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[mikehd]

Hi folks,

I've got a pair of a/d/s 335is component speakers that I want to install in my '95 325i. It has the stock audio setup right now. Build date is 11/94.

From my readings here and other forums it should be a straight forward swap of the tweets and mid-woofers in the kick panel. My main question is what to do with the inputs to the "mids" in the door panels. Leave them connected? Disconnect?

Also, since the stock amp has the crossovers integrated, there would be no need to use the a/d/s crossovers, correct?

thanks for your help.

[PJK]

Hi Mike,

If you are keeping the OEM amp you are pretty much committed to a three way system. leaving the OEM mids is probably a reasonable place to start. If the ADS speakers are designed as a system and come with their own crossover you will probably get the best results by swapping out the amp and using the supplied crossover. You will then have the issue of the rear crossovers.

In my case I have an early '93 with a different amp/crossover than what you have. It was vastly inferior to what you have.

My first step was to get rid of the amp and crossovers and design a passive crossover to drive the OEM speakers. This was a vast improvement even driving the speakers from the ~4.5 Watt / corner amp in the head unit. Next I got fed-up wit the harshness of the Nokia semi dome tweeters and replaced them with some Infinity silk domes. That was also a big jump. I then replaced the OEM Nokia woofers with some Polk full range speakers. They have crappy semi dome tweeters but I didn't care as I'm just using them for woofers. I also lost the rubber cup in which the woofers were mounted. That was good for nearly an octave on the low end. There was still a bit of harshness which was bugging me.
I then re configured my crossover for two way and disconnected the mids. Much better. I then found some Blaupunkt 3" full range speakers. Again crappy semidome tweeter but I didn't care since they are to be just mids. I then replaced the Nokia mids with the Blaupunkt and reconfigured the crossover for three way as well as dropping the mid to woofer crossover from 1300 Hz to 800 Hz. Better still. With this configuration the old Nokias are OK for the woofers and I use them when the Polk surrounds come unglued and need re-gluing.

Phil

[mikehd]

Phil - thanks for the response. Yes, I planned on keeping the OEM amp with its internal cross overs for now. I didn't really want to get into an overhaul of the system at this time. I might be able to locate some suitable mid replacements and do that while I'm inside the door.

Thanks again,

Mike