Speaker Upgrade Advice Needed

[jwnorris]

I have a 1998 323ic convertible and need to upgrade the sound system as the 10 speaker HK system sounds horrible. I have read the FAQ and searched the E36 forum along tits this one. I just want to confirm my conclusions I have drawn from others suggestions.

Replace the 5.25” speaker in the kick panel and the tweeter in the door with a component set. Disconnect the 3” speaker in the door. Replace the 4” rear side panel speaker and tweeter with component set or with 4” coax and disconnect tweeter. Replace factory amp with 4-channel amp. Install crossovers for components [1 set required for front set and 1 required for rear set.

He questions that I have are these:
1. If I mount the crossovers in the rear with the amp, can I use the existing wiring to the component sets in the front and rear?
2. In the rear if I use a 4” coax do I still need a crossover?

I look forward to your comments.

[PMB]

The answer to both your quwstions is no. Personally I would just disconnect the 4" rears and forget them. Instead of spending reasonable money on 5.25" comps and reasonable money on 4" comps/coax, spend a lot on one seriously stonking good set od 5.25" and install a sub.

[Rookie]

I would have to disagree with that. Running only the front speakers would literally destroy your sound stage! Try taking your gain and putting it completely to the front. That is what the would sound like. If you are looking for some seriously good sounding speakers try "RS" they make some stuff that is fabulous, unfortunately it is a little too expensive for my blood. With a nice set of components coming in around $1,200 us. But I think they make some lower priced stuff as well. Anyways just my 2 cents.

[jllphan]

And there you go. Two different opinions from two different people with two different ideas of what a car audio system should sound like.

Music is recorded in stereo (at least music on a CD) meaning two channel. SO technically speaking, your two channels up front are all that are necessary.

OEM comes with front and rear so that rear passengers can enjoy the tunes as well. With the size of those seats, I doubt you'll have many who actually sit back there.

Another reason you might want sound back there is just for rear fill. WHile it's the same sound in back and up front, some people just like to be emersed in the mix as opposed to being in front of it. Just depends on your preference.

As for using the existing speaker wire and mounting your crossover near the oem amp (in the boot), yes you can totally do that. The oem speaker wire is better than most, as it is even twisted pair speaker wire. And no you shouldn't need a crossover with a coax speaker, albeit some of today's top coax speakers come with one in case you wished to bi-amp them. You will need a diagram to decipher which wires to use coming in and out of the amp, as for that, here you go.