[trixman]

I'm far from knowledgable on the subject but I can say that without it being powered independently you will only see a small improvement, although still significant. I had mine first not powered, then done properly and it made a massive difference.

From the threads I've seen you can just remove the front bolts from the seats and tip them back to get access to the subs... and yes, they'll need independent wires running to them.

The lead to the battery will also need a fuse located quite close to the battery side too.

[MOB]

If you are running the OEM subs, I dont think you need to run wires from the amp to the subs, the harness takes care of that. Its only if you change the subs that you need separate wires.

Again if you aren't changing the subs I dont think you need to power the amp directly from the battery, again the harness will take care of that via the head unit power supply.

All of the above is "I think" - I fitted a THA555 and SWS-8 combo so I did run separate wires to the subs and connected directly to the battery.

[en6jwrs]

Thanks again for your answer.

I thought I had this cracked, but then another question occured.

I have the THA475 (4 channel). I was planning on amping the 2 fronts and the 2 subs.

However... if I "intercept" all the signals coming from the headunit and send them through the amp (in the boot) and back again to the front for distribution around the car, what happens to the rear signals (which wont go through the amp)?

Secondly, where / how do i splice or introduce the new wire for the subs? Where does this go?

Thanks again, just want to be sure i know what I am doing before I pull the trim apart!

[en6jwrs]

Originally Posted by MOB

If you are running the OEM subs, I dont think you need to run wires from the amp to the subs, the harness takes care of that. Its only if you change the subs that you need separate wires.

Again if you aren't changing the subs I dont think you need to power the amp directly from the battery, again the harness will take care of that via the head unit power supply.

All of the above is "I think" - I fitted a THA555 and SWS-8 combo so I did run separate wires to the subs and connected directly to the battery.

Thanks - i posted before i read your answer.

I am not changing the subs. So is it as simple as plugging all the leads in to the amp and back to the headunit? How do I ensure that I am only amping the fronts and subs and not the rears with my 4 channel amp? IE where does the rear feed go, as the amp is full!!!

Thanks again

[MOB]

mmmmm............I believe the subs come off the same wiring as the fronts - ie they share the power.

So I think your 4 channel amp would power the fronts/subs and rears through the harness/OEM car wiring.

I suppose it all depends on whether powering the OEM subs directly from the amp would be a major improvement - I don't know the answer to this I'm afraid!

Might be worth asking on the main "Hifi/electronics" part of this forum?

[en6jwrs]

Thanks for your input - I will give this a try.

So hopefully I can amp all the speakers in my car.

Can anyone confirm if this will offer a suitable improvement to the sound?

Thanks again MOB and trixman.

[MOB]

You will get an improvement.

Not sure if you've got tweeters? If not, that makes a big difference.

And if you want THUMP, the OEM subs have to go.

[trixman]

Oh yea, thats a definate. The SWS subs do make a big difference... but the tweaters are probably the biggest difference you can make to the sound.

[en6jwrs]

Got the tweeters, they are going in with the amp.

Will I get more THUMP from the OEM subs by just installing amp and using the exisitng wiring????????

ETA: Re read post 21 (for the 5th time) and think I finally understand this!!!!! Thanks to all, including Gizze for post 21.

[PeterPalle]

Hello,

first of all, I would like to thank everyone that has participated in this thread. It's really full of useful information.
Most of all, for sure, gIzzE for this great guide.

I read the whole thread now twice and still have some questions left.
I have a E90 (anno2006) with the standard sound-system.
(Which sounds obviously very crappy..)

That's why I'm planning to do the following upgrade:
-Blaupunkt THA555 PnP
-2x SWS-8" (4Ohm)

In the following, I have prepared a list of questions that I wrote down while reading the thread. I would be very thankful if you could spare some time answering these.

1) I'm not sure if I should go for the DLS R4 OR just the L7 tweeter.
Is there a big difference?
(Because if I understood well, if I would just go for the L7 tweeter option, I would leave the mid-speaker in the door 'as-is'. Is this acceptable in terms of sound quality? Moreover, the DLS system comes with a crossover, the standard system doesn't, right?)
What would you recommend me?

2) What additional BMW parts would I need to order for my E90?
(I read about Corner plastic bits, clips, etc)
Are they independent of question #1? Or do they differ?

I would be very glad if someone could tell me for example,
- For each choice, you need to order part x, y and z.
- Additionally, for L7 choice, order item q
- Additionally, for DLS choice, order item p

3) I read about the following options to connect the 4Ohm subs to the Amp:
- Wired in parallel as a 2ohm load
- Wired to each channel as 4ohm load.
What is the difference between both and what would you recommend me?
I know that the BP555 has 2 outputs for the 5th/sub channel, what's the difference between these 2 options as far as connection to these outputs are concerned?

4) Optimal Amps settings
Gizzy, as you have the same system that I'm planning to install, may I ask you to post your AMP settings please?

If remember that I should set the following:
-gain on the lowest setting (8v)
-fronts to cross over at 120hz and above and the subs to crossover at 120hz and below

Is that right so far? And wich filters do I have to apply where? I guess Low-Pass for bass and High-Pass for front. Is that right?

5) Amp power
I understand that it's best to connect the AMP to the battery and not letting the HU power the AMP. However I'm confused howto connect it to the battery.

According to Gizzy's guide, I should connect Battery Plus to AMP Plus and Battery Minus to AMP GND. Is that the correct and the optimal setting?
Or is it better to connect the AMP GND to the GND point in the car?
Or am I maybe messing something up?

[PeterPalle]

Hello again,

as I haven't got a reply yet, I just wanted to point out that I would be also happy if someone could answer only some questions or just parts of my question(s).

Thanks again.

[illingworth22]

Can anyone help?

I have the E92 Coupe.
How did you fasten the Amp to the car?
I have the 4 Allen bolts but the seems to be no where to fasten them to the body of the car.

Thanks in advance.

Richard

[gIzzE]

1) Just buy the L7 tweeters.

2) Just check on www.realoem.com

3) Buy the 4ohm version and wire them from each output for a 2ohm load.
Buying the 2ohm version is not a good idea, you can wire 2 as either 1ohm (blow the amp) or 8 ohm which will not give you enough output.

4) Use them, that is correct.

5) Connect to either, there is a block just above the battery so wire to that, the cable from the battery go into it.

[gIzzE]

Originally Posted by illingworth22

Can anyone help?

I have the E92 Coupe.
How did you fasten the Amp to the car?
I have the 4 Allen bolts but the seems to be no where to fasten them to the body of the car.

Thanks in advance.

Richard

I just tucked it under the floor and it was fine, didn't fix it at all.

[en6jwrs]

Just a thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

Just fitted door tweeters and THA475 to my e90 msport with i-drive.

The difference is amazing and well worth the equivalent of four tanks of fuel!!

[_Si_]

Just spotted this on the bay if anyone was looking for one..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Blaupunkt-THA4...QQcmdZViewItem

[cooperman]

I want to upgrade my sound, particularly the subs but, having the E93 convertible presents problems. I can't see any possibility of mounting an amp in the boot because there is nowhere to transit a cable with a plug on the end of it, as far as I can see. I may be able to thread a power wire in somewhere but not even sure about that considering the roof mechanism takes up both sides of the boot.
I think my best options are:
1. fit a THA 275, and somehow connect an underseat active sub using a speaker level converter, maybe to the rear channels powered by the HU.
or
2. find space for the THA 475 or 555 in the car and possibly find a power supply from within the cabin, maybe from the fusebox?

Anyone done either of these?

[kend]

There is a thread withj a sticky on it about mounting a THA amp in an E93. Look at the top of this section. The amp was mounted to the in the boot on the back seat but more space disappears from the boot doing this, it also looks pretty difficult to get the cable underneath the back of the rear seat.
I decided against doing this and may go down the alpine upgrade route because the amp is smaller.
However I added the tweeters and as I have Nav, the radio part has a higher output than the prof radio. I have found the sound to be more focused and is not around your knees, so I remain unsure about the benefits of fitting an amp.

[cooperman]

Thanks
Don't know how I missed that post, must be going blind with the excitement of the new car!

I took a look in daylight and in fact you can see light in the top right hand corner when looking from the boot, so inside the car under the headlining by the rear quarter you can push the cable through at that point. Then I think you could tuck the cable between the back seat and the side panel, so not even removing the seat.

IMO the amp could fit under the cover where the spare wheel would go if it had one.

What do you think?

[gIzzE]

To get the cable from the boot to the front simply go through where all the other cables go through.
You simply pull up the corner section of the back seat, pull from the bottom up and out.

[kend]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

To get the cable from the boot to the front simply go through where all the other cables go through.
You simply pull up the corner section of the back seat, pull from the bottom up and out.

E93's are different in that in the rear seat back is all the actuators and electronics for the automatic anti roll over hoops and ecu for the roof control.
At the side of the seat back is the area that part of the roof retracts into so care is needed in pulling cables thru.

[kend]

Originally Posted by cooperman

Thanks
Don't know how I missed that post, must be going blind with the excitement of the new car!

I took a look in daylight and in fact you can see light in the top right hand corner when looking from the boot, so inside the car under the headlining by the rear quarter you can push the cable through at that point. Then I think you could tuck the cable between the back seat and the side panel, so not even removing the seat.

IMO the amp could fit under the cover where the spare wheel would go if it had one.

What do you think?

There is a lot of mechanical moving parts around the top corners, I think you need to pull the seat squab and feed the cable underneath. I asked the question in the original post and think that was the answer I got.

The area under the cover on the left hand side is too shallow to take the THA 475 without a lot of trimming of the plastic, the area on the right might take the amp, if it was placed on the slant but would need to be checked.