Best speakers for standard setup
Moderator: martauto
Hi Guys,
After a lot of patience I finally have my car back although it no longer has the sub and amp installed. Part of me can't actually be bothered to wire it back in and another part of me is thinking I would prefer a rear strut brace in place of the sub anyway.
However I still like my tunes. Considering I have a standard setup at the moment with a decent head-unit, what rear speakers could you guys suggest that won't break the bank and not require any re-wiring aside from swapping them over for the old speakers or possibly cutting a bigger hole out in the case of 6x9s? Also, if it's worth changing the front speakers?
As I said I do like my tunes but not looking for the whole neighbourhood to listen to what I'm listening to anymore (have gotten old whilst waiting for the car to come back I think). Just want something that will give me minimum hassle to fit, not cost a shed load and still do The Prodigy some justice when I crank the volume up.
Cheers,
Nick
After a lot of patience I finally have my car back although it no longer has the sub and amp installed. Part of me can't actually be bothered to wire it back in and another part of me is thinking I would prefer a rear strut brace in place of the sub anyway.
However I still like my tunes. Considering I have a standard setup at the moment with a decent head-unit, what rear speakers could you guys suggest that won't break the bank and not require any re-wiring aside from swapping them over for the old speakers or possibly cutting a bigger hole out in the case of 6x9s? Also, if it's worth changing the front speakers?
As I said I do like my tunes but not looking for the whole neighbourhood to listen to what I'm listening to anymore (have gotten old whilst waiting for the car to come back I think). Just want something that will give me minimum hassle to fit, not cost a shed load and still do The Prodigy some justice when I crank the volume up.
Cheers,
Nick

theres a million speakers around now,without an amp look at speakers with high efficiency,anything under 90db will require decent power,most of the usual suspects do speakers designed to work with normal stereo power levels,alpine pioneer and kenwood all do drop in replacements for oe speakers
I was in the same boat mate so I just went down to my local stereo shop and spoke to them for a while, told them I didn't want to go barmy, don't really like loud music and crack on. I've only got 4 speakers in original spots (original ones had perished) and it sounds cracking! Cost me a couple of hundred quid when I could have spent loads more on more gear off eBay then have a stereo that sounded sheeeiiite!

Thanks mate. For the moment I'm skint anyway but just want to plan what I need to get at least and see what bargains I can find on the net. I'd rather spend the cash on things that make the car run nicer than making it sound like a mobile disco 

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pac1982
- Engaged to the E30 Zone

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Ive never been disapointed with Alpine had them in all my cars over the last 11 years, Type R's will sound great but if you dont want to spend that much then even the budget alpines are top notch

1991 BMW E30 318i Neon Design Convertible (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 325i Touring (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 318IS (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 316i (RIP)
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pac1982
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JBL's have far to much bass for a speaker and have no clarity IMO.DHFiS wrote:JBL for me.
having said that JBL's are OK if you dont want to run a sub but still want some bass, its same with Vibe speakers but the overall qualtiy of bassy speakers is never good as there trying to do to much

1991 BMW E30 318i Neon Design Convertible (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 325i Touring (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 318IS (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 316i (RIP)
im not sure i understand the above post,if you arent using single cone full range speakers then the strength of bass produced by mids wont affect the higher notes as they are played by the tweeters,if you get problems then its power supply not speakers
adding aftermarket speakers to oe equipment is mostly pointless,because of the low power used by oe sources the standard fit speakers are made to be very efficient with the low amount of power available,then you add less sensitive speakers that require more power and wonder why it doesnt sound good,or distorts easily?
i have about 1500rms of bass in the boot and two front speakers with 50rms each that easily keep up with anything the subs throw out,you just need to match the speakers you buy with the power you have to drive them
adding aftermarket speakers to oe equipment is mostly pointless,because of the low power used by oe sources the standard fit speakers are made to be very efficient with the low amount of power available,then you add less sensitive speakers that require more power and wonder why it doesnt sound good,or distorts easily?
i have about 1500rms of bass in the boot and two front speakers with 50rms each that easily keep up with anything the subs throw out,you just need to match the speakers you buy with the power you have to drive them
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pac1982
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Problems?koh wrote:im not sure i understand the above post,if you arent using single cone full range speakers then the strength of bass produced by mids wont affect the higher notes as they are played by the tweeters,if you get problems then its power supply not speakers
koh wrote:adding aftermarket speakers to oe equipment is mostly pointless,because of the low power used by oe sources the standard fit speakers are made to be very efficient with the low amount of power
Chap said he had a decent deck
Nope never said anything about distortionkoh wrote:available,then you add less sensitive speakers that require more power and wonder why it doesnt sound good,or distorts easily?
what deck are you running its all abouit the HU?koh wrote:i have about 1500rms of bass in the boot and two front speakers with 50rms each that easily keep up with anything the subs throw out,you just need to match the speakers you buy with the power you have to drive them

1991 BMW E30 318i Neon Design Convertible (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 325i Touring (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 318IS (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 316i (RIP)
i use a pioneer p77mp in my systems
a decent deck still wont even give you 4x50rms and the average aftermarket speaker requires at least that,to get clarity you need power to drive speakers and if you dont have the appropriate power the net result = distortion and an overworked amp
a decent deck still wont even give you 4x50rms and the average aftermarket speaker requires at least that,to get clarity you need power to drive speakers and if you dont have the appropriate power the net result = distortion and an overworked amp
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pac1982
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koh wrote:a decent deck still wont even give you 4x50rms
Not true, my old unit an Alpine CDA7876RB was 4x60w and boy did it make a difference there are plenty of units that offer way over the 4x45 barrier my current unit is 4x0 which is the way to go really
koh wrote:and the average aftermarket speaker requires at least that,to get clarity you need power to drive speakers and if you dont have the appropriate power the net result = distortion and an overworked amp
No

1991 BMW E30 318i Neon Design Convertible (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 325i Touring (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 318IS (Sold)
1990 BMW E30 316i (RIP)
it may have had 4x60 printed on it but a power output of 4x60rms would require a 20amp fuse(at 100%efficiency,class b amps like headunits and most consumer amps feature will hardly ever exceed about 60%efficiency)and thats without the power to run the rest of the internals,i think you will find that headunit came with a 10amp fuse(i had one too,nice sounding deck)
even a 2x25rms standalone amplifier is much larger than a whole single din headunit
underdriving speakers is the primary reason for poor sound quality and premature failure of speakers,always has been and always will be
even a 2x25rms standalone amplifier is much larger than a whole single din headunit
underdriving speakers is the primary reason for poor sound quality and premature failure of speakers,always has been and always will be
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pegase747
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That is true,
I guess you need at least an mp that has double RMS power than your speaker RMS power.
I.E if you have 2x30W rms rated speakers, get an Amp that has at least 2x50Wrms output.
You amp will be able to drive your speakers properly, no underpower ( clipping --> damaing speakers ).
Now yes the Amp could overpower the speakers, but the speakers can take some peak power. It is you driving your amp as well through the Hu or the Amp settings, just try not to overpower your speakers and all will be fine.
correct me if i am wrong
Cheers Pierre
I guess you need at least an mp that has double RMS power than your speaker RMS power.
I.E if you have 2x30W rms rated speakers, get an Amp that has at least 2x50Wrms output.
You amp will be able to drive your speakers properly, no underpower ( clipping --> damaing speakers ).
Now yes the Amp could overpower the speakers, but the speakers can take some peak power. It is you driving your amp as well through the Hu or the Amp settings, just try not to overpower your speakers and all will be fine.
correct me if i am wrong
Cheers Pierre
a local shop mate, easily available online, google vibe slick 50NIX wrote:Nice one! Where did you get them from mate?
around £30 a set, which suited me as didnt want to spend the earth
* Type: co-axial
* Configuration: 2-way
* Speaker Size: 5.25"
* RMS Power: 70w
* Peak Power: 200w
* Sensitivity: 90dB
* Frequency Response: 60Hz-25Khz
* Impedance: 4ohm
* Mounting Depth: 50mm
* Mounting Diameter: 100mm
im no expert here, but...
my head unit is a pioneeer 4x50w rms
with 4x 70w rms speakers, the speakers instructions say a minimum of 30wrms is needed for them, so i have 50 , this means i can turn the stereo right up to top volume and they sound excellent, its not under powering them, its perfect in my eyes
i have a 10" sub box in the back, not stupid loud just right to fill out the bass, and on the hea dunit it has HPF ..high pass filter, to take away bass from the 4 in car speakers, thus making it all sound even nicer with the sub providing the bass and the speakers working to just provide the treble and mid
head unit was already in the car, the sub and speakers cost me £150 ,meaning ive spent a grand total of £150 on my sounds, that sounds exellent for the money and im happy with it
Actually the standard BMW 40W Speakers are pretty good - put some Dynamat in the front foot wells and you're laughing!
Rears get something a bit meatier
Rears get something a bit meatier
Previously owned loads of old E30s, E34s, a few E36s, E32s, E39s and an E38.
Currently in a diesel Audi - miss me old E30's....
Currently in a diesel Audi - miss me old E30's....




