Jake528

Hey everyone, I am very happy to report I finally pulled the trigger on a 2005 E55!

I flew out to Los Angeles from Texas to pick it up and drive back 1,350 miles. It was an absolute blast to drive. The torque is just silly.

Anyhow, the car is very clean save a few little things. Something I am bummed about that the shop didn't catch during their PPI was that the center speaker is blown and I think the rear sub is blown or going out because it makes all sorts of noises with the radio turned up to a decent volume.

I've searched a bit and couldn't find a thread with recent enough pictures to still be active. Has anyone replaced either of these before, and does anyone have a good source for the equipment?

Thanks!

SilverDameon55

I would love to find out the speaker replacement for the center dash myself. Mine is on it's way out

kenneyd

I cant comment of the rear sub, but I was able to fix the front center dash speaker.
After you remove the grill with a long skinny flat screw driver, Remove the speaker. You can obviously replace it, I opted to re-glue mine since it wasn't blown, the adhesive had simply dried up and failed from the cone to the frame . I simply used super glue. I set a weight on a piece of 3.5 or 4" PVC to apply constant pressure around the edge and let it dry. Its been working fine at loud volumes for 2 years now.

Pcar2Bcar

Congrats on the purchase! Nothing like a great road trip when you first get the car. I did that from NorCal to SoCal on a Porsche I bought and will never forget it...

+1 on KennyD. I had what sounded like a blown center speaker when I picked up the 55 Wag but after some research, I decided to check the glue first. Sure enough, the speaker was loose in the housing. Some super glue and patience and it was easy. It's been working great for a couple years now. It's great to have a "free" fix on one of these cars!

Jake528

Pcar2Bcar

Sorry, I should have mentioned to check You Tube. Most anything for this car (and all cars) can be found there. It's amazing what people do in their spare time or have the energy to tackle! Best of luck and let us know if that was the fix. It would be helpful for everyone.

Cheers

EvoTechnik

+1 on kenny, I did the same thing to fix the center speaker but I used some black silicon sealant.

Jake528

lseguy

yes, same here with the center speaker. I too have always used the black silicone type sealant as it allows the natural up and down movement of the speaker cone. I dont believe super glue is the best solution for this issue

Jake528

proguy747

Did you buy the silver one in Anaheim?

Jake528

kiluminati616

Was wondering if you had any luck replacing your subwoofer. I’ve got a crackle in mine and have been thinking of trying my luck swapping in an aftermarket sub into the stock location. Tough to find much info out there though. From what I can gather it’s a pita getting the rear shelf out and you’d need to trim the sub mount to get a new one in.

This guy on YouTube did it and seems pretty responsive in the comments section

mbmg

I've done it a few times. First, I replaced my stock sub with a kicker similar to the video above. It sounded better but still had a muddy bass sound. I then removed it and built a proper baffle board and sub box bolted to the underside of the rear deck. I also changed my sub for an Image Dynamics 10", bypassed the fiber optic, and ran an Audio Control LC-6.1200 amp. It sounds much better now. The most difficult part is removing the rear headrests. There are a few YT videos out there showing how to remove those. Removing the rear seat (bottom/lower) is relatively easy. The two upper quarter panels are difficult to remove and not break the center plastic mounts/tabs. Both of mine broke but it still installs fine without them, just not as tight to the body in the center of the panel. The rear deck panel is fairly easy to remove also. I have the rear shade mechanism and that makes it more difficult but still easy enough to do. Make sure to take it slow and lift up on the rear of the deck panel to get the white plastic speed-nut tabs to clear the rear foam insulation or you will break them off. The easiest way to cut or open the sub hole is with a reciprocating air saw once you trace a circle. It cuts through like butter and is fast yet controllable.

kiluminati616

cool thanks for the info - i think i'll give it a shot at some point. did you just use the stock amp when you first used the kicker?

I'm really just looking to replace the stock sub with something similar. i'm not crazy about having the magnet dipping so far into the trunk so i was hoping to find a shallow mount free air sub that would fit in the stock location with little to no cutting.

theres only 1 sub on crutchfield that fits the bill: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSZ...TS-Z10LS4.html

Jake528

I never had any luck I just decided to set the bass lower and deal with it. It isn’t terrible. I’ll address it in the future but I’d rather put time and money into performance! Well, I’d like to but really I’m just keeping everything up to date. I’ll catch up eventually and find the time to do some things...I hope!

mbmg

Kiluminati616 - Yes, I used the stock amp when I first used the kicker. I then added the aftermarket amp with the kicker before building the box with the ID sub.

Yuille36

My solution involved considering more money and time. I had the entire car outfitted with new Focal Speakers, added (2) Alpine 4 Channel Amplifiers, a JL Audio Subwoofer w/h enclosure and a Audison Digital Sound Processor and Controller.
The system sounds outstanding, and I'm very happy that I did it. The car now has bass for days, and most times I don't even turn on the DSP which among other things controls the sub. Due to the various inputs; SiriusXM, CD, iPod I have to turn the bass either up or down.

mbmg

Yuille36 - Can you post a photo of your sub enclosure? I'm curious how they did it.

Yuille36

I have all of these components installed in the car. Sorry, I have don't have installation photos.








My subwoofer enclosure has seen better days, I need a dent removal guy

mbmg

So it looks like the sub box is in the trunk and they left a rear deck port where the stock sub was. Is this correct?

Yuille36

No, I still have the sub and mid-range speakers in the rear deck. When I need extra bass, I just turn on the sub enclosure via the Audison DSP controller, and adjust the input and volume.
The car has adequate thump now without the sub enclosure, but with it it sounds so much better. The sub enclosure produces those tones that the rear sub can't produce. The thump that you feel inside your body.

mbmg

I understand now. It's in addition to the stock sub only when needed. Nice.

Yuille36

The factory Harmon Kardon system is okay, but could use some improvement. A lot of people's chief complaint is that it doesn't have enough bass.
So for me installing all new Focal speakers with crossovers, Alpine amps, a Digital Sound processor and Subwoofer enclosure that problem is no longer an issue.
And the best part is that everything is packaged and hidden away, the only thing visible is the DSP controller when you open the ashtray along with my LED display for my radar.
And the sub enclosure when you open the trunk, everything (DSP, Alpine Amps) are packaged in an enclosure under the rear deck. That is the enclosure you see over the sub enclosure.
The speaker grill is for ventilation for the DSP and amps. Everything was nicely package, attention to detail.