Audio upgrade options

[ntoxicated88]

When tapping into the oem sub speaker wires to connect to the lc2i pro, do I need to unplug the oem subs or leave them connected it from there on?

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[METAL]

When tapping into the oem sub speaker wires to connect to the lc2i pro, do I need to unplug the oem subs or leave them connected it from there on?

Yes keep them plugged in, the oem subs are set up as a 3-way system to help the front speakers with bass.

 

[Jammon]

No, its just adding a powered sub and retuning the factory speakers.

In addition the sub, it comes with a new more powerful amp that's powers the entire audio system. Great system!

 

[METAL]

In addition the sub, it comes with a new more powerful amp that's powers the entire audio system. Great system!

I agree its a great system that is simple and improves sound marginally. Same money can be spent elsewhere for better results but will require more a high knowledge of tuning.

 

[Thill444]

I’m going to do some sound deadening and vibration improvement to the doors and said what the hell while I am there I will swap out the stock speakers with these, they should be drop in reaplacements and the BMW guys say they are a big improvement over stock:

There are Eton B100W component speakers.

Will report back once it’s done. Might be awhile as I have springs and a sway bar to install first

 

[METAL]

I’m going to do some sound deadening and vibration improvement to the doors and said what the hell while I am there I will swap out the stock speakers with these, they should be drop in reaplacements and the BMW guys say they are a big improvement over stock:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/Eton_Auto_Sound/eton-bmw-upgrade-b100t-pair/

Will report back once it’s done. Might be awhile as I have springs and a sway bar to install first

I hear good things about ETON on the BMW forums.

 

[Thill444]

I hear good things about ETON on the BMW forums.

Yes me too, it took some research and based on our amp it looks like I need the B100W model component speakers. I also decided to get the matching Eton center channel as a number of the BMW guys said it sounded much better than stock and preferred it to removing the center completely. I will give it a shot. For the new mids, tweeter, and center I am like $360 all in. Seems very fairly priced considering they are drop in ready and you can use all the factory connectors.

 

[starman]

After doing the woofer "stuffing\port" mod, I was still itching for low end bass with a punch. This time around I wanted something compact and inexpensive. You will need the following:

1. Kicker PT250 (Powered Sub)
2. A Line Output Converter that accepts 40v in the Speaker Level Input (these will be powered units such as AudioControl LC2i, JL Audio LoC-202, Wāvtech linkDQ, or similar)[more on this in the Install Notes]
3. Kicker 46KISL (or similar). The RCA part will connect to the line output converter and the speaker part to the Kicker PT250 amp)
4. T-Taps (optional) to tap into the factory speaker cable
5. Fuse Tap with 1amp fuse for the remote wire
6. Fuse Holder with 1amp fuse (this is to power the Line Output Converter)
7. A couple of feet of 18 or 16 gauge speaker cables this will be used to run a power cable (you'll attach the Fuse holder to this) and ground cable for the Line Output Converter. You will also need some to grab signal from the factory speakers to the line output converter)

Install Notes:

• Power both the Amp and Line Output Converter directly to Battery Positive terminal [both items must be fused. The amp already has a fused power cable. For the Line Outout Converter, please look at the owner's manual for Fuse amperage suggestion. Per my research they are almost always just 1-amp]
• Ground both items [for the Kicker amp, there is a bolt that has two existing factory brown ground wires to the body (it's the center bolt towards the front of the trunk)]. You can also ground Line Output Converter there if installed close by.
• Remote Wire both the Amp and Line Output Converter [if available] into Fuse F264 (turns off after 5\6 mins of shutting the car off and turns on immediately when you unlock car) [On the Kicker amp, be sure the Auto-Turn-On switch on the Kicker amp is set to +12v and NOT DC-- On the Line Output Converter, if remote input is available (not to be confused with remote output), be sure to change the jumpers or switch so that it turns on via Remote wire and not by other methods such as Signal or DC]
• IMPORTANT: While the Kicker built in amp. connects via Speaker Level input, it can only accept a max of 10v (in fact most aftermarket amps usually only accept between 4v to 10v). Using a MultiMeter and playing 40-60Hz tones at 75% volume, the factory woofers were getting over 20v of power from Toyota's JBL factory amp. This is the reason why you must use a Line Output Converter that accepts 40v of power otherwise you could damage the aftermarket amplifier.
• Tap into both rear woofer wires running behind the driver side rear panels (they'll be the thicker wires of the bunch)
  • Driver Side Woofer:
    • Purple/Yellow wire = Positive
    • Black/Green wire = Negative
  • Passenger Side Woofer:
    • White/Black wire = Positive
    • Blue/Black wire = Negative
• Remove the OEM Cargo "Supra" Mat as it will not be used anymore since I screwed in the tie down strap to the trunk carpeted lid.

Currently playing with the subs placement to figure out which I like better:

• Facing up = tighter bass response (I like it for most music)
• Facing the rear = achieves lower frequencies (I like it for certain music)
• Facing the front = too boomy & too much treble (I did not like this position)

Bottom Line, while it won't shake your mirrors, this is an option for those that just want a little more punch and fill in the lower frequencies (i'd say as low as 40hz) and something compact that won't take up too much room.

Other budget option would be the JBL ProBass 8 (formally known as the JBL Stage 800BA) or Sound Ordnance B-10AS.

If you want something that hits a little harder and louder but still want compact with same install methods then look into the JL Audio MicroSub Plus or JL Audio Power Wedge Plus systems.




EDIT [My Amp and Infotainment system level]:
On the Line Output Converter:

• Set the Bass and 100Hz on the stereo at the middle (0). Set the gain on the Sub amp to Minimum, and set the Line Output Converter to minimum to start
• Play some music with bass (youtube bass test music) and increase the stereo amp to 75%
• Increase the Gain on the Line Output converter until you hear distortion (most of these devices will have a light indicator of when to stop the gain)

If you have an AudioControl device with the AccuBASS feature, then disable it as it is not applicable. The reason being, per my testing; i played a 40-50-60-70-80hz test tone, as I increased the volume on the factory JBL Stereo, so did the bass on the aftermarket subwoofer. At no point did the bass cut off\reduced.

I originally had AudioControl LC2i (which is a good item), however I think I must have had a defective unit as the bass was not consistent [sometimes i got more punch other times i did not in the same song]. I double checked all the wiring and terminals. I made sure AccuBASS was completely off. I ended up exchanging it for the Wāvtech linkDQ which resolved my issues.

On the Kicker Amp:

• X-Over Freq. (Hz) set to 100Hz [sixth line]
• Bass Boost set to 0 (Zero) [first line]
• Set Gain between Minimum to 1/4 of the way up [second line]

On the Infotainment system:

• In equalizer set the 100Hz to the first line (1/4 of the way from the top)
• The other frequencies it won't matter as they don't affect the subwoofer, you can adjust those to whatever pleases your ears.

Doing the above allows you to listen at high volumes and max bass level from the infotainment system without overpowering the Kicker amp. and/or distorting the Kicker subwoofer. If you chose not to wire up the subwoofer volume knob, you can just as easily adjust the Bass output from the infotainment system's "Base Level".

 

[digicidal]

@starman - I'm sure you'd be even more pleased with the sound if you could now high-pass the signal going to the existing subs to roll at ~120Hz or so. Regardless, you definitely crafted an inexpensive option for reinforcement that still looks quite nice and clean!

 

[starman]

@starman - I'm sure you'd be even more pleased with the sound if you could now high-pass the signal going to the existing subs to roll at ~120Hz or so. Regardless, you definitely crafted an inexpensive option for reinforcement that still looks quite nice and clean!

Actually, I do have the Kicker Sub\Amp set to receive up to 100Hz, [bass boost is set to Zero], and also increased the gain output to only 1/4 of the way up. Then on the Infotainment System's Equalizer, I reduced the 100Hz level (not all the way down, but enough). This way I can go to high volumes and max bass level on the infotainment system without distortion to the subwoofer.

In addition, doing this allows me to use the "Bass Level" option on the Infotainment System [which is programmed on one of the numbered buttons] to easily adjust the bass depending on the music I listen to. [Using the included Kicker's volume knob would have achieved the same I suppose, but I didn't feel like wiring it from the rear to the front nor did I really want to mount the knob anywhere].

 

[digicidal]

That's a great solution with limited effort and requirements. Easy enough to adjust as needed and no visual cockpit noise (knob). Not quite a set and forget solution but close enough.

 

[joeyliv]

anyone have a photo of the factory wire harness that plugs into the amp? I need to know what pins are for what speakers.

 

[GoldenEye]

Bump bcuz I want to upgrade my subs with some high quality subs and the amp, but there isn’t a whole lot of info out there

 

[METAL]

Yes there is. Link in sig.

 

[Sam B]

Check in the electronics section. Metal and I have both done very extensive builds in that section

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