E53 custom subwoofer encloser box

[robsey29]

Hi all

new to the forum will post some pictures up of my new x5 soon.

I am looking to upgrade the sound system in the x5 with a subwoofer and just wondered if any one has a custom subwoofer encloser box for sale to fit in the right hand side panel to fit a 10" sub.

I found this but i am not great at woodwork just wondered has anyone attempted this http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/ ... alled.html

[cooa99]

I doubt you will find one to buy.

That mod is also quite old and probably not much a hot topic nowadays due to newer X5 models .

Would upgrading the existing door speakers and  ... maybe a discreet under seat sub not be enough?

[mr angry]

I purchased a used one on ebay a few weeks ago for £20.  There is also another seller selling new ones for around £50 with the option of supplying a sub too (item no 201435576194).  He is in Poland and has good feedback.

The addition of a sub makes a massive difference to the overall sound quality and it needn't be expensive.

[touring_style]

[quote="mr angry"]
I purchased a used one on ebay a few weeks ago for £20.  There is also another seller selling new ones for around £50 with the option of supplying a sub too (item no 201435576194).  He is in Poland and has good feedback.

The addition of a sub makes a massive difference to the overall sound quality and it needn't be expensive.
[/quote]

The eBay listing Mr Angry has mentioned does look like a good deal I must say.

I bought a second hand bespoke sub enclosure for £110 recently with an 8" hole. Its a really well built example with quality fittings - but that eBay deal makes mine look overpriced.

I spent another £100 on a JL Audio sub and about £70 on an amp for the sub.

I've only recently fitted the sub to my system and the difference is incredible (even with the smaller 8" sub) - I couldn't go back to the standard system now.

I added a set of Focal components up front and some Alpine coaxial speakers in the rear too.

In addition I got Baris at Carphonics to do a stage 2 conversion to my BM54 which made a huge difference to the output of sound from the speakers.

I've spent quite a bit, but I can transfer most of it to my next car or I can sell it off and get a good chunk of it back when I sell the car.

It makes the daily commute a lot more enjoyable now so all in all its well worth it and no regrets.

The biggest pain was altering the speaker mounts to take the aftermarket speakers.

Go for it!

[robsey29]

Thanks all for your replys. After writing this i found the one on ebay from poland and brought this one seems a steal for the price, yes i could of made my own which would of been cheaper but i just dont have the time.

Just now trying to choose which sub to go for that will fit the encloser thinking maybe the jl audio or the pioneer as mentioned in the above post.

Which speakers did you go for and also which tweeters? i take it they will all need modifying due to the door baffle or is there a speaker that will fit directly into the door baffle?

Cheers Matt

[robsey29]

I will also give baris a shout for upgrading the bm54 he has done quite a few bits for me in the past as i have a e39 m5 and regularly on the bmw5forum.

[touring_style]

I went for Focal PS165V up front - mainly because they have adjustable cross overs with adjustment for tweeter range.

You have to mount the cross overs in the small space above the front speaker.

I'm not sure how important the adjustable cross overs are in reality, in some ways I wish I went for the built in cross overs but without having a set to compare against its difficult to say.

I'm impressed with the Focals and they get good reviews, although there are cheaper alternatives that I'm sure would be as good.

Mounting the tweeters was easy as there's a padded foam housing already there that the tweeters sit nicely in.

Fitting the main speaker was time consuming though. I removed the standard speaker from the large round pod and got busy with the dremel in order to make the new speaker fit.

You've then got to screw the speaker to what's left of the speaker pod.

I didn't Dremel the Focal speakers at all, I only chopped about the BMW speaker pod.

There are other threads on the forum with photos that show what other guys have done if you want to see pictures. I copied that general idea.

When Baris uprated my BM54 I got him to add a couple of RCA connectors for the sub woofer - it made installing the amp so much easier, plus he fits a switchable 12v feed to turn the amp on and off with the ignition. It added to the cost but was definitely worth it to saving hacking the BMW loom about to use speaker wires for a line in. RCA connectors give a much cleaner signal too apparently.

You'll need some right angled RCA cables though as space is tight in the modules box under the spare wheel in the boot floor.

[dark_stranger]

Mr Angry, that's a nice find.  Noobie here, so I guess I would need an amp for the woofer? or can it be connected direct to the existing system?

[mr angry]

You will need an amp to power the woofer, I bought a used JL audio amp complete with wiring for £50.  That said, if you send your original amp from the boot next to the battery (BM54) to a guy Baris on ebay he can upgrade it to supply RCA outputs .

[dark_stranger]

So if I brought the woofer, then got this http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 0883291070 and get the guy to add some RSA ports, would that allow me to connect an iPod, control via the AUX input on the head unit, but also control the woofer? Is it that simple? Or would I need anything else?

[mr angry]

I would say your best bet would be to give the guy on ebay a call to discuss what you want to achieve and let him give you the best options.  That way you can have your original amp modified to suit what you are looking for in terms of music source and outputs. 

[robsey29]

[quote="touring_style"]
I went for Focal PS165V up front - mainly because they have adjustable cross overs with adjustment for tweeter range.

You have to mount the cross overs in the small space above the front speaker.

I'm not sure how important the adjustable cross overs are in reality, in some ways I wish I went for the built in cross overs but without having a set to compare against its difficult to say.

I'm impressed with the Focals and they get good reviews, although there are cheaper alternatives that I'm sure would be as good.

Mounting the tweeters was easy as there's a padded foam housing already there that the tweeters sit nicely in.

Fitting the main speaker was time consuming though. I removed the standard speaker from the large round pod and got busy with the dremel in order to make the new speaker fit.

You've then got to screw the speaker to what's left of the speaker pod.

I didn't Dremel the Focal speakers at all, I only chopped about the BMW speaker pod.

There are other threads on the forum with photos that show what other guys have done if you want to see pictures. I copied that general idea.

When Baris uprated my BM54 I got him to add a couple of RCA connectors for the sub woofer - it made installing the amp so much easier, plus he fits a switchable 12v feed to turn the amp on and off with the ignition. It added to the cost but was definitely worth it to saving hacking the BMW loom about to use speaker wires for a line in. RCA connectors give a much cleaner signal too apparently.

You'll need some right angled RCA cables though as space is tight in the modules box under the spare wheel in the boot floor.
[/quote]

Thanks for the info i will look into that after this install is complete.

I have brought the encloser and the subwoofer went for the jl audio 10W0v3-4 and a alpine mrp-500 and some acoustic wadding to fill the encloser with as this jl needs 18 liters and the box is 14 liters so will trick it into thinking the box is bigger etc..

Just need to wait for it all to arrive then get on with the install.

[robsey29]

Just looking at tweeters which ones did you go for? And any modifications to make them fit?

[touring_style]

[quote="robsey29"]
Just looking at tweeters which ones did you go for? And any modifications to make them fit?
[/quote]

The Focal PS165V are an all in one front door solution - they include the main speaker, crossover and tweeter.

There are loads of other options out there for all price ranges, not only the Focals -  I would recommend them though.

Kits like that are a matched set so the frequencies the main speaker and tweeters produce cross nicely as they're designed to work with each other.

Mounting the tweeters was simple, they sit nicely in the mount already behind the grill in the door (above the door card next to the dash).

I used a lot of information from these two threads when doing my research (you can see the tweeter mounts in both threads);

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7983.msg84917.html#msg84917

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,237.msg84779.html#msg84779

[Bryan01]

[quote="robsey29"]
[quote="touring_style"]
I went for Focal PS165V up front - mainly because they have adjustable cross overs with adjustment for tweeter range.

You have to mount the cross overs in the small space above the front speaker.

I'm not sure how important the adjustable cross overs are in reality, in some ways I wish I went for the built in cross overs but without having a set to compare against its difficult to say.

I'm impressed with the Focals and they get good reviews, although there are cheaper alternatives that I'm sure would be as good.

Mounting the tweeters was easy as there's a padded foam housing already there that the tweeters sit nicely in.

Fitting the main speaker was time consuming though. I removed the standard speaker from the large round pod and got busy with the dremel in order to make the new speaker fit.

You've then got to screw the speaker to what's left of the speaker pod.

I didn't Dremel the Focal speakers at all, I only chopped about the BMW speaker pod.

There are other threads on the forum with photos that show what other guys have done if you want to see pictures. I copied that general idea.

When Baris uprated my BM54 I got him to add a couple of RCA connectors for the sub woofer - it made installing the amp so much easier, plus he fits a switchable 12v feed to turn the amp on and off with the ignition. It added to the cost but was definitely worth it to saving hacking the BMW loom about to use speaker wires for a line in. RCA connectors give a much cleaner signal too apparently.

You'll need some right angled RCA cables though as space is tight in the modules box under the spare wheel in the boot floor.
[/quote]

Thanks for the info i will look into that after this install is complete.

I have brought the encloser and the subwoofer went for the jl audio 10W0v3-4 and a alpine mrp-500 and some acoustic wadding to fill the encloser with as this jl needs 18 liters and the box is 14 liters so will trick it into thinking the box is bigger etc..

Just need to wait for it all to arrive then get on with the install.
[/quote]
Interested in that enclosure, let us know what its like when you receive it. Did you opt for a sub from him also?