SQ Budget Build Help - CDT & PPI

[Reckless]

I bought a 1994 BMW 325IS E36 for $2800 a few months ago. I paid $300 for a upgraded BMW Blaukpunt CD43 Professional head unit. The rear 4" sounded horrible so I opted to buy CDT 69 carbon fiber subs for rear to replace them for $99 + $20 for adapters. Then I needed to power them so I ordered a PPI PC640.4 amp and plan to power all 4 speakers from this unit. Please let me know how am I doing with these two purchases. I see mixed reviews that the 6x9 subs won't give true bass like a real subwoofer. I would be happy if this is comparable to a single 8" sub. I am not going for true SQ but want good sound. This time I don't want to sacrifice trunk space.

I am starting to itch for front speakers now and want a good recommendation 5.25 3-way component speaker. I am too scared of doing custom work and upgrading to 6.5. Woofers etc salesman had me believing the CDT Hype. Ideally I would like to pay $150 for front 3-way set but want a real punchy system. I can pay alot more if its really, really worth it. I do enjoy good sound.

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

6x9s have similar cone area to an 8" round speaker. For $99 you probably got an old pair of CL line 6x9 subs. If you compare these to a single 8" also mounted in the rear deck you probably will have a bit more output from the 6x9 pair.

$150 for a 3-way front set is not going to happen, in my opinion. Getting the best sound out of speakers involves some care and many hours of labor to optimize the installation and tune the system. If you would like to stick with CDT for your front speakers, in a 5.25" the ES-5 woofer is the way to go. You said you're scared of doing custom work, but in BMWs you have to do that to replace the speakers with aftermarket parts. All the speakers are on non-standard mounts. I help people figure out solutions to these problems, but you may be better served by a local expert installer to make things fit and sound great.

 

[Reckless]

Can you elaborate more on non-standard mounts? I am so out of touch with audio that I have a hard time putting this together. Originally I was considering changing to 6.5" 3-way speakers but don't want to hassle with the whole custom kick panel thing and custom installation. Plus I don't want anything sticking out near my feet as the car is pretty small as is. I figured since the original speaker is 5.25" another 5.25" 3-way will replace it?

I ordered the CL subs from CDT's refurb store. I wish they had the HD or ES line on there, but I noticed the HD 6x9 don't have as much excursion. I would have paid $100 to have a better sub if it was remarkably different. I couldn't find any reviews on the other ones to justify the extra $100.

I don't mind going another speaker if it's better than the ES-5. I have a hard time imagining big difference between 5.25" speakers. Its such a small size to begin with. I would love to have the es-010 tweeter though.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I sold ES-5 to someone who intended to put them in custom kick panels instead of a 6.5" or 6.7" woofer. ES-5 works better in the smaller space typically available in kick panels. A lot of the detail and aggressiveness we think is coming from midbass frequencies is a result of good response from the midrange as well. The midrange in that vehicle is HD-2, a 2" mid/tweeter, right beside ES-5, with the WS-100i imaging tweeters above the dash.

What I mean by non-standard mounts is you can't just put an aftermarket speaker in place of a factory original speaker and drill a few holes to mount it. BMWs are notorious for this. You may have to reposition the speaker to get it to fit behind the panel, which requires an all new mount to be built.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I sold ES-5 to someone who intended to put them in custom kick panels instead of a 6.5" or 6.7" woofer. ES-5 works better in the smaller space typically available in kick panels. A lot of the detail and aggressiveness we think is coming from midbass frequencies is a result of good response from the midrange as well. The midrange in that vehicle is HD-2, a 2" mid/tweeter, right beside ES-5, with the WS-100i imaging tweeters above the dash.

What I mean by non-standard mounts is you can't just put an aftermarket speaker in place of a factory original speaker and drill a few holes to mount it. BMWs are notorious for this. You may have to reposition the speaker to get it to fit behind the panel, which requires an all new mount to be built.

 

[Reckless]

I am considering the ES-5, ES-010 and HD-3 speakers but not sure which crossover to go with. Not sure if I should be looking at some other speakers other than CDT. CDT are a bit expensive but if they are remarkably better I won't mind spending the difference. I want to be happy with what I buy.