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      03-11-2019, 02:36 PM   #1
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E86 Coupe - Is something wrong with my subs?

I have the Carver system, and the subs don't just underperform, they sound like absolute crap. I'm not being picky, either. They don't sound like the voice coils are shot, and the surrounds are fine, but they sound like mud. The bass is really blobby and sloooooowwwww - not tight at all.
It's so bad I am tempted to just unhook them and turn up the bass a little on the head unit. Maybe get the Bavsound Stage One and disconnect the subs. Right now I just turn the bass down several notches and keep the volume low enough that I don't hear them much.

Could it be the amp? There is simply no way that Carver (I'm a big Rane and Sunfire fan) would have allowed this sound to be associated with them. Others have said that the stock Top Hifi system is at least decent, but I can't see how anyone could describe my stereo that way.
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      03-11-2019, 11:12 PM   #2
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Hard to know without hearing it, but doesn't sound right to me. The Carver system is no panacea for a hardcore audiophile, but OTOH it's not a bad system, and given a clean source (CD or decent bitrate MP3 via the CD player, for instance) it sounds pretty good, and even better as you crank the volume.

Perhaps try to find someone local to you with the Carver setup, and compare performance?
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      03-12-2019, 01:51 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinC View Post
Hard to know without hearing it, but doesn't sound right to me. The Carver system is no panacea for a hardcore audiophile, but OTOH it's not a bad system, and given a clean source (CD or decent bitrate MP3 via the CD player, for instance) it sounds pretty good, and even better as you crank the volume.

Perhaps try to find someone local to you with the Carver setup, and compare performance?
That would be ideal. I'll search the forum for anyone in Dallas.
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      03-15-2019, 04:01 AM   #4
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I wish I was local because mine sounds like absolute TRASH! I have the bass all the way down. Too bad it’s an expensive pain to rip it all out and replace it. I’m no audiophile by any means, actually I’ve never replaced a stereo/speakers in any car I’ve ever owned...but damn mine sucks in the M
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      03-15-2019, 10:05 AM   #5
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I think I remember a few years ago someone figured the coupe had different programming either in the AMP or in the ECU. They had changed the Coupe to the same as the Roadster and it was better. I am not sure where it ever ended up...

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      03-15-2019, 07:26 PM   #6
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I think I remember a few years ago someone figured the coupe had different programming either in the AMP or in the ECU. They had changed the Coupe to the same as the Roadster and it was better. I am not sure where it ever ended up...
This was a trendy mod when these cars were fairly new. My "new" coupe has had the modification, and I don't like it - I think it sounds worse than my original with factory coding, and intend to get it changed back.
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      03-15-2019, 10:36 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinC View Post
This was a trendy mod when these cars were fairly new. My "new" coupe has had the modification, and I don't like it - I think it sounds worse than my original with factory coding, and intend to get it changed back.
If you were closer, I would swap with you in a heartbeat! I had wanted to do that roadster mod for a long time, but couldn't find anyone that's able to do it for me
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      03-16-2019, 03:44 PM   #8
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Quote:
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This was a trendy mod when these cars were fairly new. My "new" coupe has had the modification, and I don't like it - I think it sounds worse than my original with factory coding, and intend to get it changed back.
I honestly have a hard time imagining it sounds worse.
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      03-16-2019, 05:18 PM   #9
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I think i know why mine sounds super shitty now. I had a gallon of water so I could flush my radiator in the back. It got hot and the Gallon jug expanded and leaked out. Ever since then it sounds like straight booboo.
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      03-17-2019, 11:50 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Boosted 1 View Post
I think i know why mine sounds super shitty now. I had a gallon of water so I could flush my radiator in the back. It got hot and the Gallon jug expanded and leaked out. Ever since then it sounds like straight booboo.
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      03-18-2019, 01:46 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boosted 1 View Post
I think i know why mine sounds super shitty now. I had a gallon of water so I could flush my radiator in the back. It got hot and the Gallon jug expanded and leaked out. Ever since then it sounds like straight booboo.
Can't tell if you're joking... but its not really possible for water in the trunk to reach the subs.
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      03-18-2019, 11:09 AM   #12
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The amp is in the trunk, next to the battery in a hole that fills with water, as it is the lowest part in the trunk, if present. On the non M version of the E85, is this also true of the non M E86?

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      03-18-2019, 12:33 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShakyDog View Post
The amp is in the trunk, next to the battery in a hole that fills with water, as it is the lowest part in the trunk, if present. On the non M version of the E85, is this also true of the non M E86?

Steve
"Boosted 1" appeared to have an M Coupe looking at his/her profile. This means that the Amp is located vertically behind the driver's bulkhead. Half of the trunk is also about 2" higher than the rest. So, unless half of his/her trunk is filled with water, I highly doubt that his Amp would touch water even if that entire 1 gallon of water is spilled.
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      03-18-2019, 10:44 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal View Post
"Boosted 1" appeared to have an M Coupe looking at his/her profile. This means that the Amp is located vertically behind the driver's bulkhead. Half of the trunk is also about 2" higher than the rest. So, unless half of his/her trunk is filled with water, I highly doubt that his Amp would touch water even if that entire 1 gallon of water is spilled.
Yeah it was the whole gallon and it was coming out of the speaker grill behind my driver seat. Not sure it got on my amp but it did create a mess and the sub/speaker has been toast since.
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      04-02-2019, 01:23 PM   #15
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Not sure of your budget but I would AVOID any of the BAV auto speakers. i WASTED 400.00 when i first got my E86 with 10 speaker Business system. The sound got worse after i installed the door BAV AUTO speakers. The BMW subs in the E86 are SUB PAR (pun intended) I wasted about 1000.00 trying to figure out what was wrong with the stereo. I bought poor BAV AUTO speakers a DSP for the BMW head unit to install a different amp. There was too much to list on trial and error. What is truly awful are the 10 OHM subs & inefficient amplifier. POOR SPEAKERS all around.

I bit the bullet and took it all out. I spent about $3600.00 on the system including install and I can only say that I love it. I love music and love it loud so this is perfection, to me. This build was about 3 weeks of finding what i could afford and what was the best fit for the E86.

Subs - JL Audio - 6W3v3-4 - Pair - $180.00 x 2 = 360.00

Custom Ported sub box - tuned to 35 HZ - $290.00

Front - Focal - 165AS3 $450.00

Rear - Focal - 165AS - Removed upper 3" and replaced with Tweeter
Removed BMW subs and replaced with 6.5" mid - $325.00

Deck - Kenwood - Excelon X998 $ 250.00

Amplifier - AudioControl - D-6.1200 (6 Channel) - $800.00
Front and rear speakers

Amplifier - Kenwood - Excelon XR401-4 $ 350.00
Subs -

TOTAL was about $3600 installed.

Last edited by MYWAYNY; 04-02-2019 at 02:35 PM..
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      04-02-2019, 01:33 PM   #16
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I have factory nav and although I hate it and never use it, I don’t want to pull it out. This may be a noob question but can I change all the speakers but keep the factory head unit?
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      04-02-2019, 02:47 PM   #17
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Short Answer - YES - you can swap out OEM speakers for different speakers.

They should be the same size you are replacing for easier replacement. You may need to drill a hole here and there to accommodate the screw pattern of the new speakers.

The main concern is you MUST swap speakers with the SAME OHM speakers. If you don't know how speakers work and sound - search JL Audio - Focal - Crutchfield. You can get a quick education on the OHM's of a speaker and speaker swapping. Always look at a speakers RMS not the MAX. The RMS is what a speaker can handle. The MAX is advertising. If you go over the RMS wattage recommendation you go into the danger zone and risk blowing them and voiding warranty.

PS - a few dollars more will USUALLY get you a better sound. Crossovers help too.
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      04-02-2019, 03:44 PM   #18
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Good luck finding speakers that matches BMW's amplifier outputs. Most home/car speakers are 4 or 8 ohms. BMW likes to use odd-ball impedance speakers like 2-ohm, 6-ohm or 10-ohm

IMHO, the speakers in our cars are pretty good, it's just that stupid amp programming to under drive the subs in the coupe that is just plain awful - don't know what Carver was thinking!
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      04-09-2019, 11:59 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShakyDog View Post
I think I remember a few years ago someone figured the coupe had different programming either in the AMP or in the ECU. They had changed the Coupe to the same as the Roadster and it was better. I am not sure where it ever ended up...

Steve
Steve-o! What’s up?


Anyway to the op, I recoded to the vert amp coding and mine are way better sounding now. Sorry that I’ve forgotten more than I know at this point.
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      06-23-2019, 12:25 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mousitch View Post
Steve-o! What’s up?


Anyway to the op, I recoded to the vert amp coding and mine are way better sounding now. Sorry that I’ve forgotten more than I know at this point.
Dang - didn't get notified of this post.
Are you saying that you recoded for the roadster settings? If so, how is that done?
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      06-23-2019, 12:28 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MYWAYNY View Post
Not sure of your budget but I would AVOID any of the BAV auto speakers. i WASTED 400.00 when i first got my E86 with 10 speaker Business system. The sound got worse after i installed the door BAV AUTO speakers. The BMW subs in the E86 are SUB PAR (pun intended) I wasted about 1000.00 trying to figure out what was wrong with the stereo. I bought poor BAV AUTO speakers a DSP for the BMW head unit to install a different amp. There was too much to list on trial and error. What is truly awful are the 10 OHM subs & inefficient amplifier. POOR SPEAKERS all around.

I bit the bullet and took it all out. I spent about $3600.00 on the system including install and I can only say that I love it. I love music and love it loud so this is perfection, to me. This build was about 3 weeks of finding what i could afford and what was the best fit for the E86.

Subs - JL Audio - 6W3v3-4 - Pair - $180.00 x 2 = 360.00

Custom Ported sub box - tuned to 35 HZ - $290.00

Front - Focal - 165AS3 $450.00

Rear - Focal - 165AS - Removed upper 3" and replaced with Tweeter
Removed BMW subs and replaced with 6.5" mid - $325.00

Deck - Kenwood - Excelon X998 $ 250.00

Amplifier - AudioControl - D-6.1200 (6 Channel) - $800.00
Front and rear speakers

Amplifier - Kenwood - Excelon XR401-4 $ 350.00
Subs -

TOTAL was about $3600 installed.
Budget is not an issue, and your research and experimentation is great. My ONLY issue is the appearance of the head unit. I'm such an OEM-look guy, but I'm also a bit of an audiophile (tinnitus starting to interfere a bit with that, though), so it's going to have to be OEM look vs decent sound. Do you have a photo of the installed head unit?
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