Upgrading M5 non DSP front speakers - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

jp7152 · 24th July 2007, 18:14

I have an M5 2001 with no DSP and wanted to upgrade the front speakers as they sound stressed at anything above a medium volume.

I have found these on ebay, however after bidding it looks like they may be from a non DSP car, so exactly the same as I have already?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=140134066554

Could someone advise if these would be suitable to upgrade my front speakers with?

Thanks in advance.

stevieb · 24th July 2007, 18:48

Guess you'll find out soon enough now ;-)

More serious - I have the same setup, so am interested what improvements there can be within the standard door cards. Info on suitable aftermarket drivers anyone?

Chessie · 24th July 2007, 21:22

Have you checked out the options available from BSW?

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/index.php

-c

jp7152 · 24th July 2007, 22:33

Thanks.

I am looking to keep costs down as much as possible.

Is it possible to run the M Audio Subs off the standard sound system or will it require an additional amplifer?

Is the M Audio an addiitional amplifer running alongside the standard one or does it just replace the standard one?

Thanks

BMWMPWR · 24th July 2007, 22:37

You can find a set of tweeters and 5.25inch mids for about $150. Brands like Polk Audio, Boston Acoustics, etc. Figure that to be about £75??

Inexpensive upgrades that make her sing so much clearer and better I might add.

Pretty much plug and play.

DouglasABaker · 24th July 2007, 23:47

Unless these were from an m-audio (which they weren't since it M-Audio has to midrange) I'd be willing to bet you now own 2 sets of the same speakers.

I got my MB Quart DUA513's for $69USD per set on Ebay and they are a drop in replacement. 4 sets, $250 total. Best money I've ever spent.

d-

dave_gt · 24th July 2007, 23:50

jp7152 - they may be the same speakers as you already have, or a little different, but I can tell you that they look very similar to the ones I took out of my non-DSP car when I upgraded the stereo. The M-Audio amplifier replaces the standard amplifier rather than being an additional item.The M-Audio subs would need an extra amplifier to power them, but if it was my money I wouldn't bother.

The E39 M5 stereo is a complex subject and there are many informative threads on it. The three varieties of M stereo are standard, DSP and M-Audio; the standard system that you have is the easiest to upgrade. If it were my money and I wanted an increase in quality without spending loads of money, the order of upgrades I'd do would be:

1) Replace the stock front woofers and midrange with some decent 5.25" components. They should fit straight in and wouldn't cost the earth but should make a significant difference. The stock tweeters remain so some care is needed with speaker sensetivity. £75-£100 should do it if you fit them yourself.

2) Add a sub woofer and amplifier. A single 12" sub and smallish amp (go for quality rather than claimed power output) would make a massive difference. For someone who genuinely knows what they are doing it is a fairly straight forward job for your car. Budget £200-£250 plus fitting for sub, box and amp.

Hope that is of some help.

jp7152 · 25th July 2007, 00:21

Thanks Dave.

Are the M Audio subs worth £40 ?

I would like something that doesn't take boot space if possible and is easy and cheap to fit.

dave_gt · 25th July 2007, 00:35

Don't forget you'd need an amp to power them, but £40 sounds cheap. They are made by Nokia FYI. I don't know how much installation work is neccessary for the subs themselves. The amp would need fitting by a professional who understood the M5 stereo and had access to the wiring diagrams (easily available on the net).

You can get a new 12" Alpine sub in a box for £70ish and an alpine amp which would power it for £99 and I expect it would easily outperform the M-Audios. It'd need fitting though, but that would be the case with an amp to power the M-Audios anyway. It shouldn't take up much boot space, but i've seen pics of some really ingenious sub installs in the M5 where they don't rob any space. Take a bit of work though.

jp7152 · 25th July 2007, 00:40

Ah great.

I have bought the speakers in the auction anway so will go with those and the M Audio speakers for now.

There's always ebay if they don't perform.

Would you have any reccomendations on an amplifer?

I don't want something massively powerful, just rather have the subs doing some of the work rather than the front speakers being too busy.

Is there a difference in the front speakers on a DSP car vs a non DSP car?