thinking about some stereo upgrades

[DrMcDave]

okay first off, i know absolutely nothing about car stereo. I was saving money for a turbo, but then gas went through the roof, so i put that on hold.

now, i don't want a system that you can hear down the block. I just need something i can hear with the windows down.

I have a kenwood headunit, which is nice. I have two crappy subs to get the job done. I also have xm radio which i like quite a bit.

so this is what i am looking to do...upgrade my subs to something thats going to put out clean bass and keep up with electronic music but still put out nice-clean bass for rap/rock-everything else. I think i saw someone post something about clean bass. I figure i can lose some weight going from two subs to one, plus it will sound better-better sub.

i also need some new front speakers as i have stock ones right now. and obviously an amp and whatever else is needed for them to sound as good as possible.

rear fill can be taken care of at any time, assuming i rewire everything when i do the front-stupid not to as far as i am concerned.

money we will say is a non-issue, i dont mind spending bills. I obviously don't want to buy 900 dollar mb quarts or focals but high line stuff is aight. Anyway i just want to get an idea of what kinda stuff i should look at.

[Beej '86 325es]

First off, subs suck in the E30 trunk. I've run a couple different setups in the past and because the trunk is so sealed, it's muffled and really just rattles everything on the outside. To get good clean sounding bass in these cars, you really need to get the bass inside the cabin somehow. I've seen 8" subs on the rear deck and 8" subs fit into the rear side panels on a 2-door. I have some custom pods in my front doors, so I plan on putting in some 6 1/2" mid-bass speakers there.

I'll let someone else handle the tips on the main speakers, I don't keep up on the car stereo stuff that much anymore. One general tip though. In home audio, the general rule is to spend twice as much on the speakers as you do on the electronics, in car audio it is the opposite.

[AmaRu]

First off, subs suck in the E30 trunk. I've run a couple different setups in the past and because the trunk is so sealed, it's muffled and really just rattles everything on the outside.

i dont see why u cant take out the ski bag and pull down that thing in the middle and jus put the sub in there...all bass

[808BMW]

First off, subs suck in the E30 trunk. I've run a couple different setups in the past and because the trunk is so sealed, it's muffled and really just rattles everything on the outside.

i dont see why u cant take out the ski bag and pull down that thing in the middle and jus put the sub in there...all bass

Because almost nobody has a rear armrest. A few that do use that idea though.

[DrMcDave]

well that pretty much has no relavance to what i asked but, i do have a ski bag and hole and rear armrest, but i have too much bass as is so i keep mine up. i need a more adjustable system all around.

[AmaRu]

type R components, type R 12'' sub...Alpine is the way to go

[EtaSport]

second alpine and type R components. Type R sub may be a bit much for you since it used to be alpine's competition sub. A type S dual voice coil sub with a JL 300 mono amp should be more than enough. You will probably want to run the components through an amp. Alpine makes a v12 that will match them. That is generally the best route.

Subs dont sound bad in the trunk. Mine are actually pretty clean although no longer tight being 3 years old now. When I open my trunk they sound like crap though. The good thing about the alpine subs is that they are very stiff and the suspensions lasts a long time. They will be tight which will give you some clean bass. You should run a sealed box. That way it can be smaller which should save some weight, and such. Whatever sub you get find out the recommended box size and try to have it built exact. thats all i can of for now.

[MattE30]

:roll: You can do better than Alpine. If you want to go "mainstream" audio, then go with JL. The Type R is a pretty good sub, but the JL W3v2, I think, is better. If you want great, competition quality sound, go with Elemental Designs www.edesignaudio.com, and get a 10" or 12" A series. Amazing subs at great prices. The A can definatly put up a good fight against the W7. My friend has a 12" A with 1000 watts RMS, and is probably the best sounding sub I've heard. ROBM3 has/had the 8" A and loved it. Check them out :up:

[KenC]

I second the notion that you can do better than Alpine. Try a/d/s/ or MB Quart if you want sound-quality.

[spencers]

What's a good price for a w3v2?

[MattE30]

What's a good price for a w3v2?

I've seen the 12" W3v2 for under $200, but the site probably isn't a liscensed JL dealer, so you won't get their warrenty. Oh, JL changed their lifetime warrenty, to a warrenty for a couple of years. No longer can you blow up a sub and get a new one :evil:

[BMW BMXER]

What's a good price for a w3v2?

I've seen the 12" W3v2 for under $200, but the site probably isn't a liscensed JL dealer, so you won't get their warrenty. Oh, JL changed their lifetime warrenty, to a warrenty for a couple of years. No longer can you blow up a sub and get a new one :evil:

BLow it up earlier. That's what I did. By accident though. I paid like 330 cdn for mine.

[DrMcDave]

well which mb quarts/ a/d/s should i get and where is the best place to buy them.

[spencers]

I'm unsure of which ones to get.

As for the best place to buy them, ikesound.com has mbquart. You could also try ebay.

I was looking on caraudioforum.com last night and there was a thread about the best coaxials. They mentioned the JL, low end Eclipse, and Type R.

[MattE30]

Crystal Mobilesound makes some very nice components for under $200. In terms of MB Quart, the titanium tweeters are really harsh, so silk tweeters should be what you look for.