[Toliverpeterson]

I’m doing the speakers and amp in my Grand America. I’ve torn down the dash and have the speaker boxes cracked open. I’ve read much of the monster post on this and there was talk in that about going to 5 1/4” speakers.
will that larger size fit in the boxes of the ‘B? The measuring tape says barely if at all. I wonder if the larger speakers weren’t going in a K1600B.

Also for those that have the speakers, when you didthe dampening Matt, did you leave the hole in the from of the speaker housing open or seal it up?

 

[Johnny5]

I’m doing the speakers and amp in my Grand America. I’ve torn down the dash and have the speaker boxes cracked open. I’ve read much of the monster post on this and there was talk in that about going to 5 1/4” speakers.
will that larger size fit in the boxes of the ‘B? The measuring tape says barely if at all. I wonder if the larger speakers weren’t going in a K1600B.

Also for those that have the speakers, when you didthe dampening Matt, did you leave the hole in the from of the speaker housing open or seal it up?

View attachment 161608

I seen a guy saying Extreme Audio in Midlothian, VA has or makes speaker adapters for 5.25" speakers but I haven't double checked. I called them back in October but I only spoke of the 6.5" speaker pods from full comp out of Russia. But that's all I knew at the time so I didn't inquire about anything else. They quoted me 4500$ I think for the full setup of 4x6.5" pods and I just didn't feel like paying 1k for labor and only being able to use the speakers(JL) they recommended. The price for equipment wasn't upcharged either. You'd probably get a faster response emailing Brian @ [email protected] if you'd like 5.25" adapters. But if you're handy you could find some good plastic or other material and make your own plates and buy speakers based on your own measurements. I haven't broken mine down yet but depending on depth there's always spacers you could use with the actual speaker grilles instead of the oe beamers and that may open up more options. You could also look at component speakers possibly with a small or built in crossover of some kind and that should work as well.

 

[Motormike]

Wow, looks like BMW has cheapened the speakers on the B even more! No more tweeter! And it looks like the speakers are now molded in place! I don't see any screws or tabs anywhere. No more easy removal to upgrade with another speaker. What a joke.

 

[DetJohnO]

I seen a guy saying Extreme Audio in Midlothian, VA has or makes speaker adapters for 5.25" speakers but I haven't double checked. I called them back in October but I only spoke of the 6.5" speaker pods from full comp out of Russia. But that's all I knew at the time so I didn't inquire about anything else. They quoted me 4500$ I think for the full setup of 4x6.5" pods and I just didn't feel like paying 1k for labor and only being able to use the speakers(JL) they recommended. The price for equipment wasn't upcharged either. You'd probably get a faster response emailing Brian @ [email protected] if you'd like 5.25" adapters. But if you're handy you could find some good plastic or other material and make your own plates and buy speakers based on your own measurements. I haven't broken mine down yet but depending on depth there's always spacers you could use with the actual speaker grilles instead of the oe beamers and that may open up more options. You could also look at component speakers possibly with a small or built in crossover of some kind and that should work as well.

$4500!!!!! Why not use BT. I always listen to XM through my helmut.

 

[J-Luv]

Wow, looks like BMW has cheapened the speakers on the B even more! No more tweeter! And it looks like the speakers are now molded in place! I don't see any screws or tabs anywhere. No more easy removal to upgrade with another speaker. What a joke.

You split the enclosure with some heat to soften the glue. The speakers are attached with screws inside. Have been this way for the last 4-5 MYs, including the loss of tweeter.

 

[Johnny5]

$4500!!!!! Why not use BT. I always listen to XM through my helmut.

I do... But I don't have integrated comms in my helmet so if it were to die I'd like to listen to music at speed. I can't just pop in a new battery when it dies. I think when I get around to it I'll prob just upgrade the front to 5.25" components and put an amp on em. That combined with a larger screen should do the trick. Lately I've been sinking more money into my truck so the speakers might be later than sooner. Before spring though, I plan on getting the T Rex Racing engine bars with the highway pegs. Those along with bakup backrest and I'll probably end up upgrading the padding in the seat myself.

 

[coyotek]

$4500!!!!! Why not use BT. I always listen to XM through my helmut.

For me, I have to be able to hear what's around me. I consider it a safety issue. No BT music blasting in my helmut [sic]
GPS Nav audio in the helmet, music from the speakers.

The speaker audio is not that bad with better speakers installed and most importantly, compressing the music MP3s.

 

[Toliverpeterson]

Update! I’ve gotten and installed the Alpine S40 speakers. Pretty easy really.
Next to tackle the amp. On my Geand America I have rear speakers.
my questions:
I’ve found in the other post the wiring diagram for front speakers. I’m thinking the other 4 wires in the same plug are the rear speakers. Can anyone confirm?
I’m looking for the switched power to the stock radio/amp. Anyone know which wire that is?
And if I amp the front speakers, clearly the new ones can handle it, can I amp the stock rears?

 

[pdxroundel]

I'm assuming you are looking for the switched power wire to use as your amp start up wire. If you are going to wire the amp using speaker level input, you may not need it. Many amps don't require switched power when using high level input. Check the manual for the amp. You might be able to check that off the list before having to find it.

Zach

 

[Pitts]

I'll just never understand why anyone out enjoying a ride on their motorcycle would think that everyone around them would enjoy listening to their music. Even out on a country road you have to be playing it loud enough that every farm house you pass is going to hear it. You get way better music quality with a good set of ear buds. If you wear a turtle shell helmet your ears are probably so damaged by now that you'd have to blast those speakers at full volume to hear them.

Yeah, I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet so just ignore me. I'm in a curmudgeonly mood.

 

[Toliverpeterson]

I'll just never understand why anyone out enjoying a ride on their motorcycle would think that everyone around them would enjoy listening to their music. Even out on a country road you have to be playing it loud enough that every farm house you pass is going to hear it. You get way better music quality with a good set of ear buds. If you wear a turtle shell helmet your ears are probably so damaged by now that you'd have to blast those speakers at full volume to hear them.

Yeah, I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet so just ignore me. I'm in a curmudgeonly mood.

What did you say? I can’t hear you!

 

[azariarrocha]

Update! I’ve gotten and installed the Alpine S40 speakers. Pretty easy really.
Next to tackle the amp. On my Geand America I have rear speakers.
my questions:
I’ve found in the other post the wiring diagram for front speakers. I’m thinking the other 4 wires in the same plug are the rear speakers. Can anyone confirm?
I’m looking for the switched power to the stock radio/amp. Anyone know which wire that is?
And if I amp the front speakers, clearly the new ones can handle it, can I amp the stock rears?
View attachment 161954
View attachment 161953
View attachment 161952

@Toliverpeterson it looks nice. are these Alpine waterproof?

 

[Toliverpeterson]

@Toliverpeterson it looks nice. are these Alpine waterproof?

I’m not sure they are. Although discussion in the mega thread on this topic was that there’s a membrane on the back of the grills, so it’s not important to have waterproof speakers.

 

[coliveira]

Well ordered my Alpine S40s any updates or tricks you can pass on or even a video of the sound with them installed would be awesome Toliverpeterson

 

[BodoBagger]

Hi,

I ˋve updated my „B“ with an Audio System 2 Way Component System „M100 Evo2“

I chose it, because it has a fiberglass membrane, so I hope it is somewhat water resistant and it has 3 Ohm, so that it is a little louder even with the stock amp. And it has a very small crossover.

Unfortunately the magnet of the midrange woofer is too big so it does not fit mounted on the inside of the housing like the stock speaker was. But it works if the woofer is mounted on the outside of the housing, as it was on the older K1600s. So I first disassembled the housing and stock speaker. Then I enlarged the speaker cutout a bit with a Dremel Multitool saw so that the basket fits from the outside into it.

Then I drilled the cutout for the tweeter bracket using a step drill

Then I „opened“ carefully the two „nuts“ where the stock speaker is fixed on the upper section. If you look closely at the housing, you can see a little spot where they are molded from the other side and you can carefully drill them open. Now I had already two nuts to fix the midrange woofer from above with the original screws at the original fixing point.

I mounted the speaker in order to see where the other fixing points need to be drilled, marked the other 2 fixing points and drilled them. Now I had all fixing points prepared.

Next I used a hot glue gun and glued in the tweeter bracket and two nuts for the speaker screws which are not at the original positions.

Then I cut off about 1,3 meters from the wiring from crossover to the tweeter. This wire way too long. I fixed the crossover with a velcro almost on the bottom of the housing, assembled the housing again and mounted the tweeter and the midrange woofer. I sealed them in their cutouts with some butyl line. The woofer fits a bit tricky because of its wiring connection port but it works. Fix the screws and ready to go with a high quality 2 way component system

I am very pleased with the sound, even with the stock amp. Especially compared to the poor original speakers.

 

[coliveira]

Did the stock speaker grills still fit over this set up? Looks bad ass

 

[BodoBagger]

Yes, the stock grill fits without problems.

 

[Motormike]

Could you show us the wireing on the back side with the additonal tweeter?

 

[Toliverpeterson]

Well ordered my Alpine S40s any updates or tricks you can pass on or even a video of the sound with them installed would be awesome Toliverpeterson

It was really pretty simple. Just be patient warming the speaker boxes to pop them apart.

 

[Toliverpeterson]

Anyone doing this and needs some sound matt, the box I bought has way too much in it. Probably could sell some small amounts for postage plus a little.