Rear Speakers instead of Sub

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Not anymore .... I have an Alpine headunit, JBL components, JBL 6x9s, and a California Profile amp.



So I take it that you don;t have any subs. I don;t want any subs either and I have the HK system. I noticed that the mids on the doors blow easily. I'm already on my 2nd pair in 4 years. The rears have also blown twice.

My question to you: "Do you have more bass than the stock HK with those JBL 6x9's in the back? What wattage/channels is your amp? I'm sure your highs and mids are even clearer with the components up front.

I;m considering all this because the mids up front cost $100 each and the ones in the back are $200 each.



Thanks

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

My mids kept blowing too so this is the exact same reason I chose to upgrade everything and YES, I have a lot more bass with the 6x9s than the HK system had. I really can't believe how much I have. I have a 60x4 amp and I have the front components crossed over to filter out most of the lows. I left the HK mids in the door to just look stock but they are disconnected and I modified the tweeter housing to accept the JBL tweeters.

[m3f_Cleveland]

AMPowerJ,



Did you have any problems with rattles on the rear shelf from your 6x9's bass output?

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

My mids kept blowing too so this is the exact same reason I chose to upgrade everything and YES, I have a lot more bass with the 6x9s than the HK system had. I really can't believe how much I have. I have a 60x4 amp and I have the front components crossed over to filter out most of the lows. I left the HK mids in the door to just look stock but they are disconnected and I modified the tweeter housing to accept the JBL tweeters.



How did you modify the tweeter housing, and what is the approximate cost of your system?



Thanks again

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

AMPowerJ,



Did you have any problems with rattles on the rear shelf from your 6x9's bass output?



No - Everything is solid. Not my rear license plate rattles from my UUC exhaust but that is a different story.

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

How did you modify the tweeter housing, and what is the approximate cost of your system?



Thanks again



Basically I just removed the actual HK tweeter from the round tweeter housing and glued the JBL tweeters in. I add a rubber gasket to keep everything tight and to make sure there were no rattles, etc. You will be amazed how cheap the HK speakers are when you compare them to aftermarket speakers. I sold my HK headunit, cd changer, and speakers except for the mids and tweeters. That really helped offset the cost. Ultimately, I think the total system cost was probably around $800.

[m3f_salty_80d4b8491b]

Do you remember where you purchased the 6X9 adapters? And how much they cost?

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Thanks AMPowerJ. I might have to do the same thing one day soon.

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

Do you remember where you purchased the 6X9 adapters? And how much they cost?



Here you go ....



http://members.tripod.com/~HawaiiGuy/BMW_6x9_Adapters.html

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Quesion:

If I decide to go with MB Quart / ADS/ JBL 6x9's, and not change the hk amplifier, Will they still sound better than the HK's (more specifically-- clearer bass)? I'm guessing that i won't have to change the amp if I find speakers with the same ohms and wattage right? Since the rear hk's cost about $200/piece, I'm figuring I can get a much better pair for that price. Correct?



Thanks again

[m3f_salty_80d4b8491b]

Thanks for the 6X9 adapter link. looks interesting. I have heard that linking an aftermarket amp up to a stock head unit is not ideal (For what exact reason I don't know) It seems that C33 radios are not so well rated , but the single CD cd43 model is decent. Anybody have a single CD BMW headunit?

[m3f_00poop6x_6dca3456a4]

Quesion:

If I decide to go with MB Quart / ADS/ JBL 6x9's, and not change the hk amplifier, Will they still sound better than the HK's (more specifically-- clearer bass)? I'm guessing that i won't have to change the amp if I find speakers with the same ohms and wattage right? Since the rear hk's cost about $200/piece, I'm figuring I can get a much better pair for that price. Correct?



Thanks again



If you still have a stock headunit, save yourself some money on the 6x9's as a cheaper pair will sound just the same. The sound source is what produces what kind of sound you will be getting, sure there might be an increase in sound quality due to the sensitivity and quality of the aftermarket speaker, but it can only do as good as where the sound is initially coming from.



If you have an aftermarket headunit and want to keep the stock amp, that's cool. Make sure you DON'T get a speaker that goes below 3ohms, the stock amp can not handle it. Trust me, I know. But before that, everything sounded great! I had no problems playing music from the aftermarket HU and stock amp with aftermarket 5 1/4" in the rear with seperate tweeters(actually detachable coaxial tweeters).



The stock amp is a 10 channel amp, you might have some problem figuring out how to combine the aftermarket speakers to the amp configuration to match frequency output. I believe MB quarts(some) and a/d/s/ have seperate connecters for the tweeter/sub coaxial. Some say it is a risk to use the stock amp's crossover cutoffs to play on the aftermarket speakers, but I see no risk unless the stock amp's tweeter cutoff is low. I don't want to go into detail right now cause I'm hungry and need to eat. Will continue this later....or not.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

If you still have a stock headunit, save yourself some money on the 6x9's as a cheaper pair will sound just the same. The sound source is what produces what kind of sound you will be getting, sure there might be an increase in sound quality due to the sensitivity and quality of the aftermarket speaker, but it can only do as good as where the sound is initially coming from.



If you have an aftermarket headunit and want to keep the stock amp, that's cool. Make sure you DON'T get a speaker that goes below 3ohms, the stock amp can not handle it. Trust me, I know. But before that, everything sounded great! I had no problems playing music from the aftermarket HU and stock amp with aftermarket 5 1/4" in the rear with seperate tweeters(actually detachable coaxial tweeters).

.



Thanks alot for the info. I still have the factory HU. I'm not sure what you meant in the first line. Do you mean that I can go ahead and find aftermarket 6x9's for the rear shelf and still have the same sound quality (as long as they don;t go below 3 ohms) with the factory amp and HU. Plus, what exactly are the rear HK speakers. Just woofers or are they 2-way.....?



How did your setup sound with the stock amp and aftermarket 5 1/4's, and what brand were they? Compared to the HK, how was the bass output? I just want a clear system that sounds better than the HK but with no subs. That's all.



Thanks alot

[m3f_00poop6x_6dca3456a4]

Thanks alot for the info. I still have the factory HU. I'm not sure what you meant in the first line. Do you mean that I can go ahead and find aftermarket 6x9's for the rear shelf and still have the same sound quality (as long as they don;t go below 3 ohms) with the factory amp and HU. Plus, what exactly are the rear HK speakers. Just woofers or are they 2-way.....?



How did your setup sound with the stock amp and aftermarket 5 1/4's, and what brand were they? Compared to the HK, how was the bass output? I just want a clear system that sounds better than the HK but with no subs. That's all.



Thanks alot



I apologize for not making it clear. I meant that you shouldn't spend that much money on 6x9's if you're going to stick with the stock amp and headunit, save yourself some money on cheaper aftermarket 6x9's because those $200 ones will sound just the same if played off the stock amp and HU.



I'm not sure what the rear HK's are in the coupes. But I'll take a shot, it should be 5 1/4" mid-bass driver and a seperate tweeter or 6x9's(i'm guessing more towards 6x9's since it's HK, and it's in the 99's); each having it's own output source from the amplifier.



I noticed one thing that did make more bass, and it was upgrading my HU. I left all my speakers stock (except for the tweeters in the front). There was a lot more treble and bass. Not bass like a woofer but it was more filling.



Then I wondered if I changed out the rear 5 1/4" to aftermarket ones (Orion) when I had the aftermarket HU if it would make a sound difference for treble and bass....not really. I recommend you stick to just changing out the stock HU to an aftermarket and then getting the 6x9 adapters(if you have the 5 1/4"). If you really get a good seal with the 6x9's onto the adapter and keep the cabin and trunk areas seperate and from leaking air between the 6x9's then it should give you a decent amount of "bass". Don't expect it to be woofer like though.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

I apologize for not making it clear. I meant that you shouldn't spend that much money on 6x9's.



No problem. No need to apologize. Thanks for helping me out. I guess the conclusion would be to upgrade the aftermarker HU first. Since right now, I want to save up for some ZKW headlights, I will probably just get some cheaper aftermarket 6x9's (some mb quarts or something) along with the 6x9 adaptor and have the same sound quality as the HK (but for cheaper). When I upgrade the HU, then I'll hear a noticable difference. One more question, what HU is compatibe with the 6 cd changer than I have in the trunk? Is it true that alpine's are compatible?



Thanks alot