Premium Speaker Upgrade Info

[MSGGrunt]

Are rear premium speakers (with the parcel shelf that accepts them) a direct plug and play replacement for the non premium round speakers or is there more to the factory premium system option? I have a spare parcel shelf with premium speakers that I was thinking about putting in my 1986 325e that doesn't have the premium speaker option.

[Originale30]

The non premium and premium sound rear parcel shelf are the same, if you’re going to convert your non-premium sound to premium sound.... your non premium sound rear parcel shelf will need to be removed and there are cutouts on the underside of it to enlarge the speaker cutouts for the bigger premium sound... to perform the premium sound system retrofit you need the rear speakers, the front kick panel speakers, the door tweeters and the trunk amplifier... some people I believe have hooked up those components to the factory non-Premium sound wiring harness(I’m not sure how to go that route)... when I did the conversion I used a premium sound wiring harness... you’ll have to route it under carpet and through the car but everything will be plug and play.


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[MSGGrunt]

Thanks for the info. Not being a big audiophile I think it's just as easy to keep the original non premium set-up.

[Originale30]

If you already have all the parts it’s just very time consuming as you need to remove seats,center console, rear seats and parcel shelf, trunk carpeting and route the new harness under carpeting, it at that point is all plug and play.... but with sound systems what they are today I’m sure you can find nice speakers to replace your non-premium sound speakers


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[MSGGrunt]

I only have the extra rear parcel shelf and speakers, not the wiring.

I was thinking of just upgrading the stock non premium speakers with something more modern as well. Seems like a much easier option.

[jdt10768]

Not sure you can fit a 6x9" speaker unless you cut some sheet metal - expand the existing speaker hole in the metal rear parcel shelf.
Can somebody comment on the possibilities?

[Jean]

The rear speakers are a direct plug and play upgrade . The premium speakers are just a simple component set (one tweeter and one midrange(bass) with the coil and capacitor. The premium rear speakers still only have one pair of wires connecting them (positive and negative).

The front speakers are basically a midrange that has the capacitor and cool on it, and from it it feeds the high frequencies to the door tweeter . Chances are you already have the tweeter wire in the door , remove the black cover behind the side view mirror and see if it's there. The other end of that wire would be in the kickpanel where the front speaker is located ...

You can upgrade front and rears independently if you wanted to.

[MSGGrunt]

Are the head units different with the premium option?

When you talk about the premium wiring harness does this go all the way from under the dash at the head unit to the rear speakers?

If I had a premium harness it wouldn't be too difficult to retrofit as I am going to have the entire interior out of the car being redone so an install wouldn't be too difficult.

[bobdavisnpf]

JBL makes some retrofit speakers that are shallower depth and more space-efficient re: cone size vs cutout size, and at 2.3 ohms they can deliver more volume to compensate for signal loss of the stock speaker wiring. This can help you run your HU & amp at lower power & heat, lengthening their lives as well.

The old HU frequency response is pretty bad, too - probably 80Hz-11KHz under ideal conditions. I'd suggest a CD43 and skipping the in-trunk factory amp.

[Codym42]

Are the head units different with the premium option?

When you talk about the premium wiring harness does this go all the way from under the dash at the head unit to the rear speakers?

If I had a premium harness it wouldn't be too difficult to retrofit as I am going to have the entire interior out of the car being redone so an install wouldn't be too difficult.

I know late model premium and non-premium headunits are the same. Not sure about early model.

Jean is right. You can go ahead and swap the rear speakers without any additional wiring.

There would be no reason to retrofit the premium sound harness unless you want to use the OEM amp. But really, I don't know why anyone would want that failure prone amp. You'd be better off installing an aftermarket 4 channel amp.

[nrubenstein]

You'll get better sound running the speakers off a decent head unit than the crap "premium" amplifier.

[MSGGrunt]

My OCD would never let me put anything other than a period correct OEM head unit in the car. I have no issue spending the money to have an original one refurbished, but seeing an E30 with a modern head unit just puts me off. They just don't have the period look.

[bobdavisnpf]

My OCD would never let me put anything other than a period correct OEM head unit in the car. I have no issue spending the money to have an original one refurbished, but seeing an E30 with a modern head unit just puts me off. They just don't have the period look.

That's pretty much why I went with the CD43, and likely why it's been a popular upgrade. They weren't stock in the E30 but period-overlapped in the E31, E32, E34, and E36. Costs an extra hundred bucks to get an original "BMW" logo unit; most out there now are Rovers with a little "M" sticker over the mismatched logo. Totally not worth it and yes I sprung the extra for the original BMW logo :D

fwiw I have kept the original unit; I'll eventually tear it down to see if it just needs a replacement belt. But the amps' output and frequency range are bad enough that I wanted a better stereo anyway.

[Originale30]

My OCD would never let me put anything other than a period correct OEM head unit in the car. I have no issue spending the money to have an original one refurbished, but seeing an E30 with a modern head unit just puts me off. They just don't have the period look.

I’m the same way.... that’s why I just ran the premium radio harness from radio to driver footwell and back to the rear driver side trunk (under the carpet)where the amplifier is (exactly how the factory routed it).... it’s very straight forward....and the tweeter wiring in the door is already there just have to look for it (blue connectors) as for the premium deck vs the non-premium deck they are exactly the same with the same electrical connections - the only difference is the premium deck has a “weather-band” button


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[MSGGrunt]

The CD43 sounds like a great option.

If I find one in my local salvage yard can I get the radio code from a dealer? What would I need? The radio in hand or the VIN off the car?

Can these be modified to accept an aux cord?

I assume I would need the harness to splice into my stock harness? That has already been butchered by a previous owner.