advice on clarion amp and subwoofer - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

e90ca · 02-28-2011, 12:02 AM

I'm looking to add the following clarion amp and subwoofer to my sedan to just add a little more bass to my existing stock system (no HK). I'm not looking for any thunderous bass or anything. I also do not have the folding rear seat as well. Thanks in advance!

Can anyone tell me if these are decent items to get?

Clarion XH5210
===========
http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740201.html

Clarion WQ2510D
============
http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740266.html

e90ca · 02-28-2011, 02:53 PM

anyone?

ctuna · 02-28-2011, 03:07 PM

Most of the people that are not a a minimal budget here are using Jl audio
Zapco and even more exotic boutique brands . The budjet stuff is more like alpine and blaupunkt. Clarion is the kind of stuff you normally find at Fry's and Best Buy and low end Auto Stereo Stores.
I really don't know how good it is
I haven't ever seen Clarion mentioned here before.

808MGuy · 02-28-2011, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctuna

Most of the people that are not a a minimal budget here are using Jl audio
Zapco and even more exotic boutique brands . The budjet stuff is more like alpine and blaupunkt. Clarion is the kind of stuff you normally find at Fry's and Best Buy and low end Auto Stereo Stores.
I really don't know how good it is
I haven't ever seen Clarion mentioned here before.

Clarion is on the same level as Alpine's entry level stuff. I would put Blaupunkt a step down. Some of the clarion amps were rebadged Arc Audio amps back in the day but I'm not sure where they are made now. They probably make decent amps but there are a lot of choices in the price range that may or may not be a better fit. Huge competition at the lower price points because what you are getting is a pretty basic amp.

Clarions claim to fame was in head units, not amps or speakers. 95% chance that all that stuff is just rebadged gear through a supply house. That's not to say that is a bad thing. They just don't do their own designs on amps and speakers. Most manufacturers don't.

What made you choose that particular amp and speaker combo? Getting a discount somewhere?

e90ca · 02-28-2011, 06:01 PM

thanks for the replies! it helps me think about what i should do.

Yep, I get a pretty good discount thru my employer for clarion products, so was thinking to get these and see how they are.

bmw325i · 02-28-2011, 07:06 PM

I personally wouldn't go with that combo that sub is a dual voice coil and it has 4 ohm coils so you can get either a 2 or an 8 ohm load from it the amp is only 4 ohm stable bridged so you'd have to have it at 8 ohms cutting the power in half. what I would recommend is a alpine type r sub the dual 4 ohm and an alpine mrp500 amp which can be found pretty cheap on eBay or take a look at www.sonicelectronix.com be sure to get at least true 8 gauge wire if you go this route.

ctuna · 02-28-2011, 08:45 PM

If your looking for a sound quality improvement patching over it with a subwoofer may not get the outcome you want . Depending on what stock system you are starting with you may be able to add and amp and better speakers to the doors and floors.
So what is the model year of your car
and did it come with the base US system or the L7 HK system.
You said non HK above sorry common fixs are
earthquake sws8 replacement speakers for the underseats
rainbow or morel speakers for the doors
jl audio xd600/6 to replace the weak amp
there are all kinds of variations on the above

also if you want to bring out the bass a little more try running
with the fader all the way or halfway biased to the front.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365866

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368847

e90ca · 03-01-2011, 05:26 PM

Yep, I've got the stock stereo head unit with my 328i sedan. I'm actually fine with the stock stereo sound now. But I just want to hear a little more bass in back, which is why I wanted to just add a amp and subwoofer.

This is actually what I did for my previous bmw E46 and the sound was great the way it was.

bmw325i - If you look on the bottom of the link for the amp at: http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740201.html

It says it is "2-ohm stability". Not sure if I understand what you said in your comment.

ctuna · 03-01-2011, 06:25 PM

e46 has bigger midrange speakers, or a better midrange for some reason. I had the e46 with the HK upgrade the bigger midranges were quite acceptable in that one. One of the biggest faults
of the HI Fi is the lack of a speaker to properly support the low mid range .

e90ca · 03-02-2011, 02:23 PM

btw,

If I do not have the rear folding seats or the ski-pass, if I get a trunk sub, would I even be able to hear the bass from the subwoofer?

I have read here on the forums about the trunk being well insulated and that the bass does not pass thru the rear seats well.

Just wondering if its even worth it for me to get a sub for the trunk or not.

any thoughts?

02-28-2011, 12:02 AM	#1
e90ca Private First Class Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 181 iTrader: (2)	advice on clarion amp and subwoofer I'm looking to add the following clarion amp and subwoofer to my sedan to just add a little more bass to my existing stock system (no HK). I'm not looking for any thunderous bass or anything. I also do not have the folding rear seat as well. Thanks in advance! Can anyone tell me if these are decent items to get? Clarion XH5210 =========== http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740201.html Clarion WQ2510D ============ http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740266.html
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02-28-2011, 03:07 PM	#3
ctuna Colonel Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca Posts: 2,740 iTrader: (0)	Not exactly recognized as a quality brand Most of the people that are not a a minimal budget here are using Jl audio Zapco and even more exotic boutique brands . The budjet stuff is more like alpine and blaupunkt. Clarion is the kind of stuff you normally find at Fry's and Best Buy and low end Auto Stereo Stores. I really don't know how good it is I haven't ever seen Clarion mentioned here before. Last edited by ctuna; 02-28-2011 at 03:26 PM.

02-28-2011, 08:45 PM	#7
ctuna Colonel Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca Posts: 2,740 iTrader: (0)	You might want to do the rest of that system If your looking for a sound quality improvement patching over it with a subwoofer may not get the outcome you want . Depending on what stock system you are starting with you may be able to add and amp and better speakers to the doors and floors. So what is the model year of your car and did it come with the base US system or the L7 HK system. You said non HK above sorry common fixs are earthquake sws8 replacement speakers for the underseats rainbow or morel speakers for the doors jl audio xd600/6 to replace the weak amp there are all kinds of variations on the above also if you want to bring out the bass a little more try running with the fader all the way or halfway biased to the front. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365866 http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368847 Last edited by ctuna; 02-28-2011 at 09:02 PM.

03-01-2011, 06:25 PM	#9
ctuna Colonel Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca Posts: 2,740 iTrader: (0)	e46 has bigger midrange speakers, I think e46 has bigger midrange speakers, or a better midrange for some reason. I had the e46 with the HK upgrade the bigger midranges were quite acceptable in that one. One of the biggest faults of the HI Fi is the lack of a speaker to properly support the low mid range .

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02-28-2011, 02:53 PM	#2
e90ca Private First Class Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 181 iTrader: (2)	anyone?

02-28-2011, 06:01 PM	#5
e90ca Private First Class Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 181 iTrader: (2)	thanks for the replies! it helps me think about what i should do. Yep, I get a pretty good discount thru my employer for clarion products, so was thinking to get these and see how they are.

02-28-2011, 07:06 PM	#6
bmw325i Lieutenant Colonel Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: United States Posts: 1,659 iTrader: (4)	I personally wouldn't go with that combo that sub is a dual voice coil and it has 4 ohm coils so you can get either a 2 or an 8 ohm load from it the amp is only 4 ohm stable bridged so you'd have to have it at 8 ohms cutting the power in half. what I would recommend is a alpine type r sub the dual 4 ohm and an alpine mrp500 amp which can be found pretty cheap on eBay or take a look at www.sonicelectronix.com be sure to get at least true 8 gauge wire if you go this route.

03-01-2011, 05:26 PM	#8
e90ca Private First Class Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 181 iTrader: (2)	Yep, I've got the stock stereo head unit with my 328i sedan. I'm actually fine with the stock stereo sound now. But I just want to hear a little more bass in back, which is why I wanted to just add a amp and subwoofer. This is actually what I did for my previous bmw E46 and the sound was great the way it was. bmw325i - If you look on the bottom of the link for the amp at: http://clarion.com/us/en/products/20...459740201.html It says it is "2-ohm stability". Not sure if I understand what you said in your comment.

03-02-2011, 02:23 PM	#10
e90ca Private First Class Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 181 iTrader: (2)	btw, If I do not have the rear folding seats or the ski-pass, if I get a trunk sub, would I even be able to hear the bass from the subwoofer? I have read here on the forums about the trunk being well insulated and that the bass does not pass thru the rear seats well. Just wondering if its even worth it for me to get a sub for the trunk or not. any thoughts?