Ok heres the deal Im trying to figure out the best way to do this so everything is compatible. First, I will be installing 2 shallow mount earthquake sws 8" subs under the front seats in a bmw 5 series which will be replacing the factory subs and one dcon 10" in the trunk. The earthquake subs will be run as a sort of midrange/sub and can only handle about 150rms. The dcon is good for 300rms. My questions are:

What impedences should I get for the subs? Dcon 10 and earthquake?

What amp would be best? 3 or 4 channel? 4 channel run in 3 channel mode?

Any recommendations on amp?

Maybe a link or advise on how to wire it up?

'

Edited March 6, 201114 yr by crazyj23

Ditching The Earthquakes Altogether And Running Two Dcons Or One Icon On A Mono Amplifier And Upgrading Your Front Stage...

Just My $0.002

the way the system is equalized makes it kind of weird if I were to ditch the subs under the seats i would have almost all highs in the front and base only coming from the trunk, no mids. That is how I have it now... Its doesnt sound very good. the base controls in the head unit will udjust everything at the same time. If i upgrade the subs under the seats and run a sub in the trunk with a remote knob I will at least have a little adjustibility without having to buy something like the jbl ms-8.

I guess my only real question is on the amp. I am not to familiar with 4 channel amps. Is it possible to bridge two of the channels for the sub in the trunk and also run the smaller subs off of the remaining 2 channels?

I would also appreciate any recommendations on a strong 4 channel amp that is capable of this.

Edited March 6, 201114 yr by crazyj23

What about mid bass drivers in your doors...

...That's What I Meant About Upgrading Your Front Stage. A Component Set Or Handpicked Woofers And Tweeters.

I Vote For A Sundown SAX-100.4 In Any Case, Stock Headunit, Stock Speakers? Bass Is Omnidirectional, As Well...Not Like It's Just Going To Be A Far Away Sounding Reverberation To You In The Listening Position From The Trunk.

My only issue with that is running another amp. I already have one that is connected through a LOC off of the stock sub amp it only sends a low signal. The rest of the speakers (all eight) are powered from the head unit. To be honest I wouldnt know how to get around the head unit,run wires etc to all the small speakers. These cars arent run of the mill, shit gets complicated with the fiber optic wiring from the head unit along with the whole idrive navigation system. Look it up

I'm Fully Aware Of How Complicated The Headunit/Navi Is In A Newer Model M5.

Instead Of Trying To Change Your Mind, As Most People Would Agree With Me To Do, My Recommendation Stands With The Sundown Audio SAX-100.4.

As Far As Impedance, Dual 4 Ohm. I've Never Ran A 1 Ohm Impedance On A 4-Channel, If Any 4-Channel Could It Probably Would Be The Sundown, But To Be Safe, I Wouldn't.

For The Earthquakes, I'm Guessing They're Single VC? Single 4 Ohm, Wired In Parallel. 2 Ohm Load.

I'd Still Say That Running A Sundown 2-Channel On Two D-Cons In The Trunk Would Be Better, Without The 8"s.

Unless you know the exact cross points and setup of the factory stuff you should bypass it altogether. Arbitrarily replacing things will not be a good solution.

I dont think I understand, are you talking about a cleansweep or something like that?

I dont have a whole lot a skill on wiring... just the basics like one amp and a sub and I did the LOC

You may not need a cleansweep, but you do need to know exactly what BMW has done. Somewhere on the web you will find this information. I would have had it as I almost just bought an E60 M5, but having a second child made me go the sport ute route and I grabbed an ML63 instead.