Altogether a good buy.

Excellent, I'm glad it's all good for you, seriously am considering fitting one of these myself but just haven't got around to sorting it yet.
So how long is the wiring from the quadlock adaptor to the amp?

 

[wanderer]

Excellent, I'm glad it's all good for you, seriously am considering fitting one of these myself but just haven't got around to sorting it yet.
So how long is the wiring from the quadlock adaptor to the amp?

It's probably about a meter or less. Enough to get into your footwell but that's it.
I will measure & take some photos shortly.

 

[AnubisZed]

Excellent, I'm glad it's all good for you, seriously am considering fitting one of these myself but just haven't got around to sorting it yet.
So how long is the wiring from the quadlock adaptor to the amp?

It's probably about a meter or less. Enough to get into your footwell but that's it.
I will measure & take some photos shortly.

Thanks for that

 

[wanderer]

Here's a pic of the length of the cabling.
Excuse the mess with the leaves.

 

[Chippie]

Here's how to setup the AMP once installed:

To correctly set the gain control of the amplifier to match that of the source (headunit) use the following setup routine:
• Turn the gain control to minimum on the amplifier.
• Ensure the bass boost on the headunt is set to 0 dB.
• Set all crossovers on the headunt ( if applicable) to flat and both bass and treble to zero.
• Turn up the source (headunit) to approx 3/4 volume.
• Very slowly turn up the gain on the amplifier until distortion can be heard in any of the speakers or until the volume reaches an uncomfortable listening level when this is reached turn the gain control down slightly.

The gain control is now set.
The setting of the crossover will depend on what kind of speaker you are installing.

Note: The smaller the speaker, the less bass it can handle, so for a larger speaker FULL would be preferred, and HPF for a smaller speaker..
By using the crossovers correctly you will not only lengthen the life of your speakers but you will also get better performance from them.

Right, for someone completely inept with audio does the amp simply increase the volume, so only normally having the volume half way I wouldn’t notice any difference or does it also increase the clarity?

 

[B21]

Relative to the basic 6 speaker system the external amp relieves the head unit of driving speakers

The head unit amp is limited in both its absolute power and its dynamic range

Ie how loud can you crank it and how well at the same setting it copes both with quiet and loud sections of music

Set correctly the external amp will off an obvious ability to have the music louder with less distortion and handle complex music more faithfully which could be interpreted as clearer

 

[Chippie]

Relative to the basic 6 speaker system the external amp relieves the head unit of driving speakers

The head unit amp is limited in both its absolute power and its dynamic range

Ie how loud can you crank it and how well at the same setting it copes both with quiet and loud sections of music

Set correctly the external amp will off an obvious ability to have the music louder with less distortion and handle complex music more faithfully which could be interpreted as clearer

 

[B21]

That should have read ‘ the head unit offloads the amplification duties to the external power amp’ but a fish finger buttie got in the way..

I could have droned on about impedance, damping factors, over driving Class AB amplifiers, harmonics, total harmonic distortion, linearity, power rail sagging, input noise, noise floors, ringing, Q, reactive circuits, transient response, inter modulation distortion, matching, phasing, time alignment, active vs passive crossovers, butterworth vs chebyzhev filters, pass band, octaves etc…but I didn’t…

 

[BeardyJon]

Does anyone know if this is a space for another tweeter in the rear?

 

[Chippie]

That should have read ‘ the head unit offloads the amplification duties to the external power amp’ but a fish finger buttie got in the way..

I could have droned on about impedance, damping factors, over driving Class AB amplifiers, harmonics, total harmonic distortion, linearity, power rail sagging, input noise, noise floors, ringing, Q, reactive circuits, transient response, inter modulation distortion, matching, phasing, time alignment, active vs passive crossovers, butterworth vs chebyzhev filters, pass band, octaves etc…but I didn’t…

Just about get impedance but the rest just went straight over my head and into the stratosphere

 

[B21]

Does anyone know if this is a space for another tweeter in the rear?

The moulding implies that an option to have a separate tweeter was a possibility…

However..

No audio system fitted to E89s ever had that as an option…

Sonically it wouldn’t have made sense even if they did..

 

[B21]

That should have read ‘ the head unit offloads the amplification duties to the external power amp’ but a fish finger buttie got in the way..

I could have droned on about impedance, damping factors, over driving Class AB amplifiers, harmonics, total harmonic distortion, linearity, power rail sagging, input noise, noise floors, ringing, Q, reactive circuits, transient response, inter modulation distortion, matching, phasing, time alignment, active vs passive crossovers, butterworth vs chebyzhev filters, pass band, octaves etc…but I didn’t…

Just about get impedance but the rest just went straight over my head and into the stratosphere

Was that the stratosphere…or maybe the ionosphere or the troposphere?