Home Forums Articles How To's FAQ Register
Go Back   Xoutpost.com > BMW SAV Forums > X5 (E53) Forum
Fluid Motor Union
User Name
Password
Member List Premier Membership Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Xoutpost server transfer and maintenance is occurring....
Xoutpost is currently undergoing a planned server migration.... stay tuned for new developments.... sincerely, the management


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #391  
Old 10-24-2017, 11:50 AM
semcoinc's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 840
semcoinc is on a distinguished road
All I can add is that I'm very pleased with the JL tweeter and front door speaker upgrades and the Memphis Audio dash upgrades in my non-DSP system that were able to be sourced as a result of this thread.

My E53 with Eonon GA6166 head unit is now my most favored audio vehicle.

It now appears that Eonon has an Android 7.1 OS/2GB RAM unit, the GA8166

https://www.eonon.com/Android-Car-GP....html?Catype=1



Mike

Edit 11/4/2018: I have upgraded my pathetic 1GB RAM Eonon GA6166 to a 4GB PX5 board and it now acts like a 4.8is
__________________

Mike
Dallas, TX & Appleton, WI
2003 E53 4.4i Pearl Beige
2003 E46 330Xi Monaco Blue
2007 E90 335Xi Black Sapphire Metallic
2011 F25 X3 28i Black Sapphire Metallic

Last edited by semcoinc; 11-04-2018 at 11:56 AM.
Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links

  #392  
Old 10-24-2017, 02:15 PM
crystalworks's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: SA, TX
Posts: 6,405
crystalworks is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clockwork View Post
update after 7 months of use:
I still highly recommend the upgrade to the tweeters in A pillars and mid bass speakers in the dash by windows, BUT I'd say don't bother to upgrade the 6" bass speakers... to me I find I get less bass response than the OE speakers did and the sound upgrade from Mids and Tweets was so much that it will make you forget about even doing the 6" speakers.
just my thoughts tho.
You are correct. Best improvements in BMW's come from the tweeters and mids, though technically speaking the door "bass" speaker is a mid as well. BMW has some of the very best sounding "bass" speakers in small open air installation locations. This goes all the way back to the E30 3 series. If you upgrade those premium package speakers you actually lose audio quality most of the time unless doing a complete upgrade to the entire sound system and doing a lot of work to seal up the speaker compartments in some manner.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bcredliner View Post
I recall that when I upgraded the amp, all speakers and subwoofer many years ago it was a huge improvement. I'm sure that someone that is an audio 'expert' could do much better with current state of the art stuff. I just went with a kit from BSW. Everything was plug and play. No modifications were required even with DSP
I am also very happy with the BSW's in my E53. Everything except the sub setup. It's fine (actually very good for an 8") and would be more than sufficient for anyone not used to aftermarket 12" sub setups. I'll be selling my BSW amp/sub setup in the future when doing my head unit upgrade.
__________________
2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
Reply With Quote
  #393  
Old 08-19-2018, 02:59 PM
Gregory891's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 460
Gregory891 is on a distinguished road
For ALL those E53 owners who still want to upgrade and haven't found what they want and found that information is lacking - here is what I learned, examined and implemented.

BMW E53 cars have three levels:

Basic - six "speakers" in total. Each door has a mid-bass speaker in "the pod". There are mid-ranges in the dash corners. The factory head unit, regardless of version, feeds this - there is no separate amp. This version was NOT offered in North America.

Hifi - ten "speakers" in total. Each door has a mid-bass speaker in "the pod" and tweeters (mirror corners on front doors) Mid-ranges in the dash corners. Mid range in the rear door panels. Head unit feeds an amp, amp feeds the "sound producers".

DSP - this takes the 10 speaker system and adds two more. Plenty of writeup's on this - I won't add more.

The challenge to upgrade an E53 is that BMW used non-standard 6" (160 mm) midbass in the door pods - which nearly don't exist - they are NOT 6 1/4 (165 mm). Look all you want, you can't easily find 160 mm component speakers (forget two way or three way).

Forget what the other forums and such will tell you - a true drop-in midbass needs to have a frame diameter of 160 mm (6") NOT 165 mm (6 1/4"). I won't say that they don't exist but they are rare or anything you find may not be correctly listed - get a dimensional drawing to be sure. BSW initially sold the Rainbow W 130 SLX (130 mm) with adapters and then had a larger speaker made with a custom frame to 160 mm in later years. Their (old) YouTube video shows this - I watched it "a few" times. They stopped selling kits around 2014 (limited volumes) - trust me I kept asking to get this confirmation. They are no longer interested in the E53.

The good news - you can easily remove the factory Haes produced units from the pods, they pop out easily.
Unfortunately no commercial adapters exist to allow you to install more readily available 130 mm (5 1/4") midbass units, so I made my own.
I measured my pods with a dial caliper and designed the adapter plates and 3D printed in ABS plastic.

Installation was easy, install the adapter plates - glue in place (Superglue or Epoxy), drill the four holes to mount the speakers to the plates (so that you don't crack your adapters) and solder wiring (mind speaker polarity) and reinstall the pods. While you have the door panels off - replace the plastic window mounting clips that become brittle and break. Two of the longer black ones for each front door. Adding Dynamat is recommended, I did this a few years ago - VERY good results.

Pictures are on another of my posts and it will show you the key elements. If you want a set of the spacers (works in front & rear pods) - just let me know & I can sent you the 3D file to have printed locally.

BTW - Rainbow has revised their product lines, the W 130 SLX has been renamed. It is part of the new "Rainbow Sound Line" and is the SL-W5.

You use the same (Rainbow) midbass in all four doors - regardless of the three systems.

For the door mirror tweeters, the BMW factor tweeter is 20 mm diameter. BSW offered a 20 mm drop in tweeter - which is Rainbow Dream Line DL-T20. They install in the factory tweeter mounts, you remove the BMW factory speaker and install the DL-T20 with the simple surround ring. Solder connectors as needed, VERY easy to do when you have your door cards / panels off of the car to upgrade your pods.

If you have a basic system (people in Europe or elsewhere, but not North America), you buy these with their small size crossover and slave them into the door midbass (per Rainbow's instructions). Contact me for part numbers.

I was looking at dash midrange alternatives, and this long thread give me two viable choices: Memphis PR275 or Powerbuss S-275CF. In the end, Bavauto had ONE LAST pair in stock, which I bought. I'll post about this once I receive and install them.

Check my other post on this (under my name) and contact me with any questions. I spent quite a bit of time to research this, learned how to deal with non-standard size units and have great sound as a result.
__________________
2002 Euro X5 (E53) 3.0 diesel (M57)
5 speed manual with UUC short shifter.
Pre-xDrive NV125 transfer case (chain & gears).
Factory Xenon headlights, Spyder LED tail lights
Updated vortex crankcase breather.
Motorsport dead pedal, factory fire extinguisher, factory first aid kit, factory F&R mud flaps, factory PDC

Bilstein B6 shocks F&R
Redline oil has replaced "lifetime" fluids (F&R diff, manual transmission, transfer case and P/S).
Dimple magnetic drain plugs in all compartments.

Last edited by Gregory891; 09-08-2018 at 07:48 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #394  
Old 09-06-2018, 03:49 PM
Ricky Bobby's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 9,344
Ricky Bobby will become famous soon enough
Greg - great post - I dont know if I read it or your messaged to me, but what did you use for the small midrange speaker in the rear door?
__________________
2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins 68RFE
19k miles -Bright White/Black - Big Horn Sport - Crew Cab Short Bed
2013 X5 35D (CEO's) - Born on 5/17/2013 -
82k miles - Alpine White/Cinnamon Brown/Premium Pkg, Sport Activity/Premium Pkg and Sound/20" Style 214/Running Boards

Reply With Quote
  #395  
Old 09-06-2018, 03:55 PM
Gregory891's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 460
Gregory891 is on a distinguished road
I don't have rear door midrange (Euro basic system).

If you want to upgrade the rear midrange, look QUICKLY at Bav - I believe they were selling on clearance. From memory they are the same as front E46, a specific location on E70, E60, etc.
__________________
2002 Euro X5 (E53) 3.0 diesel (M57)
5 speed manual with UUC short shifter.
Pre-xDrive NV125 transfer case (chain & gears).
Factory Xenon headlights, Spyder LED tail lights
Updated vortex crankcase breather.
Motorsport dead pedal, factory fire extinguisher, factory first aid kit, factory F&R mud flaps, factory PDC

Bilstein B6 shocks F&R
Redline oil has replaced "lifetime" fluids (F&R diff, manual transmission, transfer case and P/S).
Dimple magnetic drain plugs in all compartments.
Reply With Quote
  #396  
Old 09-06-2018, 03:58 PM
Ricky Bobby's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 9,344
Ricky Bobby will become famous soon enough
No worries Greg - they are gone but not a big deal - I am going to use the Vifa/Peerless midrange speaker referenced a few pages back (pictures of the factory pod used with the speaker also back around page 33 I think)


Is it just me or since this thread started the JL C2-600 component sets have become harder to come by or increased in price?
__________________
2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins 68RFE
19k miles -Bright White/Black - Big Horn Sport - Crew Cab Short Bed
2013 X5 35D (CEO's) - Born on 5/17/2013 -
82k miles - Alpine White/Cinnamon Brown/Premium Pkg, Sport Activity/Premium Pkg and Sound/20" Style 214/Running Boards

Reply With Quote
  #397  
Old 09-06-2018, 03:58 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Southlake, Texas
Posts: 2,094
X53Jay4.8is is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregory891 View Post
For ALL those E53 owners who still want to upgrade and haven't found what they want and found that information is lacking - here is what I learned, examined and implemented.

BMW E53 cars have three levels:

Basic - six "speakers" in total. Each door has a mid-bass speaker in "the pod". There are mid-ranges in the dash corners. The factory head unit, regardless of version, feeds this - there is no separate amp. This version was NOT offered in North America.

Hifi - ten "speakers" in total. Each door has a mid-bass speaker in "the pod" and tweeters (mirror corners on front doors, in the door panel on rear doors). Mid-ranges in the dash corners. Head unit feeds an amp, amp feeds the "sound producers".

DSP - this takes the 10 speaker system and adds two more. Plenty of writeup's on this - I won't add more.

The challenge to upgrade an E53 is that BMW used non-standard 6" (160 mm) midbass in the door pods - which nearly don't exist - they are NOT 6 1/4 (165 mm). Look all you want, you can't easily find 160 mm component speakers (forget two way or three way).

Forget what the other forums and such will tell you - a true drop-in midbass needs to have a frame diameter of 160 mm (6") NOT 165 mm (6 1/4"). I won't say that they don't exist but they are rare or anything you find may not be correctly listed - get a dimensional drawing to be sure. BSW initially sold the Rainbow W 130 SLX (130 mm) with adapters and then had a larger speaker made with a custom frame to 160 mm in later years. Their (old) YouTube video shows this - I watched it "a few" times. They stopped selling kits around 2014 (limited volumes) - trust me I kept asking to get this confirmation. They are no longer interested in the E53.

The good news - you can easily remove the factory Haes produced units from the pods, they pop out easily.
Unfortunately no commercial adapters exist to allow you to install more readily available 130 mm (5 1/4") midbass units, so I made my own.
I measured my pods with a dial caliper and designed the adapter plates and 3D printed in ABS plastic.

Installation was easy, install the adapter plates - glue in place (Superglue or Epoxy), drill the four holes to mount the speakers to the plates (so that you don't crack your adapters) and solder wiring (mind speaker polarity) and reinstall the pods. While you have the door panels off - replace the plastic window mounting clips that become brittle and break. Two of the longer black ones for each front door. Adding Dynamat is recommended, I did this a few years ago - VERY good results.

Pictures are on another of my posts and it will show you the key elements. If you want a set of the spacers (works in front & rear pods) - just let me know & I can sent you the 3D file to have printed locally.

BTW - Rainbow has revised their product lines, the W 130 SLX has been renamed. It is part of the new "Rainbow Sound Line" and is the SL-W5.

You use the same (Rainbow) midbass in all four doors - regardless of the three systems.

For the door mirror tweeters, the BMW factor tweeter is 20 mm diameter. BSW offered a 20 mm drop in tweeter - which is Rainbow Dream Line DL-T20. They install in the factory tweeter mounts, you remove the BMW factory speaker and install the DL-T20 with the simple surround ring. Solder connectors as needed, VERY easy to do when you have your door cards / panels off of the car to upgrade your pods.

If you have a basic system (people in Europe or elsewhere, but not North America), you buy these with their small size crossover and slave them into the door midbass (per Rainbow's instructions). Contact me for part numbers.

I am now looking at dash midrange alternatives, and this long thread give me two viable choices: Memphis PR275 or Powerbuss S-275CF.

Check my other post on this (under my name) and contact me with any questions. I spent quite a bit of time to research this, learned how to deal with non-standard size units and have great sound as a result.
JL Audio make a beautiful drop in 6" midbass driver from their component line of speakers. To date I have the JL Audio Tweeters and 6" JL Audio woofers (C2 600CW) in each vehicle door. DSP sounds pretty impressive. I also run the BSW sub in the rear OE cavity connected to focal amp. The JL Audio 6 inch drivers will fit perfectly in the OE speaker mounts. Just remove the old speaker from the mount pop in the JLs and I hot glued them around the inner edge for sealing purposes. soldered two wires from the OE speaker connector to the terminals on the JL.Put back in place with no wire splicing Eazy Peazy.

Last edited by X53Jay4.8is; 09-06-2018 at 04:08 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #398  
Old 09-07-2018, 10:03 AM
Ricky Bobby's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 9,344
Ricky Bobby will become famous soon enough
^They sure do Jay - problem is since we have all been discussing them in the past couple years, not sure if JL dried up supply, is discontinuing, etc, but prices have REALLY shot up since I last was pricing these out - I recall the component set could be had for about $150 and the woofers on Ebay separately for about $65-70 apiece, now I'm seeing $199 for the component set and $99 for each woofer separate -


I'll hold off until these come back in supply again and prices come down, or maybe I'll use the Dayton Reference woofers and find a different silk dome tweeter as well - not cost effective for me to spend $500+ on the upgrade when all said and done (the midranges for the rear doors are another $60)
__________________
2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins 68RFE
19k miles -Bright White/Black - Big Horn Sport - Crew Cab Short Bed
2013 X5 35D (CEO's) - Born on 5/17/2013 -
82k miles - Alpine White/Cinnamon Brown/Premium Pkg, Sport Activity/Premium Pkg and Sound/20" Style 214/Running Boards

Reply With Quote
  #399  
Old 09-07-2018, 03:30 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Southlake, Texas
Posts: 2,094
X53Jay4.8is is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby View Post
^They sure do Jay - problem is since we have all been discussing them in the past couple years, not sure if JL dried up supply, is discontinuing, etc, but prices have REALLY shot up since I last was pricing these out - I recall the component set could be had for about $150 and the woofers on Ebay separately for about $65-70 apiece, now I'm seeing $199 for the component set and $99 for each woofer separate -


I'll hold off until these come back in supply again and prices come down, or maybe I'll use the Dayton Reference woofers and find a different silk dome tweeter as well - not cost effective for me to spend $500+ on the upgrade when all said and done (the midranges for the rear doors are another $60)
Yeah I paid $80 for a pair so I purchased two sets to outfit my X. I guess some will have to wait for a Black Friday deal. They are impressive speakers for the dip system
Reply With Quote
  #400  
Old 09-20-2018, 08:13 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: San Diego
Posts: 2
kishibashi is on a distinguished road
Great upgrade path

Hi guys,

Long time reader on here but thought I’d contribute with something I actually have expertise in. I am an audio engineer and design and build recording studios as well as the majority of the electronics that go into them.

I bought my 02 X5 4.4 about 3 years after missing my e39 540i but wanting an SUV for ski trips up to the resorts here in Southern California. Car came missing the headunit.

I added a Dynavin headunit, and gutted all the DSP amps and DSP sub in the back. I ran pre outs to a JL XD v2 700/5. I had 5 channels available. I also disconnected the tweeters in the A pillar and replaced the mids in the dash with the Vifa mid. I figured these would be good after seeing recommendations on here and Vifas specs looked good as well as experience using their units in many pro speakers. Stock BMW woofers. I tied Left front+rear mids together into JL Amp Channel 1. Tied right front +rear mids to Channel 2. Left woofers to 3, Right woofers to 4 and custom made JL 10w6v2 box and sub into Channel 5.

The amp is configured with 1+2 Highpass at 500Hz, 3+4 set to Band pass, 5 to LowPass one click below 80Hz. With this setup crossovers work well enough I don’t find a burning urge to setup any additional crossovers and this system hits hard, tight, clear and clean.

I custom built the sub box. It is a challenge to fit the big full size 10w6v2 back there. Box is stuffed to the gills with OC 703 fiberglass board. Picture attached to the link.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1m5xfnbkC/
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:54 AM.
vBulletin, Copyright 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0
© 2017 Xoutpost.com. All rights reserved. Xoutpost.com is a private enthusiast site not associated with BMW AG.
The BMW name, marks, M stripe logo, and Roundel logo as well as X3, X5 and X6 designations used in the pages of this Web Site are the property of BMW AG.
This web site is not sponsored or affiliated in any way with BMW AG or any of its subsidiaries.