[Thresherinc]

Right then,

Couple of runs with the roof down has me convinced I need to upgrade the speakers in my car.

To be fair to them they do a semi reasonable job but, they are cheapy MB sourced paper cones being driven by an aftermarket head unit with an inbuilt amplifier, but, they have to go.

First up was finalise the sizes I could get away with (nearly finalised).
Midbass Speaker is a 20cm(8") diameter with a bit of a low profile.
Midrange Speaker is a little trickier, I've searched but cannot find a definitive answer on here, doesn't mean there isn't one, just I can't find it I think a 10cm(4") will fit but am not entirely sure, if anyone is positive drop a line here, else I'll resort to opening it up to have a look.
Tweeter in the Sail trim 2.6cm(1.024").

There may be tweeters in the seatbelt panels, I had a little prod with my fingers and thought I felt something, if so I'll cross that bridge later.

So my current plan for speakers is:
Audison Prima AP8 - Midbass
Audison Prima AP4 - Midrange
Audison Prima AP1 - Tweeter

I do like a nice matching set of speakers, they also make crossovers for these speakers so I'll try and grab those to match up to them.

To assist the Midbass speakers I'm going with 1 or 2, I haven't made my mind up yet, Sound Storm Laboratories LOPRO10 behind the seats, passenger only if single, fixing them is likely to be interesting.

Finally I need an amplifier, I'm thinking I'll place this in the passenger footwell, will be speaking to an expert to ensure I get enough oomph for what I want.

---------------Update------------------
The AP4s don't fit, I have instead had Audison Voce AV3s installed.
Final configuration is:
Head Unit: Atoto A6 Performance

Tweeters: Audison Prima AP1

Midrange: Audison Voce AV3

Midwoofer: Audison Prima AP8

Amplifier: Audison Prima 8.9

I had it professionally installed, the amplifier is in the handy footwell space, with initial sound tuning.
The sound is amazing, I can run down the road with the roof down at motorway speeds listening to the music properly, the clarity and punch is superb, musicality is out of this world.

To say I am pleased would be an understatement of epic proportions, I've got a run down to Sidcup this afternoon which needs me to take the BMW, but when I get back, the roof is going down and I am going cruising.

 

[Avel Du]

There may be tweeters in the seatbelt panels, I had a little prod with my fingers and thought I felt something, if so I'll cross that bridge later.

Not going to take a look at mine as it's wet out and pitch black.
Not sure exactly where your are prodding, but just check there are no airbag squibs nearby.
Best to finish a job with the same number of fingers as you start.

I may have the wrong member here, but @Gbarringer100 did you upgrade your speaker system?

 

[Thresherinc]

Best to finish a job with the same number of fingers as you start.

A maxim I have thus far lived my life by.

 

[Avel Du]

A maxim I have thus far lived my life by.

Wish I had. Hurts to lose a pinky.
Worse, You cannot use one of those fancy magnets to retrieve it.

 

[greenmanslk]

Maybe worth looking at these options and, depending on your DiY skills, talking to them about the install..

Audio Upgrade parts (commandonline.co.uk)

 

[Thresherinc]

Well then, today I popped into Team Impulse down there in Watford, walked out with a lighter wallet and an install date.

I am having the following fitted:

Audison AP 8.9 amplifier
Audison AP8 midbass
Audison AP4 midrange
Audison AP1 Tweeters

To the unaided eye the install will not be visible, to the ear however…

😁

Happier but poorer, not a lot of change from 2k.

 

[greenmanslk]

Hope you’ve included some dyno mat - makes a big difference.

And disconnect the odd size speakers on the rear bulkhead, by the seat belts. They will be overpowered by the amp - it sounds much better without them. As my installer said, how many concerts have you been to where the speakers are behind you..

 

[Thresherinc]

Hope you’ve included some dyno mat - makes a big difference.

The Installer installs that by default, they almost insist and if they hadn't I would have.

And disconnect the odd size speakers on the rear bulkhead, by the seat belts. They will be overpowered by the amp - it sounds much better without them. As my installer said, how many concerts have you been to where the speakers are behind you..

Not sure I have them connected, mine was only an Audio 20, I certainly can't hear them, I'll have a look later, I've been meaning to.

 

[Merc55]

Did you keep the headunit in the car? Fitting the 4” mids will need some cutting I suppose. The sound will be much better with your chosen components.

 

[Thresherinc]

Did you keep the headunit in the car?

No, first thing I did was replace it with an Atoto A6 PF, it’s an android head unit.

I may replace it again if the new audio components outperform it.

Fitting the 4” mids will need some cutting I suppose.

There may be some cutting involved, the installer says they would normally build a new enclosure and fit 6.5s in place of the 8s and the 4s have no issues, I showed him @nitro28s thread and the fit of the AP8 and he was up for it.

The sound will be much better with your chosen components.

Problem I’m having is with the roof off the sound is not there, as soon as I start turning it up to compensate it’s rubbish.

This should definitely alleviate that with the headroom on the volume and the extra punch the 8s will be getting, going to bridge 2 channels to each of the 8s.

There’s still a subwoofer channel if I feel I need more and I’ll look at installing an underseat subwoofer in that case.

 

[Merc55]

There’s still a subwoofer channel if I feel I need more and I’ll look at installing an underseat subwoofer in that case.

Should sound pretty good. There are some limitations on how much sub sound can come from the doors. I opted for a custom subwoofer enclosure with a 10” sub in the passenger footwell. But that might be a step to much for most.

Very good sound with the top open on the highway can be realised with the SLK.

 

[Thresherinc]

Should sound pretty good. There are some limitations on how much sub sound can come from the doors. I opted for a custom subwoofer enclosure with a 10” sub in the passenger footwell. But that might be a step to much for most.

I'm not going to go there I think, if I can't get anything to fit behind the passenger seat, I'd be inclined to do the subwoofer install like this:

Install of Pioneer 2330NEX and AMP to replace Harman Kardon

I decided to start a new thread for my radio install since I have completely changed the way I am going to install a system to replace the factory Harman Kardon system. Here is the plan: 1. Pioneer 2330NEX headunit 2. Pioneer GM-D8604 Class D 4-Channel Amplifier (in the footwell where the HK...

www.slkworld.com

 

[Merc55]

I researched a sub behind the seat but found no space there. A sub in the rear console would be possible. This was My install

 

[Thresherinc]

Quick update, picked the car up today, it sounds utterly bonkers, there was not enough room to fit the AP4 100mm midrange, so we went with the Vocé 3 75mm.

I’ll update the main post at some point so that anybody searching will have all the information on arriving here.

 

[Thresherinc]

Main post updated.

 

[J.J.B.]

Main post updated.

This is an interesting install, I'm guessing without the amp it's not such a great end result, but do you think even the speakers would make a difference? Also, do you know if any custom fitting or cutting had to be performed by the installer in the end?

 

[Thresherinc]

This is an interesting install, I'm guessing without the amp it's not such a great end result, but do you think even the speakers would make a difference?

Absolutely would not be as good without the amp driving the speakers, however, the speakers were the weakest link in the system, 18 years old and made of paper, they were very loose and muddy.

I forgot the other part which is I've had the door pproperly lined with dynamat, the skin and the door card, which also helps a lot.

Also, do you know if any custom fitting or cutting had to be performed by the installer in the end?

Not much in the way of custom fitting, there was loads of space in the footwell for the amp and to quote my installer:
"The hardest part was cleaning the old housings to refit the new speakers"

 

[J.J.B.]

Thanks, it seems we have similar vehicles with equally poor audio systems - mine is also just the basic Audio 20 with no bells and whistles. I can’t even see the screen most of the time, or hear the radio, so have opted for the Pioneer SPH-DA360DAB as I wanted wireless Car Play and decent Radio 4 (I know, old git!) but won't be opening the roof and listening to banging tunes at high speeds. I think my FM aerial might be playing-up, the car locks and unlocks without issue but reception is generally pretty poor, so I'll be fitting a DAB antenna to the windscreen.

As and when we come to sell, I should be able to reverse most of this type of mod, but cutting trim and splicing cables always makes it that much harder.

 

[Thresherinc]

I think my FM aerial might be playing-up, the car locks and unlocks without issue but reception is generally pretty poor, so I'll be fitting a DAB antenna to the windscreen.

My FM/AM signal is non existent, so I fitted a DAB windscreen antenna to mine, it’s not brilliant, it does the job when in a built up area but sometimes it burbles or disappears when the signal strength is low.

I have plans for a shark fin on the boot, the main thing at the moment is trying to make sure the remote works properly when I remove the antenna from the wing, going to be plenty of dry fits and remote tests before I drill any holes in the boot lid.

 

[Turbo]

@Thresherinc not sure what a shark fin would give you that an antenna wouldn't. It's just a differently shaped antenna!

Figure out why your (existing) antenna isn't working instead.. Mine's working just fine (once I set everything up correctly ).