Z3 speaker upgrade

[KingDustbin130]

Hi all first post on here so please be kind!

I have a 3-litre Z3 2002. I find the quality of the speakers pretty poor in general, pretty quiet and when turned up they get pretty bad sound quality. I have the Harman sub and an alpine stereo so I don't think it is 'stock'. Wondering if anyone knew if this is a common issue with Z3 and any quick fixes or if just a general speaker upgrade would fix this. was also looking at getting a different sub as I have seen conflicting statements about the Harman being poor and some saying its good. Happy to run my own wiring if needed.

If I need replacement speakers what sizes are they for the footwell, door, behind seats, and middle speaker sizes?

Any help is very appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Zephyr]

Hello
It depends on what you are after and how loud is “good” for you or how “clear” is good for you.
I can give you all dimensions and also guide you for better sound as I am in the process of replacing mine (keeping it stock looking) but first please tell me how many speakers you have in your car and what is fhe original setup?
If you are not sure, just insert your vin here

Free BMW VIN Decoder : ///M Decoder

BMW VIN decoder will check your BMW VIN and show you full vehicle specification

www.mdecoder.com

And it will tell you if you have an upgraded sound system.
cheers

 

[KingDustbin130]

Hi, thanks for that,

so this is what details come up

S669 Radio BMW Business RDS S674 Hi-Fi System Harman Kardon S694 Provisions For BMW 6 CD Changer

what is the best singular thing to change or add that will make the biggest difference?

Thanks

 

[Zephyr]

So, you have the S674 system
As fas as I understand from searching, it's not much different from BMW's run-of-the-mill amplifiers and the only improvement is made by the slightly better quality of the Harman Kardon branded speakers and thats all.
In other words, you have pretty good speakers compared to the basic setup, but a basic amplifier.
I am not an expert, nor I claim to be one, but since this is the weakest component of your system, I would start from there and proceed accordingly

 

[KingDustbin130]

Thank you for your response, super helpful!

I will look into some amplifiers then I think. good luck with your upgrade

 

[AntStark]

I think it’s always a dilemma upgrading audio in a convertible..you will always battle against a myriad of road and traffic noises irrespective of the quality of the system. I recently downgraded from a pioneer AV system with mosfet amps..the sound was quite impressive even through the stock speakers. The Blaupunkt unit I replaced it with is no where near as good but it does look period and still has DAB and BT.
Given you have a 3.0l ..I’d be listening to that instead

 

[KingDustbin130]

I think it’s always a dilemma upgrading audio in a convertible..you will always battle against a myriad of road and traffic noises irrespective of the quality of the system. I recently downgraded from a pioneer AV system with mosfet amps..the sound was quite impressive even through the stock speakers. The Blaupunkt unit I replaced it with is no where near as good but it does look period and still has DAB and BT.
Given you have a 3.0l ..I’d be listening to that instead

you won't ever drown out the 3.0L noise

 

[Zephyr]

Thank you for your response, super helpful!

I will look into some amplifiers then I think. good luck with your upgrade

Thanks. I am going to start with two of these under the seats and see how it goes…

TS-WX130DA - 8" x 5-1/4" - 160w Max Power, Built-in 160w Output Class-D Amplifier - Compact Active Subwoofer

8" x 5-1/4" - 160w Max Power, Built-in 160w Output Class-D Amplifier - Compact Active Subwoofer

www.pioneerelectronics.com

View: https://youtu.be/4yHefkrkzik

 

[137699]

Your issue is probably NOT the speakers but the aftermarket headunit which generally don't power up the amps in the system.
I have HK Audio in my car and it sounded similarly rubbish with the expensive Sony headunit that came installed in my car from the previous owner.

I changed the Sony out for an original BMW / Blaupunkt CD43 unit and the sound output was night and day better without swapping any speakers.
Since it's very easy to add bluetooth to the CD43 unit, it's a very worthwhile swap.

CD43 for sale:

BMW BUSINESS CD43 CD PLAYER BLAUPUNKT CAR STEREO RADIO E36 E38 E34 E30 E31 Z3 M3 | eBay

And this is the bluetooth module I use:

Bluetooth Music Hands free MP3 adapter Fits BMW E46 Z3 Business radio | eBay

 

[ExMX5owner]

Well I am fairly anal about how my sounds sound, and although I did not buy the car for the stereo in it, I am impressed. there are 9 speakers in total and overall they work together quite well, I don't feel the need to change anything, I built my own speakers for home because anything accurate was way too expensive, took nearly a year to do it though.. and near drove me nuts. But it all worked out in the end.. I had to reacquaint myself with the wife and the general layout of the house after the project though, they are called, and you English folk should get it, "The Ecky Thumps". That brain fart is a thread in itself.. But generally I'm happy with the Z,s stereo, I just use a Bluetooth to FM dongle for tethering in my otherwise redundant ciggy socket... Sorry to hear about the OP,s disappointment.

Having said that, I did discover that my rear center woofer was not working. on inspection the entire foam cone support was gone and the cone itself had been flapping around in the breeze without any axial support for a very long time, long enough for the voice coil to be turned to powder in the magnet assembly, the driver was completely open circuit, and it appears that the original phillips driver was had dual voice coils, I presume one for left and one for right, so both channels are represented through the one driver, the cabin facing diaphragm is just a passive radiator. Now I cant source a replacement, but I do have a couple of brand new 5" woofers that I can retrofit into the box in an isobaric configuration that should perform well, Question is , does anybody know what the impedance was of the open circuit original driver, because mine is totally ducked I cant test it to find out...

 

[ExMX5owner]

Hi all first post on here so please be kind!

I have a 3-litre Z3 2002. I find the quality of the speakers pretty poor in general, pretty quiet and when turned up they get pretty bad sound quality. I have the Harman sub and an alpine stereo so I don't think it is 'stock'. Wondering if anyone knew if this is a common issue with Z3 and any quick fixes or if just a general speaker upgrade would fix this. was also looking at getting a different sub as I have seen conflicting statements about the Harman being poor and some saying its good. Happy to run my own wiring if needed.

If I need replacement speakers what sizes are they for the footwell, door, behind seats, and middle speaker sizes?

Any help is very appreciated.

Thanks

Now I think about it, it is possible that one or more of your drivers have done this.. It would be remiss of me not to mention it as a possibility, I would check for this kind of crap first... Because no amount of head unit improvement will fix this... The passive radiator is OK, but the driver in knackered...

 

[tacincar]

Hi
i would like to ask which color from the front will power the amp in the trunk of the car (bmw z3 2000)
thanks

 

[ExMX5owner]

Hi
i would like to ask which color from the front will power the amp in the trunk of the car (bmw z3 2000)
thanks

I have no clue TBH, I am guessing here you have a failed amp ?...

 

[tacincar]

I have no clue TBH, I am guessing here you have a failed amp ?...

i am changing the radio with aftermarket, what i can understand is the amp don't have power i am not sure which wire can be used from the front. Thanks for your respond

 

[ExMX5owner]

i am changing the radio with aftermarket, what i can understand is the amp don't have power i am not sure which wire can be used from the front. Thanks for your respond

Unless I could get my hands on a wiring schematic I would just find them by continuity testing, using the assumption that the culprits should be a heavier gauge than the others. Someone else here may have a better clue...

 

[Richard29]

I fitted an Alipine cd player in my 2000 z3. And upgraded the spekers to Rainbow drivers and tweeters. From memory it had a amp and x over attaced to the nearside speaker. I done away with this and joined the input wires to the amp to the out put wires avoiding the need to run new speaker wires.
The new tweeters had built in high pass filters. This was 10 yrs ago so may have forgotten but i do remember the speakers were a very good upgrade.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Your issue is probably NOT the speakers but the aftermarket headunit which generally don't power up the amps in the system.
I have HK Audio in my car and it sounded similarly rubbish with the expensive Sony headunit that came installed in my car from the previous owner.

I changed the Sony out for an original BMW / Blaupunkt CD43 unit and the sound output was night and day better without swapping any speakers.
Since it's very easy to add bluetooth to the CD43 unit, it's a very worthwhile swap.

CD43 for sale:

BMW BUSINESS CD43 CD PLAYER BLAUPUNKT CAR STEREO RADIO E36 E38 E34 E30 E31 Z3 M3 | eBay

And this is the bluetooth module I use:

Bluetooth Music Hands free MP3 adapter Fits BMW E46 Z3 Business radio | eBay

Hmmm....this comment piques my interest. I have a 2001 3.0i with what I think is the better version of the factory stereo. My dad bought this new and replaced the factory head unit with an Alpine because he wanted Sirius/XM. Mine does not appear to have come with a CD changer, but it does have a sub in the box between the seats. Is there a factory exeternal amp that's likely bypassed by the aftermarket Alpine head unit?

 

[137699]

Is there a factory exeternal amp that's likely bypassed by the aftermarket Alpine head unit?

As I understand it, quite probably yes.

 

[miller1098]

Hmmm....this comment piques my interest. I have a 2001 3.0i with what I think is the better version of the factory stereo. My dad bought this new and replaced the factory head unit with an Alpine because he wanted Sirius/XM. Mine does not appear to have come with a CD changer, but it does have a sub in the box between the seats. Is there a factory exeternal amp that's likely bypassed by the aftermarket Alpine head unit?

The Becker head unit picks up the bmw sub ,plug and play