I'm about to upgrade the sound system in my ’09 BMW 325DAT M-sport E91 wagon.
I’ve been messing with car audio for nearly 20 years. Lately time hasn’t really been sufficient to do any larger installs. Most of the installs I’ve started hasn’t been completed before the car has been sold. However the BMW is a keeper, so I’ve decided to upgrade the 676 HIFI system.
I’ve been researching and buying equipment for the last year. After much searching for small footprint amps I decided to go with Zapcos new ST-D-series amplifiers. I’ve also bought their new DSP-Z8 which is in the post as I type this. I’ve had an Image Dynamics IDQ10D2V2 subwoofer for many years that I haven’t used yet so I’m going to use it in this install. A year ago the Norwegian importer had a 50% off sale on System Audio (Now GLADEN) so I pick up their GLADEN X-ION200 3-way system for BMWs consisting of tweeters, midranges and two 8” woofers. So the equipment list is as follows;
1x ZAPCO ST-D2 driving the Subwoofer
2x ZAPCO ST-D4 driving the front and rear components and the under seat 8” midbasses
1x ZAPCO DSP-Z8 taking the signal from the stock headunit
1x Image Dynamics IDQ10D2V2 subwoofer in a .5 cubic feet enclosure
1x Audio System X-Ion 200 BMW component set
Stock rear speakers
Stock Headunit
I started building the subwoofer enclosure from an original BMW storage troug. I then reinforced this internally with fiber glass and polyester resin mixed with cement to increase weight. I was originally planning to fit either an amp or the DSP to the same troug, but having been warned by John from Zapco ( zapco new product lines ) about the possible impact of the vibration to the electrics I’ve decided to fit the amps to the cover panel. I’ll fit them hanging from the panel and making sure the subwoofer doesn’t directly vibrate the cover panel. The enclosure is .5 cubic feet which should work fine with the IDQ. After removing the circumference of the troug it was apparent that I could have made it bigger if I had laid fibre glass directly into the cubby hole. I’ll try it as it is and see how it performs. If it doesn’t drop down low enough I’ll see if I can’t make another enclosure that takes up all the vacant space in the cubby hole.
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So by changing the layout by cutting the troug I’ll be able to fit the two ST-D4 amps to the cover panel.
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The DSP will be fitted where the original amp is installed originally. The ST-D2 I’ve fitted underneath the forward floor of the luggage compartment. I made a bracket that fixes to original attachment point in the car.
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The fuse holder from Connection is mounted to a 5mm thick aluminum bracket that sits above the battery on the inner fender well. This will supply all the three amps and the DSP. Unfortunately my car did not have vacant slots in the original battery distro block like some has. Due to this I will have to attach the fuse holder to the main battery positive and negative terminals somehow (?). I’ll also be running the earth cables from all three amps and the DSP back to the fuse holder and battery.
I’ve been messing with car audio for nearly 20 years. Lately time hasn’t really been sufficient to do any larger installs. Most of the installs I’ve started hasn’t been completed before the car has been sold. However the BMW is a keeper, so I’ve decided to upgrade the 676 HIFI system.
I’ve been researching and buying equipment for the last year. After much searching for small footprint amps I decided to go with Zapcos new ST-D-series amplifiers. I’ve also bought their new DSP-Z8 which is in the post as I type this. I’ve had an Image Dynamics IDQ10D2V2 subwoofer for many years that I haven’t used yet so I’m going to use it in this install. A year ago the Norwegian importer had a 50% off sale on System Audio (Now GLADEN) so I pick up their GLADEN X-ION200 3-way system for BMWs consisting of tweeters, midranges and two 8” woofers. So the equipment list is as follows;
1x ZAPCO ST-D2 driving the Subwoofer
2x ZAPCO ST-D4 driving the front and rear components and the under seat 8” midbasses
1x ZAPCO DSP-Z8 taking the signal from the stock headunit
1x Image Dynamics IDQ10D2V2 subwoofer in a .5 cubic feet enclosure
1x Audio System X-Ion 200 BMW component set
Stock rear speakers
Stock Headunit
I started building the subwoofer enclosure from an original BMW storage troug. I then reinforced this internally with fiber glass and polyester resin mixed with cement to increase weight. I was originally planning to fit either an amp or the DSP to the same troug, but having been warned by John from Zapco ( zapco new product lines ) about the possible impact of the vibration to the electrics I’ve decided to fit the amps to the cover panel. I’ll fit them hanging from the panel and making sure the subwoofer doesn’t directly vibrate the cover panel. The enclosure is .5 cubic feet which should work fine with the IDQ. After removing the circumference of the troug it was apparent that I could have made it bigger if I had laid fibre glass directly into the cubby hole. I’ll try it as it is and see how it performs. If it doesn’t drop down low enough I’ll see if I can’t make another enclosure that takes up all the vacant space in the cubby hole.
So by changing the layout by cutting the troug I’ll be able to fit the two ST-D4 amps to the cover panel.
The DSP will be fitted where the original amp is installed originally. The ST-D2 I’ve fitted underneath the forward floor of the luggage compartment. I made a bracket that fixes to original attachment point in the car.
The fuse holder from Connection is mounted to a 5mm thick aluminum bracket that sits above the battery on the inner fender well. This will supply all the three amps and the DSP. Unfortunately my car did not have vacant slots in the original battery distro block like some has. Due to this I will have to attach the fuse holder to the main battery positive and negative terminals somehow (?). I’ll also be running the earth cables from all three amps and the DSP back to the fuse holder and battery.