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UK E92 - Another Upgrade FWIW
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08-30-2012, 08:11 AM | #1 |
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UK E92 - Another Upgrade FWIW
Hi,
I’m not new to the audio scene but since selling my previous car (see sig) with SWS, Bit One, JL Amp, Focal KRS100 and Technic Harness, I am really missing a good sound system and bass! I’ve got a pre LCI E92 335D with BASE system so 6 spkr garbage. I want to change the upfront components (3 way) and add a sub or two in the boot and of course an EQ. My take on Focals is this – excellent value for money however too ‘bright’ IMHO. I have seen a list floating about with the various speaker options but my problem is I cannot for the life of me decide what to go with and I don’t want to spend a zillion ££ on my upgrade although it will probably go into £1.5k if I’m careful! The Aim: I want a good amount of bass and clarity – this is key! The confusion / questions: • EQ / Processor: Firstly, is an MS-8 worth getting or can I put that money towards a better amp?! I may have the opportunity to pick up an MS-8 second hand for quite less than its RRP but is it worth it?! Does everyone on here go for an MS-8 / Bit One? What other options lie outside of this and will they even be worth considering?? • Components: I can get Morel Dotech Ovation (4” is what I’m going for I assume?!) for about £200-£250 all in.. here in the UK – are these good quality speakers for its price? I don’t want to spend more than that on 2 way as I still need to factor the cost of aftermarket underseat woofers. o What other decent 8” underseat subs are there instead of SWS Earthquakes? If I am putting 1x or 2 x 10” / 12”subs in the boot, will these SWS-Earthquakes be an overkill?? o If yes to the above, should I simply look to get a 3 way package like the one from HERTZ ESK 163L I believe, which come with 6.5” underseats for the same price as Morels a 2 way comp as aforementioned? • Amp: What can you tell me lol.. so many to choose from! • Wiring: Will the new amp power the Boot Subs alone and the HU power the new components (including underseats?) Apologies for the long read but look forward to any advice! Sam |
08-30-2012, 10:57 AM | #2 |
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Don't think you can get away without and amp
Don't think you can get away without and amp.
A lot of people buy the ms-8 and find it just won't do the woofer under the seat and its not a lot of drive for door speakers either. The Morels are probably the best door speaker but there are fitment issues with the coupe , some have solved this but I don't know how. The ms-8 is used a lot here as it flattens the bad eq in the head unit but you can recode the head unit in most cars to be flat to. Indeed even some of the ms-8 users do this because they say it sounds better. The ms-8 was accepted by a lot of the logic 7 owners as the best way to get a lot of channels to fill the hole left by the 9 channel L7 amp and still have logic 7 . It does allow you a lot of control over your sound but you have to do a lot of tweeking or can do a lot tweeking to get it right. Base system solutions are fix the eq , add amp and speakers if you want you can add a processor. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323 Jehnert are the most accurate under seats they also make a direct fit three way set that has a 4inch and tweeter for the doors that fits in the coupe. Last edited by ctuna; 08-30-2012 at 12:08 PM.. |
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08-30-2012, 02:34 PM | #3 | |
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08-30-2012, 04:12 PM | #4 | |
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:-) I'm steering toward Morel Dotech Ovation. Is there a massive difference between those and say, Morel Hybrid Ovation? |
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08-30-2012, 04:35 PM | #5 |
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Mob 17, thanks for the info and your kind offer, if I'm ever in those neck of the woods, I'll be sure to drop you a line :-)
Yeah understood re: EQ..just not sure whether its worth spending £350-£400 on an MS-8 when I know I won't tweak it much. If I recode, then I may opto for something cheaper maybe a cleanweep or cache of some sort.... just can't decide what I'd need an MS-8 for if I won't be tweaking it.. and I'm pretty certain I won't given a/I don't know how to and b/I never tuned the Bit One at all! Saying that, I'm trying not to miss out on a trend as I have heard an MS-8 in action before! I have also heard the L7 13 spkr system in an E92 and they def sound the nuts compared to BASE package. How can I find out if mine can be recoded without HW changes? Pre LCI 2006 Coupe. RE: Components - Never heard of AutoAudio but we have John Kleis just 15 mins from me so may pay him a visit for more info at some point! I'll also give Greg a shout soon too - London's always on my agenda so I'm there few times a month anyways! Yes these are the same price as focals and I won't be getting them anytime soon - way too bright for me after owning it. Thought it was just me but clearly not. Yeah adaptor wise I'll have to buy one from somewhere but is there a major issue of fitting morels into the door? Focals previously were 4" .. and bot morels and focals seem fairly shallow?! I previously for my E90 bought all the adaptors etc from 808MGUY over in the US and sadly everything got sold with the car! Pissed off but c'est la vie! Last time didn't fit a centre channel but this time I def will and Vibe may be the way to go as several people have used it and can vouch for it! RE: Underseats.. Will getting 8" over 6.5" really matter that much if my bass will be coming from the subs in the boot? The underseat can then effectively be programmed for pure mid -bass drivers rather than sub woofers.. therefore extra clarity? Or am I twisting things now?? You've mentioned Jenherts for £240.. are these 8" or 6.5"? If they come with adaptors / spacers, that's one less headache! I've not heard hertz but it's fairly popular amongst some people. I'm not looking to go down hertz as althought its a nice little package, as you say.. you do get what you pay for! I'll have to think of something else if not SWS! Re: Amp ... is this going to be a 1 stop solution to my needs.. (3 way components + 1 or 2 subs in the boot??) .............. http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/pro..._id/12579.html ......... 4 chn is no good I suppose then!? Someone on here is selling it for a fraction of that price so is it worth getting for about £300 and will this be the only amp I will need?? Please explain what I'd power off these (boot sub and underseat upgraded woofers as well as the components?) What will the MS-8 be powered off - the HU?? Can the HU not power anything i.e tweeters..?? Last edited by AWBimmer; 08-30-2012 at 04:42 PM.. |
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08-30-2012, 06:13 PM | #6 | |
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The HU shouldn't really be used for anything apart from the rears, but if you get an ms-8 you will use that to power the rears. Im not sure what you mean by what the ms-8 will be powered off. It will basically take speaker level input from the HU, do its thing, and then off to additional amps and finally to speakers. The power/ground wiring is done as a normal amp. A remote line would also need to be fitted. If you get a Technic harness, which i strongly recommend, you can grab the speaker outputs and remote from the HU with no cutting. He can also provide you with speaker connectors if you're too lazy to get them from BMW (like i was!). Regarding your amp options, it all depends if you get a centre channel and amp it. You can get away without amping the centre and running it off the ms-8 (you'll need a more efficient speaker like a dls 424) but i would not recommend it. In the words of taibanl "the centre channel will be the workhorse of your system", so its best to amp it. So then you'll have 5 channels to amp (centre, morel 2 way components and the underseats), plus your sub so 6. Rears are best to leave on ms-8 power. I think you would find it hard to find an amp to do all of that. You'd most probably would have to get 2 amps, one for everything inside and one for the sub. You can pick up a brand new JL XD 600/6 for £360 from CAD, after a bit of haggling. If you dont get a centre then you can get an all in one solution. You can get a 5 channel amp with 4 "normal" channels plus a 300w sub channel. Alpine and JL both do these. So it all really comes down to if you want/need an MS-8 or not. If you do then you'd want a centre and then you'd need two amps. If you dont you can get an all in one solution. If you want SQ then ms-8, vibe/morel integra, morel dotech/hybrid and jehnerts is a good route. What enclosure are you looking to put your sub in? And what sub are you looking at? Last edited by mob17; 08-30-2012 at 06:24 PM.. |
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08-30-2012, 06:30 PM | #7 |
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Sorry dude, the link was meant to redirect you to JL HD 600/4..
Will read the rest of your post and answer accordingly but I'm quite liking the morels/jenhert combo, maybe not so much the price range of jenhert under seats so may do a bit of shopping around for alternatives but thanks v much so far. Stay tuned heheh. Last edited by AWBimmer; 08-30-2012 at 06:58 PM.. |
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08-30-2012, 06:48 PM | #8 |
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Hey Sam, just to add my ten penneth, having heard Mo's Morels back to back with mine I'd happily swap out my Focals for a set of those.
Very well balanced sound, immediately notice the warmth compared to the Focals, which can sound very bright. MS8 does reign the Focals in with a bit of EQ tweaking but still not as nice IMO.
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F31 335d M Sport XD - Mineral Grey - Coral Red - 19" 442M - HK Audio - M Sport Plus Pack - Heated Seats Check out my E90stereo install guide - http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540954 |
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08-30-2012, 06:57 PM | #9 | |
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I was actually in the middle of writing outns small pm to u but figured I needed some sleep so I'll do so over the next day or two hehe. Open to the panel: I've come across some morel hybrid ovation 4 ii for about £350-£400 bnib. Does that sound about right and are these worth an uplift of £100-£150 over the more dotech ovations? |
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08-30-2012, 08:47 PM | #10 | |
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Awbimmer: That price sounds about right for the Hybrids. They are better speakers but i dont know if they warrant the extra money. Hopefully someone else can chine in. |
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09-01-2012, 02:06 PM | #11 |
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Just wanted to ask the panel on this as I'm torn atm...
Would getting SWS Earthquakes be an overkill if I'm definitely getting a sub or 2 in the boot? |
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09-01-2012, 07:54 PM | #12 | |
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Mobridge DA2 > JBL MS-8 > ARC XDi 600/4 > JBL Gti 408 Mids & Vifa OT19 Tweeters; PG Ti2 1600.5 > Morel HCW-10 & IDMax 15
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09-01-2012, 09:01 PM | #13 | |
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Forgot to mention before that SWS are not that good for mid bass. Ideally you want the four main "frequency ranges" represented by a driver that is good at it. If you're getting a sub then your low frequencies are sorted, then you want to focus on mid bass. And the SWS won't be as good as others, such as Jehnerts. I think theres a good Kicker one too but its discontinued. Also some people have also installed Morel ADMWs but fitting that requires more work i think as its 9". |
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09-02-2012, 02:53 AM | #14 |
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Cheers folks decided to let it go in the end.. Onto a real mid bass driver now.. Will look into jenherts..
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09-14-2012, 03:36 PM | #15 |
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Update:
Got the MS8 and now being offered the Jehnerts XE200 + spacers + Alpine PDX 4.100 for £300.. that means I need to find a 2 way kit but what is decent at £150?? The other choice was stick to getting HERTZ ESK163L 3 way comp but as this only comes with 6.5" underseats, I'm being skeptical as to whether it'll be a good enough sound... I've picked up a JL 10w7 + a full boot install and therefore will have a good level of bass.. Will getting the Jehnert XE200 8" be a bit of an overkill too (as was the case with SWS) given that I'll have the 10w7 in the boot or could I simply do with the Hertz 3 way com set which comes with the 6.5" underseats? My concern is if I get the Jehnerts + this Alpine PDX 4.100 from a friend who's kindly offering me a great price, I'll be looking at £150-£220 for a 2 way set which equates to around £520 on a set of 3 way comps and an Alpine PDX 4 chn Amp.. Is it me or that quite expensive? The hertz ESK 163L comes in a grand total of £220 ish and includes (1", 4" and 6.5") |
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09-14-2012, 04:01 PM | #16 | |
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£520 is not bad: New Jehnerts are £250 plus new Morel DO @ £225, then add an amp and you will go way over £520! The Jehnerts will not be overkill if you have a sub. It's not a sub! If you're not too keen on them, you can keep your existing OEM mid bass drivers and get a 2 way comp set and install your sub. If you feel that there's nothing missing in your music then thats fine. |
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09-14-2012, 07:14 PM | #17 |
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Hi Sam
It looks like youve got quite a healthy budget to play with and already laughing after doing well on the MS8! If I were you, seeing as you're going to go the route of a trunk sub, I'd probably look to skip the Jenherts and divert the funds towards the better set of components up front such as the Morels Ovations. Id also favour that over the Hertz option. I'd also seriously consider adding a well matched centre channel, Mo managed to get a good deal on just the one Morel Integra maybe you could try and see if you could get a deal on three Ovations, or buy four and sell one? That would be a very nice sounding system, even leaving the OE underseats in as mid woofers the MS8's going to get everything playing together nicely. Once you've decided on that you can narrow down the amp(s) required...
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09-14-2012, 08:07 PM | #18 | |
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Matt's also right about the centre. Ideally you want your front 3 mids to be roughly the same level of quality and efficiency; makes level matching easier and will sound better. Maybe give Greg @ Autoaudio a ring to enquire about a pair of Dotechs and a single Integra Ovation. By the way, if you do get Morel comps you will either need to try and source some adaptors or make your own, which is more likely. They don't have to be perfect. Just ask Matt about my mahogany adaptors - for the discerning gentleman! |
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09-15-2012, 02:52 AM | #19 |
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Thanks for this guys! Really appreciate your help so late at night.
Until I read, I decided that I'll go with the Jehnerts and I'll get a set of 2 way comps ... Rainbow DL-C4.2 (http://www.raysmith.co.uk/rainbow-ca...x-80-watt.html) Do you guys know if this would sound good or if they're any good? Also whether they would fit in the e92s? I know the more popular rainbows are the SLC 210.25 NG which I'm trying to find but not able to... ANY ideas as to what the differences are between the two varieties? The jehnerts and spacers are costing me £200 and these rainbow DL-C4.2 2ways are £150 (which John kleis) have recommended, that's my front end pretty much done for a very good price...however any info or advice on these rainbow speakers won't go a miss! For £350 - jehnerts and rainbow speakers seem a pretty good deal. I was planning on saying no to these jehnerts however knowing myself I knew I'd want to change the OE underseat at some point so might as well be now as I'm doing the upgrades.. Re: cntr channel, I'll look into this and keep u folks updated. Matt: yeah the ms8 price tag was just a too good a deal not to be missed so decided that after remembering how highly u spoke of them at the time of your install. Mo: thanks v much for calling yest at short notice .. S. |
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09-15-2012, 04:48 AM | #20 | |
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Have never heard Rainbow speakers before, but when i was researching they did pop up. Generally their speakers are supposed to be good, but i think Morels are rated more. Also, the Rainbow crossovers are pretty big and i don't think they will fit in the doors, they might but just check. The mounting depth of those Rainbows are 51 but your car has a 43mm mounting depth. I think whatever you decide, just get a similarly matched centre. |
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09-15-2012, 05:31 AM | #22 |
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Cheers Mo- do you know where I could find the mounting depth figures for e92s by any chance?
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