[joeyc123]

Hey all,

First I want to say thanks to all of the support that the forum members on this site brings to the table. Literally, this forum is a goldmine for all things audio related (and im sure everything related to BMW's). This is a review of what I have in my 2007 e90, here's a list:

-Alpine PDX-v9
-Morel Hybrid 402's up front
-HiFi OEM woofers under the seats
-AE SPB 15'' infinite baffle setup (thanks to Kaigoss)

First off, I'll start by saying that in my previous car, a 2006 Chevy Silverado SS, I had what I used to believe to be, an amazing system. 1800 watts of bass, 6x9s, and a no-named 7band-EQ (lol). This setup I have now blows it out of the water.

I began with using a JL XD700/5 before I had the IB added to the system, which is an awesome amp. Never got warm, great sound, great everything - except for power. I installed the subwoofer and craved harder, fuller bass. This is what made me go with the PDX-v9 (same specs as JL's HD 900/5). I can honestly say that for the above-average basshead and audio enthusiast, that this amount of power is plenty (when paired with an efficient IB setup).

The morel hybrid 402's are morel's latest version of their hybrid line. I wish I had heard the hybrid ovations to compare, but these speakers are something. I've got them crossed down at 150Hz (can easily go lower), and can say that these are the best sounding speakers I have heard. I'm a huge listener of southern rap, house music, and other bassy, non-harmonic music. However, these speakers make listening to ANY type of music, from classical, to country (eww) an enjoyable task. Songs with piano, and stringed instruments sound amazing in this car now, you can hear every detail.

The underseat woofers...I have to say that I bought earthquakes in the beginning of my journey in hopes of being satisfied, and let me tell you - if anyone has ANY sort of thought to the likes of "I love bass" or "I hope these will be what im looking for" just dont. Dont dont dont. The missing frequency band between the mids and earthquakes is REAL and sucks. I had the earthquakes lowpassed at 80Hz, and the morels i brought down to 120Hz to try to mend this, which the morels handled. However every song I listened too was missing something. this area of music between 80-150Hz is crucial to sound quality. Once I picked up the pdx-v9 and the SPB-15 I put the OEM HiFI woofers back in, bandpassed them at 60-200 and was amazed. Literally, I even have the gain set fairly high (about 1/3) of the way up and these woofers do the job. I havn't heard jehnerts before, but I can say that there is nothing missing from this system.

For reference, I have my crossovers set like this:

Ch 1,2 highpassed at 150
Ch 3,4 (woofers) bandpassed at 60-200
Subwoofer channel lowpassed at 60 with a subsonic filter set at 25Hz
The rear speakers are ommitted from the system, and are not at all needed.

Now the IB setup I have, first off thanks to kaigoss for all of the help. For anyone looking for a trunk subwoofer, dont think twice, try the infinite baffle setup and you will be amazed. I havn't tested it acoustically, but it sounds completely linear from 60Hz all the way down to the 25Hz I have it setup for, and let me tell you it reaches 30hz with ease, it actually sounds like that's where it excels. This sub with 500 watts isn't enough to make your ears bleed, but it is enough to pound your chest, shake your car (without ANY rattles, i was surprised) and make you grin.

If anyone has any questions, or comments, or suggestions let me know, please!

Thank you all.

[AWBimmer]

Can you please tell me how you find the Hybrid 402s? I'm v close to getting them..

[kaigoss69]

Cool, glad you like it. Now all you need is a DSP to tie it all together!

[joeyc123]

AW, I ordered em online!

Kai, I know hah, I kind of went about everything backwards, but that is definitely the last piece of the puzzle for me. I'm gonna PM you a quick question, hope thats cool.

[bmw325i]

Nice setup, I'm sure it sounds great even without a processor.

[TMR]

Maybe it's the app but I can't see pics.

[joeyc123]

hahah, i'm usually good with sarcasm, but I couldn't tell if that was it or not

great idea though, I'll post pics ASAP!

[TMR]

Get some pics! im curious how you did it

[joeyc123]

Pics are comin soon, I need to reimage them because of the resolution.

But man, the oem midbass unamped ---> earthquakes made me not realize what I was missing because I had them unpowered! the earthquakes ----> oem amped midbass is insane. It literally completes everything and puts the soundstage in an almost tangible spot right under the windshield. Crazy...

I hope for anyone reading this to amp the underseat woofers!

[TMR]

Originally Posted by joeyc123

Pics are comin soon, I need to reimage them because of the resolution.

But man, the oem midbass unamped ---> earthquakes made me not realize what I was missing because I had them unpowered! the earthquakes ----> oem amped midbass is insane. It literally completes everything and puts the soundstage in an almost tangible spot right under the windshield. Crazy...

I hope for anyone reading this to amp the underseat woofers!

I put 5x7 midbass in a ported enclosure in the door with 300 watts each and playing down to 57hz.

[TMR]

Oh man, you are in LA. We should totally meet up. Id love to hear a different approach to a IB system in our cars.

[bmw325i]

[sfarisminhas]

I know this is an old thread but where did you mount the PDX V9?