Factory Premium Speaker Have No Mid Bass Response

[laidback93]

I'm afraid this topic is probably redundant, but here is my situation.

The PO owner installed a cheap Sony HU which I just replaced a month ago with a Pioneer X8800BHS deck. We matched up the wiring from the Sony wiring harness and completed the installation. My buddy got the deck fairly well tuned using the Pioneer ARC phone app which I really like. I have to mention that I have two 6.5" single channel drivers mounted in the rear parcel shelf. They are essentially subs that it turns out were possibly installed when the car was new from the dealer. The speakers and mounting plate were a/d/s brand which was a high end dealer upgrade for most German cars. I replaced them with new Infinity Kappa 6.5" and they are powered by a new Kappa 2x100 amp.

Now that the back story is done, I have to discuss the factory mids. They are powered by the new HU and they don't sound great to me. I have no reference to what BMW premium factory speakers should sound like, but I have to imagine they are supposed to sound better than mine. There is 0 mid bass response. All treble and tinny sounding. Turning up the bass on the HU only makes them sound worse and start to distort.

Is this a wiring issue because of the factory amp? I haven't checked to see if the factory amp is still wired up, but I can't imagine that it would still be. I thought the PO bypassed it.

Reading all these threads makes me think something isn't quite right with the wiring.

Any idea where to start first?


EDIT - this is a 90 late model with no fader control

[ZeKahr]

The BMW Premium speakers use dinky 5.25” drivers as the woofer, which normally have little to no mid bass response. Also they are an 80s design and therefore will not handle as much continuous amp power as newer aftermarket speakers with larger drivers

also 6.5” is not really a subwoofer, more of a woofer. Subs tend to be 8” and larger

[laidback93]

The BMW Premium speakers use dinky 5.25” drivers as the woofer, which normally have little to no mid bass response. Also they are an 80s design and therefore will not handle as much continuous amp power as newer aftermarket speakers with larger drivers

also 6.5” is not really a subwoofer, more of a woofer. Subs tend to be 8” and larger

Ah okay. Thank you for the response. That helps clear things up.

And yeah, I hesitate to call them sub woofers, but they do sound damn good for what they are. Very nice low end.

[Gregs///M]

Are your rear drivers sounding ok and the front are not? If so, I would assume that the front speakers are wired "out of phase" with each other. This means while one drivers is pushing out, the other is pulling inward. This will result is drastic midbass loss. Try verifying the polarity is correct or take the wiring at the head unit and swap the polarity on one front speaker. If mid bass improves, that is your problem.

Just because E30s have 5.25 inch speakers in the front, does not mean you cannot get great sound and strong midbass. I have Alpine Type R 5.25 components powered by a DS18 2 channel amp (90x2 if I remember correct), 12ga speaker wire, and fed from a Alpine HU. My midbass is so strong that if I turn my 12 inch sub off, people still think the sub is still on. My front speakers are so loud and clear, at full volume, it will literally damage your hearing.

[laidback93]

Are your rear drivers sounding ok and the front are not? If so, I would assume that the front speakers are wired "out of phase" with each other. This means while one drivers is pushing out, the other is pulling inward. This will result is drastic midbass loss. Try verifying the polarity is correct or take the wiring at the head unit and swap the polarity on one front speaker. If mid bass improves, that is your problem. Just because E30s have 5.25 inch speakers in the front, does not mean you cannot get great sound and strong midbass. I have Alpine Type R 5.25 components powered by a DS18 2 channel amp (90x2 if I remember correct), 12ga speaker wire, and fed from a Alpine HU. My midbass is so strong that if I turn my 12 inch sub off, people still think the sub is still on. My front speakers are so loud and clear, at full volume, it will literally damage your hearing.

Exactly. That’s what I’m used to. Mids having a lot of bass response. Well give the polarity a check. Thanks!