MyE28.com

Has anyone successfully fitted replacement speakers for the E28 with BMW "Hi-Fi" sound system that worked with the BMW grilles? Footwell and/or rear shelf housings? If so, what did you find that worked and where did you get them?

Or if you've made a serious sound system upgrade do you have the original "hi-fi" speakers in working order you're ready to part with?

Thanks,

-Phil

Phil how much do you want to spend? I need to look at my car and take the door panels off and i will let you know exactly what can be done to our cars. I recomend not using the factory 4x6 in the front unless you run a sub. 6 1/2" speakers are your best bet but would have to be fitted in the door. read on . . .

im sure i could build something nice into the rears but i havn't had time to play around with them. you prob could put 4" seperates into the factory box. Ill check the rears tomorrow and let you know what you can do with them. If you don't want to keep factory look, you can prob. put 6 1/2" back there with a little work.

I havn't had time to build a stereo for the e28 yet but in my e21 i put 6 1/2" seperates in the doors in a custom box where the tray is. This looks similar to factory but is a lot of work to put together. you could prob fit some speakers in with spacers right where the window crank would normally be in the e28. Then i ran an amp to power those and one 12" sub in the trunk. Now some people don't like 12s but you get great sound with them. 6 1/2" speakers are the best speaker size to get because they reproduce the most realistic sound. If you build a box right the 12" just fills in the sound and is not "ghetto". This also could be done with a 10" sub. but there is a lot of metal to get the sound through.

If anybody needs help buying stereo stuff pls let me know. I can get many things at cost, i used to work in this field before college so i still have many connections. If you are close to mass, i can install stuff for you. If you need a box built right i can also do that. Ill do this for real cheap guys. Im not looking to make money, just help everyone out cause everyone helps me out a ton with their knowledge.

Right now i have a 12" sub and a sub woofer amp to go with it. The sub is rated 750 watts RMS not peak and used for 3 months and the amp is 2 years old. kenwood amp 800w into 1 @ 2ohms. If someone is interested pls let me know. i can also build a small box to fit into the corner of e28 trunk. $200 without a box. I paid $450 for this amp and $130 for sub at cost. This stuff is in great condition but i need money cause my e28 is off the road for restoration. This is the sub. http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/p ... lComponent

The amp was kenwoods top of the line sub amp. I can't think of the model numbers but it pushes 900 watts RMS not peak into 1 channel. This stuff works perfect and looks perfect. I have the boxes and directions for these also. $200 plus shipping.

[QUOTE="Badger"]Phil how much do you want to spend? I need to look at my car and take the door panels off and i will let you know exactly what can be done to our cars. I recomend not using the factory 4x6 in the front unless you run a sub. 6 1/2" speakers are your best bet but would have to be fitted in the door. read on . . [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info. I'm sure a killer system could be built for an E28 but I'm just looking to get it back to working stock configuration...or better, but without changing the look. On the Hi-Fi system (tweeters in the mirror panels, amp in the trunk) the fronts are round not oval and have a crossover attached. There's room for an oval but I've never found one that would fit with the stock grilles. The damn tweeters always stick out too far. I'm not interested in any door cavity additions but thanks for the offer.

Of course it's always the money (one kid in college, two more to go!) but it's also an aesthetic issue: I like the stock look. All I'm looking for is to replace what the previous owner blew for driving-condition CD and MP3 listening. My critical listening will always occur in my home, with my ancient Crown amps and desk-sized JBLs.

-Phil

For the fronts, you could buy a 4x6 plate speaker that comes stock with seperates. I have Infinity Kappa 462.5cfp's, which fit perfectly. I'm not using the factory covers, but I test fitted them, and they work fine. You *might* want to stick a couple of washers between the grilles and the speakers for extra woofer clearance. For the rears, you should be able to use any 5-1/4 inch component system. You'll have to find a place to mount the crossovers, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. There's plenty of room behind/under the seats. Check out crutchfield.com... they usually have decent deals, and the supply you with installation guides as well.

Check out crutchfield.com... they usually have decent deals, and the supply you with installation guides as well.

Well, I happen to live in one of the only two towns that actually has a Crutchfield store...and I generally find them to be not as sharp as the guys here who man the phones for the catalog sales, some of whom are friends. I'll give them another try as soon as I get my kids' 318ti's Sony MP3 player back from them on a warranty repair.

Thanks for the suggestion.

-Phil

Now that I know what you want here is my recommendation:

More money
Infinity 4x6 Kappa 462.5 $115 @ crutchfield[TAB]$80 @ etronics
2 choices for the 5 components
Infinity Reference 5000CS $140 @ crutchfield[TAB]$99 @ etronics
Infinity Kappa 50.5CS $220 @ crutchfield[TAB]$150 @ etronics[TAB]
If you buy both kappa style speakers the tweeters will be matched and sound a little better and the rears will be able to play louder. The reference still sound good and are a good speaker. The kappa you can beat on for years and they will keep pumping.

Less Money
Kenwood 4x6 kfc-4675C $75 @ crutchfield[TAB]$40 @ etronics
Kenwood 5 components
KFC-P505IE $150 @ crutchfield[TAB]$90 @ etronics
Kenwoods will not be as crisp and clear but will still sound full and warm. They do not play as loud as infinitys and are not as rugged but are a very good speaker for the price.

I buy lots of audio equipment from etronics website. They sell lots of stuff almost at cost, ship really fast and the good thing is they have a store in the front of there warehouse so all there goods are warrantied by manufacturer. Be careful when buying anything on the internet cause many manufacturers do not warranty internet bought electronics. Just a heads up. Im just relating my experience with this store and have no affiliation.

Here is the list of speakers Phil.

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk ... &catid=353

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk ... catid=5767

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk ... catid=5767

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk ... catid=5767

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk ... &catid=353

Badger,
Now that's exactly what I'm looking for! The Kappas look like just the ticket and the price difference over the Kenwood's not that bad considering your recommendation. I'll stop in at Crutchfield and test fit them to the rear boxes just to be sure and see if they have any return stock in the store which usually knocks 20% or more off their list.

Now if I could find a "normal"-looking head unit with CD and MP3 capability....current unit is a Blaupunkt Newport which keeps trying to load a non-existing CD, turns on when it's off, and clicks loudly and rhythmically in the speakers. Since you've been so helpful so far, how 'bout a suggestion for a non-"Tokyo-at-night" in-dash unit?

Thanks for the great help.

-Phil

Phil, check out the outlet dept. at Crutchfield. I don't think I have bought anything "new" from them in 5 years. Always plenty of returns to pick through. They also have a scratch and dent, and outlet stores on the web now. Funny thing though, the on-line outlet stuff is not warehoused in Charlottesville.

I'll second the Infinity speakers. I am running a pair (of sperates) in the rear. They bolted up fine( spent some time to do it right) and fit in a discreet manner. I have a Blau CD player that may be for sale soon if that helps any.

Phil,

This is what I have. It is a new model without the "bling bling". Plays mp3's too. The model name is ez500.




[Edit by Leonard Love on [TIME]1110988218[/TIME]]

^ i have the same deck .. love it.. have sirius hooked up and a cable for my ipod.. I have Rockford Fosgate FRC3246 in the front and Pioneer TS-G1340R in the rear (RF were like $45 and the Pioneers were like $35).. the pioneers actually suck kinda.. but i'm going to get a sub at some point and turn on the high pass feature of the deck which will make them sound better.. they just dont seem to handle the lows well.. but then again they were cheap.. I also took out the factor amp and disconnected the tweeters in the front and in the rear deck panels.. everything fit the stock locations and even the Siruis tuner had the same mounting width as the factory amp so i mounted it to the same bracket that was already there.. worked out great..

[QUOTE="BMWCCA1"]the fronts are round not oval and have a crossover attached. There's room for an oval but I've never found one that would fit with the stock grilles.

[/quote]

They put round ones in there, too? I've always found a Bosch 4"x6" oval with what appears to be the equivalent of a refrigerator magnet to power it. They do share the crossover, however. If you're hooking up your door tweeters (I haven't yet.), it's a simple matter to unsolder it and connect it to the new speakers.

Nonetheless, there's a Sony (I forget which model) coax with remarkable bass response (to something around 50Hz) that fits in there quite nicely under the stock grilles. In fact, I think it puts out more of the bass in my car than the OEM rears.

I have a Blaupunkt Toronto that was rebuilt by Midwest Electronics, plus the Blaupunkt wiring harness, antenna adapter, and directions. I bought the Toronto unit on ebay about a year ago. Since I no longer commute, I have decided to stay with the original look of the casette player/radio. If you're interested in the Toronto let me know. I paid $300 for the Toronto, plus about $15 for the antenna adapter and separate mounting bracket from Midwest Electronics.

Later this summer, I'll be listing on ebay several e28 items I have accumulated but decided not to use because I've decided to keep the e28 stock appearance. For example, a NOS trunk spoiler. For now though, I'm just enjoying adjusting to having free time.