[selmeralto]

Originally Posted by djarchow

There are a number of brands designed for our cars in addition to the Eton already mentioned. Audio System, Gladen, Focal, Jehnert, Helix/Match, Rainbow, etc. Most are available from Europe.

Here are some reviews of some of them including the Eton. They are in German but Google Translate will give you the general idea. Be sure to click on the "Show Full Review" link at the bottom to see actual t/s measurements of the woofers as well as detailed ratings on a number of areas:

http://www.hifitest.de/test/vergleichstest/seite1_8457

http://www.hifitest.de/test/car-hifi...83c-bmw2_12019

http://www.hifitest.de/test/vergleichstest/seite1_11856

Thanks for digging these German reviews up.

The reviewers say this about the Etons (in rough translation):

"If there is a specialist for BMW speaker replacement, it is Eton... The mid-range makes a noble and high-end impression... One always has the sense that the speakers reproduce the music accurately and precisely... Conclusion: sophisticated manufacturing and sound."

Sounds right to me.

[orangeglim]

Where can I get the Eton B100W speakers here in the US? Searches thus far haven't turned up much.

[selmeralto]

Originally Posted by orangeglim

Where can I get the Eton B100W speakers here in the US? Searches thus far haven't turned up much.

https://www.amazon.com/Eton-10-Way-C...keywords=b100w

This should do it. Be absolutely sure you are ordering the B100W, not the B100T or any other Eton speaker. The vendor will send the speaker to your door, probably FedEx, probably within a week of order.

Edit: If Amazon is out, you can order these directly from Extreme Audio in Germany. See Post #1 for details.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by orangeglim

Where can I get the Eton B100W speakers here in the US? Searches thus far haven't turned up much.

Technically Etons are not sold in the U.S. -- at least by official importers or distributors. Most direct-replacement speaker sets for BMWs aren't, actually. The only exceptions I know of are Focal and Bavsound.

That's what makes Amazon, eBay, etc. (and small independent stereo shops ... not gonna name names here) greatness: the ability to obtain such 'gray market' products. You can also order direct from an EU seller's website as long as they clearly indicate that they ship to the U.S. and waive VAT for international purchases.

("Back in the day", i.e. 2000 or so, the vast majority of my aftermarket motorcycle parts came from the EU for two reasons: The dollar was strong enough, and Europe has a much bigger aftermarket for the bikes I owned.)

[orangeglim]

Thanks for the input. I'll check out the guys on Amazon. I like the idea of a complete drop-in replacement. The right size, right connector, right holes, etc. I'd be willing to pay more for that convenience, if the speakers still sound decent.

[Daddycat]

Thanks for this thread--very informative, inexpensive fixes that yield measurable improvements. And, so far at least, no flaming! (Are you sure this is the Internet?) Anyway, my solution for bass is a powered subwoofer--used them before in small cars and they do the trick. (I play mostly rock and like punchy vs. boomy bass.) Some fit on the floor behind the driver's seat, I also have one that fits under the seat and is adjustable. So you might look into that sort of set up. Haven't done it on the 2er yet but now I'm finally motivated to do some mods because of this thread. We'll see how it goes when I get some time...

[BentZero]

Originally Posted by Daddycat

Thanks for this thread--very informative, inexpensive fixes that yield measurable improvements. And, so far at least, no flaming! (Are you sure this is the Internet?) Anyway, my solution for bass is a powered subwoofer--used them before in small cars and they do the trick. (I play mostly rock and like punchy vs. boomy bass.) Some fit on the floor behind the driver's seat, I also have one that fits under the seat and is adjustable. So you might look into that sort of set up. Haven't done it on the 2er yet but now I'm finally motivated to do some mods because of this thread. We'll see how it goes when I get some time...

The space under our seats is so small :/ Also, that's where the stock subs are now. I do like the powered sub approach though. At some point if I feel like I need more bass (spoiler alert: I will) I'm gonna fabricate a custom box fitted into the side of the trunk.

[selmeralto]

I've now had a chance to drive with the car for a while after the Eton (front) and JL (rear) speakers have broken in.

These are my current settings:

Treble: +3
Bass: -2
Balance: 1 notch toward left
Fader: 2 notches toward rear
Volume: usually cranked up to between 2/3 and 3/4.

It may seem a bit surprising to find the bass setting turned down but bass varies with volume. By reducing the bass setting but increasing the volume I think the system has a nice punchy bass without muddiness. The fader favors the JLs a bit to take advantage of the high end there.

It's a pretty clean, natural, and enjoyable sound that works well with all kinds of music. I listen to a lot of jazz but the system sounds good with pop, rock, vocals in all genres, and symphonic and chamber music. The vocals are especially sweet.

No distortion or strain at that volume level or even higher.

My speed volume setting is set at minimum.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by selmeralto

And finally, a point that Solarphil has made in another thread but that bears repeating here.

Watch the color coding of the wiring on the rear speakers.

BMW positioning of the wires is not consistent, left to right. It can be confusing if you're using the E-bay pigtail. If you don't get the polarity right one rear speaker will be out of phase with the system which will reduce the bass response, interfere with the the smoothness of the spectrum, and muddy up the soundstage. Here is Solarphil's memorable visual aid.

So just to recap, the eBay adapters need to be switched when installing the rears? How do you know which is which and does the harness need to be modified?

[Grentz]

Originally Posted by Beartato

So just to recap, the eBay adapters need to be switched when installing the rears? How do you know which is which and does the harness need to be modified?

You dont need to modify the harness, just dont go only on the colors.

Plug the ebay harness into the car harness and you will notice one side red goes to red and black goes to black. On the other sode red goes to black and black goes to red. Just make sure what you plug into the speaker lines up with the car side of the harness.

Car Red --> Harness Black --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Red --> Speaker Negative

Car Red --> Harness Red --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Black --> Speaker Negative

You crimp the speaker blade connectors on the ebay harness so it is easy to setup.

[kdog26372]

Originally Posted by Grentz

You dont need to modify the harness, just dont go only on the colors.

Plug the ebay harness into the car harness and you will notice one side red goes to red and black goes to black. On the other sode red goes to black and black goes to red. Just make sure what you plug into the speaker lines up with the car side of the harness.

Car Red --> Harness Black --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Red --> Speaker Negative

Car Red --> Harness Red --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Black --> Speaker Negative

You crimp the speaker blade connectors on the ebay harness so it is easy to setup.

I'll have to look at my install I was not aware of all of this. I crimped the wires inside my house and then just unplugged old speaker and plugged new ones in.

[kdog26372]

Ok, if anyone cares, I inspected the wires on my install to see if I had one set of red to red and black to black and other where red went to black...and this part was correct.

However, upon further inspection somehow I hooked up one of new speakers to the tweeter adapter rather than the wire adapter coming from the amp. So, long story short I only had 1 rear speaker hooked up. So, all of my reviews were based on only 1 JL rear speaker vs. 2 HK stock speakers. Needless to say I'm an idiot for not testing left/right post install the first time. Also, goes without saying it sounds even better with 2 rear JL speakers, oops.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by Grentz

You dont need to modify the harness, just dont go only on the colors.

Plug the ebay harness into the car harness and you will notice one side red goes to red and black goes to black. On the other sode red goes to black and black goes to red. Just make sure what you plug into the speaker lines up with the car side of the harness.

Car Red --> Harness Black --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Red --> Speaker Negative

Car Red --> Harness Red --> Speaker Positive
Car Black --> Harness Black --> Speaker Negative

You crimp the speaker blade connectors on the ebay harness so it is easy to setup.

Sounds easy, I was just confused on how you know which is positive and which is negative. Is it self-explanatory once you see the speaker? The picture shows two faded red colored wires going to the speaker.

[Grentz]

Originally Posted by Beartato

Sounds easy, I was just confused on how you know which is positive and which is negative. Is it self-explanatory once you see the speaker? The picture shows two faded red colored wires going to the speaker.

One is clearly the red. Has a red stripe on it.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by Grentz

One is clearly the red. Has a red stripe on it.

Ah, I can see it in the picture now. Thanks.

[selmeralto]

Here is a picture of the trunk area around the battery fully Dynamatted.

This area was a little finicky because I had to cut so many small segments.

I wanted to Dynamat under the battery but chickened out because, with all the electronics in the car, I was reluctant to disconnect the battery to lift it out of the compartment. I was able to get to most of the rest of the area.

I accidentally disconnected the grey (vent?) tube on the left side of the battery. I'm not sure where it's supposed to go.

Dynamatting really does help to eliminate road noise and deaden resonant vibration.

[selmeralto]

And don't do what I did! I Dynamatted over the hole the battery vent tube is supposed to go into.

Thanks to ScottSinger and Beartato for helping me out on this. In case you make the same mistake, here's Beartato's picture of where the thing is supposed to go.

I'll poke around to find the hole and reinsert the tube.

(Edit: the vent tube doesn't insert into a hole but rather onto a small pipe sticking up from the metal.)

[Beartato]

No problem.

On another note I ordered the JL Audio speakers and wire adapters for the rear deck, should get here sometime next week. Super excited!

Right now on Amazon they're $73.86.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think they're the same as recommended in the first post, the third party listing doesn't list the model number in the title but in the technical details it says "Model Number: 02010C2-400X" so it's gotta be.

[selmeralto]

Originally Posted by Beartato

No problem.

On another note I ordered the JL Audio speakers and wire adapters for the rear deck, should get here sometime next week. Super excited!

Right now on Amazon they're $73.86.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think they're the same as recommended in the first post, the third party listing doesn't list the model number in the title but in the technical details it says "Model Number: 02010C2-400X" so it's gotta be.

That's great and that's a good price. Let us know how they work out.

[selmeralto]

And if you want to make a tighter seal you can use something like this around the edge of the speakers.

https://smile.amazon.com/Frost-King-...24SVZJQS66CPXM

https://smile.amazon.com/Frost-King-...VV7W444K93MKP8

Every little bit helps.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by selmeralto

And if you want to make a tighter seal you can use something like this around the edge of the speakers.

https://smile.amazon.com/Frost-King-...24SVZJQS66CPXM

https://smile.amazon.com/Frost-King-...VV7W444K93MKP8

Every little bit helps.

FYI, all: That only works for the doors ... but it does make a huge difference.

[Beartato]

So I did the rear deck speakers with the JL Audio C2-400xs. The rear seems brighter but that's about it. Maybe once they're broken in it'll sound better, though they already sound better than the stock ones. I can confirm that indeed the driver's side wiring is mixed up for those eBay adapters.