audio help for a '91 318is

[idickers]

I have a 1991 318is, which does not have an amp or separate tweeters. The speakers are powered directly from the oem head unit. The rears actually sound okay, but the front speakers are terrible, with no bass and almost no midrange, and little volume. The fader doesn't seem to transfer much sound to the front.

It seems to be the speakers themselves that are the problem, as switching the wire leads for the front speakers to the rear output on the head unit don't make the sound any better. My problem is that I've just spent a bunch of $$ on mechanicals, and don't have much left for the audio right now.

What would the best bang-for-the-buck upgrade be to get some decent audio, while I save up for a new head unit. Could I try replacing the front speakers with a more modern efficient pair, to get some volume and good sound out of the front?
Thanks for any suggestions!

[idickers]

Update: So it may be the head unit. I swapped in an old Alpine speaker I had, and it was similarly unimpressive. So, the question is, can I get away with an amp, or could the head unit just be trash? The front channels suck, but the rear sound decent.

[Gerta]

You need to talk to Luke (Stereoinstaller1) and you need one of his boxes. Look him up and shoot him a PM.

[AndrewBird]

Stock premium speakers will be an improvement, but amplifying them with a 4-channel amp will be even better. Don't expect much bass from them though, or ANY 5.25" speaker for that matter, it just won't happen. A speaker that small just can't produce low frequencies well. If you want more bass, you really need a sub. I highly recommend a Luke box.

[idickers]

I haven't got the budget or the time to replace the head unit and add an amp right now. I think a stop-gap measure might be to find a set of 5.25" replacement speakers that are more efficient than the stock speakers, to force some of the sound stage forward.

For example, could I replace the stock 8 ohm speakers with 4 ohm speakers? Can the stock head unit drive 4 ohm speakers? Any recommendations for an efficient speaker for the kick panel?

[AndrewBird]

Anything aftermarket will sound worse than stock premium sound speakers, short of going with really high end stuff. Aftermarket speaker are designed to be used with a sub, so the low end just won't be there.

Using the stock stereo with no amp isn't going to do what you want. It's just not going to happen.

[idickers]

I don't think I have the premium speakers (no amp or separate tweeters), so I guess I have nothing to lose trying a new set of kick-panel speakers.

[StereoInstaller1]

I have a 1991 318is, which does not have an amp or separate tweeters. The speakers are powered directly from the oem head unit. The rears actually sound okay, but the front speakers are terrible, with no bass and almost no midrange, and little volume. The fader doesn't seem to transfer much sound to the front.

It seems to be the speakers themselves that are the problem, as switching the wire leads for the front speakers to the rear output on the head unit don't make the sound any better. My problem is that I've just spent a bunch of $$ on mechanicals, and don't have much left for the audio right now.

What would the best bang-for-the-buck upgrade be to get some decent audio, while I save up for a new head unit. Could I try replacing the front speakers with a more modern efficient pair, to get some volume and good sound out of the front?
Thanks for any suggestions!

OK, so the issue you have is twofold.

First, you are fighting the lack of power balancing ability and also hoping to find some bass.

As said above, bass simply is not gonna happen with the stock speaker locations, period.

So, seems to me the logical thing to do is plan a course of action to address the issues, based on your final goals and budget, even if step by step..

If you know, for example, that you are 100% certain you will have a subwoofer soon, go ahead and get some cheap separates (or decent, whatever) and just tolerate the thin, bright sound until you can do your sub.

If you know for an absolute fact that you never plan on adding a sub, get stock Premiums, they have the biggest bass of any 5.25" speaker ever made.

If you are thinking it might be a year before you add a sub, you may just wanna get those and be OK with them, then upgrade later if needed, they really do sounds pretty damn good when subwoof'd and amplified.

You might want to see if you can find a good solution for an amp at some point too, then you can use the gain controls to adjust the front/rear balance...E30s are evil for that.

If you dont want to mess around trying to find a good set of stock components, you could grab one of a zillion different sets of 5.25". If you are on an extreme budget, the Powerbass S50C is not a complete turd.

No mater what speaker you end up with, make certain there is room for the cone to move. Lots of people end up mounting their front speakers crushed against the kick panel and they sound like ass...put little spacers under the heads of the screws to keep the panel away from the speaker.

Either way you go, if I can help, feel free to post or PM.

(and just so you know, our E30 boxes are almost always in stock)

Thanks and good luck!

Luke

[idickers]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Are the premium speakers also 8 ohm? Where would I buy the stock premium speakers for a reasonable price? It looks like they are fairly expensive when you factor in the mid and the tweeter unit.

[StereoInstaller1]

Premiums are 4 ohm.

I see them used fairly often for $50ish a set

[idickers]

It look like I'd need the separate tweeters to make the premium speakers work their best. Can the triangular tweeter assembly be installed into a car that did not come with the premium stereo?

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes, in fact most all E30 doors are pre-wired. Very early cars are an exception, but even those it is quite common.

The expectation is for you to do a full set: front woofers, front tweeters in their spiffy little mounts and the rear speakers in their housings. You will get to mess with the stupid midrange wiring, but it isn't hard once you understand it.

Basically, with the tweeter wiring, the part in the doors is all good, sometimes the ends of the wire are just hanging out when you pull the little sail panel off.

However, inside the car, the tweeter negative is buried further down the harness, you just have to go find it and make sure it is connected properly. Yours will have the end of it taped to the harness about 10" below the speaker hole.

Luke

[idickers]

Luke, thanks so much for the really helpful information. I think I'll start trolling the boards in search of premium front speakers and tweeters for sale.

[idickers]

A follow-up: I got some premium front speakers, and connected them to an old Linear Power two channel amp I had, and it worked great for a year. But now the old Linear Power amp died, and I am looking for recommendations for a 4-channel amp to fit into the system. This is with premium speakers in the front and standard speakers in the rear, with no plans for a subwoofer.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[StereoInstaller1]

My suggestion for a 4 channel is to get a 5 channel.

Amazon Prime has the PPI BA2200.5 right now for $130 shipped, that is plenty of power for a full system, has a sub knob and a "input mode" switch so you can use it with your same deck.

Oh, sorry, I see now you are saying "no plans for a sub"....so, that being the case, just grab anything cheap, you should be able to find something for 50 or 60 dollars, just make sure it has gain controls.