WarNox 1 Report post Posted November 27, 2005 Ok its time to get a headeck and replace the front speekers/tweeters! as for the headeck ill get something not too expensive that plays mp3! now speakers is what im mainly lookin for in advice in! what size speakers can u fit in the front of an e36 without too much trouble? what brand to u recommend, where from and anything else u mite like to add ill be happy to read? thnx in advance! ps. is it possible to fit 6x9 in the back, without raising them, so in the place of the original speakers? thnx every1! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*RJ* 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2005 5.25" JUST fit under the factory covers in the front and I mounted my cross overs under the dash. The 5.25's in the rear actually sit up, I haven't taken to the car with a hacksaw yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted November 27, 2005 Don't cut your car. You can make all sorts of things fit if you have the skill time and patience to fabricate some mounts. 5.25's are standard, but you'll have trouble finding good well priced speakers at that size (i.e. limited options) I'd go for 6" and make them fit. Don't get 6x9's they sound crap unamped and even worse amped. Throw some 6" coaxials in the back if you have to, buy a small amp and amp your front speakers - get good ones. You'll thank me later. There are a few threads on audio setup on here if you search - there is a reason they all say the same thing - its tried andtested. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimocles 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2005 the bit I found hard when upgrading was finding a black headunit with the specs I wanted. lots of flashy silver ones around Eclipse cd3434 worked for me in the end, lots of potential to expand and doesnt look too out of place, personally i dont need cartoons and displays when i drive Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*sic 1 Report post Posted November 28, 2005 read this audio section and links i posted, all is explained. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted November 28, 2005 (edited) Alpine CDA-983x and 985x looks good in e36 I reckon. These were my criteria before I bought my 9835 1. Sounds good without amp but have potential to get one later 2. Look tidy with interior and MUST have orange light buttons 3. MP3 and iPod connectivity Attached a pix for how it looks at night. Oh yeh, while you have the lower dash (and maybe centre console) apart for the sounds upgrade, you could pre-wire for the amp to save you time later. The +ve main battery wire (red) runs along the driver side, so might want to run your sounds signals (for the amp) on the passenger side. There's a bracket in the boot for factory amp install that you might want to utilise for your aftermarket amp. Edited November 28, 2005 by my_e36 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WarNox 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2005 thnx for all ur replies! yeah i like those new alpine cd players, orange display and buttons would also be good! so get very good front speakers and tweeters for and just replace the rear speakers but keep stock size! get a 4 channel amp and a small sub!? that sound about right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted November 30, 2005 If you are strap for cash, you can leave the rear as original and only upgrade if you feel inadequate after doing the front and sub to save $$. The rear is relatively unimportant that that you won't even need stereo for the back as they are there only to fill the cabin with "some" sound for help the staging. Experts out there, correct me if I am wrong. Cheers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted November 30, 2005 WarNox - sounds good to me - make sure you get a subbox designed for your specific sub. Each sub has different properties, and although it will "work" in any box, a box designed for the specific sub in terms of volume and port length if has one etc makes all the difference. A bad box can ruin a good sub. A good box can make a crap sub sound almost acceptable. My-e36 - yup rear fill should be almost inaudible - can be used carefully to move the soundstage, but most people have their bass and treble, fade and bal settings so screwed up the soundstage is f**ked anyway. Reducing treble can bring bass forward in the car from a boot sub, reducing tweeter gains can lower the stage and remove harshness, increasing bass boost should be used withcare, incorrect high/low pass settings can muddle sounds, and gain settings onan amp should be set correctly too. But for the average person it won't make a blind bit of difference unless it is really wrong, and once you are moving, road noise throws half of it out the window. Enter accoustic insulation.......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WarNox 1 Report post Posted December 1, 2005 my noob questions, wht is rear fill? and what does a 4 channel amp mean, opposed to 8 channel? the number of inputs/outputs? and why not put the rear speakers on the amp as well as the front ones? sorry for all the questions but i want to know as much as possible before i get into this whole thing... thnx again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted December 1, 2005 I don't think there's too many 8 channel amps for car (maybe I am ignorant), I'd say they are for in car DVDs. channel (in general) just means how many set of speaker output it got. 4 channel means it has 4 speaker outputs. Sound stage, I am not 100% sure. But my understanding would be this.... try imagine a 3D hologram image of your favourite band (holo-band) playing within your car in a 3D-axis, their sound (singing and instructments) will come from that image. Sound stage is pretty much your perception of their (audio) presense with you in the car. Obviously you want the band performing in front of you, at (prety much) eye level. This partly explains why rear-fill is unimportant. As we said, read-fill is to adjust the sound stage (usually raising it) without overpowing the front. So it doesn't move that 3D holo-band backwards to behind you. If you are interested, read this website.... http://www.bcae1.com/ Prepare to spend a lot of time on it because there's lots and lots of good basics and knowledge about car audio... over 130 topics It's a good 7th form electronics refresher too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*sic 1 Report post Posted December 1, 2005 read this audio section and links i posted, all is explained. noone listens... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted December 1, 2005 Rear fill is sound from rear speakers that is simply there to "fill" the void of sound that would be there if the speakers weren't. As you are not sitting in that void - only your rear passengers - it is unecessary although some people like it. Each channel on an amp can power one speaker. You don't need to amp your rear speakers as they do not need to be loud - this way you can save money by using a four channel amp to power your front speakers (two channels) and your sub (bridge the other two channels to essentially put twice the power into one speaker). If you used the 4 ch amp to power two front and two rear speakers, you would need to buy an additional 1 or 2 channel amp (with the 2 channels bridged) to power the sub. Since the rear speakers are unimportant, save your money. Spend up large on quality amp, and front speakers, buy an ok/decent sub and throw whatever speakers are on special for undfer $100 in the rear or leave them out altogether. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WarNox 1 Report post Posted December 2, 2005 sweet as, i finally understand things! thnx for this, now its shopping time, ill let u knw how it all goes... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted December 2, 2005 noone listens... Maybe they dont know when your taking the pi$$ I have read them.....some quality advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30SIX 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2005 Alpine CDA-983x and 985x looks good in e36 I reckon. Does anyone know how much the Alpine CDA-983x and 985x are price wise. I have looked at the Alpine site and there are a few different models with very similar design. ( has a really cool 3D interactive demo on the head units )Cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmw 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2005 I think they around $600 + Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
