[psmitty95]

Hey i've read the stickies and done some searching but know little to nothing about speakers and it's all starting to get confusing and hurt my head... I was hoping I could just have some of you more knowledgable guys chime in and help out. Anyways I always hated the hifi speakers in my car and knew they were terrible. At the moment i'm highly considering doing a speaker upgrade depending on costs and whatnot.

I listen to all different types of music so I just want a system that sounds good all around. Listening to music on my home theater speakers or beats studio headphones is extremely nice. The car on the other hand, not so much... I'm not looking to spend an absurd amount but want a speaker system that outperforms the majority of speakers that come stock with cars today. Looking to have better all around quality than the Logic 7 or other setups basically. First and foremost, is this possible to do around $1,000? I don't have any experience installing audio equipment in cars so I would probably have to take it to a shop to do. I'm willing to spend a bit more than $1,000 but don't want to go crazy and spend like 3k. My other question was what is the best "bang for your buck" way of upgrading the hifi system? If anyone could help me out and name the various components that will sound the best, have a low cost, and will fit like oem and be plug and play.

If this is not possible I might just wind up going with the MusicarNW kit and trying to install myself. Judging by the quality i'm after, which stage would probably suit me best? Anyways thanks in advance for anyone's help, I know i'm going to get people telling me to search but I have for day's and it's all starting to confuse me. Thanks again!


Update 11/5/13:

Ok so I just purchased a XD600/6 off of ebay and i'm waiting on Technic to send me the bill for his harness. As long as everything is here this weekend i'll do the install and post up pics along with a before and after. I need help with suggestions again though. First of all do you guys think I will be satisfied with oem speakers and the amp? I feel like it might be good enough at least until I blow the stock speakers.

Now replacing the stock speakers is my next issue. Obviously i want to keep it as cost effective as possible, but also make sure it is good quality and the install is relatively easy since I plan to DIY. I'm debating between the Jehnert Flatline kit, MB Quartz BMW kit, or just piecing together a set that fits myself. I've done a bunch of research over the last few days but no idea. Anyone try either the flatline kit or MB quartz and have a preference? Would it be more cost effective to piece together my own set? If so I would greatly appreciate suggestions on speakers I can buy that will meet my requirements. Thanks in advance!

[ctuna]

There are two routes to cheapness.
You can get and ms-8 and not change the speakers and maybe add
a center dash speaker. You will need a Technic harness and his expertize to tell you how to set it up. There are threads that already have this explained.
Or you can get an XD600/6 and Technic harness an add some of the cheaper
front and underseat speakers.(you will need adapters for those I think Technic can provide them.
Both approaches are documented in the Hi Fi section of this thread .
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323
The quality of the speakers won't approach what you can get from a Musicar System and you will have to piece stuff together and do your own tuning.
I can't compare the systems since I have not heard them but most say they both result in something that is lots better than the stock system.
The thing about the MusicaNW systems is they are known to work
high quality configurations. They contain all the pieces needed and they are pretuned as much as possible no soldering or cutting required.
You can only hit 1k if you DIY and piece the system together yourself.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by ctuna

There are two routes to cheapness.
You can get and ms-8 and not change the speakers and maybe add
a center dash speaker. You will need a Technic harness and his expertize to tell you how to set it up. There are threads that already have this explained.
Or you can get an XD600/6 and Technic harness an add some of the cheaper
front and underseat speakers.(you will need adapters for those I think Technic can provide them.
Both approaches are documented in the Hi Fi section of this thread .
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323
The quality of the speakers won't approach what you can get from a Musicar System and you will have to piece stuff together and do your own tuning.
I can't compare the systems since I have not heard them but most say they both result in something that is lots better than the stock system.
The thing about the MusicaNW systems is they are known to work
high quality configurations. They contain all the pieces needed and they are pretuned as much as possible no soldering or cutting required.
You can only hit 1k if you DIY and piece the system together yourself.

First and foremost thanks for your help. In that case I guess it's best to just hold off until i'm willing to do the musicar system... Any idea what stages would be best for my needs described in the op?

[ctuna]

Ken can direct better than I can.
But I think if you want a full range system that has the most balanced
frequency response and is very accurate at producing all sounds
stage 2 is the one. Ken says any of his systems are better than Logic 7.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Ken can direct to better than I can.
But I think if you want a full range system that has the most balanced
frequency response and is very accurate at producing all sounds
stage 2 is the one. Ken says any of his systems are better than Logic 7.

Ok i'll probably shoot him an email. Thanks

[bmw325i]

I'd get the jehnert flatline 3 way setup and a jl audio 600/6. You'd also need to get a technic harness and the connectors to plug into the stock speaker wires. Should be a grand or less and would put the logic 7 system to shame.

Honestly Ken does good work and his prices are good, but your going to be waiting a while, and good luck getting ahold of him.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I'd get the jehnert flatline 3 way setup and a jl audio 600/6. You'd also need to get a technic harness and the connectors to plug into the stock speaker wires. Should be a grand or less and would put the logic 7 system to shame.

Honestly Ken does good work and his prices are good, but your going to be waiting a while, and good luck getting ahold of him.

Yea i've been talking to this guy Don in NJ who recommended the Jehnert system with an amp and I think that's the route I might go. Is the Jehnert system good though? I haven't really found any reviews on here about it

[ctuna]

For the underseats they are the best thing going.(Jehnerts)
(That fits without major modifications)
For the doors the morels are better.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by ctuna

For the underseats they are the best thing going.(Jehnerts)
(That fits without major modifications)
For the doors the morels are better.

Hmm so i'm assuming you can buy them separate? So far the plan that the person installing them recommended was me buying the amp (JL XD600/6) then installing the flatline kit and retaining the oem rear speakers. He said that should bring me to the levels I want to be at. If you can buy them separate though and it won't cost much more than I guess I should do morels if they're better

[ctuna]

The Morels won't be cheaper.
The Morels for the doors play lower is the main reason
they fill up the mid range hole better. If you have a coupe
The Jehnert door speakers will fit but Morels won't.
6sp coupe would be able tell you about it.
The flatline set is designed specifically for BMW's I think .
You may not need speaker adapters for it.

[kaigoss69]

I would recommend an MS-8 like Ctuna suggested. This may only cost you $500 and is super easy to install yourself. I have heard that this alone will make the system sound better than OEM Logic 7. If it ends up not being enough, you can upgrade front speakers and add a center and still be under $1000.

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Yea i've been talking to this guy Don in NJ who recommended the Jehnert system with an amp and I think that's the route I might go. Is the Jehnert system good though? I haven't really found any reviews on here about it

This guy "Don" (6SpdCoupe) in NJ won't steer you wrong. Although I have been trying to get an appointment with him for over a year and a half and I keep getting stiff armed.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by taibanl

This guy "Don" (6SpdCoupe) in NJ won't steer you wrong. Although I have been trying to get an appointment with him for over a year and a half and I keep getting stiff armed.

He's been great with replying to emails so far and is very quick. So far from what we've talked about is doing the JL XD600/6 amp with the Jehnert Flatline system. I might shoot him an email about doing an MS8 or look into doing it myself before doing speakers since the guy above suggested that might make it better.

[bmw325i]

Right now I have the Jehnert undertseats, Morels in the doors, jl xd600/6, and an ms8. Ive also tried this without the ms8.

IMO new speakers makes a much bigger difference than the MS8 can do, plus I dont think you'd be able to get enough power to stock hifi speakers to make them sound good at high volumes. In fact I have the Morels bridged because they didn't get loud enough. The Jehnert underseats are probably the best option for our cars. I am sure the mids and tweets are probably almost as good as the Morels but cheaper.

If I were you I would consider adding an ms8 later on or if you can increase your budget to $1500 it would be well worth it to get an ms8 now.

[ctuna]

bmw325i have you tried the system with just the ms-8 ?
How would you rank the biggest improvements versus pieces installed
and also which Morels do you have?
Do you have any comments on how much the ms-8 improved your system either with or without the other upgrades?
And I think you should qualify the speaker statement to new speakers with enough power to drive them properly.
It seems there is a conflict if you add a lot of power you risking the cheap speakers if you upgrade the speakers there won't be enough power to drive them . The ms-8 still has more power than the Hi Fi amp for the doors at least and probably for the undeseats to based on questionable power rating policy's.

The ms-8 was suggested as a low cost patch for the incredibly bad base system or the mediocre Hi Fi system.

[bmw325i]

I think the biggest difference was the xd600/6 even with the stock logic 7 speakers they sounded alot better with more power. I started out with just the ms8 and IMO that alone was a downgrade, it just didn't have enough power to play at high volumes without distorting especially with the underseats. The MS8, XD600/6, and stock logic 7 speakers was a good combo I was happy with that, but the new speakers just makes it sound that much better.

I have Morel Hybrid ovation II in the doors and Morel Integra Ovation for the center, but I'm not using that anymore since I am using 2 channels per front speaker. The underseats are actually doing fine for midbass on 1 channel each. IMO more power is always better even if its not being used.

[psmitty95]

Yea I think i'm just going to go with the Jehnert system and xd600/6 like Don suggested. So I guess upgrading the rear speakers isn't worth it at all? Also should I look into adding a center speaker or it won't add much and not worth the cost? Thanks for all the help so far guys

[ctuna]

Thanks I kind of imagined it work out like that.
I installed my xd 600/6 first and ran for a couple of days like that.
Just the amp alone is a big improvement.
Then I installed the Morel dotechs in the doors and got a lot of detail
and depth and the tweeters were 10 times as good.
Then the Jehnerts which have some of the most defined tight bass I have
ever heard.
This combination does not lack bass you would even think its a little
bass heavy if your not a bass head.
So on your ms-8 setup are you using the other channels for the back from the ms-8 ?

To psmitty95
You can't add a center speaker without a processor.
Its used with a surround sound feature that mixes and
processes the sound for that channel.
As per VP electricity rear speaker are a communist plot.
You can upgrade them if you run them but don't spend
much of your money on them.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Yea I think i'm just going to go with the Jehnert system and xd600/6 like Don suggested. So I guess upgrading the rear speakers isn't worth it at all? Also should I look into adding a center speaker or it won't add much and not worth the cost? Thanks for all the help so far guys

Rear speakers aren't really worth upgrading I would leave them connected to the stock amp. As far of a center speaker it wouldn't really be worth the trouble. I disconnected my center to give more power to my front speakers and I didn't really even notice it is gone.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Thanks I kind of imagined it work out like that.
I installed my xd 600/6 first and ran for a couple of days like that.
Just the amp alone is a big improvement.
Then I installed the Morel dotechs in the doors and got a lot of detail
and depth and the tweeters were 10 times as good.
Then the Jehnerts which have some of the most defined tight bass I have
ever heard.
This combination does not lack bass you would even think its a little
bass heavy if your not a bass head.

You can't add a center speaker without a processor.

Ahh then in that case forget the center speaker unless it adds a lot to the car. So i'm guessing all you guys just leave the rear speakers oem?

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Rear speakers aren't really worth upgrading I would leave them connected to the stock amp. As far of a center speaker it wouldn't really be worth the trouble. I disconnected my center to give more power to my front speakers and I didn't really even notice it is gone.

Ok makes sense. Thanks again for the help

[bmw325i]

No problem, just let us know how it turns out. And you are right most of us don't mess with the rear speakers. I just have one set of stock logic 7 speakers connected to the ms8 for the rear. The logic 7 speakers on 20 watts are overpowered by the Morels on 200 each even in the back.