E46 Speaker System Upgrade - need advice

[gweedzz]

Hey, Ive blown a speaker in my 2001 325i Sedan and have decided to just replace them all.

Ive been looking at JBL's GTO528 series and Alpines SPS series, they both sound really good in the demo (at best buy), but will they sound good if I just plug and play them into my factory setup.

I dont need competitive sound coming from my system, just something that sounds great... and blows the factory setup outa the water.

My current factory setup is the non HK setup. Is there an amp in the trunk in my setup? If so, would you recommend buying an amp if I was to purchase 4 JBL's (5.25)? Or would you recommend me just swaping them in? I obviously want to keep my Business CD player as well.

Thanks in advance... this forum does wonders!

G

[uzi577]

there are couple of options
check out what the e46fanatics forum suggested


Also If are going to go for any of them. Please keep me posted I am trying to do go an up grade too. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gweedzz]

Hey bud - ya I decided to go with JBL's GTO series at best buy... they were at best buy for 129.99 each (2x 5.25inch) + (2x 6.5inch). But I found them on ebay for much less and just brought them back lol.

anyways... the install took me pretty much all day, I had some problems mounting them to the original screw holes, but after some braket making and planning I prevailed.

however...... the noise that is coming out of the speakers is very tingy.. almost like the treble is too high or something, so I brought the car into a local sound place and they said my amplifier is designed to output certain frequencies which are designed for the stock shitty speakers... thus, replacing the speakers is useless without a new amplifier...

currently Im looking for some help with getting a new amplifier installed...the sound place wouldnt give me any details as too what I need without me throwing down a credit card and securing their next meal... so thats where I am currently. ahah

[uzi577]

Congrats,
first, pics please of the bracket and what did you use to make it.
second, as far as I understood you only upgraded the speakers in the front doors and in the back the car, correct?
what about the tweeters and mid range?

[gweedzz]

Originally Posted by uzi577

Congrats,
first, pics please of the bracket and what did you use to make it.
second, as far as I understood you only upgraded the speakers in the front doors and in the back the car, correct?
what about the tweeters and mid range?

Hey, sorry I didnt take any install pics, and I have put my doors back on and finished the speaker installations. I can bring you through it though.

The JBL's 5.25 inch - in the front doors fit prett well. I removed the old speakers and removed the plastic grill. I placed the speaker on top of the panel bracket and drilled 4 bolts through the panel. the bolt heads are covered up when you put the grill back on the door. I then used lock tights and bolts to secure the unit to the door panel and then used the oem foam protector to stop it from rattling against the metal door upon reinstallation.

these speakers already had tweeters on them, however I decided to t-splice the original tweets into the same line to give the perception that sound is not only coming from your feet, but in front of your head as well. I would recommend this as I tried it out both ways and found this to sound the best.

I have the non hk setup, so that leaves 2 rear deck speakers left. This is where I used the 6.5 inch JBL's. For these ones I could not figure out a way to bracket them into place. I ended up cutting apart the old speakers (cutting around the bracket on the inside) and then broke off the plastic clips securing the speaker magnet. so all I was left with was the plastic ring braket which mounts directly into place. I then screwed the bracket that came with the speakers onto this plastic bracket and then installed the units.

I have just bought the SVEN4 output line converter for the new amp im about to install. Its pretty simple, just remove the old amplifier, splice into the correct headunit wires and direct them into the converter, which converts them into RCA non distorted lines. Then just splice into the speaker wires in the same bundle and route them to your amplifier.

I used this for reference:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=245914

Gl

[uzi577]

Thanks,
the school will start soon, so i just wanted to complete this project in the near future.
If it is not much trouble. If you can please list the used resources along with quantity and price. it does not have to be exact just for the approximately will do

thank you in advance!!!!!!!

[gweedzz]

Originally Posted by uzi577

Thanks,
the school will start soon, so i just wanted to complete this project in the near future.
If it is not much trouble. If you can please list the used resources along with quantity and price. it does not have to be exact just for the approximately will do

thank you in advance!!!!!!!

alright here goes nothing.

1. JBL GTO528 series speakers/tweet combo (x2). (129.00 Best buy, or 60$ ebay)
2. JBL GTO628 series speakers/tweet combo (x2). (129.00 Best buy, or 80$ ebay)

that solves your speakers. As for the tweeters in the front left and right window ledge - its up to you if you want to keep them or not.

Now, if you like the sound that is coming out of the new speakers from the OEM amplifier, your done, however, I chose to replace the amp as well. The sound quality was definetly an improvement, especially for just over 100$ for premium speakers. Yet, it was not perfect, and I figured if i spent all this time with the upgrade I might as well do it right and make it sound perfect.

So onto the next expense. Amplifier.

You need a 4 channel amplifier, to power each speaker and still have control over fading front and forward left and right. Im sure you can do it with a 2 channel amplifier and bridge the speakers but you will loose out on one of the balance/fading functions.

I chose a 5 channel amplifier, specifically a 700w alpine (250$), yet you can get a cheap one from ebay or a used one for much less and personally, the quality wont be noticable, as long as you have the right speakers in place. I chose a 5 channel one mainly because I wanted the option to have a subwoofer input for future. so 400 RMS is going to the speakers and 300 RMS is going to the future sub.

When adding a amplifier in these 3 series you also need to purchase a line out converter. The link i posted earlier explains this in more detail. Basically if you just want to remove your OEM amp and start splicing into the wires that went into the OEM amp, you will realize that there is no RCA cables (which are needed for the newer aftermarket amps). Some people advise tapping into the rear speaker wires and having a RCA jack on the opposite end, yet, ive read bad things and Id rather do it right for the extra 20 dollars.

I purchased the SVEN-4 differential/balanced to line unbalanced output converter. Its basically an adaptor which takes the 4 wires bundled up in the trunk from the CD Head unit, routes them through, and converts them to RCA outputs, which you then hook up to the amplifier. This specific converter also reduces any noise and unwanted freq's that pass through the lines. The average line out converter will not remove this noise and you will be hearing things like the whine of your engine etc. Also, this specific converter balances the signal strength from non RCA wiring to RCA coax strength - which is necessary.

Futureshop online sells the unit for 90$, but i found it online for 25$ (http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...141377f432en02)

From here you basically mount the amplifier wherever you want, tap into the bundle of wires that went into your factory amp and hook up the amplifier. the link i posted above shows you the wiring diagram which indicates which wires are what speakers etc.

gl with your system...