BMW E38 Monsoon Speaker replacements
As of January 2018 I have stopped making these subwoofer retrofits.
Thanks for the support.
See the bottom of the page for links on how to make your own.
Thanks for the support.
See the bottom of the page for links on how to make your own.
Monsoon Speaker retrofit
- Plug and Play DSP sub box with 4 Used Monsoon speakers $300
- Credit for returning your old empty DSP subwoofer box: $30 sent via PayPal
HOW TO BUY:
1) send money via PayPal : [email protected]
(Sending money as "Friends and Family" will avoid additional PayPal fees)
2) prices including shipping to continental USA:
Eastern Time Zone: $340 shipped
Central Time Zone: $355 shipped
Pacific Time Zone: $370 shipped
(Box ships from Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411, and is usually 52x12x7 at 20 pounds.)
3) Send a note with your PayPal payment with what you are paying for, name, shipping address, and phone number.
This option is for car owners that want deep bass and don't want a box or amplifier in the trunk, and just want a plug and play solution to swap for much better performance.
I am the originator of the Monsoon speaker upgrades when I did some experimenting in March 2015.
I happend to have a 2001 E38 and rebuilt my factory subwoofers but was still not satisfied with poor bass response. I also had a 2004 VW Jetta TDI with the Monsoons that performed far better that the BMW.
I did a few weeks of experimenting with different mounting arrangements, series/parallel wiring setups, and drove my car with no back seat for a few weeks until I found a combination that sounded the best. To truly realize the performance of the sub, you must have a quality DSP Bluetooth adapter or use the CD changer. (I had a GROM adapter)
The BMW E38 models with DSP option ( S677A HiFi system Professional DSP ) have a subwoofer enclosure behind the rear headrests that has four 5.25" speakers that are configured to play very low bass signals from the stereo due to a crossover built into the DSP amplifier.
The original equipment speakers that came with the car do NOT do a very good job of playing low bass frequencies, and the speakers used often fade and fall apart due to the paper and foam used in construction.
Repairing the speakers is a short term fix until they fade again, and they still don't play low frequencies very well.
The Monsoon retrofit solves this by replacing the 4 factory speakers with a superior speaker that not only does a MUCH better job of playing very low bass frequencies, it is made of materials that should outlast the car they are installed in.
The factory enclosure is modified slightly to fit the larger magnets on the Monsoon speakers and the box is sealed and ready to plug directly into the car as a rear deck speaker replacement with no modifications.
You get deep bass similar to having a separate subwoofer box and aftermarket amplifier in the trunk without having to sacrifice trunk space and access to the spare tire. A clean factory look that is 100% reversible back to stock or easy to move to another car.
Many have asked: a subwoofer is a speaker.
A speaker that was designed for, or is currently being used for low frequency audio.
Some speakers are designed from scratch to be subwoofers and others are designed for a wide range and can be used as subwoofers based on what they are installed in, and the signal that is sent to them.
Audio test of two out of the four speakers before shipping.
YouTube video of the sub in action. Using a pool of water to allow you to see low frequency bass, and empty trunk (it's a bit dark in the video)
WHY MONSOON SPEAKERS?
The Monsoon speakers selected are water resistant, high temperature resistant, have a vented voice coil, and a plastic frame to allow temporary deformation without permanently damaging the speaker.
The Monsoon speakers selected are water resistant, high temperature resistant, have a vented voice coil, and a plastic frame to allow temporary deformation without permanently damaging the speaker.
How to remove the subwoofer box.
Remove rear lamps on either side of rear window by prying from the top of the light.
Remove C pillar trim on either side of rear window by removing three 8mm bolts and pulling inward and toward front of car.
Pull up and remove rear seat base.
Unbolt two 10mm at bottom and push up to unhook each rear seat back. (May be left loose in the car)
Lower rear seat center armrest and unbolt two 10mm at the bottom and push up to remove it.
Remove both speaker grilles- pry up
Remove 4 small gray Torx screws at rear edge of speaker opening.
Remove black forward facing plastic fasteners for cardboard subwoofer cover.
Unbolt three 13mm bolts for child seat anchor on rear deck if car has that option.
Remove cardboard subwoofer cover over rear deck
Remove three 13mm bolts at rear edge of subwoofer box.
Remove two 8mm bolts at front edge of subwoofer box.
Remove single plastic clip at front center edge of subwoofer box.
Pull subwoofer box forward slightly and unplug connector on left edge of box (on your right side if you are facing rear of car)
Follow steps in reverse for replacement
Remove rear lamps on either side of rear window by prying from the top of the light.
Remove C pillar trim on either side of rear window by removing three 8mm bolts and pulling inward and toward front of car.
Pull up and remove rear seat base.
Unbolt two 10mm at bottom and push up to unhook each rear seat back. (May be left loose in the car)
Lower rear seat center armrest and unbolt two 10mm at the bottom and push up to remove it.
Remove both speaker grilles- pry up
Remove 4 small gray Torx screws at rear edge of speaker opening.
Remove black forward facing plastic fasteners for cardboard subwoofer cover.
Unbolt three 13mm bolts for child seat anchor on rear deck if car has that option.
Remove cardboard subwoofer cover over rear deck
Remove three 13mm bolts at rear edge of subwoofer box.
Remove two 8mm bolts at front edge of subwoofer box.
Remove single plastic clip at front center edge of subwoofer box.
Pull subwoofer box forward slightly and unplug connector on left edge of box (on your right side if you are facing rear of car)
Follow steps in reverse for replacement
Customer feedback and reviews
Original thread of how this idea got started.
(https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2183946-How-I-got-DEEP-bass-from-REAR-SUBWOOFER-using-factory-enclosure)
Follow up thread on other people making their own with my comments.
(https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2331375-Another-rear-deck-speaker-upgrade)
(https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2183946-How-I-got-DEEP-bass-from-REAR-SUBWOOFER-using-factory-enclosure)
Follow up thread on other people making their own with my comments.
(https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2331375-Another-rear-deck-speaker-upgrade)