How To Guide Z3 Single Component Speakers Upgrade

[Zephyr]

My 2001 Z3 has the single component hifi system, meaning that it was the cheapest basic available back in the day. (Option S658).
The Cd/radio is Blaupunkt CD43 called Business (because calling it basic seemed to cheap ) and has RDS as a feature.
This unit itself has a very low output (just a pre-amp) and sends sound to six Nokia paper speakers (two tweeters on the door panels), two “subs” in the footwell and two midrange behind the seats.
a funny little amplifier is glued to one of the footwell speakers that also works as an active crossover.
so far my only modification to this is a bluetooth hands free “unbranded” adapter that can also play music from my iphone.
I have no information yet on the amplifier wattage nor the ohms of the speakers.
i will dismantle an check this weekend and if no data are present I will search the interwebs for a ton of irrelevant information.

my plan:
Keep it stock looking and have a decent sound when the hardtop is on the car.
my approach:
Replace all speakers (doors, footwell, rear) with same size and add another “little silly” amplifier on the other side of the footwell also. (Not sure if this is going to work, but will try).

plan b:
Replace all speakers, ditch the “little silly amp” and install a decent amplifier and a sub in the storage box between the seats.

In this thread I will record my effort and would really appreciate your input.
Please note that I want to keep the CD43 head unit and do not intend to replace unless all the above fail.

 

[GDavis]

Sounds like the same as I have...or rather used to have.
I am in the process of removing the speakers to upgrade but on a very tight budget. £100.00
I have a Sony Headset (replaced by previous owner) so am going to put in Coaxial speakers in footwell and behind the seats.
The Sony puts out a bit more than the original system so I am hoping for decent sound. If not I can always put an inline amp in.
Good Luck t-tony.

 

[Mus Musculus]

Loving that. My plan is to spend more money on the mechanical parts, then look for a reasonable sound system set-up.

I will be keeping a look on this thread, for sure!

 

[thesecretsanta]

Look forward to seeing how this goes - I have the same system and have this job high on the list.
In the diagram, isn’t it showing only 1 speaker behind the seats? With no wires?!

 

[Scooblitz]

I'm on a similar hunt.

I will be using cd43 as well as an A2DP Bluetooth adapter which plugs into the unoccupied CD changer slot on the back of the headunit.
My car comes with the early Harmon Karboard speakers, subwoofer and amp in the boot.

It's 1997, you've got Dario G 'Sunchyme' playing on your plush optional extra Cd43 but sadly the paper speaker cones are confetti. Bass firmly at 11.

I had a look at some of the F series BMW Harmon Kardon speakers to replace the current ones for 'OEM+'. There are full kits including tweeters for f10 and other 1/3 series that have rubber cones etc. They also use similar, if not the same wiring and plugs as our Z3's.
As for mounting, these speakers use 3 fixing point brackets instead of the Z3's 4. There are speakers that will fit the in the foot wells and behind the occupants. Tweeters look v similar to Z3 but can't confirm if they will fit.

It was a while ago that I was researching this but the trick seems to be keeping within wattage limitations.

Mine needs an interior refresh at some point so might dig deeper.

 

[Zephyr]

Look forward to seeing how this goes - I have the same system and have this job high on the list.
In the diagram, isn’t it showing only 1 speaker behind the seats? With no wires?!

For some reason I can not explain it shows no wiring. This is the midrange speaker same for all setups and I am sure that there are two of them. Will be 100% positive when I check.

 

[GDavis]

There's a lot of choice out there.
As much as your budget allows.
I have the option of a sub direct out the rear of the headunit but I want to see if the direct speaker replacements do an acceptable job for not too much financial pain.
Also as mentioned above there are 'proper' jobs that need doing on my Z3 as well

 

[Zephyr]

Ok. First let me say that I have read multiple horror stories and some successful ones about Z speakers.
Most people complain about horrible results and this puzzled me.
so, my first approach was to understand the problem.
we have three kinds of speakers, one head unit and a strange looking device that we suppose is an amp. Why did BMW put all these together (are they dumb?) and why do people complain that when they replace them the sound is worse?
Could it be that the actual setup is a brilliant cheap way to have acceptable sound?
Yes it is.
I started with the footwell speakers and the “amp”.
These are Nokia 4ohm and 40W woofers.
what does this mean?
They are designed to work at low and ultra low frequencies.
so could the “amp” be something more than an “amp”?
Could it also act as a crossover?
…..
Woofers typically have a range from 50hz up to 1000 hz.
so, lets try to plug in something that works OVER this frequency.
a midrange for example (300hz to 5000hz) that has the same size.
tunes the stereo to fadern and balance so only one set of speakers has sound (footwell and door twitter of the NON amp side) and replaced the “non amp” speaker with a midrange.
result? Horrible. Flat and “thin” sound as it was coming from an 80s crappy fm transistor radio.
so definitely there IS an active crossover somewhere in the amp or the head unit.
replaced the midrange with a subwoofer (available from one of my past projects) unfortunately 8ohms, 60 watts and a range of 35hz to 1300hz AND BAM! OH BOY! What a difference with just one wrong size, wrong ohms speaker!
So not only this little amp works for both sides, but also acts as a crossover.
How do I know? Because right after this test, I connected the woofer to the other side (with the amp-crossover) in parallel with the already existing speaker and it was bloody loud and deep.
just imagine what difference can be achieved with a quality low hz 4ohms set of modern speakers.

So my search starts with baby steps.
first of all I will just replace the footwell woofers with a pair of cheap but decent 4ohms 40watt BUT ultra low frequency pair of modern speakers.
my next try will be with a set Jamo 60w 4ohms 50-1800hz that I found online for 23 eyros.
if these work better than the stock ones, I am ordering a full set from JBL meaning
50hz > woofers
5000hz < midrange
And >10000hz tweeters
(Signs mean > and over/ <under)

Would be very interested to hear whats your thoughts on all these and would really appreciate if someone with an extra speaker in the garage could try and verify.
Cheers

 

[Ian&Sue]

For some reason I can not explain it shows no wiring. This is the midrange speaker same for all setups and I am sure that there are two of them. Will be 100% positive when I check.

Our car is a 97 1.9 & didn't have the rear speakers in nor any wiring for them that we could see. If we put our details into real oem we get the same diagram but with 10 & 11 greyed out & no info, this may go some way to explaining the lack of wiring etc. on the diagram.

 

[GDavis]

Hi Zephyr
You are correct, the device attached to the LH woofer (normally) is an active crossover. So it splits the sound and sends high frequency to the door tweeter and low frequency to the footwell.
I appreciate your points on the potential to upgrade the system with modern speakers, and it may well prove to be much better than the existing, but I'm not sure if the crossover will work with new 'component' speakers. (It should do)
I do know however that my Sony head unit will drive 4 coaxials without any problem. I have bought some JBL Stage 3's and these are rated at 3 ohms so should be easier to drive.
I'll be very interested to see how you get on.
I'll let you know if mines still rubbish

 

[Zephyr]

 

[Zephyr]

I can not upload a better quality wiring diagram.
will try later but working on a virtual machine within a vdi does not help at all. Sorry.

 

[Zephyr]

Our car is a 97 1.9 & didn't have the rear speakers in nor any wiring for them that we could see. If we put our details into real oem we get the same diagram but with 10 & 11 greyed out & no info, this may go some way to explaining the lack of wiring etc. on the diagram.

Found it.
your model seems to be even simpler than mine, the diagram states that you have a high range and a mid range speaker at each side and thats it.
It also shows the “amp” we are talking about. Can you verify that the “amp” is there?
if there is one there, we can check the part number and see if there is a non crossover amp (yours) and crossover sub one. (Mine).
if its the same part number then I will have to dig deeper on what this device actually does.
(makes no sense to have a low crossover connected to a midrange, unless it is not low range and it acts as high pass one).
even more confused now.

 

[Ian&Sue]

Found it.
your model seems to be even simpler than mine, the diagram states that you have a high range and a mid range speaker at each side and thats it.
It also shows the “amp” we are talking about. Can you verify that the “amp” is there?
if there is one there, we can check the part number and see if there is a non crossover amp (yours) and crossover sub one. (Mine).
if its the same part number then I will have to dig deeper on what this device actually does.
(makes no sense to have a low crossover connected to a midrange, unless it is not low range and it acts as high pass one).
even more confused now.

View attachment 250389View attachment 250391

Will see if we can find it next time We're in the Z but not sure when that will be as it's currently tucked away for winter.

 

[Zephyr]

installed today the woofers at the footwell and used the whatever it is (amp or crossover or both).
yes, there is an improvement on how low frequencies sound, yes there is more “beat” to whatever music the radio plays, but now the sound in general is missing all the midrange frequencies.
I have low and high. Nothing else.
tried to connect some spare speakers to the rear side (midrange) but the original ones are so small that could not fit.
the sound was not much better as the speakers were burried inside that empty space.
i either have to bite the bullet and purchase some fitting ones or try some midrange to the footwell. i am pretty sure the amp/crossover is not a low pass one and that it serves the twitters. I think this may work.
not much happy, I have to spend and try…

 

[GDavis]

Hi Zephyr
Which speakers did you actually install, new ones ?
Presuming you included the tweeter in the doors ?

 

[Zephyr]

Hi, installed new ones.
no twitters and no midrange yet.
going shopping tomorrow for small midrange and twitters.
hesitated to order online, I want to be sure about fitment so will visit a shop.

 

[Zephyr]

Visited a local shop and browsed available options. Prices vary from 20 euros up to thousands (as expected).
decided to go full cheapskate and bought two unbranded 5.25 woofers, two twitters that they verified that fit without any issue and two midrange for the rear.
the salesman said he has sold tons of these to bmw owners (e36/Z3/e46) and all customers were very happy with the results.
he also verifies that the device in the footwell is actually an amplifier and he suggested to keep it.
in case it goes bad there is a replacement and is called “taramps” “tl-line” and is a Brazilian brand.
looks like a solid device and he said that you can run two of them directly from the stock head unit.
will go back home and fit the speakers and maybe try a taramp if need more loudness

 

[Mus Musculus]

“taramps” “tl-line” and is a Brazilian brand

Eh, never heard of them, and I am Brazilian.

 

[Zephyr]

Eh, never heard of them, and I am Brazilian.

I googled them and they seem to be a legit brand.