Premium pods in non-premium rear deck

E28 technical advice asked and given! Troubleshooting, modifications and more.
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travisj
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Premium pods in non-premium rear deck

Post by travisj »

i would like to use some of the premium speaker pods in my 533 rear deck so i can step up to the 5.25" mids. will i have to cut or drill into anything? i'm guessing the mounting holes don't line up with the existing holes, but will the 5.25" magnet fit into the 4x6" spot? i'm guessing this has been done many times. any info would be much appreciated.

thanks
-travis
C.R. Krieger
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Post by C.R. Krieger »

I won't guarantee it, but I'd bet there's no clearance problem. IIRC, the non-Premium speakers mount flat, using a 4x6 hole. The Premiums mount the speaker above the surface, so they only need clearance for the magnet. However, while you're messing with it, it would not be a bad idea to find a better speaker to put in there. The original is filtered to be a mid-range, just like the front ones, and its bass response sucks.
travisj
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Post by travisj »

i'm planning on picking up some older mb quart components (actually made in germany) to put in there. i'm just hoping the pod raises the mounting level up far enough. i figured many people on here have made the upgrade.


i'm putting together an old school, made in Germany stereo install to keep some authenticity:
-Blaupunkt New York CD player (1989)
-Blaupunkt BMA200 5-channel amp (1991)
-MB Quart Discus 4" components
-MB Quart 5.25" components (TBD)
-and I have a 10" Blaupunkt Velocity sub from the mid '90s still a awesome sub from Blaupunkt, but technically i think it was manufactured in China.
turbodan
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Post by turbodan »

They'll work just fine. The sheetmetal is dished for clearance and the pods themselves give you additional clearance.
ElGuappo
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Post by ElGuappo »

I have a set of old skool MB Quarts from about 88, and while they sound great the mounting flange for the woofer is huge and it would take some SERIOUS work to get them to fit INSIDE the housing, no way it will fit top mount.

Unless its a bare metal basket style woofer it just wont work.

On the other hand, you can do like I have done and use that 4" mid in the back on an adapter plate mounted in the 5.25" hole, bottom or top mounted depending on however it fits.

THEN use those 5.25"s up front where they belong.
travisj
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Post by travisj »

so you are saying, pretty much any after market 5.25" isn't going to fit? just the simplest of baskets? that sucks. i don't want to permanently modify anything and want it to look stock, so 4" up front. maybe i'll have to stick with 4" in back as well and skip the premium pods. even with the sub i'll be missing some important mids.
travisj
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Post by travisj »

is it possible to modify just the premium pods to fit 5.25" mb quarts? i'm not against modifying the pods since they aren't part of the original gear in my car.
fukoa
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Post by fukoa »

you could use my speaker box , it looks very OE , came by and take a look at it , if you like it I will sell it to you
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derrith
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Post by derrith »

Wow. That parcel shelf is an atrocity.
C.R. Krieger
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Post by C.R. Krieger »

derrith wrote:Wow. That parcel shelf is an atrocity.
:facepalm: Didn't yer momma never learn you no manners?

Travis, the best thing you can do at this point is take things apart and test fit and figure it out yourself. There's a hole back there that will fit a 5" speaker magnet through it, but it's not very deep because IIRC, the decklid torsion springs are in the way. That's the reason the Premium Sound plates are raised. It's also half the reason a simple 6"x9" won't fit back there.

For the front kick panels, you should consider shopping for the best 4"x6" you can find. While the audiophiles will tell you there's no such thing as a good 4"x6" (and they're probably right), there certainly ARE better ones than the OEM crap. I think I found some Sony or Sanyo coaxials. They at least attempt to have some bass response while the originals have a low range filter integral to the speaker*. They also have a pointless tweeter that offers high range sound to your ankles ... If you have the 'mirror' tweeters, you can add a high range filter (also integral on the OEM 4"x6", so if you take them out, you need to filter the signal to the tweeters) and connect them to the bottom speakers. Again, they aren't great, but they do add some brightness to the sound up front.


* Yes, folks, both front and rear Premium Sound speaker sets had low range filters. Apparently, BMW felt that no one really wanted to hear any bass in their music. :roll:
ElGuappo
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Post by ElGuappo »

Yes CR, the SET has a low range filter (cap) but its not for the mid. The cap rolls off the low range frequencies from the tweeters, while the coil wrapped around the magnet OF the mid attenuates high range frequencies TO the mid. There are no other aspects to the 'filter network' on these speakers, no other possible uses for the pieces. :cool:

SO, for the rear premium speaker housings, there are plenty of good speakers that have baskets that will fit. I have some newer, nicer MB Quart 5.25" components that have a multi fit basket that easily fit into the rear premium housing. You just have to see what you have and how it will fit. I just gave you ONE example.
C.R. Krieger
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Post by C.R. Krieger »

ElGuappo wrote:Yes CR, the SET has a low range filter (cap) but its not for the mid. The cap rolls off the low range frequencies from the tweeters, while the coil wrapped around the magnet OF the mid attenuates high range frequencies TO the mid. There are no other aspects to the 'filter network' on these speakers, no other possible uses for the pieces. :cool:
:oops: I misunderstood the coil's function (actually, its location in the circuit). I thought it was the opposite. But I think we agree on one thing: those speakers still suck at bass.
ElGuappo
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Post by ElGuappo »

They do indeed fail at the bass. I have even cut the wires from the coils/caps to the speaker leads and used the mid by itself with an external crossover and good tweeter in the premium tweeter pod, and even with 50w going to each channel they still fail at anything below 120hz.

Oh well, front imaging is not an easy game to play in these cars, thats for certain.
Syndrome
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Re: Premium pods in non-premium rear deck

Post by Syndrome »

I know this is an ancient thread, but old isn’t bad, especially when it’s exquisitely relevant to the present. In my case, I’m trying to figure out what the issue is with my OEM rear premium speakers/tweeters in my M5.

Bottom line, in the back, the only sound I get is from my tweeters. I have no [known] amp and have wired both the speakers directly to known working outputs (one of the front speakers, which is working normally), and there is no change. I see there is the system of coiled red wires around the magnet, plugs a capacitor (resistor?). BTW I have a CD43 (Business CD) installed, so it’s pretty simple gear.

Can anyone help me, please? Is this a known problem that would be resolved by replacing the 5.25 speaker? Thank you!
Blue Shadow
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Re: Premium pods in non-premium rear deck

Post by Blue Shadow »

The coil of wire is the inductor used in the crossover with that capacitor.

Are you 5¼s in good shape? surrounds good?

Why did you tag this on an ancient thread instead of a brand new thread dedicated to your problem and only your problem?
Syndrome
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Re: Premium pods in non-premium rear deck

Post by Syndrome »

Thanks. I decided to start a new thread… Thanks for the suggestion.
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