Front speakers

LTIII

LTIII

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As I continue working through the interior redo on my E9, I’m trying to decide what to do with the speakers in the front kick panels.

I don’t have a photo handy, but the car currently has black rectangular speakers installed there. Are those original, or an aftermarket addition?

At this stage, I’m debating whether to keep them as-is, replace them with something more period-correct, or close up the openings entirely and go in a different direction.

I came across the example below during my research, which got me thinking about alternatives.

Curious what others are doing - especially those aiming for a clean, OEM or period-correct look.

1777681032119.png
 
The only front speaker was in the middle of the dash so yours are an aftermarket. I don’t know of anyone on here who I have seen choose to add speakers there, but since yours are already there, the leather perforation is likely the nicest but also costliest. It seems in general that for those of us that want music (me included in that), we have modded the front speaker to an upgraded type so the sound is at least tolerable. There was just a post this week about an option that is more readily available than the often-hard-to-find Alpine that fits.
 
Way back in the '90s, I wanted to add speakers in the front cabin of my Coupe. Did not want to cut into kick panels, so, at that time I chose to remove the flip out map pockets in the doors, replaced with a speaker cloth covered panel and this concealed a speaker in each door. Easily deleted and map pocket replaced if ever I wanted to, but it has worked out well. I get sound from low down in each door and I feel it is an upgrade to that centre dash speaker.
 
That’s a pretty slick modification, nicely done. Post some pictures when you have a moment.
 
LTIII said:
As I continue working through the interior redo on my E9, I’m trying to decide what to do with the speakers in the front kick panels.

I don’t have a photo handy, but the car currently has black rectangular speakers installed there. Are those original, or an aftermarket addition?

At this stage, I’m debating whether to keep them as-is, replace them with something more period-correct, or close up the openings entirely and go in a different direction.

I came across the example below during my research, which got me thinking about alternatives.

Curious what others are doing - especially those aiming for a clean, OEM or period-correct look.

View attachment 219383
Click to expand...
my rear speakers are in the parcel shelf, but the parcel shelf is covered with stretched speaker cloth (black) rather than vinyl or carpet (depending on year). in the front i have separate woofers + tweeters. the tweeters are mounted in the side ashtrays in the doors - the metal plate + vinyl have been removed and replaced with perforated black metal

bmw e9 - ashtray tweeter 4.jpg


i haven't addressed how i am going to mount the speakers in the kick panels. when i started this process, i had a tan interior and i didn't want to mount black speakers on a tan kick panel. now that i have a black interior, i am less concerned about a black speaker mounted on a black kick panel. if i don't like it, i will remake the kick panels and do something different.
 
bluecoupe30! said:
OK, here you go :
Unobtrusive, blends in, and I get 2 front speakers!


View attachment 219384
Click to expand...
rsporsche said:
my rear speakers are in the parcel shelf, but the parcel shelf is covered with stretched speaker cloth (black) rather than vinyl or carpet (depending on year). in the front i have separate woofers + tweeters. the tweeters are mounted in the side ashtrays in the doors - the metal plate + vinyl have been removed and replaced with perforated black metal

View attachment 219385

i haven't addressed how i am going to mount the speakers in the kick panels. when i started this process, i had a tan interior and i didn't want to mount black speakers on a tan kick panel. now that i have a black interior, i am less concerned about a black speaker mounted on a black kick panel. if i don't like it, i will remake the kick panels and do something different.
Click to expand...

Both very cool ideas!

What kind of tweeters did you use?
 
As to the perforated leather, you may want to discuss this with OCCoupe if you get a chance to connect with him on his carpet. He did perforated leather for his rear parcel shelf speakers.
 
I can't imagine the leather perforations providing any level of audio clarity unless they were so dense that the leather would fall apart. Might as well put the speakers under heavy blankets.

I have pretty much concluded that good sound and any level of period correctness are incompatible goals. I think I'll put a stereo in the stereo hole, but if I want tunes, I'll probably just use a bluetooth speaker and run it off my iPhone.

I am welding up the "6x9" hacked holes in the package shelf, and may put a pair of small speakers in the front speaker hole @deQuincey style. But not going to compromise my beautiful interior with aftermarket speakers...
 
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I haven't tried it but some people on this forum have suggested putting a sub under your seat or in the trunk and some midrange/tweeters up front somewhere. I don't mean an tooth rattling sub, just a little bass to augment the speakers up front. I like this idea.
 
bmw2800cs said:
I haven't tried it but some people on this forum have suggested putting a sub under your seat or in the trunk and some midrange/tweeters up front somewhere. I don't mean a tooth rattling sub, just a little bass to augment the speakers up front. I like this idea.
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I put a sub from retrosound along with their amp under the rear seat. I agree, it’s not meant for tooth rattling, more just to provide some depth to the sound put out by my parcel shelf speakers.
 
Your front kick panel speakers and the parcel shelf speakers along with the Becker Europa and matching glove box cassette player were installed by the dealer (Hoffman in Manhattan) at time of purchase by the first owner.
 
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I had 70s style aftermarket speaker enclosures. I found some Hertz speakers that fit those and put in a RetroSound stereo with the sub under the seat. The sub helps the bass from being overwhelmed. The sound is surprisingly good, despite the speakers being in the kick panels it images well and is very dynamic.
 
Stevehose said:
Your front kick panel speakers and the parcel shelf speakers along with the Becker Europa and matching glove box cassette player were installed by the dealer (Hoffman in Manhattan) at time of purchase by the first owner.
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Thanks, Steve!
 
Have holes in the kick panels that PO cut in, but no speakers. Haven't decided whether to just re-make the panels or add replacement speakers and re-make covers over them, but depth of speaker itself will be a factor.

Anyone recommend any particular speaker models for this application? More shallow, more better.
 
Could always use some planar speakers. These are ultra-flat. You’ve probably seen them in home installations, look like a sheet of etched metal about an inch thick. I used to have some, they sounded great, very crisp and clean. There are audio versions - less than half an inch thick…

GR Neo 3 | GR-Research

gr-research.com gr-research.com
 
e9Leveque said:
Could always use some planar speakers. These are ultra-flat. You’ve probably seen them in home installations, look like a sheet of etched metal about an inch thick. I used to have some, they sounded great, very crisp and clean. There are audio versions - less than half an inch thick…

GR Neo 3 | GR-Research

gr-research.com gr-research.com
Click to expand...
That's an interesting idea. As for flat speakers, in many cases they are far superior to conventional cones, especially for mid and higher frequencies.
At home I use Magnepans, which are magneto-static. Crystal clear and exceedingly fast. The unfinished box behind the flat speaker in the photo below is a subwoofer that picks up the work below 200 Hz. It is aimed at the corner of the room to approximate a horn loading.
tempImageDWYk6K.png


I may rethink not using a stereo if I can add sound without cutting into my car.. Otherwise I am going to make a filler plate and put in gauges like yours, but located where the stereo goes.
 
rsporsche said:
right there with you Scott ... i have Magnepan MG 3a speakers ... had them for a long time + love them.

View attachment 220017
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I have had a pair as well. I’m going to suggest that there’s an association between those who go for old BMWs and those who pursue the slightly off-the-beaten path but generally well-respected planar speakers. We don’t tend to be the muscle car and Marshall stacks type of guys…
 
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