Subwoofer Project FINISHED!!! (Enclosure Dimensions Included)

[Philly X5]

Essam,
can you post your Alpine Amp settings for this setup without DSP?
Thanks.

[zerochief]

Originally Posted by TwinsPoppa

Zero box ... Essam box .. Dib box ... show us your boxes!

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...installed.html

[carlgo]

A follow-on to my Essam box:

My plan has always been to do the sub and the front six speakers. This was affordable for me and I thought it would give me good results.

I bought BSW's front midranges, the ones in the dash, and the tweeters. They have been unable to come up with separate front door mid-basses for quite some time now, so I bought Alpine SPS-600 6.75" speakers from Crutchfield.

Note that the front door mid-bass only gets a bass signal from the amp. The only non-BSW speakers available are two-way (or more). Only the bass portion of the the replacement speakers will be used.

The sound is just fabulous. Vastly better. I wasn't expecting more than a decent improvement and was just blown away. The bass is accurate, solid and hits hard (after all, there is Essam's sub and four smaller bass speakers). The midrange and treble are absolutely wonderful. Great voices, nice and crisp without the annoying hissiness some aftermart systems have. Clearly, the Alpines are a big improvement and really work along with the Essam box. Much better than it was with the sub alone as they get that mid-bass signal from the amp.

Anyone who has played with BMW's amp knows there can't be a lot of power there, so it is imperative that you choose speakers that are efficient, and the Alpines are. An inefficient speaker would not match up well at all and might drag the entire system down.

It is interesting that the OEM BMW speakers actually seem to be well-made and aren't the cheapo units I was expecting. The BSWs don't have hugely bigger magnets or any obvious exotic materials. It must be that the engineers who designed them just paid more attention to the details and specified the best materials.

It does not seem as though the aftermart speakers would be much more expensive to make, either, so why BMW came up with the sound system they did is surprising.

Certainly the complete BSW kit would be the best choice for most people, and the full kits seem to be available, but the system I put together works very well.

I will likely do the rear doors in the future, but am extremely happy with the system as it is.

I updated my iTunes to the new higher 256 dram-free standard and they sound super good. With these speakers it is worth the update.

[Essam Khafagi]

carlgo,

I told you that you will get much better sound if you replaced the tweeters

[Essam Khafagi]

Originally Posted by Philly X5

Essam,
can you post your Alpine Amp settings for this setup without DSP?
Thanks.

I have everything in the middle (Crossover, Bass EQ and Gain)

[Philly X5]

Originally Posted by Essam Khafagi

I have everything in the middle (Crossover, Bass EQ and Gain)

Thanks.

Can you also tell me what are the setting on your stereo - in the middle too? Just wanted to get a "base" for my adjustments.

[Philly X5]

Originally Posted by X5-limo

These are the ebay websites I ordered from:

'4 / 8 ga. AGU In-line waterproof Fuse Holder',
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3AIT&viewitem=

'Hi/Low Impedance Adaptor RCA to line'
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3AIT&viewitem=

'24k gold Ring terminals'
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3AIT&viewitem=

The last 2 items (above) can be shipped together.

Radio Shack carries the blue T-line connectors:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2104093

Thanx for those added pointers, Carlgo! You also have a point about everything being 'squared'. It would make a difference because my cardboard constructed box is just hitting both of the lower corners of the (upper) subwoofer enclosure's cavity opening.

I'll go Home Depot to get the (2) 4x8 MDF sheets, (3/4" = USD $26.21, the 1/2" = $19.21), and Spatz screws....I don't have air :-|, so I'll have to settle for a powered down variable drill with a screw bit(?) or buy a power screw driver.

X5 Limo - question for you or audio specialists

I have Essams setup (sub, amp etc) and I used RCA Impedance adaptor from your eBay link to connect my Alpine amp (speaker wires) to BMW wiring/amp because I did not have original Alpine white connector for the speaker wiring.
Do you think this RCA adaptor will influence the quality of sound, should I just eliminate it, splice the wires and connect the RCA wires from Alpine directly to the BMW wires?

[Essam Khafagi]

Originally Posted by Philly X5

Thanks.

Can you also tell me what are the setting on your stereo - in the middle too? Just wanted to get a "base" for my adjustments.

Yes I have the bass at the center position... then u can keep playing with the settings on the amp until you reach your favourite bass sound.

[Essam Khafagi]

The Essam Box has got a new look!!!
CARPETED!!

I think this is the best solution to avoid any rattle ... I still did not install it back in place .. will keep you updated!


.

[sleepless]

Hey Essam.... you beat me to the punch, I already bought the carpet, will be making the box this wknd, finally .........BTW did the box rattle a lot when you were driving ? I thought the box fit snug ?