Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRipster
i can't get a solid answer as to what the speaker size for the front/rear doors of my 2004 X5 are.... 5.25" or 6.5"????
i want to put 6.5s in, but i don't know if they will fit. i'd really appreciate it if someone who has tried can let me know before i order speakers, only to have to find out they won't fit then send them back!
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Ok, so I just had my 2005 X5 doors apart for my install. The stock speakers have an outside mounting flange dimension of approximately 6 1/4 to 6 3/8 inches (likely some wacky metric number...).
Seeing as I was only going for a modest sound quality upgrade, I put in a set of Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine coax speakers, 6.5 inches in diameter.
If I'd have had a lathe with a big enough throat to chuck up the magnets, I'd have turned the speaker flanges down so they fit exactly into the stock speaker pods. So instead I cut the stock mounting pods down so I could mount the Imagines (look at the realoem.com diagram of the stock speaker pod and it'll be more clear). This means I lost the seal from the speaker to the door card, but I didn't really care about that very much. I used some damplifier pro sound deadening material on the door card (except the airbag section) to make sure it didn't have resonant frequencies that would be a problem.
I did NOT separate the tweeter from the midrange, even though that is possible. HAT's own documentation recommends against doing it unless you really aren't getting a good soundstage. Having had a problem with the HAT Clarus tweeters being someone brittle sounding to my ears, I decided to leave the tweets where they were. I did wire them separately from the mids, since I am planning on using the Alpine PXA-H100 processor.
Unfortunately, I was stalled out mid-install as I could not find some of my old install parts so I had to order a new 4 gauge amp install kit from KnuKonceptz for my JL XD 700/5 amp. Seeing as I wanted to have the car available to drive, I put things back together and decided to try the stock amp with the new HAT Imagine 6.5's (along with all the other stock speakers). I'm happy to say that the HATs really sound good, even with the limitations of the stock amp crossovers (good thing I separately wired the tweets and mids). Having the tweets in the same location as the mids didn't have a negative affect on imaging at all. It *might* be a tad lower than it was before, but I haven't done a ton of critical listening yet. My only complaint so far is really doesn't get very loud with the factory amp. Neither did the stock speakers, so I guess I should have figured it would have been the same situation with the HATs. The highs are very clear without being 'bright' or 'brittle' (or harsh). The mids are nice, though the hole where the stock 2.5 speaker fills between the mids and the tweets is noticeable. Should be interesting to see what the HATs sound like with the JD amp. Or, maybe I should get some decent 2.5's and drop those in and just keep the stock amp, then add a sub. My hearing is already damaged a bit (tinnitus -- don't get old), so keep the volume down is a good thing.
I could use the JD in my wife's 2002 M3 to power the Clarus 5.25's and Legatia 8's instead of the Blaupunkt Velocity amps I have in there now. Hmmmm...
Sorry, no pics as it was 95 deg F + in the garage. I wasn't in the mood for taking the time to snap pics as I slowly dehydrated during the day.