SWS 8 upgrade with MTX amp!

budmanv24 · 01-22-2010, 05:48 PM

Has anyone reused the stock speaker wire so they didn't have to tear into anything? Is the trunk that bad for sq in these cars? I had two image dynamics id8's that I was planing on dropping into the space under the floor strapped to a pdx-1.600. Oh, and I do have the cold weather package so I could just remove the ski bag in the arm rest pass through.

Lee Rambler · 01-22-2010, 09:08 PM

if you have an e90 do the 8's freeair in the ski bag hole. if you have an e92 they won't fit (not enough height). trust me, free air in a bmw trunk works awesome.

VP Electricity · 01-22-2010, 10:52 PM

I wonder why you are so convinced that E9x trunks sound like E36/39/46 trunks. They don't.

Lee Rambler · 01-22-2010, 11:22 PM

I've heard 3 e9x with free air setups that worked awesome, mine included. much better than a box in the trunk, performance to weight wise. I've always been blown away with how well it works.

budmanv24 · 01-23-2010, 01:52 AM

I was thinking the storage space under the floor in the trunk. I have an e90 328i so there's quite a bit of space down there. I wouldn't be able to run much power to my subs free air without destroying them...I was thinking sealed.

SCtud · 01-23-2010, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Rambler

if you have an e90 do the 8's freeair in the ski bag hole. if you have an e92 they won't fit (not enough height).

i've seen a 12" fit in the ski pass hole. tight fit, but i will probably do the same thing.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315379

Lee Rambler · 01-23-2010, 07:05 PM

that's an e93, not e92 or e90 - the pass through is SUBSTANTIALLY larger, as it was in e46 verts. The ski hole for e90's and e92's won't fit anything wider than an 8, though you can rear mount a 10 with satisfactory results.

SCtud · 01-23-2010, 09:54 PM

really. that's bizarre. i would have figured the e93 is the smallest of any of them. i guess not.

Lee Rambler · 01-23-2010, 10:05 PM

trunk is smaller, but pass through is larger. Not as tall, but wider.

Pseudo Nim · 04-04-2010, 06:53 PM

How do you hook up the amp to the Logic 7 system?

whn · 04-05-2010, 04:05 AM

Whats the difference between SWS-8 and SWS-8Xi ?

mathu.bala · 04-05-2010, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whn

Whats the difference between SWS-8 and SWS-8Xi ?

4 ohms and 2 ohms respectively

whn · 04-05-2010, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mathu.bala

4 ohms and 2 ohms respectively

which one is better?

sngencarelli · 04-23-2010, 12:06 AM

Hey Guys,

I just completed the SWS-8 upgrade a few days ago.. '06 325i with HiFi (no Logic7). I followed the directions in this thread (wiring, sealing enclosures, etc). I buttoned everything back up, turned on the music, and... ehh.. I didnt like it. I was ok with it though.. I figured that some tweaking of the amp settings would be necessary (MTX JH300). I played with the gain/bass boost/crossover/low pass for a few days but just couldnt get it right.. There was certainly a lot of "punch", but I just couldnt get it to sound right.. It just seemed to be over emphasized - it was not a smooth transition from the front/rear mid ranges to the under seat drivers. If I turned down the gain, the bass dropped off quickly, and I was left with what felt like no mid range. I also noticed that the sound stage seemed to have collapsed. I also couldnt stand the side skirt rattling.

Tonight I decided that I was going to pull it all out - and put everything back to stock. I was at the point where I could deal with the stock lack of bass in favor of overall musicality.

I went out and was about to disconnect the amp when I had an idea - and figured it would be my last ditch effort. I had originally tapped the rear pre-amp lines as mentioned in the attached document. I thought - what if I tap the post amp sub outputs coming from the stock amp.. My amp can take high level input, so I figured that I'd give it a shot. My thinking was if I could restore the factory crossover, it may sound better...

I removed the splices from the rear deck pre-amp wiring and swapped it to the stock amp sub wiring. I reset my MTX amp settings - gain about 1/4, low pass all the way down, crossover - all the way up, bass boost - all the way down.

I held my breath, turned on the radio, and.. SUCCESS! The sound stage had returned, the transition between low and midrange had been restored and was smooth.. and the bass was plenty strong. It's now much smoother - not as harshly hard hitting, but plenty strong. No unnatural peaks in certain ranges.

Now I feel like I've got a system that is on par with the '02 325 Harmon Kardon system that was in my fathers BMW. It also rivals the Bose that I had in my A4. Prior to the upgrade (stock), I didnt think it came close to either - and the Bose certainly didnt have copious amounts of bass.

sngencarelli · 04-23-2010, 01:13 PM

Well... It was great while it lasted. I was enjoying my new audio system today when apparently I blew the sws-8 under my drivers seat. I have no idea how it happened - the sound was not distorting prior to it happening.. And the speaker under the passengers seat is fine...

If I gently push down on the affected speaker, it feels like there is resistance..small detents as I push it down, not smooth like the "working" speaker. I suppose it must be internally separated.

I wonder if I can claim it under the speaker warranty... Although.. I'm not sure how to prove that it wasnt overdriven to distortion.

It was nice while it lasted. Ugh.

bm3sofla36 · 04-25-2010, 10:24 AM

have any of you guys run into electronic issues installing aftermarket subs/amp in ur cars? these cars seem delicate with everything so jus wondering. i would want to install something around 500 watts..not too much jus some thump. prolly the jl 500 with a 10 inch sub or something

larry_bml · 05-28-2010, 06:41 AM

Hello guys, sorry for my English first. Now, i have an 320i with standard sound system, and i recently add HI-FI retrofit kit form Alpine. Now, the bass is to hard for thows two woofers under the seats and i want to change them with a pair of SWS-8. Does anyone did this? I dont wont to spend money on the subs and not to sound good. Can anyone tell me if the Alpine amplifier can move the SWS-8 ?

mikkoman1 · 05-29-2010, 09:41 AM

Hello!
Here are some pictures of my stereo.
http://www.garaget.org/mypage/galler...an1&cat=104134

tufgsd · 05-30-2010, 04:41 PM

Do you remember how much dynomat you used? Thickness?

mikkoman1 · 05-30-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tufgsd

Do you remember how much dynomat you used? Thickness?

Hello!
For the both front doors I used Dynamat extreme 45x81cm x 2pc ,Im not sure if the thickness was 2mm or 3mm.

HighQ · 06-25-2010, 12:53 PM

Great guide you wrote for the SWS-8 Shallow Mount

nt890 · 06-15-2011, 10:43 AM

Do you need to do any modification to install the sws 8 sub. I mean the sws 8 looks like little higher than the factory one.

01-22-2010, 05:48 PM	#155
budmanv24 Private First Class 9 Rep 112 Posts Drives: 2007 328i manual Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	Has anyone reused the stock speaker wire so they didn't have to tear into anything? Is the trunk that bad for sq in these cars? I had two image dynamics id8's that I was planing on dropping into the space under the floor strapped to a pdx-1.600. Oh, and I do have the cold weather package so I could just remove the ski bag in the arm rest pass through.
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01-22-2010, 09:08 PM	#156
Lee Rambler Captain 17 Rep 605 Posts Drives: 07 e92 335 6mt, 04 e53 x5 4.4 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	if you have an e90 do the 8's freeair in the ski bag hole. if you have an e92 they won't fit (not enough height). trust me, free air in a bmw trunk works awesome.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-22-2010, 10:52 PM	#157
VP Electricity Brigadier General 289 Rep 3,201 Posts Drives: F34 xDrive Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: portland oregon iTrader: (3)	I wonder why you are so convinced that E9x trunks sound like E36/39/46 trunks. They don't.
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01-22-2010, 11:22 PM	#158
Lee Rambler Captain 17 Rep 605 Posts Drives: 07 e92 335 6mt, 04 e53 x5 4.4 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	I've heard 3 e9x with free air setups that worked awesome, mine included. much better than a box in the trunk, performance to weight wise. I've always been blown away with how well it works.
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01-23-2010, 01:52 AM	#159
budmanv24 Private First Class 9 Rep 112 Posts Drives: 2007 328i manual Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	I was thinking the storage space under the floor in the trunk. I have an e90 328i so there's quite a bit of space down there. I wouldn't be able to run much power to my subs free air without destroying them...I was thinking sealed.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-23-2010, 07:05 PM	#161
Lee Rambler Captain 17 Rep 605 Posts Drives: 07 e92 335 6mt, 04 e53 x5 4.4 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	that's an e93, not e92 or e90 - the pass through is SUBSTANTIALLY larger, as it was in e46 verts. The ski hole for e90's and e92's won't fit anything wider than an 8, though you can rear mount a 10 with satisfactory results.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-23-2010, 09:54 PM	#162
SCtud First Lieutenant 20 Rep 329 Posts Drives: 2008 E93 M3 Join Date: May 2009 Location: CT iTrader: (1)	really. that's bizarre. i would have figured the e93 is the smallest of any of them. i guess not.
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01-23-2010, 10:05 PM	#163
Lee Rambler Captain 17 Rep 605 Posts Drives: 07 e92 335 6mt, 04 e53 x5 4.4 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	trunk is smaller, but pass through is larger. Not as tall, but wider.
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04-04-2010, 06:53 PM	#164
Pseudo Nim twinborific 118 Rep 4,836 Posts Drives: fast, sometimes slow Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: i am a citizen of the world iTrader: (9)	How do you hook up the amp to the Logic 7 system? __________________ Doko ni itemo, hito wa tsunagatte iru...
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04-05-2010, 04:05 AM	#165
whn Captain 88 Rep 783 Posts Drives: Range Rover Sport Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Finland iTrader: (3)	Whats the difference between SWS-8 and SWS-8Xi ? __________________ MY12 Range Rover Sport Autobiography Mods: Coming E92 335i SOLD! Mods: Stage 3+, FULLY LOADED
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04-23-2010, 12:06 AM	#168
sngencarelli Private 5 Rep 86 Posts Drives: 2007 E93 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Lower Saucon, PA iTrader: (0)	Hey Guys, I just completed the SWS-8 upgrade a few days ago.. '06 325i with HiFi (no Logic7). I followed the directions in this thread (wiring, sealing enclosures, etc). I buttoned everything back up, turned on the music, and... ehh.. I didnt like it. I was ok with it though.. I figured that some tweaking of the amp settings would be necessary (MTX JH300). I played with the gain/bass boost/crossover/low pass for a few days but just couldnt get it right.. There was certainly a lot of "punch", but I just couldnt get it to sound right.. It just seemed to be over emphasized - it was not a smooth transition from the front/rear mid ranges to the under seat drivers. If I turned down the gain, the bass dropped off quickly, and I was left with what felt like no mid range. I also noticed that the sound stage seemed to have collapsed. I also couldnt stand the side skirt rattling. Tonight I decided that I was going to pull it all out - and put everything back to stock. I was at the point where I could deal with the stock lack of bass in favor of overall musicality. I went out and was about to disconnect the amp when I had an idea - and figured it would be my last ditch effort. I had originally tapped the rear pre-amp lines as mentioned in the attached document. I thought - what if I tap the post amp sub outputs coming from the stock amp.. My amp can take high level input, so I figured that I'd give it a shot. My thinking was if I could restore the factory crossover, it may sound better... I removed the splices from the rear deck pre-amp wiring and swapped it to the stock amp sub wiring. I reset my MTX amp settings - gain about 1/4, low pass all the way down, crossover - all the way up, bass boost - all the way down. I held my breath, turned on the radio, and.. SUCCESS! The sound stage had returned, the transition between low and midrange had been restored and was smooth.. and the bass was plenty strong. It's now much smoother - not as harshly hard hitting, but plenty strong. No unnatural peaks in certain ranges. Now I feel like I've got a system that is on par with the '02 325 Harmon Kardon system that was in my fathers BMW. It also rivals the Bose that I had in my A4. Prior to the upgrade (stock), I didnt think it came close to either - and the Bose certainly didnt have copious amounts of bass.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-23-2010, 01:13 PM	#169
sngencarelli Private 5 Rep 86 Posts Drives: 2007 E93 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Lower Saucon, PA iTrader: (0)	Well... It was great while it lasted. I was enjoying my new audio system today when apparently I blew the sws-8 under my drivers seat. I have no idea how it happened - the sound was not distorting prior to it happening.. And the speaker under the passengers seat is fine... If I gently push down on the affected speaker, it feels like there is resistance..small detents as I push it down, not smooth like the "working" speaker. I suppose it must be internally separated. I wonder if I can claim it under the speaker warranty... Although.. I'm not sure how to prove that it wasnt overdriven to distortion. It was nice while it lasted. Ugh. Last edited by sngencarelli; 04-23-2010 at 02:06 PM.. Reason: needed to correct drivers vs passengers reference
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04-25-2010, 10:24 AM	#170
bm3sofla36 Private First Class 12 Rep 156 Posts Drives: E90 AW Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Miami iTrader: (1)	have any of you guys run into electronic issues installing aftermarket subs/amp in ur cars? these cars seem delicate with everything so jus wondering. i would want to install something around 500 watts..not too much jus some thump. prolly the jl 500 with a 10 inch sub or something
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-28-2010, 06:41 AM	#171
larry_bml First Lieutenant 194 Rep 325 Posts Drives: BMW F30 Sport Line 320ded Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Romania - Pitesti iTrader: (0)	Hello guys, sorry for my English first. Now, i have an 320i with standard sound system, and i recently add HI-FI retrofit kit form Alpine. Now, the bass is to hard for thows two woofers under the seats and i want to change them with a pair of SWS-8. Does anyone did this? I dont wont to spend money on the subs and not to sound good. Can anyone tell me if the Alpine amplifier can move the SWS-8 ?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-29-2010, 09:41 AM	#172
mikkoman1 Registered 2 Rep 4 Posts Drives: Bmw 330d Touring -06 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sweden iTrader: (0)	Hello! Here are some pictures of my stereo. http://www.garaget.org/mypage/galler...an1&cat=104134
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05-30-2010, 04:41 PM	#173
tufgsd Private 7 Rep 61 Posts Drives: 2007 BMW 335i Sedan Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Arkansas iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 335i Sedan [0.00]	How much Dynomat did you use Do you remember how much dynomat you used? Thickness? __________________ 2007 BMW 335i Sedan - Titanium Silver - BMS DUal Cone Intake - JB4 PnP Map 7 - ETS Intercooler = BSH Competition Oil Catch Can - STETT CP w/ DV - Macht Schnell 3" Stainless Catless Track Downpipes - BMS Downpipe Fix v3 - V1 Hardwired - SWS Subs w/Alpine Amp //Coming Soon: Borla Aggressive Cat Back Exhaust - - FULL VC-2 Meth Injec Kit - AR Design Stage 1 Oil Cooler
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06-25-2010, 12:53 PM	#175
HighQ Quality is everything 12 Rep 756 Posts Drives: you mad Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	Great guide you wrote for the SWS-8 Shallow Mount
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06-15-2011, 10:43 AM	#176
nt890 Enlisted Member 5 Rep 46 Posts Drives: 2010 328I X-drive Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Do you need to do any modification to install the sws 8 sub. I mean the sws 8 looks like little higher than the factory one.
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