Speaker size??

[dezy]

Anyone change their speakers in the X3? I have been searching in the forum but found nothing on this topic.

I just wants to upgrade the stock speakers to better ones. Any idea?

[Flyer1]

The door speakers are 4" with seperate tweeters. Not sure the diameter of the tweeters. 1.5" perhaps. There also is a woofer under each front seat. I think they are 8".

I just started the process of trying to upgrade the speakers in my '04 X3. Local Car Toys is steering me towards Focal's but their upper end models are pricy. (I also want to check out MB Quart and Car Toys does not carry them) I'm going to try to fit a 5.25" sepearate in the front stock locaiton and mount the tweeter either on the A pilar or on the black plastic piece at the front bottom of the door window. Plan to stick with 4" in the back. Not sure if the 5.25" will fit in the front even with modifying the mounting. The factory speaker location is very shallow too - only about 1.75". The factory speaker on the front door is a top mount and the magnet is just about pushing on the metal inside the door. Keep in mind, with a higher quality speaker, you may need a better amp to drive them to get the best sound.

HTH's...

Chip

PS...if anyone has been down the road of trying to fit a bigger speaker into the X3, I'd appreciate if you have any tips. Thanks.

[dezy]

Thanks..I thought there was a 2 channel amp in the boot?

BTW, where is the tweeters located? I find that the stock sound quality is hampered by the tweeter's performance. THere is poor clarity and therefore roll off is faster.

[Flyer1]

I belive there is an am in the boot (trunK?). I think, but am not certain, that it is on the drives side. You may be able to see it if you take off that small cover at the rear drivers side of the hatch area. (the one you might remove to replace a tail light) I haven't dug into this part of the system yet so I'm going by memory from info I've found on-line.

The tweeters are next to the mid ranges in the doors. At home I have a picture of the back of the door panel showing the speaker installation I'll post when I get a chance.

[dezy]

Originally Posted by Flyer1

I belive there is an am in the boot (trunK?). I think, but am not certain, that it is on the drives side. You may be able to see it if you take off that small cover at the rear drivers side of the hatch area. (the one you might remove to replace a tail light) I haven't dug into this part of the system yet so I'm going by memory from info I've found on-line.

The tweeters are next to the mid ranges in the doors. At home I have a picture of the back of the door panel showing the speaker installation I'll post when I get a chance.

Yup the amp is in the trunk, just below the tweeter in the rear. I had been check with some sources and I reckon the OEM for BMW X3, 5ers is Alpine. My colleague recommend that I should try the sound processor to maximise the existing system before venturing further.

Thought of going with this:
Alpine PXE-H650 System Integration Audio Processor
The PXE-H650 is a versatile and comprehensive way to upgrade your factory system, and get sound quality you never dreamed possible. With MultEQ processing, the PXE-H650 uses more than 500 points along the frequency spectrum and precisely optimises the sound to the acoustics of your specific vehicle – The result is IMPRINT Sound – a technological solution for virtually any factory system that lets you truly experience music the way the artist intended, custom tailored to your vehicle and free from distortion and colouration.

I am also looking at the Alpine PDX seires Class D amps to swap the exisiting 2 channel one...

Anyone tried?

[Flyer1]

I found the pic I took of the back side of the drivers front door with the midrange removed:
http://www.x3world.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1192764474

The local stereo store (Car Toys - it is a chain) recommended the Alpine processor. I looked the the JL Audio version, which they also sell, but I think the Alpine is cheaper and I believe it gives you more control over setting up your system. Looks like a slick piece of equipment. I thought about it but figured in my case I would rather swap the OEM head unit than apply processing to correct its output. I'm not very enamored with the look and operation of the OEM stereo. I'm also not so deep into car audio that I'm going to worry about soundstage, time corrections etc. I figure with quality speakers and amps, the stereo should do what I want.

Many of the opinions I've read on-line say Alpine makes a solid amp. I had one in the late 80's and it worked fine. There wasn't enough quality in my speakers at the time to be able to tell a great amp from an average one though.

Unfortunately, my X3 stereo upgrade is on hold. My home was buglarized last week. I scared away the robber so nothing was stolen, but I have an entire window to replace and will be spending money on a home alarm.

[Ishniknork]

Dezy...

Here's a link to a guy that has knowledge and experience with upgrading the X3's speakers. If you do a search for his threads on that forum you may find more, I could swear there were others but I just did a quick search to help you out.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=Evlengr

[dezy]

OK... found some additional stuff:

The only 2 componenet speakers that will be a direct fit of the door is Focal 100V Slim or MB Quart RUA210. Coaxial for the rear is Infinity KAPPA42.7I.

This one is fitted with Vslim



For the Subwoofer


http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1175300269

There are currently 2 that fits, Earthquake SWS and Hertz Space. Once fitted, you need to upgrade your amps to at least 100W per channel. All your existing cables will be intact, no drilling or cutting except if you get a huge amp. I still have not figure out what kind of amp is in the trunk....

This set up is for people whom just wants to upgrade their stock components on a one to one basis. I will be going for the front and back upgrade before venturing into the bass units. If it sounds good for me I will probably stop the itch at there if not the bass unit and amp will go in.

[r207]

i have in my x3 a set of focal vslims up the front, an 8 inch berilium sub in the back under the rear floor and a 5channel focal amp running the whole lot.....love the sound now i just need to work out how to post pics

[dezy]

Wow.. is there space under the rear seats? Nice setup. Where did you house those amps?