How to replace your speakers with something better !

[glendog74]

also let me know if you want to order the same as I did - because my supplier might be able to get you a good deal. The kit came straight from Germany and took about 5 days.

Hi rs32,

I'm interested in doing what you have. Are you able to PM me details please. Cheers :thumbs:

Rob

[glendog74]

I replaced my rear shelf set with Rainbow components today. It was very straight forward due to rs32's excellent write-up and fitting instructions and took me around an hour to do :smt023

It took me a few goes at deciding which way round the connection should go as there didn't seem much difference between +/- in either position? The Rainbow units were also much quieter than the OEM ones for the same volume setting! I settled for the slightly louder/deeper one in the end. Maybe my Alpine head unit affected this but not too sure... :smt017

Due to the above paragraph, i was sceptical of just how much difference it would actually make, but i'm pleased to report that i now have some bass and depth of sound in the car for that rare occaision when you want music rather than 'straight-six' to listen to! :whistle: It's particularly noticeable when you fade the speakers front to back and you realise just how pants the BMW OEM ones are!

I will certainly buy a second set now to complete the setup and improve one of the CSL's few weak spots. Just need to psyche myself up to remove the CF door cards... :smt104

[a_Y]

great great write up! thanks!

[houlbt]

being a bit new to this forum I've ont seen this write up before.. it's superb, stuff like this is a great help

[glendog74]

I completed my speaker upgrade this weekend by fitting a set of Rainbow components to the front just as rs32 did.

My installation took a bit longer than i'd planned on, however... Firstly, upon removing the door card i found that my fronts were already rather shoddily upgraded with Rockford Fosgate speakers! :bigcry:



I decided to continue as the Rainbow set was of a higher rating and also due to the fact that the RF set had been fitted with no sound deadening of any sort...



I used a pack of 'Dynamat Extreme' in addition to a sheet of 'Skinz' that had come free with my Rainbow speakers. B&Q was the source of a roller and some felt pad for the tweeter (due to the fact that i had no acoustic carpet)!



The door card removal was nowhere near as fraught as i'd imagined it would be due to using a decent 'Bojo' trim removal tool. I decided to use the Dynamat more around the speaker pod and place the thicker Skinz sheeting on the backside of the CF door panel as this vibrated before with the old RF speakers. I used black silicone sealant to keep the tweeter relay in place. One problem that i had was two of the speaker screw receptacles started to rotate in their mounts and i had to Araldite them in place!





Refitting was reasonably straightforward, taking care to not bend the plastic plugs. I did have to fiddle a bit to make the rear door handle bracket align properly but it all went back together ok. I used some Loctite 243 thread lock on the door bolts as a few were found loose on disassembly. The LHS tweeter connection was temperamental but with some 'bodging' all is ok now.

And the result? Much as rs32 says, a much better overall audio experience. The sound, although not massively louder, is much clearer and more well rounded with some depth at last. I think the sound deadening has played a large part to thank for that. It will certainly make those long distance trips to the Ring less boring when passing through Belgium! :hahaha: :thumbs:

[SMD]

Looks good! :smokin:

I have full Harmon Speakers fitted and custom Harmon Ipod unit! Works great and nothing is seen apart from an Ipod lead in the glove box! Great sound now!

[1cosmicboy]

I have done something similar in mine. Like Rich, I have got Rainbow speakers up front, but went for JL's in the rear. (although unlike Rich, I paid a man to fit them!!!!)

I am very impressed with the speakers, they give a great sound. I wasn't looking for mega sounds, and wanted everything to fit within the existing speaker pods.

just need the illuminating skull gear knob and neons now then tim :smokin:

[SMD]

I have done something similar in mine. Like Rich, I have got Rainbow speakers up front, but went for JL's in the rear. (although unlike Rich, I paid a man to fit them!!!!)

I am very impressed with the speakers, they give a great sound. I wasn't looking for mega sounds, and wanted everything to fit within the existing speaker pods.

just need the illuminating skull gear knob and neons now then tim :smokin:

Its defo a great mod for the CSL! :smokin:

[E46ACS]

I have done something similar in mine. Like Rich, I have got Rainbow speakers up front, but went for JL's in the rear. (although unlike Rich, I paid a man to fit them!!!!)

I am very impressed with the speakers, they give a great sound. I wasn't looking for mega sounds, and wanted everything to fit within the existing speaker pods.

just need the illuminating skull gear knob and neons now then tim :smokin:

Easy Michael, or the next time I see your car I will some greasy finger marks on it!!!!!! :hahaha:

[1cosmicboy]

:bigcry: sorry

[rs32]

glad to see that others are having success with this upgrade :thumbs:

the Rockford Fosgate speakers would have worked better with a small amp - the Rainbow units are designed to work with your stock BMW head unit.

Shame the previous owner hadn't taken the time to sort the wiring routing and general tidyness - it looks so much better now you've redone the work :-D

enjoy !

[spanner]

Excellent - cheers

[rs32]

just caught up with this again, another tip for interested owners

using the foam inserts/covers for the rear speakers, turn them upside down, mark holes using your old speakers then sandwich them between the new speaker surrounds and the rear parcel shelf fixings. This will remove some vibration from the rear parcel shelf.










also you can improve the front setup by adding Dynaliner (Dynamat foam sandwich product that weighs next to nothing) - it completely deadens the whole door assembly and stops rattles.

The added bonus of the dynaliner is that you get more exhaust sound inside the car as you are hearing less road noise through the door metal :-D

With my new Becker head unit and the speaker setup as documented I've ended up with exactly what was hoped for - a decent sounding, clear, punchy system with no real custom build work, no cutting of anything and no significant extra weight. Plus I have Nav, GSM with built-in SIM and an SD card for 4GB of music.

Perfect for the 1500 mile trip to Scotland in 3 weeks :beer:

[Bealo]

Great write up guys :thumbs:

This something i have been meaning to do for sometime now.

I have a Genesis 4 channel amp that i plan to fit to use with the four speakers

rs32

Which speakers should i be looking at to use with this amp. I think i might get a new head unit at the same time but not sure what spec to get.

[rs32]

my recommendation would be to first consider how much effort you want to put into the speaker mounts if you are going to use an amp.

I've stuck with head unit + speakers only because if you up the power to the next level you are asking an awful lot of the OEM mounting points to give you good sound.

e.g. mounting the front drivers onto the door cards has its limits, it really needs proper mdf door pods, which means cutting the door skin (something I wasn't prepared to do).

If you're not to bothered about all this then I would say the Rainbow kit (as per my install) will be fine (don't set the amplifier gains at their highest though) or if you want even better sound then go for the JL Audio XR 650 drivers.

:thumbs: