E30 - Standard speakers replacement.

[Panici]

Popping in here 5 years after the last post to say I purchased a 4 speaker set of the Polk Audio DB 522s to replace all of my OEM units, and they sound amazing. The tweeter is on the unit itself, and it sits just fine underneath the trim (the rear parcel shelf covers will need you to knock out 4 plastic supports around the ring to sit more flush, but look good regardless). It honestly sounds like I have added an amplifier to the system. No need to despair if you want to keep a factory look.

Any pictures of your setup?

I have been spoiled by my E36's 8-speaker premium audio system (+subwoofer I added) and will need to upgrade the E30 in the future.

[dclowd99011]

Popping in here 5 years after the last post to say I purchased a 4 speaker set of the Polk Audio DB 522s to replace all of my OEM units, and they sound amazing. The tweeter is on the unit itself, and it sits just fine underneath the trim (the rear parcel shelf covers will need you to knock out 4 plastic supports around the ring to sit more flush, but look good regardless). It honestly sounds like I have added an amplifier to the system. No need to despair if you want to keep a factory look.

[argon]

can't find premium speakers here in NZ so i just created a custom wood panel to fit 6.5" component speakers



+1 on not expecting much from 5.25" speakers, i guess it's a physical limitation and it would not be able to produce sound similar to bigger diameter counterpart

[estoguy]

Luke definitely speaks truth on the BMW premium speakers. I just picked up a set today at the wreckers for twenty bucks. I don't have money for a woofer, and I'd read this thread previously. In terms of bang for buck, they can't be beat. I'd priced out 5.25" speakers at my local Canadian Tire, and I would have paid a lot more, and probably middle of the road speakers at best.

One thing I found on my stock front speakers that weren't on the premiums were these little spacer clips at the corners. I transferred them to the new ones.

[Silver Wagon]

Here is the issue:

'The pioneer is not recessed below the frame, the surround sits above it:



The proper speaker not only has a recessed cone, but actually is recessed in the hole too. Here is a stock Premium, for example:



So, when the Pioneer was installed, it needed to have the stock grille spaced away from the speaker about 8mm or so.

None of this other bullshit, like removing the last trace of bass from his audio is anywhere near correct, especially if the goal is to "work with what he has".

His bottom end response is radically limited by the grille being smashed against the cone and your suggestion is to remove more bass?

Lame.

Sorry, that is typical "installer think" where the goal is to get whatever hackery out the shop as quickly as possible. I lived that shit for 30+ years, I did not condone such cheap tactics then and I don't now, either. My goal is to actually make his system perform better, not just apply a bandaid.

So, the easy fix is this: take the grilles off, pull the speaker screws one at a time and put a nut under the head of each screw, making them into a "post" of sorts. Do this for all three mounting screws, then use a tiny dab of crazy glue to glue the same nut on the inside of the grille for the 4th screw. Make sure that screw can still turn, because stabbing it into the hole through the grill is a challenge.

Its kind of a pain in the ass to do so, thats why most so called "pro" installers can't seem to do it right, but that little space will make all the difference in what you are dealing with.

Move those grilles out 8mm and your issue will be gone.

Good luck!
Luke

why didn't you just post this to begin with?

by turning on the HPF we have confirmed this is the issue for free. now he can take your advice and resolve the problem cheaply and effectively. just some time out of his day instead of buying more equipment that may still have the same issue.

[Silver Wagon]

The slope is how many decibels it drops per octave. So if you have it set at 125 - 12 the bass will start to drop at 125 and at about 62 hz it will be down 12 decibels, at 31 hz it will be down 24 decibels and so on. So if you set the slope to 24 db per octave you can lower the crossover point, still protect the speakers and get a little more bass.

not to sound rude but i didn't post this because i don't think he will be able to understand it. showing it with a visual representation will be very easy to understand. but thanks for the explanation.

[StereoInstaller1]

Here is the issue:

'The pioneer is not recessed below the frame, the surround sits above it:



The proper speaker not only has a recessed cone, but actually is recessed in the hole too. Here is a stock Premium, for example:



So, when the Pioneer was installed, it needed to have the stock grille spaced away from the speaker about 8mm or so.

None of this other bullshit, like removing the last trace of bass from his audio is anywhere near correct, especially if the goal is to "work with what he has".

His bottom end response is radically limited by the grille being smashed against the cone and your suggestion is to remove more bass?

Lame.

Sorry, that is typical "installer think" where the goal is to get whatever hackery out the shop as quickly as possible. I lived that shit for 30+ years, I did not condone such cheap tactics then and I don't now, either. My goal is to actually make his system perform better, not just apply a bandaid.

So, the easy fix is this: take the grilles off, pull the speaker screws one at a time and put a nut under the head of each screw, making them into a "post" of sorts. Do this for all three mounting screws, then use a tiny dab of crazy glue to glue the same nut on the inside of the grille for the 4th screw. Make sure that screw can still turn, because stabbing it into the hole through the grill is a challenge.

Its kind of a pain in the ass to do so, thats why most so called "pro" installers can't seem to do it right, but that little space will make all the difference in what you are dealing with.

Move those grilles out 8mm and your issue will be gone.

Good luck!
Luke

[dwvw]

The slope is how many decibels it drops per octave. So if you have it set at 125 - 12 the bass will start to drop at 125 and at about 62 hz it will be down 12 decibels, at 31 hz it will be down 24 decibels and so on. So if you set the slope to 24 db per octave you can lower the crossover point, still protect the speakers and get a little more bass.

[Silver Wagon]

btw thanks again turned on the hpf and sounds better adjusted it to 125 -12, i may mess with it a little more. i turned it up almost 3/4 of the way up and it didn't pop like before.i then turned off the hpf and man it sounded like poop.

if you go to 100 - 24 you will be able to gain a little bit more bass. that slope has a sharper cut off rate. its hard to explain, easier to show with a graph, but give it a try also.

[Silver Wagon]

Yes, because taking the last little shred of bass from your audio system is the goal....right?

Look, here is the reality: you have 12 watts per channel of actual RMS power (don't believe the 50WX4 BS printed on the deck, it really is about 12w X4) and shitty speakers that will not make bass in the location they are mounted in. No amount of bullshit is going to fix your issue...and turning the HPF on will sound like absolute shit.

Go ahead and try it, its only a few seconds to change.

Oh, BTW, most likely that "popping" sound is the speaker hitting the grille. Pioneers cones protrude past the edge of the frame, and BMW speakers are recessed. If you don't space the grille away from the frame, you may have "popping" noises, even at low volume.

The simple fix is yank those shitty Pioneers (Kenwoods, Alpine, whatever) and drop in a set of Premiums. You will get about triple the bottom end and radically better power handling, all for the price of a set of junkyard speakers...if you get lucky.

However, clearly you need better performance in the audio department. You aren't going to be happy until you do something better than a "deck and 4".

You need some kind of subwoofer, ideally one that does not suck. You also need some decent power and speakers that will actually work in a BMW. Those Pioneers will not do unless you have a subwoofer, and then you can use that HPF as it should be used, to allow the mids and highs to play cleaner and clearer, while the subwoofer handles the bass. That does not mean you need to be some baggy pants thug, nor do you need to be "boomin tha hood, yo", as a proper subwoofer will simply play nice clean, clear bottom end without annoying your neighbors or attracting the cops...or thieves...assuming you control yourself.

Anything else is just wasting your time.

Good luck.

Luke

ok, here's the thing, i am trying to work with what he has, clearly he doesn't have or want to spend a lot of money. turning on the HPF is free. if it sucks you can turn it off, for free. get the theme here? a deck and 4 is what many people live with and have lived with for a very long time.
stop bashing people's set ups cause you don't like them. try and be constructive and help the guy out. telling him he needs to drop a few hundred dollars to listen to his music at freeway speeds isn't a good solution. as he stated turning on the HPF helped.

the popping he describes, according to you, is the speaker hitting the stock grill. why is it hitting the grill? extrusion. low frequencies cause the cone to go out very far to produce those frequencies. cutting out the frequencies that cause this to happen will prevent the "popping". hence the HPF.

how about we help him with what he currently has to be sure it is maxed out before you tell him he needs to spend more money on stuff he already has. as it turns out he hasn't even tuned his set up yet. that will also help with his goals. lets do that also before you tell him he needs to spend more money on stuff he already has.

Yes, because taking the last little shred of bass from your audio system is the goal....right?

well, yes. it will allow him to turn up what he has louder so he can hear it on the freeway.

[efficient]

from what you posted, your radio has a HPF. here is how to turn it on.



start with 100hz and a slope of 24hz. play with the settings a bit. keep the slope at 24hz. just play with the cutoff frequency to find your happy medium.

your set up is decent. by removing some low bass from the system you will be able to turn it up a bit more. also have you "tuned" your set up yet? as in adjusted loudness, bass, treble settings?

btw thanks again turned on the hpf and sounds better adjusted it to 125 -12, i may mess with it a little more. i turned it up almost 3/4 of the way up and it didn't pop like before.i then turned off the hpf and man it sounded like poop.

Yes, because taking the last little shred of bass from your audio system is the goal....right?

Look, here is the reality: you have 12 watts per channel of actual RMS power (don't believe the 50WX4 BS printed on the deck, it really is about 12w X4) and shitty speakers that will not make bass in the location they are mounted in. No amount of bullshit is going to fix your issue...and turning the HPF on will sound like absolute shit.

Go ahead and try it, its only a few seconds to change.

Oh, BTW, most likely that "popping" sound is the speaker hitting the grille. Pioneers cones protrude past the edge of the frame, and BMW speakers are recessed. If you don't space the grille away from the frame, you may have "popping" noises, even at low volume.

The simple fix is yank those shitty Pioneers (Kenwoods, Alpine, whatever) and drop in a set of Premiums. You will get about triple the bottom end and radically better power handling, all for the price of a set of junkyard speakers...if you get lucky.

However, clearly you need better performance in the audio department. You aren't going to be happy until you do something better than a "deck and 4".

You need some kind of subwoofer, ideally one that does not suck. You also need some decent power and speakers that will actually work in a BMW. Those Pioneers will not do unless you have a subwoofer, and then you can use that HPF as it should be used, to allow the mids and highs to play cleaner and clearer, while the subwoofer handles the bass. That does not mean you need to be some baggy pants thug, nor do you need to be "boomin tha hood, yo", as a proper subwoofer will simply play nice clean, clear bottom end without annoying your neighbors or attracting the cops...or thieves...assuming you control yourself.

Anything else is just wasting your time.

Good luck.

Luke

i don't plan on booming my neighborhood away, i just wanted it louder because on the freeway i can't hear anything just the speakers making a a lot of popping noise. any recommendations on a sub and amp?

[Ether-D]

this has to be the dumbest thing i have ever heard.
i have a set of diamond audio 5.25" components in my 540 wagon that sound amazing.
the larger the cone of a speaker the more bass it can reproduce. so a 6.5 will have slightly better bass than a 5.25. now if you only have room for a 5.25 try to "seal" it so it creates an enclosure. this will give you better bass response and making it equal to the 6.5

no company assumes you do or don't have a woofer. the only thing they assume is that you have money to spend on their product.

FYI i joined just to reply to this post as there is so much fail in it.

If that was the dumbest thing you've ever heard, you have lived an incredibly sheltered existence.

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes, because taking the last little shred of bass from your audio system is the goal....right?

Look, here is the reality: you have 12 watts per channel of actual RMS power (don't believe the 50WX4 BS printed on the deck, it really is about 12w X4) and shitty speakers that will not make bass in the location they are mounted in. No amount of bullshit is going to fix your issue...and turning the HPF on will sound like absolute shit.

Go ahead and try it, its only a few seconds to change.

Oh, BTW, most likely that "popping" sound is the speaker hitting the grille. Pioneers cones protrude past the edge of the frame, and BMW speakers are recessed. If you don't space the grille away from the frame, you may have "popping" noises, even at low volume.

The simple fix is yank those shitty Pioneers (Kenwoods, Alpine, whatever) and drop in a set of Premiums. You will get about triple the bottom end and radically better power handling, all for the price of a set of junkyard speakers...if you get lucky.

However, clearly you need better performance in the audio department. You aren't going to be happy until you do something better than a "deck and 4".

You need some kind of subwoofer, ideally one that does not suck. You also need some decent power and speakers that will actually work in a BMW. Those Pioneers will not do unless you have a subwoofer, and then you can use that HPF as it should be used, to allow the mids and highs to play cleaner and clearer, while the subwoofer handles the bass. That does not mean you need to be some baggy pants thug, nor do you need to be "boomin tha hood, yo", as a proper subwoofer will simply play nice clean, clear bottom end without annoying your neighbors or attracting the cops...or thieves...assuming you control yourself.

Anything else is just wasting your time.

Good luck.

Luke

[efficient]

from what you posted, your radio has a HPF. here is how to turn it on.



start with 100hz and a slope of 24hz. play with the settings a bit. keep the slope at 24hz. just play with the cutoff frequency to find your happy medium.

your set up is decent. by removing some low bass from the system you will be able to turn it up a bit more. also have you "tuned" your set up yet? as in adjusted loudness, bass, treble settings?

Thanks dude, no I havent messed with the settings. Ill give it a try and report back. Thanks for the help

[Silver Wagon]

from what you posted, your radio has a HPF. here is how to turn it on.



start with 100hz and a slope of 24hz. play with the settings a bit. keep the slope at 24hz. just play with the cutoff frequency to find your happy medium.

your set up is decent. by removing some low bass from the system you will be able to turn it up a bit more. also have you "tuned" your set up yet? as in adjusted loudness, bass, treble settings?