The best audio upgrade for the X5

[argento]

SURROUND on or off?

I was going to put a resistor jumper on the d pillars to bring the total load closer to 2 ohms which was the intended impedance of the S752A amp. They are really quiet at near 4ohms of total load. Thoughts?

EDIT: OH, the jumper would only be coupled w an LPF.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by argento

SURROUND on or off?

I was going to put a resistor jumper on the d pillars to bring the total load closer to 2 ohms which was the intended impedance of the S752A amp. They are really quiet at near 4ohms of total load. Thoughts?

EDIT: OH, the jumper would only be coupled w an LPF.

I'm not really sure what "surround" on or off does

You're using the b&w tweeters with the b&w woofers right? The impedance should be around 4ohms. If you want to go down to 2 ohms you would need a tweeter with 4ohms.

But like I mentioned using the 2.5ohm infinity tweeters with the b&w 10ohm speaker makes for a pretty low impedance... about 1.9ohms. I'm not sure the factory amp could handle the impedance. A 4ohm tweeter is the lowest I would use with the factory system.

[argento]

For me the difference is significant. I feel like I gain more depth, but at the cost of clarity..from the default EQ settings, turning SURROUND ON sounds like some high frequency is reduced. Much brighter sound when OFF.

I should say that the B&W in the D-pillars don't sound significantly quieter than the individual speakers I replaced, I listened to them side by side. It's just an under-powered location I guess.

The factory S752A amp, with Individual speakers, nominally handles 2 ohms at the D-pillar and Rear Door locations.

I'm working on rear and front doors now. When SlowX6M posts the impedance of the 327 tweeter, I'll be able to figure out the the crossover frequencies the F90 uses on the front door. I've got the capacitor values of the F90 diplexer. Then I can look into custom XO options. I haven't figured out the F90 diplexer wiring schematic, to many unknowns at the moment. I do know that reusing the S752A Diplexer is not really ideal b/c it would LPF the B&W midranges at 1780Hz, however it can be wired for use (minor soldering required). For those looking at the doors, the easiest path forward is to just use the B&W midrange with B&W Tweeter with Inline Filter (bypassing diplexer) like the OP used. I may still do this, but like you, am interested in seeing what it takes for a custom XO.

[RL18]

Must be a low midrange/midrange booster then? I personally like my highs to be cut down quite a bit, just sounds more natural to me and it's easier on the ears.

If you went with a 4ohm tweeter you might get more output from your d-pillar location. You should keep your speakers throughout close to the same impedance though. It is possible though that the d-pillar speakers are getting less power than the door.

I'm thinking my audiopipe 2-way crossover is a pretty good option. It's a 4ohm crossover, so if using a 6ohm tweeter or b&w tweeter with the b&w midrange you should get the 4.3khz crossover point for the midrange. At 2ohms though you would double the crossover point so you'd be around 8khz crossover, which is where I believe mine is crossed which still isn't bad but I've had to take down some peaks at 2khz,4khz, and 8khz from the midrange speakers. This is why I'm recommending to stay with the 4ohm final impedance. My tweeters are just using their supplied filters which are true to their design filter @ 2ohms.

[argento]

With SURROUND ON it is def warmer. It's how I usually listened, but been testing with everything to default and SURROUND off.

Keep us updated on the audiopipe XO...

Thanks for all your insight RL18

[RL18]

@SlowX6M would you also be able to get the impedance of the underseat b&w woofers?

[SlowX6M]

Originally Posted by RL18

@SlowX6M would you also be able to get the impedance of the underseat b&w woofers?

Oh man, I am not removing my seats again. I'll do the B&W diamond tweeter any day now.

[argento]

Originally Posted by SlowX6M

Oh man, I am not removing my seats again. I'll do the B&W diamond tweeter any day now.

Don't blame you, lol! FWIW, when I installed the ghost subwoofers I slid the seat back and forth to get access to the bolts, I then folded the seat so the back made less than 90 degrees angle with the seat, put some cardboard between the back seat bracket and the floorboard, and rotated the whole seat backward, removed connectors, and then leaned it against the back bench seat.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by SlowX6M

Oh man, I am not removing my seats again. I'll do the B&W diamond tweeter any day now.

I had to try!

[SlowX6M]

Ok guys, so I finally removed my center speaker to test the impedance. This is my setup - I have the B&W midrange and B&W diamond tweeter in the center. As you see from the pictures below, my midrange plugs directly into the car, and the tweeter plugs into the midrange. I soldered inline filter to the tweeter since it did not come with a filter, and stock tweeters had filters.

I also bought some crossovers that were posted earlier in the thread. I wonder if I should install them instead of the inline filter.

Also, one more thing to keep in mind, when I tested the impedance on the tweeter, I held the tested terminals directly to the leads of the tweeter, but the inline filter is still connected - does that affect my reading?

[SlowX6M]

These are the cross overs I purchased.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Audiopipe...72.m2749.l2649

[RL18]

From what I understand your crossover point with that crossover would be around 2khz for your midrange and maybe slightly less than 2khz for your tweeter. You'd be be better off only running the midrange on the crossover, wire the tweeter to the input on the crossover, then use the inline filter you have installed on the tweeter now for filtering. I don't know if the b&w tweeter could handle down to 2khz.

[SlowX6M]

Originally Posted by RL18

From what I understand your crossover point with that crossover would be around 2khz for your midrange and maybe slightly less than 2khz for your tweeter. You'd be be better off only running the midrange on the crossover, wire the tweeter to the input on the crossover, then use the inline filter you have installed on the tweeter now for filtering. I don't know if the b&w tweeter could handle down to 2khz.

Can you tell from the impedance I posted? Did I get the correct reading with the inline filter still connected?

[RL18]

Originally Posted by SlowX6M

Ok guys, so I finally removed my center speaker to test the impedance. This is my setup - I have the B&W midrange and B&W diamond tweeter in the center. As you see from the pictures below, my midrange plugs directly into the car, and the tweeter plugs into the midrange. I soldered inline filter to the tweeter since it did not come with a filter, and stock tweeters had filters.

I also bought some crossovers that were posted earlier in the thread. I wonder if I should install them instead of the inline filter.

Also, one more thing to keep in mind, when I tested the impedance on the tweeter, I held the tested terminals directly to the leads of the tweeter, but the inline filter is still connected - does that affect my reading?

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The filter won't affect the reading. That tweeter is actually technically 8ohms. And the midrange 10ohms. So b&w factory system impedance is around 4.4ohms total. You could probably make it louder just by lowering the impedance on the tweeter to 4 or 6ohms

[SlowX6M]

These are the specs on the cross over I bought

• Woofer Frequency: 20 ~ 4.3KHz
• Tweeter Frequency: 3.39 ~ 20kHz

I think I'll give it a try, if I blow the tweeter I'll just get something else.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by SlowX6M

These are the specs on the cross over I bought

• Woofer Frequency: 20 ~ 4.3KHz
• Tweeter Frequency: 3.39 ~ 20kHz

I think I'll give it a try, if I blow the tweeter I'll just get something else.

Right. That is the crossover frequency for using a 4ohms speaker and 4 ohm tweeter. Using a higher impedance speaker means that you drop the midrange lpf to around 2khz and the tweeter slightly below 2khz.

If you used a 4ohm tweeter the tweeter hpf would be true at 3.39khz, but if you used the 8ohm tweeter this would lower the hpf to below 2khz. If you use a 2ohm tweeter you double the hpf to 6.7khz.

I actually really like the 2khz as the crossover point vs higher around 4khz. But you need a tweeter that can handle that down to 2khz I think either a morel 6ohm tweeter or the alpine type s 6ohm tweeter would best suit the b&w midrange with that crossover.

[SlowX6M]

Originally Posted by RL18

Right. That is the crossover frequency for using a 4ohms speaker and 4 ohm tweeter. Using a higher impedance speaker means that you drop the midrange lpf to around 2khz and the tweeter slightly below 2khz.

If you used a 4ohm tweeter the tweeter hpf would be true at 3.39khz, but if you used the 8ohm tweeter this would lower the hpf to below 2khz. If you use a 2ohm tweeter you double the hpf to 6.7khz.

I actually really like the 2khz as the crossover point vs higher around 4khz. But you need a tweeter that can handle that down to 2khz I think either a morel 6ohm tweeter or the alpine type s 6ohm tweeter would best suit the b&w midrange with that crossover.

Oh I see, thank you for sharing this. My understanding for electronics is limited to put lightly.

[RL18]

No problem! I just learned from using these in my system. The midranges would benefit from any type of lpf, without one they get up to 20khz. The upper midrange 2khz-4khz is usually where you'd see a tweeter and midrange crossed at. This is also a very sensitive frequency range to the ear because it's where consonants in speech usually take place so less output in that range isn't a bad thing. I haven't decided if I like the midrange or tweeter playing this frequency range better though.

[SlowX6M]

Originally Posted by RL18

No problem! I just learned from using these in my system. The midranges would benefit from any type of lpf, without one they get up to 20khz. The upper midrange 2khz-4khz is usually where you'd see a tweeter and midrange crossed at. This is also a very sensitive frequency range to the ear because it's where consonants in speech usually take place so less output in that range isn't a bad thing. I haven't decided if I like the midrange or tweeter playing this frequency range better though.

Understood. But then if I connect the crossover to the midrange only to cut off the higher frequencies from the midrange, I don't know the cut off on the filter going to the tweeter, so I might cut some frequencies completely.

I think I'll just pop it back in and let it be. Honestly, the system sounds great as it compared to what it was.

[SlowX6M]

Unless of course you can recommend a more suited crossover.

[argento]

Originally Posted by RL18

From what I understand your crossover point with that crossover would be around 2khz for your midrange and maybe slightly less than 2khz for your tweeter. You'd be be better off only running the midrange on the crossover, wire the tweeter to the input on the crossover, then use the inline filter you have installed on the tweeter now for filtering. I don't know if the b&w tweeter could handle down to 2khz.

If I'm not mistaken, you can't run the woofer alone off that XO IF you're also planning on plugging the tweeter into the woofer. Else your tweeter feed will also be LPF. You'd have to split the tweeter off the XO input...

THANKS for posting the impedance of the diamond tweeter. Seems to be inline w the 629 non-diamond tweeter.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by SlowX6M

Unless of course you can recommend a more suited crossover.

I would say in your case, unless you decided to add a tweeter that can handle 2khz then use the crossover. If you're keeping the b&w tweeter then I would skip the crossover since the factory tweeter probably can't play that low.