Older euro cars, keeping the OE look - advice request

[JHZR2]

Hello

I'm new on here, and have found this site to be great information-wise... so Im putting in my first post to request information.

I have two older euro cars, a 1985 MB 300D and a 1991 BMW 318i.

The speaker setups are like this:

MB: ~4" in front (actually 3.75", but 4" will fit), 5.25" in rear.

BMW: 5.25" components in front, 5.25" speakers in rear.

I will be posting another question regarding the best amp for my application in the amp section, but essentially, the speakers may be powered by the OE (yes, OE and I do not plan to change it) headunit, or by an amplified signal from the OE head unit...

I know that my bass rsponse is limited, and Im fine with that. OE look for headunit, speaker grilles, etc. is more important - call me silly if you wish.

So, Id appreciate insight on the brands and items you would reccomend that I look at. For the most part, I listen to FM radio and ipod. I listen mainly to the oldies stations, or that sort of music on the ipod. Classic rock, soul, motown, and sometimes some harder rock as well.

So, what do you reccomend??? Ive heard that infinitys are a good choice for my music type, and that polk is probably a bit too oriented towards rock and rap... Ive had pioneer stuff before, and have been pretty happy, so Id appreciate knowing what companies and items Id be best off looking at, trying out, etc.

Thanks for reading my long post, and I appreciate any info you can provide!

Best,

JMH

Click to read more...

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

maybe do what alot of people do with muscle cars. Mount an aftermarket HU in an under-dash housing or hide it in the glove box. you will benefit from better sound, but you will still maintain the factory look.

if you mount it under the dash, you will have to drill like 4 holes for screws on the bottom of the dashboard. In the glove box you will also have to drill holes, but they will be more hidden.

 

[LoudCrownVic 5,000+ posts]

What is your budget first of all?

What do you want to accomplish sound wise? Do you want to amaze and stun or do you want it to no longer ****?

Personally if I was looking to put a great system in an older car without changing the look too much, I'd do this:

1. a 1/2 din equalizer, ideally one with 2 rca inputs and also yet another input for an ipod. Some have the 3.5mm aux jack on the front and dome jsut have another set of inputs.

2. one or two line level converters to turn signal from your HU into signal you can put into the 1/2din eq. Some EQ's will accept front channel and rear channel inputs. If you want to keep your stock HU's fade controls, you will need one like this

3. a decent 4 channel amplifier

4. some decent Infinity or Boston speakers to fit where your stock ones were

5. Amp wiriing kit to power your 4ch amp

Stick the eq under the dash with some velco tape. This eq will allow you to use your ipod and also eke better sound out of the stock unit.

 

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

first choice would be boston rx47's, but if $150 for a pair of speakers is too much for you, then the jl tr400cxi would be my choice. rear speakers, i'd still recommend boston and whatever line fits your budget. in the bmw, good luck not breaking the rings around the speaker grills in your door panels. those are notorious for breaking, and there is NO cheap solution to repair them. once that ring cracks, it's done.

 

[///M5 10+ year member]

The OE stereo in both those cars is really ugly, why not put a more modern rendition of one in? Or perhaps something that has classic styling like the Denford unit.

Not sure on your 318, but it might have the "backwards" mount drivers which is going to force you to cut or do some fabrication. Once you start you might as well up the fronts to 6.5's and get them in.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

Dont more classic looking than this...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/p/Becker-Mexico-Retro-7948/Becker+Mexico+Retro+7948

 

[Gary S 10+ year member]

You will probably waste a lot of money and be disapointed... first, a subwoofer/satellite system with adequate amplification is the starting point for any worthwhile improvement in car sound... second, although there are adapters to add amps to factory head units, more often than not, they don't work well... while they may add power, they often sound worse than stock.

You would be better off taking up golf until you have a car you are willing to go all aftermarket with.

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

I dont have any recommendations just wanted to applaude you on being new, doing some research first and making a clear post first time out.

It is very rare here, welcome

 

[kev7706 10+ year member]

For speakers, I'd take a look at Rainbow. They're German-made and they even offer car specific drivers for BMW and Mercedes.

http://car.rainbow-audio.de/products/overview.php?lan=2&pro=1&lin=12&kfz=0200

One problem you may encounter is getting a "clean" signal from the factory deck. Sometimes equalization is done from within the deck that cannot be controlled. Check out a BMW (and Mercedes) forum to check.