Speaker Change

[Randomjim]

Has anyone changed the rear speakers before? They look like a normal 17cm speaker but how do the covers come off. Gave them a tug but i dont wanna break them. Thanks

[audipardner]

I have a 99.5 and I had to change my rear speaker out. it wasnt too bad, you have to pop the panel upward starting at the point where the seats contact the package tray. slowly work the front free and get a flashlight and a long pry bar or scewdriver and reach to the back and free the tray back there.
If your car has the brake light in the tray then you should be carful to not break the plugs or wires.
You kinda just have to get after it and you will figure out what kind of force it takes.
have fun!

[dcc236]

Speaker grilles don't come off, so don't dug at them as you'll break them. You have to remove the rear parcel shelf cover. Pretty easy to do. Unplug the third brake light connector, you should be able to see it by looking at the underside of the parcelshelf from the trunk, drop the backrest of the rear seats, unbolt the 3 child seat bolts on the rear shelf if you have them, then lift the parcel shelf cover from the front edges (it has 3 white lugs that have to be lifted out, then you need some patience to break the double sided tape holding it down in the middle, once you've done this, slide it towards the front of the car an inch or 2 and then up. You'll then see the speakers.

The rear speakers are 6.5"coaxials. However, they have a square base. So to fit aftermarker 6.5" coaxials, you'll need and adapter. You can buy one, make one, or gut the stock speakers and use them as an adapter.

Now here's the tricky bit:
- If you have Bose, the stock speaker is 2-ohms and being driven by a Bose amp. Finding an aftermarket speaker using the Bose amp might be tricky.
- If you have a non-Bose system, the left rear speaker has an amplifier built into it. So you'll need an amp if you plan to replace the stock speaker with aftermarket ones. Couple of options: buy yourself a small amp and use the wiring block in the stock left speaker to run it, or use the stock amp by carefully removing it from the old speaker and mounting it elsewhere in the rear.

If you plan to replace them with a new set of stock units, I hear they are about $350 a set from a dealer. I do not consider this a viable option.

Good luck.

[Randomjim]

Hmm cool. Thanks guys will give it a go. Erm i was thinking of putting jbl components in. They have a crossover to seperate the treble from the bass an mid range. Will that work as a amp? Or will i need to amp them up as well?

[dcc236]

If you put components in the rearshelf, you'll need to find a mounting position for the tweeter. The stock location is for a coaxial. However, I would not receommend compnents in the rear, you don't want high frequencies coming from behind you. It will ruin your front sound stage. I'd put some good quality components in the front door and anything you can find in the rear, they're just for your rear seat passengers anyway.

The crossover box is exactly that, it sends the amplified signal that it receives to the appropriate component, highs to the tweeter and mid-bass the larger driver. You will need an amplifier to boost the line level inputs from the h/u and then connect speaker cable to the crossovers and then more cable from the crossovers to each driver.

Hope this makes it clear. If you still have any doubts, I would get an audio shop to do it for you.

[Randomjim]

You know your ****! Didnt realise it was gonna be so much hassle! Am i right in thinking you need adapters to fit aftermarket speakers in the front? If so does it mean you can use the original grills over them?

[audipardner]

A good website to visit is crutchfield.com they have done all the guess work out of what works for what car. They are here in the US but they should be able to ship anywhere. they sell speakers and kits if req'd sometimes are free.
they also have good write ups that explain how to build a system.
hope it'll help.

[dcc236]

I have owned three B5's and upgraded the sound system in two of them. So I have made all the mistakes you can imagine, so I am happy to pass on what I have learnt. At the end of the day, it's not hard just time consuming and you need plenty of patience, particulalry the first time.

To add front and rear speakers, an amp, 2 x 10" subwoofers and a phone carkit - 1st time: total of 22 hours work and elapsed time of 1.5 weeks. There was lots of rework done as I was not happy with the amp placement and the sub box. 2nd time: 10 hours over 3 days.

You'll need an adapter in the front if you plan to go from the stock 4" compnent to 5.25" (which I'd strongly recommend). I've used MB Quart Reference and Infinity Kappa components and can recommend both.

Again, the front grilles do not come off. You need to remove the door skin. The mid-woofer and the tweeter are attached to the door skin not the door. You'll see when you get in there.

Removing and installing front door speakers:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec27.shtml

Rear deck speakers:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec58.shtml


Adding an amp for a subwoofer or rear speakers:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec29.shtml

What's on that left rear speaker terminal block:
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec74.shtml

There's plenty of info out there. Good luck.

[Randomjim]

Decided to change the front speakers instead. Did it today when i was bored at work. Now i just need a more permanent place to put the crossover box. Sounds a lot better though. Thanks for the help!!

[dcc236]

I installed my crossovers on the underside of the panel under the steering wheel using double sided tape. I prefered to have them in the cars interior to keep water away from them.

Another good place providing easy access is under the rear seat.