# E39 Sub/Amp Install



## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

Hey guys,
I did it. Thanks to 'bigaudiofanatic' from here and the umpteen people whose posts I have been reading for a couple of weeks. Thanks to Douglas Baker for his awesome blog and Bavarian Sound Works. Most importantly thanks to the quotes by local shops of $700+ for what I have done in $150, as that was my biggest motivation.

Now moving to the pics:

The ride: 02 BMW 540i with DSP.


















The Stuff:

Subs - 2 x JBL GTi MKII 10"



















Amp - Sundown SAE-1000D










Headunit - Stock
Wiring - Kicker 4GA kit I pulled from my honda.
Box - Sealed .75^3/Sub.

The trunk with stock subwoofer enclosure:










After I removed it:










Stock DSP Amp:










Box:


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

Drilled  :










Amp Mounted:










Subs Wired - In parallel to 1.5 ohm(They're dual 6):










Both in:



















The box got so heavy :cussing: :

Tapped into the the wires from the harness that was disconnected from the stock subwoofers:


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

The LOC hooked up:










All finished and done. The subs look sexy  :










I'll be posting up some vids tomorrow. They sound wonderful. The gain is set to 1/4 currently and I have ample bass. Will run some test tones tomorrow and set the gains properly. The lows are so good. Thank you JBL . I've been coveting these subs for quite some time and they did not disappoint me 1 bit.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Those subs are just absolute monsters.


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## ganesht (Oct 13, 2008)

does your car have the 60/40 rear seats, or a ski pass?

if not did you cut any other holes in the hat shelf? or is the sound just coming threw the small dsp sub ports?


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

ganesht said:


> does your car have the 60/40 rear seats, or a ski pass?
> 
> if not did you cut any other holes in the hat shelf? or is the sound just coming threw the small dsp sub ports?


It has a ski pass. I did not cut/drill anything. So yeah it's the dsp sub port openings and whatever the ski pass passes through. Currently giving then less than half the rated power. Looking to pick up a new amp and box soon.


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## stockman2010 (Jan 11, 2010)

r u going to try those subs in a infinite baffle? let me know how it sounds IB


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

i dont think those subs would do well in IB, you'd have to underpower them so much.

I'm getting one of those, the 12" version, in a ported box, ive been told they do much better in ported. how did you like your 10"s sealed? 


side note, idk if you left the wires that long after terminating them on the inside of the box, but you really only want them long enough to lift and flip the subs into the box, otherwise, they'll just rattle and even might knock them self loose.


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

stockman2010 said:


> r u going to try those subs in a infinite baffle? let me know how it sounds IB


Haven't really thought about it, but I don't think I'm gonna do it.



eviling said:


> i dont think those subs would do well in IB, you'd have to underpower them so much.
> 
> I'm getting one of those, the 12" version, in a ported box, ive been told they do much better in ported. how did you like your 10"s sealed?
> 
> side note, idk if you left the wires that long after terminating them on the inside of the box, but you really only want them long enough to lift and flip the subs into the box, otherwise, they'll just rattle and even might knock them self loose.


Well, I did tie them up to reduce the length. Thanks for the suggestion.
I like the subs a lot. Very nice bass. Tight, low and they blend very nicely with the mids. They take a while to break in, it took me about 5-6 hours of normal/little high play and then they sounded great. Don't worry if it sounds muddy the first few hours of play. I'm also thinking of getting an extra box for 1 10" ported. Let me know how it sounds.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

i dont think you wanna mix a ported sub stage with a sealed sub stage, they'll be out of allignment, the sealed stage would be faster than the ported box.


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

eviling said:


> i dont think you wanna mix a ported sub stage with a sealed sub stage, they'll be out of allignment, the sealed stage would be faster than the ported box.


Haha, thanks man for being so nice given what you thought I was going to do. But I'll take out the sealed box and just run 1 10 ported, just for experimentation. I should've been clearer. :laugh:


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

eviling said:


> i dont think those subs would do well in IB, you'd have to underpower them so much.
> 
> side note, idk if you left the wires that long after terminating them on the inside of the box, but you really only want them long enough to lift and flip the subs into the box, otherwise, they'll just rattle and even might knock them self loose.





eviling said:


> i dont think you wanna mix a ported sub stage with a sealed sub stage, they'll be out of allignment, the sealed stage would be faster than the ported box.


wow... some of the things that you say... :surprised: just wow...


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

nobody likes an *******. im just trying to be helpful, dont be an *******, it's just annoying.


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## el_chupo_ (May 27, 2007)

The subs sound amazing in IB. do some searches on it if you are interested.

Ported subs are not "slower", sealed are not "faster", and cone size does not affect "speed".

Looks decent on the install, but how deep is that box? Can you get at the spare?

When I did my e39 I bought the harness for the car, pulled the wires and rewired the factory harness, giving me front and rear out (DSP only has front out stock). I then disconnected the DSP amp (leaving it in the car) and ran new wires to the speakers. The 4 channels of out were wired to Zapco BLT transmitters to DC amps, and went from there.

currently using a SI BM MkIII, but that will be coming out soon for another sub.

Keeping trunk space and getting to the spare is important to me, or I would have a GTI as well.

Good looking car, BTW.


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## Salad Fingers (Jun 14, 2009)

BMW with GTi subs, and you used t-taps? Come on dude, break out the soldering iron!!!

If you don't mind me asking, what did the $700 include?


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

el_chupo_ said:


> The subs sound amazing in IB. do some searches on it if you are interested.
> 
> Ported subs are not "slower", sealed are not "faster", and cone size does not affect "speed".
> 
> ...


Thanks man. I can get to the spare, I do not exactly remember how deep it is. And is this the reverse wiring harness you're talking about? I will soon be removing the DSP amp. Is it ok if I ask/pm you some questions?


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

Salad Fingers said:


> BMW with GTi subs, and you used t-taps? Come on dude, break out the soldering iron!!!
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, what did the $700 include?


Yeah man, was my first time so didn't know better. About 250 for the box, 250 labor (everything's in the trunk - batt, signal source), and 200+ for wires and misc. I got the box for 80$, LOC for 30$, borrowed a drill from my friend, had the kicker 4GA kit from my previous car and done. I know the box is prefab but I wouldn't have gotten one if it wasn't sealed.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

eviling said:


> nobody likes an *******. im just trying to be helpful, dont be an *******, it's just annoying.


it's annoying to be called out, sure. truth hurts

it's also annoying to hear the things you stated

cry all you want, i'm just trying to make sure that people who are trying to learn on this site don't start regurgitating gross misinformation that they may have picked up from people who seem to think that they know what they are talking about


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

gladiator_jai said:


> Haha, thanks man for being so nice given what you thought I was going to do. But I'll take out the sealed box and just run 1 10 ported, just for experimentation. I should've been clearer. :laugh:


you'll like these in ported boxes, not to mention that you'll be gaining a theoritical 3db from the efficiency of your ported box, on same power. just make sure you either make one, or get one built custom for this sub, as a prefab ported box will normally have you running back to sealed


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

mattyjman said:


> you'll like these in ported boxes, not to mention that you'll be gaining a theoritical 3db from the efficiency of your ported box, on same power. just make sure you either make one, or get one built custom for this sub, as a prefab ported box will normally have you running back to sealed


Yup, no way i'm going prefab for the ported. I don't have the resources/skill to build one. I'll be ordering one via ami probably. Thanks.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

mattyjman said:


> it's annoying to be called out, sure. truth hurts
> 
> it's also annoying to hear the things you stated
> 
> cry all you want, i'm just trying to make sure that people who are trying to learn on this site don't start regurgitating gross misinformation that they may have picked up from people who seem to think that they know what they are talking about


called out? your downright insulting me, perhaps my comments were ill informed but they had no possibility of leading Anybody to do anything astray, what is it going to do? are they going to be like "oh hes wrong im putting a ported and a sealed sub in my trunk" right? listen ya little self ritus little prick, fight your own battles, the gentleman i was talking to didn't even care about my comments, he corrected me and moved me. get over your self, you have no duty to protect people from misinformation, nore do you have a desire, you're comments are purly driven by your desire to feel dominate, and i can assure you my friend, you will never over power somebody on the internet, your argument won online are about as important to everybody as my morning ****. have a good day sir


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

eviling said:


> called out? your downright insulting me, perhaps my comments were ill informed but they had no possibility of leading Anybody to do anything astray, what is it going to do? are they going to be like "oh hes wrong im putting a ported and a sealed sub in my trunk" right? listen ya little self ritus little prick, fight your own battles, the gentleman i was talking to didn't even care about my comments, he corrected me and moved me. get over your self, you have no duty to protect people from misinformation, nore do you have a desire, you're comments are purly driven by your desire to feel dominate, and i can assure you my friend, you will never over power somebody on the internet, your argument won online are about as important to everybody as my morning ****. have a good day sir


Way to get worked up over nothing bud. It's the internet, and if your poor spelling and grammar are any indication about your anger, you're furious, which is ridiculous. mattyjman is right, the last thing we need is people running around talking about "slower" "sub stages"

Here's an idea: read and learn as much as you can, and do not comment on things that you clearly have no grasp of (IE, JBL GTI infinite baffle, for which they are renowned as one of the best.) This is a place of knowledge, and each and every one of us who has an ounce of it cringes when we see things posted that are clearly from someone who just doesn't know. Having been here for what I consider a pretty good amount of time, I feel it's necessary to point out when someone is saying something that is just flat out wrong for the posterity of the forum as a whole and I know there are others here that feel the same way. Don't take it as insulting, take it as an indication that you need to learn more if you want to positively contribute to the forum. Which you should want to do, because this is still probably the best resource for car audio knowledge online.

to the original poster: VERY nice subwoofers, any plans to upgrade the rest of the system?


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

DaveRulz said:


> Way to get worked up over nothing bud. It's the internet, and if your poor spelling and grammar are any indication about your anger, you're furious, which is ridiculous. mattyjman is right, the last thing we need is people running around talking about "slower" "sub stages"
> 
> Here's an idea: read and learn as much as you can, and do not comment on things that you clearly have no grasp of (IE, JBL GTI infinite baffle, for which they are renowned as one of the best.) This is a place of knowledge, and each and every one of us who has an ounce of it cringes when we see things posted that are clearly from someone who just doesn't know. Having been here for what I consider a pretty good amount of time, I feel it's necessary to point out when someone is saying something that is just flat out wrong for the posterity of the forum as a whole and I know there are others here that feel the same way. Don't take it as insulting, take it as an indication that you need to learn more if you want to positively contribute to the forum. Which you should want to do, because this is still probably the best resource for car audio knowledge online.
> 
> to the original poster: VERY nice subwoofers, any plans to upgrade the rest of the system?


theres no anger im really just that bad at spelling


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

I just hope you take what I'm saying to heart, LEARN. We all have to start somewhere and everyone here understands that. What makes this place great is people's willingness to teach, so take advantage of that and increase your knowledge (IE: characteristics of box types, why "slow" is a bad way to describe an enclosure alignment, etc). Also...spell check is built in or can be added to most browsers (busting balls here, but really it's not hard and makes it easier on those reading)


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## el_chupo_ (May 27, 2007)

gladiator_jai said:


> Thanks man. I can get to the spare, I do not exactly remember how deep it is. And is this the reverse wiring harness you're talking about? I will soon be removing the DSP amp. Is it ok if I ask/pm you some questions?


Feel free, but dont hesitate to post up here, or on Bimmerforums.

I got most of my info from people on bimmerforums, and some help from guys on here too. It has been about a year since I did it, so I dont remember everything, nor do I have part numbers off the top of my head.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

It might be a stupid question but here it goes: why do you need LOC? Can't you just tap into the signal with RCAs and plug them straight into your amplifiers?

Thanks.


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

Mless5 said:


> It might be a stupid question but here it goes: why do you need LOC? Can't you just tap into the signal with RCAs and plug them straight into your amplifiers?
> 
> Thanks.


That's because my amp does not accept speaker level inputs only Line level inputs(mostly pre-amped signals). So the LOC converts it for me. If I had an amplifier that accepted speaker level inputs, I wouldn't even require a RCA cable.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

got my w12gti mkii today  and my box for it , check it out








+


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

eviling said:


> got my w12gti mkii today  and my box for it , check it out
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sweeeet, man let me know how it sounds and do get a vid. One nice looking sub. What car is it going into??


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

04' monte carlo  its replacing a polk 12' sr DVC in a sealed box.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

!WARNING! the sound is horible, the mic got all messed up by the pressure in the cabin it sounds like its skipping. anyways, there is a point 1 min in where you hear me switch the song, you can hear the it for a second with no distortion.


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

eviling said:


> !WARNING! the sound is horible, the mic got all messed up by the pressure in the cabin it sounds like its skipping. anyways, there is a point 1 min in where you hear me switch the song, you can hear the it for a second with no distortion.


Yeah I know mic's get screwed up around bass. I can't say sounds nice  but I'm sure it does. I can feel the bass haha. One suggestion though, go easy on it for a few hours. Man I got to go get a video of my system now . Good job man.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

I got a better video up, i took a couple. this is one of the better sounding ones. and a good song  




the bass is a little distorted, but you can hear how its hitting the bass, not a whole lota distortion aside from the mic distortion of course  you can hear how harsh those tweeters are, i cant wait to get my new front stage in, gonna be allot smother and more natural.


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## moog (Apr 29, 2008)

Do the subs overpower your mids/highs at all?


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## gladiator_jai (May 17, 2010)

moog said:


> Do the subs overpower your mids/highs at all?


Currently no, but I'm giving then half the power they are rated for. Will upgrade to a new amp soon that can feed them properly. We'll see what happens then.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

im puting 1000 rms into mine and it doesnt over power it, it easily could, especily being ported, if you have a hatchback you'll def have to tame this thing, but in a car you with th back seat you shoudn't be to over powered. this sub isn't all about spl, it just sounds amazing.


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## bimmerman11 (Aug 27, 2009)

Those subs look insane.


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