Want to set up new sound system.

[alen]

Hello, I have an 85 318i which I believe has the most antique e30 sound system available. I am not even sure of the speaker sizes f/r, but I know it's not premium.

Anyway, I am making it my DD and would like to upgrade the stereo but not go all out. I am looking into getting a Clarion DXZ385USB HU but that's where my knowledge of options stops. I'd like to upgrade the speakers as the ones in the car are shot. I spent a lot of time reading through cost effective options offered in this forum, but I'm confused as to what to do here.

I'd like a decent sound with decent bass. The trunk area is very rusted so putting a sub there might be out of question which leads me to believe that I might probably upgrade the setup inside the cabin.

The car already has some no brand aftermarket cassette player (which I tried to take out numerous times but no avail) which will be changed out for the Clarion HU. But what should I go with for the speaker options? I am not looking to go all out and would like to use my amazon gift certificates, so anything that would provide clean but decently thumping sound would be a +.

Thanks,
Alen

[Mless5]

Alen:

1. budget?
2. why not fix your leaky trunk?
3. what kind of HU is there now?

You won't get too far with even aftermarket speakers if you don't throw in an amp...

[alen]

Beside the HU, maybe 200-300 w/ an amplifier (I might opt for a used one to cut down on cost).
I just found out about the trunk after taking out the trunk carpet out and have intention on preventing the rust from spreading.
I wish I knew what HU is there. It looks very old, no name on it.

Yes, I'd plan on throwing in an amp as well.

[Mless5]

What kind of sound are you after? What is important to you? Decent sound is not that descriptive you know.
200-300 w/clarion or not?

[alen]

I'm more driven by price. Spending up to $300 on a set of small speakers and an amplifier will not give me the best possible sound but it should provide decent highs and perhaps decent lows with enough clarity.

[Mless5]

4 channel from ebay... or I have one or 2.

10" sub against skipass in a sealed enclosure will do just enough good, easy to make too or you can actually decent prefabbed box for ~$30 form Wally world.

'85 318... I don't think you have premium sound there. Get your hands on those premium tweeter pods, eh?

Speakers: either get a set of 5.25 components or you can get good OEM Premium mids, bass blockers (make your own, $5 tops), a pair of 2 way crossovers (plenty on ebay) and a pair of tweeters to go into stock housings.

[alen]

so you advise against plug in new speakers in the current space?
I'm not sure what the stock speaker size is in the bimmer? 5.25" all around?
I thought of putting new 5.25" all around (or maybe 6x9 in the rear) and a 10" sub perhaps. Is this rather pointless, as I've read through the archives that many people are against this?
I just want something that has ok sound with budget on mind. I'm not sure how complicated crossover installation could be, or what brand is good enough.

[lylefk]

$300 won't get you all of that...My advice would be to do it in pieces...just get a solid head unit and some solid front speakers for now with your $300. Then the budget allows, add a 4-channel amp and run channel 1&2 to those new fronts. Then down the road add a sub.

Just my .02

[joshuaaa]

my suggestion would be get one of lukes sub boxes. by far the cleanest sounding bass that your gonna get in a car. pair it with some nice front speakers and tweaters and your set. i just use lukes sub box, with stock fronts and tweaters and im more than happy with the setup.

[alen]

So I think I might go with OEM tweeters up front. Since the car currently has non-premium setup, how would I incorporate the oem tweeters with aftermarket HU and 5.25 fronts? I'd want to retain the oem tweeter speaker so does it just wire in?
I think I am going with this setup:
Clarion HU
OEM tweeters
5.25 mids for the front only?
2channel amp (that power the 5.25 only?)
mono amp with ported sub in the trunk?

Is that good idea for the items that have ?s above?

[alen]

All right, to bring this thread back into life, I believe I found some products to create the setup I believe I want.

First, I went with a Clarion HU.
I bought a set of OEM front tweeter pods with tweeters.
I am thinking of Infinity Reference 5020cs 5.25-Inch Two-Way Component System, which includes 2 5.25" woofers, 1" tweeters, and 2 external crossovers. All this is going to the front.
Also thinking of going with a $200 shipped bundle of new 2 10" Kenwood subs with a box and mono amp.

Definitely passed the $300 mark but it seems reasonable. Opinions, advice?

Good idea to keep the fronts powered by the HU only?

[Tuanies]

Now why would you run the factory tweeters with a pair of coaxials? That will just sound horrible.

[alen]

i bought the OEM tweeters for the pods.
i want to get the 2 way (woofer and tweeter) component, not coaxial set, put in the new tweeter in the tweeter pod, and run it that way.
but my idea is to power that component set with the HU only and eliminate getting an amplifier just for that. is that adequate power?

[Tuanies]

Oh I'm on crack.

The front stage is fine. I'd suggest going with a single, quality and efficient 10 than two low end ones. You might want to try and find a decent 4-channel amp and power the front stage with two channels, bridge two channels to power the sub and power the rear speakers with the head unit. You'd end up with a more balanced system.

You don't have to buy new either, scour ebay and craigslist for used parts. Older amps and subs are still good.

[alen]

That also sounds like something feasible.
Would a sealed nice quality 10inch woofer be adequate?

So if I go with a 4ch amp and use 2 channels for the fronts, does that mean I can use 1 channel for each side which has a component setup (woofer and tweeter)? If so how would I apportion 1channel to a 2 way component?
I always thought you'd need 2 channels for a 2 way component set?

Sorry if I made this confusing.

Alen