Not really going to find a better option than what you have now. You could try to fit something in the area where the m-mobility kit is behind the battery. Or have a custom box made to fit in the right side cubby door. Still going to loose some space if you use that spot. Best option would to be source more shallow subs.

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that's what I'm asking about here. I don't think i can just use any subs I want that are the same diameter. these are OEM so there has to be funky resistance, etc. but yeah;. shallower subs is what I'm after.

 

You could try the Nokia subs BMW fitted in the non M5 E39, it’s a downgrade but will give you a bit more height in the boot


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I’ve looked at this problem and OEM is the best option. Anything else would require a mounting ring that would increase the depth of the subs in the trunk area. I put in some older Soundstream velvet hammer reference subs. Sounded great but went back to oem to open up some space. Btw the oem are dual voice coils. 8ohms each if I remember correctly


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Hi,

As far as I'm aware, there's no modern, upgraded/non upgraded but shallower depth & same physical fitment and impedance friendly replacements for the OEM M Audio subs.

You'd not be able to use the smaller 'nokia' speaker drivers from the lesser OEM audio setups as they're much smaller phyically - 5.25 inch and I refuse to call them 'sub woofers' as they provide no sub bass!

The only thingsI can think of is to use the modern 10 inch shallow depth subwoofer drivers to mount up there and save 'some' depth. However to power them properly, you'd need to spend a good amount more to get and wire in a suitable RMS power amplifier to drive them efficiently. So although you say you don't want an 'audio upgrade' you'll have to go this route if you want the shallow depth subwoofers

Leading from that, you could remove the OEM 'hanging down' subs, and create a really tiny enclosure to fit a 6 or 8 inch subwoofer and have it fit/install up against the rear seat bulkhead and 'vent' through the ski hatch. The 'depth' of such an enclosure would be perhaps 4/5 inches max. You'd again, need to fit an amplifier to drive the subwoofer efficiently, that said, there's now amplifiers the size of your palm and others a tad bit bigger, so hiding those away is easy and they're Class D so don't run hot meaning you don't have to worry about thermal runaway either.

The absolute easiest way would be to remove the M Audio subs and not replace with anything - you'd just have no low end at all in your music!

Cheers, Dennis!

 

You could try these Rockford Subs. People with regular DSP have retrofitted them and were pleased with the results. But they'll be underpowered so like Dennis said, you'd need to add an amp to properly power them. That and you'd also need to fabricate a ring to mount them.

Rockford Fosgate R2SD4-10

Prime R2 Series 10" shallow subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils

www.crutchfield.com

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Im running the 12 inch rockfords set up and they realy dont take up much room if your mounting them on the rear deck and they hang around down about same distance as the the Nokia Subs.
I would just recommend the rockford route as the OEM as Dennis mentioned lacks any bass.

 

Although I suggested the Nokias I replaced mine with the RF 10" subs - here's an image to give you an idea of space in the boot:

 

If you are willing to cut the rear deck cross-brace (see sample image), I highly recommend the Infinity Flex 8S(ingle coil) or 8D(ual coil) subwoofers. They are discontinued, but I found mine on ebay last summer. It has an adjustable mounting flange which gives you the ability to push the cone up into the rear deck, leaving more space in the trunk. I was able to get 15.25" of clearance, which I believe is slightly more than the stock Nokia sub that it replaced; even with a 3/4" MDF mounting ring.

I don't know if it was due to the subwoofer upgrade, cutting the cross-brace, or a combination of the two; but there was noticeable rattling afterward. Sound dampening helped immensely, but there is still a buzz at certain frequencies and loud volumes. For normal listening it is perfectly fine.

They are powered by a modest 2x80W, DS18 Candy Micro2 amp and an aftermarket DSP. I'm not a sub-thumping kinda person, but with DSP tuning it sounds fine for my listening levels and is infinitely better than the Nokia sub.

 

That looks like a nice stealth install [emoji1360]


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Hi Jigglypuff,

I'd say that 99% of owners wouldn't be willing to cut any metal in the rear deck area. Even if the metal isn't structurally under any load, cutting out of metal wouldn't be done. A handful perhaps would and then possibly new metal welded into place to compensate if deemed necessary.

Cheers, Dennis!

 

Taking another look at the photo I see Jigglypuff has cut out the full circle, when I did mine I cut out the same shape as BMW do for the M5 subs so a slightly smalller amount of metal but I certainly get enough bass


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I did the 10" RF Subs listed above mounted to 1/2" thick MDF mounting rings. This gives 14" of clearance underneath them. I am driving them with the stock DSP amp. Its a great upgrade over the Nokia "subs". At some point I will do a new head unit and proper amp to drive them better.

Out of curiosity, what is the clearance under the M Audio subs?