Jeffchiz Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I have a 2003 320ci and the drivers tweeter seems to be the only thing letting the system down as its cracking/farting under high bass etc I went on to realoem and its $172.37 for one tweeter! Which is about £112.94. Has anyone bought one from BMW and can confirm this is the correct price? Or are there any aftermarket plug and play items around the same spec? Or do you need a specific BMW tweeter due to its surround? cheers in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autosri Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 There must be one on eBay but if the tweeter is trying to play bass there is something else wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffchiz Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 lol ok sorry, stupid overlook on my behalf there, the link is when i decide to turn the bass up its when the volume goes up hence it cracking however i dont want to buy a second hand one as these cars are getting old now and the chances are ill just buy another shagged one but first thing i need to know is can any old tweeter of the same size fit? or is the tweeter moulded in to the surround hence needing to buy a bmw specific part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autosri Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 changing the tweeter probably wont fix it as its most likely the amp running out of power any tweeter around the 1" area will physically fit but will sound wrong due to the internal dsp in the HK setup mit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffchiz Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 im pretty sure its the tweeter at fault as its only the drivers side one that crackles doesnt always have to be overly loud music btw, anyway from looking at other pages/guides looks like only ones that will be plug and play are the oem h/k one and the BSW tweeter? which are $299.99 for the front mids and tweeeters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Rainbow Audio IQ Line will fit. You might be able to get a set of tweeters on their own from them if you ask nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffchiz Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 yea i was looking at the rainbow tweeters but the oem hk ones seem to be an oblong oval shap, the rainbow ones looked like a standard circle tweter shape which iirc will fit cars with the tweeter behind the mirror? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 The HK ones aren't oblong. There'd be no point in oblong shaped tweeters. Are you sure you aren't referring to the gauze in front of them? The midrange speakers are there as well. It's actually 2 speakers in that little bit behind the Harman/Kardon logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 The HK ones aren't oblong. There'd be no point in oblong shaped tweeters. Are you sure you aren't referring to the gauze in front of them? The midrange speakers are there as well. It's actually 2 speakers in that little bit behind the Harman/Kardon logo. The one by the door handle has 2 speakers in it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) The one by the door handle has 2 speakers in it ? Edited February 22, 2013 by mit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 330Ci Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) Have you taken the tweeter unit out to inspect it yet? It sounds more like the midrange speaker, rather than the tweeter. The midranges are notorious for having the foam break down and then they crackle badly. There are two speakers in the HK tweeter unit, a 2 inch midrange and a 1 inch tweeter. For the midrange, you can buy an aftermarket replacement which is pretty simple to fit. I did the upgrade last weekend. I have loads of photos but haven't done a how-to yet. If you don't fancy the customisation, I have the working HK midranges intact which I am about to put up for sale for £35 the pair if you want. They would be a simple unscrew drop-in replacement. I'd do the upgrade though, it makes a noticeable difference. Some pics: This is the HK tweeter unit with a midrange speaker (left) and a tweeter (right) I think the midrange has probably gone in yours (the speaker on the left). It is just held in by two screws and some glue. Removed: New Vifa midrange driver unit (right) compared with the old removed HK midrange (left). You can buy a pair of these Vifa units from from Falcon Acoustics for £55 delivered (http://www.falconaco...full-range.html): New unit installed (you have to wire the black to +ve and red to -ve as the Vifa unit is marked opposite polarity to the HK unit): Compared with standard: Back in the doorcard - fits perfectly, sounds much better! I'll do a proper walkthrough/howto at some point... Edited March 13, 2013 by Dan 330Ci john.med, B0B and mit 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonakT Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Might seem obvious, but rather than relying on realoem for pricing have you actually called a $tealer and asked them the price? Most dealers will also give you 15% off if you say you're a member of the BMWOC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonakT Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Vifa make cracking speaker drivers, is the improvement really noticeable? I only ask as IMO the thing that's lets most oem systems down including h/k is the head unit/amp more than the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 330Ci Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 BMW will want silly money for a new one I asked a few years ago and it was around £200 a side. It would be cheaper to import the BSW units, or just replace the blown speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 330Ci Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect. The midranges were letting the system down, the bass and mid-bass were good, and the high's weren't too bad. The mids were harsh, and vocals weren't clear and piano notes seemed to distort whenever the system volume was slightly raised. I thought I'd take a punt at £50 and see what happened. At first, I wasn't sure if they were much better. However I needed to adjust the whole system because now I could turn the treble and volume up. Once adjusted, you can hear just how much of a difference they make! The vocals are much clearer, no distortion from piano notes etc. The track I used for comparison was Think About Me from Artful Dodger as it was always a track which distorted badly. It sounds great now. I am not an audiophile, I don't have thousands of pounds worth of hifi equipment and I haven't got a degree from Cambridge in wavelengths. I listen to a wide variety of music. I stream my music from Spotify on mobile via Bluetooth to an aftermarket chinese headunit, so it's not exactly a great source! But it sounds much much better in my opinion and I am very happy. RonakT and mit 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect. The midranges were letting the system down, the bass and mid-bass were good, and the high's weren't too bad. The mids were harsh, and vocals weren't clear and piano notes seemed to distort whenever the system volume was slightly raised. I thought I'd take a punt at £50 and see what happened. At first, I wasn't sure if they were much better. However I needed to adjust the whole system because now I could turn the treble and volume up. Once adjusted, you can hear just how much of a difference they make! The vocals are much clearer, no distortion from piano notes etc. The track I used for comparison was Think About Me from Artful Dodger as it was always a track which distorted badly. It sounds great now. I am not an audiophile, I don't have thousands of pounds worth of hifi equipment and I haven't got a degree from Cambridge in wavelengths. I listen to a wide variety of music. I stream my music from Spotify on mobile via Bluetooth to an aftermarket chinese headunit, so it's not exactly a great source! But it sounds much much better in my opinion and I am very happy. Did you change the LF drivers lower down in the doors too? I have distortion too but it mostly comes from the lower LF drivers so am looking at my upgrade options now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 330Ci Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Yes, in the front I have the rainbow replacements for the 16.5cm woofers. I have found that replacing these woofers, the midranges, adding a sub and changing the head unit has improved the system considerably. No changes to the amplifiers or rear speakers (currently). For the front doors, you can replace with regular 16.5cm speakers and some adaptors, rather than paying for expensive drop-in replacements (like I did!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Yes, in the front I have the rainbow replacements for the 16.5cm woofers. I have found that replacing these woofers, the midranges, adding a sub and changing the head unit has improved the system considerably. No changes to the amplifiers or rear speakers (currently). For the front doors, you can replace with regular 16.5cm speakers and some adaptors, rather than paying for expensive drop-in replacements (like I did!) Sounds good, but I was under the impression the front door speakers were smaller than that?? I have a 2000 coupe with the HK set-up, is modification required to fit a 16.5cm unit?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 330Ci Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 No, the front woofers are 6.5 inches/16.5 cm. Mids are 2 inches, tweeters 1 inch. You can get adaptor rings for the front speakers here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400362226153 They should drop straight in with no modification required, but I haven't used them in the front so couldn't confirm? You might have to file back the plastic rivets on the door grille. These posts helped me out, they might help you (speaker sizes): http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=233878 and this one (speaker replacements): http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=677322 Don't get caught up in all the resistance claims, you will be fine with 4 ohm replacements. The actual difference in speaker output will be negligible. If you are buying speakers for the front doors, try and get as shallow a magnet as possible on the speaker, to ensure it will clear the door glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Ok cool, nice one for the links/tips. I work for a loudspeaker company as it goes so sourcing drivers is not really too much of a problem but I will keep in mind the point you made with regards to the lack of rear room for the magnets - thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffchiz Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 cheers all that has helped me a lot and thanks dan for the pics i thought there was only a tweeter in there and didnt think you coud seperate the tweeter/mid from the surround Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
