[mcacciola]

I got my new E92 coupe with EVERYTHING on it, ......but the premium sound.
Yeap... I forgot to order it.
I though , not sure why - that the premium sound will be part of the premium package and i totally forgot.

So, what are my options to get some improvement? I guess I can be way happier with new speakers and they will make a big difference. I'm fine with the amount of power and number of speakers though.

Also does anyone knows if I can install down the seat sub's?

thanks!

[AGT SMTH]

I just posted something similar http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303784

You didn't make a mistake... you did yourself a favor. From what these message boards say, the Logic 7 "premium stereo" uses fiber optic cables which are a PITA to replace. I can't verify that personally as I've never looked at the wiring. But I can verify that the HK speakers sound like crap and are still made of paper just like yours, there just happens to be more of them to replace. Completely counterproductive if you're hooking up a real stereo. Audiophiles never start with "premium" anything since it's a waste of money and just ends up being more work to replace. So be happy.

If I had the opportunity to do mine all over again, I'd recommend:

MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the front doors
MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the rear deck
Alpine PDX-4.150 4-channel amp to power the MB Quarts

2 8" Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seats (search the forums for plenty of posts about these)
Alpine PDX-4.100 bridged to power the subs

cap, EQ if desired, etc.

Don't bother with anything in the trunk, read my post above as to why. Unless you want to buy a 1-week-used Alpine Type R 12" in a custom fiberglass box.

[mcacciola]

Originally Posted by AGT SMTH

I just posted something similar http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303784

You didn't make a mistake... you did yourself a favor. From what these message boards say, the Logic 7 "premium stereo" uses fiber optic cables which are a PITA to replace. I can't verify that personally as I've never looked at the wiring. But I can verify that the HK speakers sound like crap and are still made of paper just like yours, there just happens to be more of them to replace. Completely counterproductive if you're hooking up a real stereo. Audiophiles never start with "premium" anything since it's a waste of money and just ends up being more work to replace. So be happy.

If I had the opportunity to do mine all over again, I'd recommend:

MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the front doors
MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the rear deck
Alpine PDX-4.150 4-channel amp to power the MB Quarts

2 8" Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seats (search the forums for plenty of posts about these)
Alpine PDX-4.100 bridged to power the subs

cap, EQ if desired, etc.

Don't bother with anything in the trunk, read my post above as to why. Unless you want to buy a 1-week-used Alpine Type R 12" in a custom fiberglass box.

thanks man. sound great.
what about the tweeters? The speakers you recommended are two ways. Should I just disconnect them?

and second question; Any idea how difficult/costly is to install the under the seats ones?

[mmmmQuattro]

the recommended speakers are components, so you would change over the 4" mid-bass and the tweeters with new ones.
Already fitted are shallow subs under each seat, which are 6.5". Upgrading them to 8" isn't too difficult, but may not be worth it. All depends on the type of music you listen to.
I have Logic 7 in my E93 and an aftermarket DLS setup in the E91. Logic 7 isn't much better...

[AGT SMTH]

Originally Posted by mcacciola

thanks man. sound great.
what about the tweeters? The speakers you recommended are two ways. Should I just disconnect them?

The PVI's have a little bracket that holds the tweeter to the woofer, so they can be used either as coaxials or as separate components--very cool feature. You'd want to use them as components in the OEM locations.

Originally Posted by mcacciola

and second question; Any idea how difficult/costly is to install the under the seats ones?

Check out this post:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ighlight=sws-8

I haven't done this yet. Supposedly plug 'n play with a little finessing on bracket depth. The newer black Earthquakes are marketed as a direct fit for BMW, don't know if they're more shallow than the silver ones that guy used (prior model).

http://www.earthquakesound.com/sws.htm

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...mpaign=froogle

Originally Posted by jp330Cic.au

Already fitted are shallow subs under each seat, which are 6.5". Upgrading them to 8" isn't too difficult, but may not be worth it. All depends on the type of music you listen to.

My U.S.-issue 2009 328i is definitely 8", I took the grille off last night to confirm and could post pictures if needed. From what I'm reading around here, it seems the European (and I guess Australian?) versions have 6.5" rather than 8"? It's just six philips screws to take the grille off if you want to confirm. Didn't have to remove the seat, just put it back all the way and the tilt to max.

[mcacciola]

thanks guys.
Ill review my options and see what's next. but definitely i have to upgrade. These standard speakers sound really bad.

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by AGT SMTH

I just posted something similar http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303784

You didn't make a mistake... you did yourself a favor. From what these message boards say, the Logic 7 "premium stereo" uses fiber optic cables which are a PITA to replace. I can't verify that personally as I've never looked at the wiring. But I can verify that the HK speakers sound like crap and are still made of paper just like yours, there just happens to be more of them to replace. Completely counterproductive if you're hooking up a real stereo. Audiophiles never start with "premium" anything since it's a waste of money and just ends up being more work to replace. So be happy.

If I had the opportunity to do mine all over again, I'd recommend:

MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the front doors
MB Quart PVI 210 4" components in the rear deck
Alpine PDX-4.150 4-channel amp to power the MB Quarts

2 8" Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seats (search the forums for plenty of posts about these)
Alpine PDX-4.100 bridged to power the subs

cap, EQ if desired, etc.

Don't bother with anything in the trunk, read my post above as to why. Unless you want to buy a 1-week-used Alpine Type R 12" in a custom fiberglass box.

Hey, you are proposing to use the 4in components in the rear deck as well as in front doors? Why not go bigger in the back?

If you use them the MB QUarts together with tweeters, do they fit into the door housing with stock cover?

I'm researching the upgrade to my sound system, and trying to figure out if I'm gonna go with an amp-woofer combo in the trunk in a custom box and sound deadening on the trunk lid, or try to replace components inside the car. My sound guy told me that our car is a pita to modify, but he recommends the woofer-amp in trunk combo, thus totally freeing up the speakers in the car from low end work. He said result would be better than if i replace all components inside with better ones, and I'll never have a good base with earthquakes as the space in the floor is just too small for a good base. What you reckon? I know you've had a ginormous sub in the back.

Btw, what's powering the earthquakes under the seat? I cant imagine the POS OEM head unit... the MTX Thunder 300XD amp?

And how about the battery life, alternator, etc. all stock, and all work well with the setup?

btw, are you selling that alpine amp that you don't need?

[AGT SMTH]

320what--the post I linked to ("SWS 8 upgrade with MTX amp!") was not mine, though I plan on doing that in the next week or two. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that was me.

So here's my whole theory on car audio...

You can't go wrong with the mainstream amplifier manufacturers: Alpine, MTX, Rockford Fosgate, Phoenix Gold, etc. Compare any decent amp from any of these guys to the factory amp (Logic 7 or not) and the aftermarket amp will kill the OEM one hands down. So by definition, compared to "real" amps, the OEM amp is crap.

You can't go wrong with mainstream speaker or sub manufacturers: Alpine, Infinity, Earthquake, Rockford Fosgate, MB Quart, Sony, Pioneer, etc. Compare any decent set of speakers from any of these guys to the factory paper speakers (Logic 7 or not) and the aftermarket speakers will kill the OEM speakers hands down. So by definition, compared to "real" speakers, the OEM speakers are crap.

Where does this leave a new BMW owner? With crap speakers powered by a crap amp. Result sounds like crap. Ironic, given that the rest of the car is so well-designed. Recurring complaint? "Premium" or not, OEM BMW stereos lack definition, don't have deep bass, don't have clear highs, just not a good stereo in any sense of the word.

My recommendation? First replace the crap with quality electronics, piece by piece. If that still isn't enough, THEN put a boomer in your trunk.

BMW uses "Marketing Math" when they describe their stereos: the non-Logic 7 is a "10 speaker system" rather than the correct term, a "6 channel system". The speakers they're counting are:

Driver door 4" midrange - same channel as below
Driver door tweeter - same channel as above

Passenger door 4" midrange - same channel as below
Passenger door tweeter - same channel as above

Driver-side rear deck 4" midrange - same channel as below
Driver-side rear deck tweeter - same channel as above

Passenger-side rear deck 4" midrange - same channel as below
Passenger-side rear deck tweeter - same channel as above

Driver under-seat 8" sub (U.S.) or 6.5" sub (outside of U.S.)
Passenger under-seat 8" sub (U.S.) or 6.5" sub (outside of U.S.)

Technically it's 10 speakers but it's only 6 discrete channels. So back to my recommendation: first replace the crap you already have with quality components. This is why I said if I could do it all over again I'd get MB Quart 4" component sets for the doors and rear deck and the Earthquakes under the seats. Toss the crap OEM amp. Power the 4 channels of highs with a quality amp and the 2 channels of subs with a second quality amp and you should be golden. Maybe add a cap or EQ if desired.

If that isn't enough, THEN add something in the trunk, be it a single 10", a single 12", dual 12's, whatever. But if you're looking for quality sound, don't bother touching the trunk until after you've "maxed out" the cabin.

As of today my trunk sub is unplugged and my shiny new $500 Alpine mono sub amp isn't connected to anything. I'm running the MB Quarts off a 600W / 4 channel Alpine and the factory amp is powering the factory 8" under-seat subs. As disgusting as this seems, it sounds friggin awesome. My biggest complaint with the OEM stereo was that the mids overpowered the bass and treble, now with the mids and highs taken care of, the OEM subs really aren't bad. Granted, they're not booming, but it sounds excellent and "very strong". If it sounds this good with the OEM subs there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be fully satisfied once I pop the Earthquakes in under the seats.

Your audio guy told you to get a trunk sub because he's never had a pair of subs right under his butt. He's also used to dealing with Honda Civics and other lightweight cars that don't have the frame that modern BMW's do. I very, very strongly recommend first replacing the crap that came with the car. If that still isn't enough, then move on to the trunk.

Sorry for the long post, I just needed to get my dissertation online so I can quote myself later.

Cheers,

AGT SMTH

[AGT SMTH]

Dangit, all that and I still didn't answer some of your questions...

Originally Posted by 320what

Hey, you are proposing to use the 4in components in the rear deck as well as in front doors? Why not go bigger in the back?

I recommend using the same size as OEM. A high-end set of 4" components are plenty powerful enough. The under-seat subs handle lower frequencies.

Originally Posted by 320what

If you use them the MB QUarts together with tweeters, do they fit into the door housing with stock cover?

Yes. Plus MB Quart is made in Deutsheland, in case anyone cares. EDIT: These are components though. The 4" woofer goes in the regular door panel, the 1"-ish tweeter goes up more towards the mirror.

Originally Posted by 320what

And how about the battery life, alternator, etc. all stock, and all work well with the setup?

Like a champ even with the sub plugged in and the metal cracking to the point where I'm worried the paint is going to just flake right off. Amazing what a 3 farad cap will do.

[Tallest]

cool bro, thanks much for this reply.

You know, i see where you coming from. The audio guy actually is not some Civic shmuck, but has all the software to tune the sound and promises best results if you give him budget contraints. I guess my budget or 800 bucks was that he said - i build you custom sub box or stick a LAT woofer into the shelf and give you an amp. This will free up a lot of extra work front speakers are doing and sound improvement for money will be massive. He has done 5 E90s and 1M3 btw, and regularly works on mercedes cars, but I'm sure an occasional Honda slipped in.

I also like the idea of replacing bit by bit the main components, but ill have to simply increase the budget.

Regarding speaker number --- i dont know but theory says the best speaker is 1, that covers everything.. technically its impossible though, so you should keep it to the minimum. Front speakers are most important and loation of tweeters is next. Then comes the sub to power the very low range (when all things are off you can hardly hear anything from it as it just moves air). And thats the point of big sub . it needs to move the air.. in under seats the space is so physically small that supposedly you never gonna get ideal bass from it. Thats what he says anyway.


My plan though is start with Amp and Earthquake subs and see how it sounds. If its not good, replace the 4in speakers and use a 2nd amp to power that. I'm also not a fan of losing trunk space, as fun as it looks its completely impractical.

the starting point i guess is to get all the measurments right - i.e. thickness of door speakers is imporant if i replace them. My car came without tweeters btw, so probably i need to drill the holes in the A pillars.

On a side note, here is what BMW provides as a retrofit upgrade in Europe. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182752 An Alpine kit, 2 speakers, 2 tweeters, 1amp.