Having read many a post here regarding upgrades by others, I figured I would tap into the collective wisdom of the group. What I have in mind is the following modest system:

Blaupunkt Hollywood head unit
JBL 4" two-way in dash
JBL 5 1/4" in rear deck
Using the AUXIN adapter for the Blaupunkt, a NEO 35 hard drive based MP3 player mounted in the trunk, with the optional control panel installed up in the dash.

All of this equipment should be fairly straightforward to install. My questions are:

Can I hook up a small separate amp to power the existing woofers in the front doors to get a little extra bass? These are the woofers which are part of the factory Bose system. I have heard that the Bose speakers work at really weird impedance loads, and wonder if this is more trouble than it is worth. I suppose one other option would be to install aftermarket 6.5" drivers in this location, perhaps with a low pass filter to get rid of high frequencies. Depending on the amp, I guess it may have a crossover built in.

Where can I install the factory cell phone speaker? My thought was because it is a dual voice coil speaker, which will be replaced by the JBL, it can simply be reused somewhere under the dash, where it will still play loud enough for me to hear.

If someone has some advice regarding the door speakers, as well as relocating the cell phone speaker, I would greatly appreciate the help.

Sounds pretty much on the same level as what I plan on doing. Except I am planning on using a Kenwood eXcelon Z919 MP3 player (gettin at around $500.)


Then I am replacing my front speakers with a MB Quart Referenz Premium Components up front (Woofers in the door, tweeters in the dash) and MB Quart Reference Premium Coaxials in the rear .

I am using a 1/2 din Kenwood 6042a 11-band Equalizer with a built in crossover to handle my subs. I am using an Xtant 604x amp . The subs are each powered by a JL Audio 500/1 (500 watts at 4 ohms RMS!!!) to 2 Eclipse 88120.4 (each take 500 watts RMS, 1000 peak!, great subs, take little space) . I currently have about $2000 set aside for the system. I am planning on removing the first-aid kit to allow for more bass to travel into the cabin.

I tried to install an amp to the stock woofers, but they are not meant to handle too much power at all. Best thing is to gut the car, and start from scratch. Gut all the speakers, and use components up front and coaxials in the rear. If your rear door has speakers, then fit them with coaxials too.

Good Luck.

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Chirag (Charlie) Patel
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- 03 Mercedes S600 Sport TTV12
- 97 Acura NSX-T
- 99 BMW E36 M3 w/500+ HP
- 04 Lexus RX330
- 04 Dodge Dakota Quad 4x4 V8

4 Sale:
- 99 BMW M3 E36 Coup with Dinan SC, Upgraded to an RMS Stage 3 with Aftercooler, 12psi, and 500+hp @ flywheel.