I want new speakers

[harv]

I think I have less than 700 in my whole system in my is. Let's see..

PPI components front and rear, I think they were 49 a pare. Round up.. 100

PPI 580 amp. 200 bucks at Sonic.

Silly 39 dollar Coustic Crusher

Luke box. I forget how much it was but it was less than 200 shipped.

With cables it was around 600 bucks as I used the Alpine hu my car came with.

So there you go.

The Luke bok is the best way to go IMHO. It looks huge till you put it in your car and then look at your trunk and wonder where the box went. I have my amp mounted to the box and made the butt plate to cover the amp. VERY few people would know there was junk in the trunk when it's open. A standard roller bag fits long ways without a problem.

John

[84driver]

On Luke's recommendation a couple weeks back ^^^^^ I put together a used but great condition premium sound speaker set front and back with tweeters for less than $100, all from r3v members. I am an audio nut, and the build quality on the premiums is great! A good speaker will last decades, and these look to be no exception. I definitely couldn't find anything comparable new for that price, and I looked hard. Get the premiums if you can find them (and an amp to drive them).

I have subs with every system in my house, they are the only way to get great bass. It's understandable if it's not in the budget, but if you have the carpet up for the install, at least run the wires so a sub install will be easy later!

[StereoInstaller1]

What would you recommend if your come doesn't have the stock PS speakers ?

Well, if you have a proper sub, get just about anything. I just went to sonicelectronics.com and searched for 5.25" component speakers, there were choices from $50 a set to over $300 a set...none of them will mount properly. The issue is that the suspension bulges past the frame on virtually everything out there. This means they don't fit in the stock locations without spacing the grille out a bit so they can move properly.

Obviously, the rear location is no issue, but you will have to use whatever hideous thing they give you as a grille.

Seriously, with no amplifier and no sub, the best sound quality overall is the stock Premium Sound. I know they sound miserable with the stock deck, but they do much better with some decent power.

[SilberSurfer]

What would you recommend if your come doesn't have the stock PS speakers ?

[StereoInstaller1]

Agreed, thus the absolute requirement for a known great sounding deck, a known great sounding amp, with proper active crossovers AND a sub. Seperate sub level controller, too. Trust me, a clean set of stock PS speakers sounds fantastic and drastically simplifies the install. However, don't get me wrong, they are not the end-all of speakers either. They do have the absolute best midbass of ANY 5.25" speaker, ever. If you used a proper set of 12db/oct mylar cap based crossover and a top notch tweeter, maybe pull the layer of foam out of the tweeter, replace it with some nice silk dome that would sweeten the top end drastically...but buying speakers IF you already have stock PS speakers is just plain silly. Address the real issues, leave the speakers alone.

BTW, my daily driver E30 has original 1989 stock PS speakers. They are pretty damn listenable, trust me.

For now.

Luke

[Dozyproductions]

Even though I agree what the sub does the for the system Luke, I really think that's still not the first and only thing he needs to do. Great sound starts with the speakers.

[Wh33lhop]

I can affirm everything Luke just said. I've got stock premium speakers amped with a JBL 5-channel, plus a 10" Lukebox with a $40 Obcon woofer (had the 1062W previously). It is incredibly loud and clear, like I can have the windows/sunroof down at 80mph and still blast tunes without much noticeable distortion. Amping the premium speakers does wonders for them.

[StereoInstaller1]

i'm willing to listen to you, but does that 500 include a subwoofer? i'd rather not have a subwoofer and just have decent speakers, an amp, and a 'period correct' head unit, is it still possible to have decent sound that's louder than the premium option our cars came with? or am i just dreaming?

Why in the world don't you want a sub? They're not big or intrusive, they sound terrific and they are built to stop rattles. They really aren't designed to make big stupid boom you can hear a block away...although they can do that.

What a properly set up sub will do for you is take the strain of creating bass off the front and rear speakers, and give you a much wider range of good, clear sound. There are all sorts of technical reasons I could give you, but basically, what a properly set up subwoofer will do is make your entire system sound better at any volume levels.

So, about that deck...You say period correct. I say I care more about proper sound quality than I about period correct, but it has to look good in your dash and sound great.

If you want a different deck that's fine, but that might trash the $500 budget. Your money, your car, your call. I say this deck kicks ass.

What's included in the $500 :
Head Unit: Pioneer DEH-44HD. The website says that prices vary, but it's usually around $115 in store. I recommend buying at Walmart, but you might need to call a few different locations and see if they have any in stock. It looks great and has near-perfect color match. No, it's not period correct, but it's adequate. If you want a more expensive deck, that'll take it out of the budget, but this one looks and works great.

Amplifier: Jensen Power 5500. This amp has plenty of power and it sounds great. It's big enough that it'll be hard to hide, but it looks good and there are amp racks available for all of our E30 sub boxes. Another reason you want to use this amplifier is because it can accept a 4-channel input but provide 5-channel sound. This is important because that deck doesn't have dedicated subwoofer outputs, but with this amp they just aren't needed.

Sub: Infinity Reference 1062W. You want this woofer in particular because we know it's a perfect fit, we know it sounds good, we know it's great for all kinds of music, and it's dual voice coil. If you use the amplifier I recommend, a dual voice coil woofer will be a perfect match for what it needs to make the best power.

And $200 for an E3010, shipped. This will make your bass clean and clear while taking very little space and power for what it produces. Most importantly, our boxes seal 100% of the bass into the car. This prevents you from sounding like a little kid "booming the hood"...unless you want to.

That brings your total cost to just under $500. Cables, wires, etc can all be sourced easily for $20 or so...but I said ROUGHLY $500, right?

You likely noticed I did not include speakers at all here. All of the above assumes you have a not blown set of stock Premium Sound speakers already in the car, and that the wiring is all stock and in decent condition.

This combo can and will make an incredibly good sounding combo, play pretty damn loud and keep most of your trunk. In my mind, this is the most logical way to get good sound in an E30.

Luke

[bernzpeed]

Thanks...for those that don't know, I likely have Fibromyalgia. I have not seen a doctor aout it, but a buddy of mine was the first US case of someone actually listing Fibromyalgia as cause of death...so I know the signs, and the treatments.

Typing all that shit out kills my arms, but not as much overall pain as doing the work. Honestly, it takes me 3 days to get 1 days work done. Kinda sucks, and limits my plans, but I do the best I can until I get real help.

Luke

Luke, you can set your computer for voice recognition to text. Very much like dictating to a secretary. Check out the Accessibility section of your computer.

[Dozyproductions]

Heh, very true luke and all the best for you


So I recently heard good things about this combo.

tweets:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Vifa-Ring-...ht_2016wt_1185

woofers:

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/silver-flute-woofers-6-7/silver-flute-w17rc38-04-ohm-6-1/2-wool-cone/

A little over a bill. get yourself a 4 channel amp and then look for a sub.

For a Head unit that is period correct you can find an older used nakamichi deck or perhaps certain alpine decks. I use a cda 9835 and its still working like a champ! they go used on ebay for super cheap too.

[Ayman]

Well, let me tell you this: new speakers will likely not "improve" your sound. You can go buy whatever brand, spend however much and have WORSE sound overall than a properly set up stock Premium Sound speakers with an aftermarket deck.

Here is the reality of it: ALL decent 5.25" speakers expect that you are using a subwoofer and some kind of high-pass filter. What this means is that they are not designed to make bass AT ALL. I am not talking real bass, I mean just enough lower octave information that is doesn't sound like AM radio...seriously, the average clock radio would have more bass. Especially on the freeway at 70MPH. It really is that bad. In fact, if you look around, you will see most manufacturers don't even make a 5.25" at all, just 6.5"

I never said none of them do, I just said most...so all you nitpickers just shut the fuck up right now, don't even post it. I don't give a shit, and it won't help these guys.

So, if you are looking to swap your speakers out and get decent tunes, give it up. This car is too well engineered to let you do such a simple thing as that.

Hell, you been around a while, you should already know that.

So, again, tell me what it is you are really trying to improve?

I can jump on my sales soapbox and explain how I have sold over 350 E30 subwoofer boxes advertising ONLY on R3V, the how and why of the fact that if you want decent SQ you MUST do amplifiers and subwoofers...but that doesn't answer your question, does it?

I will tell you that if you are willing to do exactly what I say, you can have a terrific sounding stereo for roughly $500, something that you can enjoy at 70MPH with the windows down, something good enough that you will never get bored of.

Or, you can fuck around and buy new speakers and still have shitty sound and be bored as hell with what you wasted your money on. That's just my opinion...but it is my professional opinion, with over 30 years experience behind it.

I hope you found an answer somewhere in all this.

Luke

i'm willing to listen to you, but does that 500 include a subwoofer? i'd rather not have a subwoofer and just have decent speakers, an amp, and a 'period correct' head unit, is it still possible to have decent sound that's louder than the premium option our cars came with? or am i just dreaming?

[StereoInstaller1]

hahaha ^^^ There it is.
Luke, I love reading your posts.

Thanks...for those that don't know, I likely have Fibromyalgia. I have not seen a doctor aout it, but a buddy of mine was the first US case of someone actually listing Fibromyalgia as cause of death...so I know the signs, and the treatments.

Typing all that shit out kills my arms, but not as much overall pain as doing the work. Honestly, it takes me 3 days to get 1 days work done. Kinda sucks, and limits my plans, but I do the best I can until I get real help.

Luke

[Butler]

hahaha ^^^ There it is.
Luke, I love reading your posts.

[bernzpeed]

/\ +1

[StereoInstaller1]

LOUDER n Clearer?

what parameters CAN I improve?

Well, let me tell you this: new speakers will likely not "improve" your sound. You can go buy whatever brand, spend however much and have WORSE sound overall than a properly set up stock Premium Sound speakers with an aftermarket deck.

Here is the reality of it: ALL decent 5.25" speakers expect that you are using a subwoofer and some kind of high-pass filter. What this means is that they are not designed to make bass AT ALL. I am not talking real bass, I mean just enough lower octave information that is doesn't sound like AM radio...seriously, the average clock radio would have more bass. Especially on the freeway at 70MPH. It really is that bad. In fact, if you look around, you will see most manufacturers don't even make a 5.25" at all, just 6.5"

I never said none of them do, I just said most...so all you nitpickers just shut the fuck up right now, don't even post it. I don't give a shit, and it won't help these guys.

So, if you are looking to swap your speakers out and get decent tunes, give it up. This car is too well engineered to let you do such a simple thing as that.

Hell, you been around a while, you should already know that.

So, again, tell me what it is you are really trying to improve?

I can jump on my sales soapbox and explain how I have sold over 350 E30 subwoofer boxes advertising ONLY on R3V, the how and why of the fact that if you want decent SQ you MUST do amplifiers and subwoofers...but that doesn't answer your question, does it?

I will tell you that if you are willing to do exactly what I say, you can have a terrific sounding stereo for roughly $500, something that you can enjoy at 70MPH with the windows down, something good enough that you will never get bored of.

Or, you can fuck around and buy new speakers and still have shitty sound and be bored as hell with what you wasted your money on. That's just my opinion...but it is my professional opinion, with over 30 years experience behind it.

I hope you found an answer somewhere in all this.

Luke