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      12-26-2017, 01:42 PM   #1
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Audio: Anyone modify the tweeters?

With a couple of past cars, I thought that maybe the midrange wasn't so bad and maybe the best bang-for-the-buck would be to swap out the tweeters. The main problem with that is that swapping out random components doesn't necessarily make them work well together! So, usually I just replace the factory sets with a component set, woofer and tweeter.

For the X1, I'm back to wondering if the midrange is good enough, and maybe the tweeter could be replaced? Is the woofer a full-range? What is the crossover value for the stock tweeter?

I did some searching but really couldn't find anything that specific about the tweeter. In the past, I looked up options for the X1, and it seems kind of limited. Bavsound's kit is $500, and includes the rear speakers that I never hear and so I don't care about. Focal's kit is only the fronts, but costs over $500. What if I could swap out the tweets for closer to, say, $50? :-)

(The Alpine kit is probably for the lower level stereo that we don't get in the US.)

Any other suggestions?

I'm a bit afraid to do my usual audio modifications with the BMW, as it seems it is pickier about modifications, CANBUS and all. (Are there pinouts of the wires coming out of the factory amp in the rear? That might be another way to tap in some modifications...) I can find bits and pieces of info, but mostly about other BMW models.
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      12-29-2017, 11:11 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vidgamer View Post
With a couple of past cars, I thought that maybe the midrange wasn't so bad and maybe the best bang-for-the-buck would be to swap out the tweeters. The main problem with that is that swapping out random components doesn't necessarily make them work well together! So, usually I just replace the factory sets with a component set, woofer and tweeter.

For the X1, I'm back to wondering if the midrange is good enough, and maybe the tweeter could be replaced? Is the woofer a full-range? What is the crossover value for the stock tweeter?

I did some searching but really couldn't find anything that specific about the tweeter. In the past, I looked up options for the X1, and it seems kind of limited. Bavsound's kit is $500, and includes the rear speakers that I never hear and so I don't care about. Focal's kit is only the fronts, but costs over $500. What if I could swap out the tweets for closer to, say, $50? :-)

(The Alpine kit is probably for the lower level stereo that we don't get in the US.)

Any other suggestions?

I'm a bit afraid to do my usual audio modifications with the BMW, as it seems it is pickier about modifications, CANBUS and all. (Are there pinouts of the wires coming out of the factory amp in the rear? That might be another way to tap in some modifications...) I can find bits and pieces of info, but mostly about other BMW models.
I replaced all my speakers. I have audible psychics tweeters and 3", illusion audio c8 under the seats and illusion audio c12 in a fiberglass box in the rear passenger side cubby. Ran all new wire which wasn't that hard. I m using a Audison bit8.9 dsp/amp and jl 1000/1 on the sub. It sounds amazing with a semi tune can't wait to upgrade the Audison to a helix next year.
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      01-02-2018, 09:07 PM   #3
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I replaced all my speakers. I have audible psychics tweeters and 3", illusion audio c8 under the seats and illusion audio c12 in a fiberglass box in the rear passenger side cubby. Ran all new wire which wasn't that hard. I m using a Audison bit8.9 dsp/amp and jl 1000/1 on the sub. It sounds amazing with a semi tune can't wait to upgrade the Audison to a helix next year.
I'd love a DSP, but I think that's more than I want to take on at the moment. Want to start with just the tweeters. :-D I do have an interesting in-line DSP that goes between my phone and the HU, so I am getting some DSP benefit there. I just need to get the rest of my music on the phone....
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      01-03-2018, 04:11 AM   #4
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwx1sq View Post
I replaced all my speakers. I have audible psychics tweeters and 3", illusion audio c8 under the seats and illusion audio c12 in a fiberglass box in the rear passenger side cubby. Ran all new wire which wasn't that hard. I m using a Audison bit8.9 dsp/amp and jl 1000/1 on the sub. It sounds amazing with a semi tune can't wait to upgrade the Audison to a helix next year.
I'd love a DSP, but I think that's more than I want to take on at the moment. Want to start with just the tweeters. :-D I do have an interesting in-line DSP that goes between my phone and the HU, so I am getting some DSP benefit there. I just need to get the rest of my music on the phone....
Might as well replace the door speaker also since you are taking off the door card.
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      01-03-2018, 09:58 PM   #5
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I'd have to figure out what fit (I think the screw placement is an odd fit), so it'd probably involve more customization than I want. Plus, it would be additional cost.

I've always replaced the speakers with a matched component set, but often wondered if the tweeter was generally the weakest link? Maybe, maybe not.

For another BMW model that seemed similar, I read that their tweeter had a 6.8mfd cap on it. That's what I'm planning to do with these ones I bought. So, I'm hoping for a good match, but you never know until you try. I may need further modifications.

Last edited by Vidgamer; 01-03-2018 at 10:06 PM..
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      01-04-2018, 09:35 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vidgamer View Post
I'd have to figure out what fit (I think the screw placement is an odd fit), so it'd probably involve more customization than I want. Plus, it would be additional cost.

I've always replaced the speakers with a matched component set, but often wondered if the tweeter was generally the weakest link? Maybe, maybe not.

For another BMW model that seemed similar, I read that their tweeter had a 6.8mfd cap on it. That's what I'm planning to do with these ones I bought. So, I'm hoping for a good match, but you never know until you try. I may need further modifications.
So my problem was the depth of the tweeter. It needs to be shallow and you will need to do some cutting. I found a pair of audible physics 25mm tweeter that were shallow enough to fit with out hacking up the cover. I really didn't want to build a new one. I had a set of illusion audio c4s to go in the stock locations but the tweeters were way to deep. I will be sailing my Audison ap8.9 and remote soon if you are interested.
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      01-05-2018, 08:32 PM   #7
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I bought a pair of tweeters that look pretty shallow, but they're 40mm across! Ugh. Sounds like it might be a lot of modification to get them crammed in there, but aside from cutting the tabs that hold in the stock tweeter, do you suppose there's anything more to it?

Looks like you can get a new housing/trim for about $40 per side -- twice as much as the tweeters I bought! Well, hacking up the stock pieces only matters if I don't like it and want to change it again....

Thanks for the offer, but I probably won't take on an amp project for now. Sounds like a good unit tho.
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      01-06-2018, 07:10 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vidgamer View Post
I bought a pair of tweeters that look pretty shallow, but they're 40mm across! Ugh. Sounds like it might be a lot of modification to get them crammed in there, but aside from cutting the tabs that hold in the stock tweeter, do you suppose there's anything more to it?

Looks like you can get a new housing/trim for about $40 per side -- twice as much as the tweeters I bought! Well, hacking up the stock pieces only matters if I don't like it and want to change it again....

Thanks for the offer, but I probably won't take on an amp project for now. Sounds like a good unit tho.
This is for a x5 but same principle.


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      03-10-2018, 09:22 PM   #9
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Ok, it turns out that the tweeters I bought snap into the stock tweeter locations perfectly! Like magic.

I found some aftermarket woofers on Bavauto that are not as expensive as the alternatives, but are designed to fit the three-bolt pattern for BMWs. Given the price, I decided to try replacing those too. No information on these, but they look good.

I did one door so far. Results are not unlike my expectations. Volume of new woofer is lower (less efficient) than stock woofer. New tweeter is brighter (has more higher frequencies). Even if all you did was replace the tweeter and left the stock woofer, it would be an improvement, at least for hearing cymbals and higher frequencies. Replacing the woofer, however, is a mixed bag. The volume is lower, so you won't be able to crank it as loud, but the stock woofers sound strained when played loudly. The bottom-line is, it only matters if the new speakers play loud enough with the stock amp. I think so, but I don't think I'll know for sure until everything is swapped over.

Of course, I added some Dynamat to the door before putting it all back together.

The door was easier to work on than on my old VW, although kind of similar.

I'll try to put together a bit of writeup, but still have another door to do. Hopefully it'll go faster, now that I kind of know what I'm doing. In theory. :-)
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      04-09-2018, 10:53 PM   #10
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Everything is in, and it sounds great! Treble is a tad pronounced, but I kept turning up the treble control with the stock speakers, so I kind of like it this way for now. We'll see.

Here are some photos and a writeup on what I did.
https://blog.computingbits.com/audio...eaker-install/

Great bang-for-the-buck!
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