E39 Sound Upgrade

Tired of your weak old "premium sound" system in your E39? Me too. Too timid to pay $500+ for a BSW stage 1 bolt on sound system? Me two. Shy about cutting massive irreversible holes in your rear deck? Me to.

How would you feel about a reversible, noninvasive bolt-on sound system upgrade that will work in tandem with your factory system? Me dos ; )

Here is my solution to the weak, WEAK BMW factory sound. This setup was custom designed and fabricated for my 2001 540i. I do not have the premium sound or DSP package -just the regular ol' 10 speaker surround. Nor do I have fold down seats or electric rear shade.

I have already made a set for myself and now also JimC in San Diego (forum friend on Roadfly.com) who wanted a set. Email me @ Ranh316@gmail.com for you own set!

Take a peek it my pics:

Here are the fatty stock "woofers." Their sealed enclosure is just massive. Plenty of room to replace with something better. (And my wife's foot. Like PJ's?)


For some beefy sound, I opted to install these hearty Infinity Reference 9623i series 6x9" three-way 4 ohm nominal speakers. I boosted them with an additional amp but acceptable sound could be wired in right from your factory amp. The cardboard cutout is what I used to fashion plates for rigid attachment.



Here is the heart of my mod: two 1/8" thick aluminum plates to hold the speakers. Some weather stripping to eliminate clicking.



The plate matches well to the stock enclosure.



The speakers fitted and installed.


Everything going back together well and eventually totally hidden.





And a poor-quality video I took of the end result. The music is rich and full. It sounds horridly distorted on the video but I assure you that it is just that the mic can't take the volume. This is meant to be more of a demonstration of the functionality of the install and to show off my speakers :) than an accurate display of sound reproduction.