Speaker upgrade Rec's ?

[crawlin]

I was looking around for some speaker replacements and upgrades. I have a few speakers that are crackling and I was wondering what is a nice upgrade for our cars? Im not looking to blow out peoples ear drums but a little extra bass would be nice and a crisp speaker with a higher quality sound is what i would want. I searched around a bit but couldn't find much in the way of whats out there. I wouldn't mind changing out every speaker since the car is almost 10 yrs old now. The stock speakers were nice for oem quality but now the crackling is killing me.

any idea's? also whats are stock brand? i found conflicting results

[elerner61]

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this simple question. Depending on which particular system you have installed (there are 3 for Z4s) upgrade options can differ. If you have worked on car audio systems before and are willing to invest time, you can through some of the historical posts over the past 3 or so years and get an education. If you are looking for a quick pop-in solution bavsound.com may be your route. Their offering for the Z4 unfortunately will not address your need for more bass.

One previous Z4 owner fully documented his addition of a sub-woofer. Lots of information there http://www.billswebspace.com/MZ4Subw...stallation.htm

[crawlin]

I looked at Bavsound and they really didnt have much for the z4 it seemed. My system from the factory seems pretty good but not sure if i have the upgraded DSP or simple hifi system. I'd really like to just start replacing all the speakers even the tweeters. My fear is not being able to find better sounding than factory components that will all work in unison.

[dc_wright]

BMW spends literally a couple million $$ for each car model working with suppliers to develop the sound systems. The speakers are designed for an optimum combination of frequency response and sensitivity and particularly to be well matched to the power amp. The biggest challenge is finding the specs for the OEM speakers so that you can start researching potential replacements and ensure you're actually upgrading. If you have the DSP system, the woofers behind the seats are a non-standard impedance which makes replacing them extremely difficult to find substitutes.
To find out if you have the DSP system you can go to this VIN decoder site and enter the last 7 digits of your VIN. It will get you the list of all of the options installed in your car, including if you have the DSP audio. (It's option S677)

[elerner61]

DSP/Carver drivers:

Tweets: 4 ohm
Mids: 4 ohm (in doors and behind seats)
Mid-bass (in kick panels): 2 ohm
Subs: 10 ohm

[MYWAYNY]

Well, I added two 120 W, EACH , Alpine PWE-S8 last week.

This is with the OEM Business Class head unit and BAV AUTO Door MID and Tweeters. I bought them used on eBay for about $140 US each and install was $300 US. ONE FOR LEFT SIDE - ONE FOR RIGHT SIDE

OMG ---- BASS X 10 = THUMP VIBRATE THUMP

Best sound investment for great bass.

[CJW2OO4]

Originally Posted by MYWAYNY

Well, I added two 120 W, EACH , Alpine PWE-S8 last week.

This is with the OEM Business Class head unit and BAV AUTO Door MID and Tweeters. I bought them used on eBay for about $140 US each and install was $300 US. ONE FOR LEFT SIDE - ONE FOR RIGHT SIDE

OMG ---- BASS X 10 = THUMP VIBRATE THUMP

Best sound investment for great bass.

This setup would be great if those two speakers were hidden under the black carpet.