[E91-330i-M-Sport]

Hi folks,

I’ve tried searching for comparisons between these speakers but can’t seem to find enough info to help me choose a set. The main reason I’m trying to decide between these sets are that they are the main options available in the UK. I’m leaning toward the Rockford’s as I had a 6.5" set in my old car which I loved and would like to remain loyal/stick to what I know, but the Focals are somewhat cheaper, although have an aluminium tweeter which puts me off as well as their lower power handling.

Which ever I decide, I will be going for the 3-way set which include the underseat ‘subs’. Will also want to eventually fit a matching set in the rear doors for balance, which would be easier with Focal as I could simply get the coaxial whereas the Rockford’s would require some modification to the door card to fit the tweeters.

Anyone have any experience with either of these choices to help me choose?

[kaigoss69]

I have not heard either set but Focal is a much higher quality brand than Rockford, so based on that alone I would go with Focal, especially since they cost less. Regarding the underseat "sub", my experience is that you cannot generate decent bass in the stock enclosures, because they are waaaaaay too small to enable any decent aftermarket driver to perform properly. Therefore, the underseat location is best used for mid-bass, and the bass and sub-bass can beaugmented using a trunk sub. I have read one disappointing review about the Focal 8" driver, and it was not a surprise based on what I just stated. Better to use an 8" driver that is known to produce excellent mid-bass, like the Jehnert. All of this doesn't mean squat however unless you plan to use an aftermarket amp! Also, skip the rear speakers as they will not make a noticeable difference.

Originally Posted by E91-330i-M-Sport

Hi folks,

I’ve tried searching for comparisons between these speakers but can’t seem to find enough info to help me choose a set. The main reason I’m trying to decide between these sets are that they are the main options available in the UK. I’m leaning toward the Rockford’s as I had a 6.5" set in my old car which I loved and would like to remain loyal/stick to what I know, but the Focals are somewhat cheaper, although have an aluminium tweeter which puts me off as well as their lower power handling.

Which ever I decide, I will be going for the 3-way set which include the underseat ‘subs’. Will also want to eventually fit a matching set in the rear doors for balance, which would be easier with Focal as I could simply get the coaxial whereas the Rockford’s would require some modification to the door card to fit the tweeters.

Anyone have any experience with either of these choices to help me choose?

[biz77]

I work in the CE industry and have access to many brands. I acquired a set of the Rockford woofers (currently installed in my car) and a set of the components (waiting to go in the front doors). If I had access to the Focal speakers for what I paid for the Rockford set, I probably would have gone that route, as the main speakers in my house are Focal Solo 6BE studio monitors and I love them.
I can give you an idea what the Rockford components sound like once I get them put in. I know there has been little feedback on them. I can say the woofers surprised me on stock amplifier power. I expected them to be less efficient than the stock hi-fi woofers and they aren't. While they will surely be much better once I put some real power behind them, they aren't bad at all now. They do dig a little deeper than the factory woofers.

[kmmd]

I just installed a system into my e92 and would suggest looking into the Gladen speakers as well. I agree that that the Focal is also a good choice. I haven't heard the Jehnert's or Rockford's to be honest.

I had Simplicity in Sound in Milpitas install the Gladen HG-201BMW 3-ohm 8-inch underseats, and I have been very impressed. While I agree that the enclosure is small, the output can be unbelievable. I have the two underseat speakers powered by 2 channels of a Mosconi AS200.4 which puts out 200 watts into 4 ohms, and I have incredible output. My subwoofer, Focal P25F, is crossed over at 63Hz through my Aerospace 6 to 8. I can get away with keeping my sub output at 10% on some tracks but no more than 50% on all.

As for the rest of my system...Mosconi AS100.2 for Aerospace 20's, other two channels of 200.4 into Aerospace 80's (both 20's and 80's in A-pillars) and bridged AS200.2 into Focal sub.

[Series3]

Can I revive this thread?

I just bought a pre-LCI E90 with the base hifi (no tweeters). My goal is to buy aftermarket speakers (probably the focals) for doors and underseats.

Next, aftermarket headunit, probably a sony.

This has been enough for me to have pretty good sound system in the past (for example, on my e46).

I'm concerned about the underseat woofers. Would a decent aftermarket headunit (like a good sony) have enough power for the 8" underseat woofers, or would I need an amp? If I need an amp, do I need to run wiring all the way from the trunk?

Thanks and cheers!

[ctuna]

Aftermarket speaker's won't move the needle on the Base system.
This system way under powered and there is parallel split between
the door and floor speakers.
It can be really difficult to modify this car if you don't really study it.
There is a base system modification guide in the following links.
(at the end of the links)

Know your system before you attempt anything .
Putting and aftermarket head unit in one of these can be a can of worms .

BMW stereo types
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352586
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...2&d=1266451970
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...2&d=1260829447
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1209780865
http://bmwcoders.com/forum/3-er-8/bm...1-e92-e93-291/
http://technicpnp.com/menuDiagrams/d...e90_92_93.html
http://www.musicarnw.com/page-2/
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...3&d=1169133185
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1209780605
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...4&d=1278871872
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=343673
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/e...n-752.1275694/

base system wiring pre/post 3/09
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...tDpLJPcGkw_ui_
Base System Guide
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...5&d=1493273253

[Series3]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Aftermarket speaker's won't move the needle on the Base system.
This system way under powered and there is parallel split between
the door and floor speakers.
It can be really difficult to modify this car if you don't really study it.
There is a base system modification guide in the following links.
(at the end of the links)

Wow, thanks for that! It's slowly starting to make sense... even if I can't open any of the attachments here at work (blocked by company policy) and pretty much none of the links are still alive.

But anyhow, it's slowly starting to make sense. So, the front door speakers and underseats are connected in parallel. It means, if both are 4 ohms, the source sees an equivalent 2 ohms impedance, and has to drive all of these speakers together. The underseats get the full signal and does what it can (so it gets also the higher frequencies, it's just not able to play them). The door speakers have a high pass filter somewhere... I've seen it has a capacitor, is this directly on the speaker? In other words, if I replace the speaker, will the new speaker get the full signal? Maybe... But the Focal's at least have a crossover for the tweeter.

Ok... so where is this parallelization of the underseat and door speakers taking place? Is it at the head unit? Are all the cables going to the head unit? If they are, I could for example drive the door speakers with the front channels of an aftermarket HU, and the underseats with the rear channels... or maybe drive the underseats with an amp, I'm guessing that's what makes most sense, as these are the bigger speakers.

I really want to get a head unit as I would appreciate having android auto, just like I do on my E46

When I get home I'll have a look at the attachments, but I guess at the moment my biggest question is just where this parallel connection takes place. If I have all the cables behind the HU, this gives me something to work with when installing an aftermarket HU. Cool project

[ctuna]

Where the parallel connection is made is dependent on the year of the car.
It's either in the door sills or at the underseat speaker connector.
This is described in detail at the Alpine installation PDF at the end of
the links.


base system wiring pre/post 3/09
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...tDpLJPcGkw_ui_
Base System Guide
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...5&d=1493273253