# E38 Speaker Upgrade



## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

I was wondering if I can upgrade my stock speakers without changing the stock unt.

I heard of the BSW speakers, but they are expensive and I read around that it really does not make that much of a difference. 

What I really want is that the speakers wont distort at high volumes, I cant even turn my stereo up to the max, it sounds like crap. 

Now the rear stock speakers only handle bass or are they midrange speakers? I have already installed 2 alpine 1242ds type-r 12" subs in a sealed box, so im fine with my bass. I just want the highs and the mids to be better, especially at higher volumes. 

If i want to replace the stock speakers, can i replace them with after market speakers other that BSW that will match the same ohms and size?

Any and all suggestion would be appreciated, thanks.


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

anyone?


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## wilk187 (May 22, 2008)

Short answer is yes..
The rear deck is supposed to produce low level bass (poor job, i might add) I took my dsp deck out once i put an amp/sub in..allowed for better porting into the cabin and reduced rattle...

There are several brands that can be used to replace both the tweeters and 6/5 mids in the doors..unfortunatly you won't notice much difference unless you totally bypass the factory and add an additional amp to run them..i've got kicker brand in my front doors, only because my oem ones started to crackle..the rears and all the tweeters sound great..if your amp allows you to add a bass-knob, do so.. That way you can turn the bass all the way down (mine is all the way down and it's still too loud sometimes) and your highs will scream..:rofl:


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

have you bypassed your factory unit? when u say bypass, u bypass the speakers from using the factory stereo? if u use amps to run the door speakers, then where are you gona get the input signal from? an aftermarket stereo? u cant take the signal from the stock unit since it is already amplified, can you?

i dont think i can take my dsp out. I have the 4:3 navi unit and i think its integrated into the unit. 

can you explain in more detail? i would appreciate it. and yes i do have a bass knob. the rear factory subs are crap, they just rattle when i turn my bass up. thanks you.


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## wilk187 (May 22, 2008)

Let me try to answer all your questions here..When i say take your dsp out, i meant just the rear deck subwoofers...you can disconnect them and take them out in about 30-60minutes...you have to pull your back seat out to do it and then unbolt it, but well worth it..go to bsw's website and download their installation instructions for thier e38 sub box..it's a really good write up on how to get it out.

I have a ski-pass bag in my 7, so i took it out so the bass would enter the cabin (when i still had my dsp rear deck subs in)...Removing the ski-pass bag provided plenty of bass inside the cabin, but the rear deck would rattle because of the spl (pressure)..

Doesn't matter if you have a factory radio/4:3, dsp or whatever. You have two options to get your amp a signal:
1. replace your head unit with an aftermarket one with rca's and pre-out's built in..then you don't even need a factory amp. (not recommended becuase it's difficult to match the oem look in a 7 series)
2. Use a line-converter to turn your factory speaker wires into an rca cable for your amp. (recommended). 

If you have an amp/subs already hooked up, i'm assuming that's what you did. The best speakers to "lose" (unhook the speaker leads and turn them into RCA's) are the rear deck speakers since they are the most useless in the car. 

If you turn the bass all the way down on your dsp and the treble up (and adjust the equilizer appropriately), your highs will sing and your bass will still be strong (especially if you have the bass knob)...if your highs still sound terrible after turning down the bass, you may need to replace them..i would replace them with oem or low-priced ones though...you're going to notice very little difference installing high dollar-high amp component speakers when they're running off of the same factory amplifier (dsp)

Hope this answers all your questions.


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

crystal clear.

ya my rear decks rattles like crazy because of my subs hitting so hard. i used a line output converter as u mentioned for my subs. i found a great write up for Diamond Audio HEX S500 component upgrades for the front stage doors on bimmerboard, with the help of Mr. Wong.. this, however needs the use of an additional amp to run the DAs for best performance. i found the DAs and an alpine amp brand new to the job for $100 less than just getting BSWs with no additional amp and from what i read, it is great quality and crystal clear highs. 

my sub/amp is hooked with a loc from the left rear deck. i notice if i turn the bass down from the head unit, the bass of subs go down as well. so i put it all the way down, wont i have a loss of bass? or actually if i turn the gain up higher on my loc, it will compensate for that. ill give it a try. removing the rear deck speakers will allow more bass to come through as well, ill just leave the speaker grills on. 

btw, beautiful car bro. mine is the exact same, alpine white with the m pars. so sexy. i gota post up my pictures one day.


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## wilk187 (May 22, 2008)

Thanks for the compliment..Good luck on the rear deck uninstall..it's kinda tedious, but not hard work..a good socket set and you're in there..btw, you'll have to remove your back c-pillar covers..if your interior is beige like mine, you'll want to use disposable latex gloves so you don't get them dirty..or maybe i'm just totally anal..hehehe


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

ya i dont want my beige to get dirty, cuz it wont go away if it does. I have taken apart the rear deck once before, but i did not touch the c-pillars. why would i remove the c-pillars?


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## wilk187 (May 22, 2008)

Its easier to get the rear deck out that way...If you don't need to, don't worry about it...I made friends with the detail guy at my local dealer..He'll do any small job for free for me..They can clean your headliner and pillars really quickly..Did my headliner and pillars in about 30 minutes with some "secret solution" in a spray bottle..hehehe


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

i need one of those.. you know of anything that can fill up or "hide" cigarettes burns on the front c-pillars? its so annoying. i should stop smoking, lol.


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## wilk187 (May 22, 2008)

when I bought my 7 a few years back, i had a small mark that looked like a cigarette burn in my A-pillar..it drove me crazy so i bought a brand new one.


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## gexamb (Mar 2, 2007)

lol, i might have to resort to that too. im gettin me DAs today, i might install them today, ill post up updates.


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