[eas66]

After a few weeks of research ( and overspending ) I’m just about ready to jump in and go (almost) full monty on the base audio system in my e92. As I found out, upgrading the stock base system throws some curveballs. I’ve done Frankenstein installs on previous cars basically making it impossible to reverse back to OEM. In this case, I wanted things to be as “plug and play” and stealth as possible, and have decided to go with the Audison Prima system.

In any case, the system is not actually that relevant for what I’m looking for advice on, however if someone reading this knows the equipment I’ll explain the spec I’ve decided with and if you had any advice on the install / set up I’d be very glad to take any tips.

What I have so far;

Speakers

1) Front Doors : Audison APBMW K4E : 4Ω, RMS:50W, PEAK 100W 4Ω
2) Under Seat : Audison APBMW S8-2 : RMS 150W, PEAK 300W, 2Ω
3) SUB Alpine SWR-1043D (10in) DVC RMS 600 + wheel arch sub box
4) Rear Speakers ; none purchased yet.

AMP (with all the required p&p wiring harnesses)

1)Audison AP4.9 bit : 70*4 @ 4Ω
2)????

I had planned to use the 4.9bit to run the 4Ω door speakers, at 70RMS (a little over powered maybe?). The other 2 channels of the 4.9bit are going to run the 2Ω under seats at 130 RMS.

This next step is where I’m looking for advice. Because of budget, I have to choose one of the following options;

1) Daisy chain an additional 4CH Audison AP4D and use channel 1 + 2 to run the 4Ω back speakers at 70RMS and bridge channels 3+4 to run the 2Ω Alpine sub with 260W

2) Forget about the back speakers all together and get an AP1 D to push the Alpine with 520W into 2Ω, or 280W into 4Ω.

To make a very long question short - am I better off powering the 10 inch sub with a good amount of power and not having any back speakers ( I really don’t think I’d miss them) or splitting the power between the sub and including a set of rear speakers?

Please, I know just enough about this to (maybe) get by. If there’s any faults in the logic / thinking above I’d love to be told how much of an idiot I am.

Thanks very much for even reading the above, and thanks to anyone who has posted on the topic, chances are I've read and already learned from your post.

[Ali-E90]

Many here suggest deleting rear speakers any way for better imaging and positioning.

I'd say that's an easy solution since in many cases it's actually preferred.

I kept my rear only because I have a sedan and want rear passengers to have decent sound directed at them, in a coupe that too may be less relevant for you.

Just rear speaker delete and go!

[eas66]

thanks very much, great to hear about not missing the rear speakers. I've been driving around the past few days with the base system faded to full front and can barely notice any difference. Like you said, the coupe is different and I hardly have anyone in the back seat at any rate.

I've ordered the mono amp for the sub - happy with that decision.

about wiring - maybe I should post another thread, but in just to stop from flooding the board I'll ask here;

With the two amps going where the stock amp would go, what's the best solution for power?

the 2 amps will have total max draw of 60 amps & 1060watts. So, would 4awg off the battery with a 60amp inline fuse, feeding a distribution box splitting the line into 2 30amp fused 8awg be fine for this?

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by eas66

With the two amps going where the stock amp would go, what's the best solution for power?

the 2 amps will have total max draw of 60 amps & 1060watts. So, would 4awg off the battery with a 60amp inline fuse, feeding a distribution box splitting the line into 2 30amp fused 8awg be fine for this?

I'm not an expert when it comes to calculating appropriate wire guage and fuse capacity, but my 2 cents below...

4ga wire to each amp (8ga may be sufficient for the smaller amp, but it's a short run so just go with 4ga so it's an easy upgrade in the future). Have those 2 runs go to a fused distribution block, and connect that to the battery in the boot (even here, 4ga is probably enough, but this is where my expertise runs out).

I'd also pay attention to potential heat issues if putting two amps in the OEM location. If they are Class D and don't heat up, you should be fine. Otherwise, consider adding some fans (PC fans are easy to use for this apparently).