Integral Audio 80S 8" loaded subwoofer enclosure GROUP BUY INFO

[ssbuchanan]

So I had to remove the whole inside of the oddment box. Cut, saw and trim!
The roll hoops are the same as yours, and the 3 small holes for sub-brackets are there too.
Attachment 509837
Originally my car had both the small compartment and the larger one where now the sub sits.
Unfortunately there is not enough space for the small compartment either :-(
I would appreciate if any of you guys could suggest any fix to this. I have tried to find search RealOEM but I can't get this page to work......there must be some kind of a blind plate that can be mounted instead of the small compartment

As you can see, my old car has the small rear speakers, only 3".
Anyway, I mounted a Xzound SDX-290 to drive the sub, more power than the unit can handle and louder than I care!
A good improvement to the stereo sound in my little Z.

Uhoh, I'm in the same boat... Please keep the thread updated - I haven't even thought about starting yet (don't have an amp, don't have garage space, don't have a round tuit), but not having to solve these problems will make it easier to get a round tuit

[shanez]

Uhoh, I'm in the same boat... Please keep the thread updated - I haven't even thought about starting yet (don't have an amp, don't have garage space, don't have a round tuit), but not having to solve these problems will make it easier to get a round tuit

image-4036572684.jpg

This is the solution I had I cut all unnessary extras from the back of the small cover keeping the buttons and the surrounding plate I then cut thin layer of flexible plastic the same size as the complete face including button area hike one to the other and this provided a smooth base to cover with a fabric. Or in my case some personalzied leather

[ssbuchanan]

This is the solution I had I cut all unnessary extras from the back of the small cover keeping the buttons and the surrounding plate I then cut thin layer of flexible plastic the same size as the complete face including button area hike one to the other and this provided a smooth base to cover with a fabric. Or in my case some personalzied leather

Very nice!

[Yukonrich]

Hi,

I hope this finds you all doing well.

I paid a shop to install the sub-woofer and replace the kick panel speakers. This was added to a 1998 M Roadster with the Harmon Kardon system. I did not have them do anything else.

Just so you know upfront they had warned me that I would need an amplifier and a few other improvements to get great sound. This shop has done a great job on a number of installs for different cars and I use the same tech. The install was really clean.

What i found was the new woofers in the kick panels sound great, but the new IA sub-woofer in the rear was anemic, and sounds terrible. The IA sub-woofer is not a drop in speaker to replace the old one but a speaker to add in with an amplifier. I am just curious to see if anyone has successfully added just the speaker to the old Harmon Kardon system or if they tried and had my same results?

I am going to do what they suggested in the first place by adding the amplifier and hope that is really the thing I need to do to get the new IA sub-woofer working well.

Hey it least it looks good so far, lol.

Kind Regards,
Rich

[felonious monk]

Hi,

I hope this finds you all doing well.

I paid a shop to install the sub-woofer and replace the kick panel speakers. This was added to a 1998 M Roadster with the Harmon Kardon system. I did not have them do anything else.

Just so you know upfront they had warned me that I would need an amplifier and a few other improvements to get great sound. This shop has done a great job on a number of installs for different cars and I use the same tech. The install was really clean.

What i found was the new woofers in the kick panels sound great, but the new IA sub-woofer in the rear was anemic, and sounds terrible. The IA sub-woofer is not a drop in speaker to replace the old one but a speaker to add in with an amplifier. I am just curious to see if anyone has successfully added just the speaker to the old Harmon Kardon system or if they tried and had my same results?

I am going to do what they suggested in the first place by adding the amplifier and hope that is really the thing I need to do to get the new IA sub-woofer working well.

Hey it least it looks good so far, lol.

Kind Regards,
Rich

Clearly the fault is not with IA and their sub. It's just not well matched to the H/K amp, which was never meant to drive a sub like IA uses. It was meant to drive the smaller woofer found inside the H/K designed ported enclosure. When using/choosing a subwoofer that isn't stock you should have looked at the specs; determined what sort of power is required to properly drive it and upgrade the amplifier accordingly. I don't think the IA sub was ever marketed as a drop in replacement of the H/K sub. It's kind of a given that the H/K amplifier is inadequate to drive anything else other than the stock unit.

For what it's worth, Kenwood has a series of incredibly slim and fan cooled amplifiers right now that would be ideal for the diminutive roadster trunk. Crutchfield has them, the Excelon XR series... less than 2" thick. I would not install them behind the trunk carpet like the factory H/K amps. On a hot day, your new amps will probably fry.

[Jamesons Viggen]

Mine POUNDS. It pounds compared to the stock setup and pounds compared to the Kicker+upgraded amp.

In my Saab, the stock HK sub just died. I put in the same Kicker sub and was advised the stock amp couldnt power it. They were right, it barely sounds different than when I had the sub out of the car. So now I have an Alpine amp waiting to go in.

Trust me, the sound you seek lies in properly powering the sub.

Hi,

I hope this finds you all doing well.

I paid a shop to install the sub-woofer and replace the kick panel speakers. This was added to a 1998 M Roadster with the Harmon Kardon system. I did not have them do anything else.

Just so you know upfront they had warned me that I would need an amplifier and a few other improvements to get great sound. This shop has done a great job on a number of installs for different cars and I use the same tech. The install was really clean.

What i found was the new woofers in the kick panels sound great, but the new IA sub-woofer in the rear was anemic, and sounds terrible. The IA sub-woofer is not a drop in speaker to replace the old one but a speaker to add in with an amplifier. I am just curious to see if anyone has successfully added just the speaker to the old Harmon Kardon system or if they tried and had my same results?

I am going to do what they suggested in the first place by adding the amplifier and hope that is really the thing I need to do to get the new IA sub-woofer working well.

Hey it least it looks good so far, lol.

Kind Regards,
Rich

[Yukonrich]

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the feedback.

So now that I am going to add an amp does anyone know how many watts are required to optimize this particular sub-woofer?

Kind Regards,
Richard

[Mr Bingley]

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the feedback.

So now that I am going to add an amp does anyone know how many watts are required to optimize this particular sub-woofer?

Kind Regards,
Richard

I use a 2 channel 200 watt amp (Fosgate P200/2) and it is phenomenal.

[Yukonrich]

Hi All,

Again thank you for the feedback.

I would like to note that while looking for the amp watts info I noticed on the IA splash pages for the sub-woofer a few things that lead me to believe it dropped in when I first put the $100 down.

AT this web page it says "Can be driven from the factory amplifier" : http://www.integralaudio.com/index.php/bmw/bmw-z3.html

AT this web page on What You'll Need: it says,"Amplifier - 100-250 watts [optional]" : http://www.integralaudio.com/index.p...model-81s.html

Am I missing something here? According to website the stock OEM should at least drive it even if not to it's potential. In which case I should try to figure out if something is wrong.

Kind Regards,
Rich

[Luftwaffe1O1]

Mine sounds pretty good, but I have an aftermarket amp.

[cngizbleevng]

I'm using the stock amp and I still get deeper bass than the original woofer provided. It's especially noticeable with more modern music that is produced with a deeper bass sound. I like to listen to early 70s rock and the bass usually doesn't pop much on the older songs. I'm thinking about upgrading the amp but the wiring harness incompatibilities are what's holding me back.

[felonious monk]

Hi All,

Again thank you for the feedback.

I would like to note that while looking for the amp watts info I noticed on the IA splash pages for the sub-woofer a few things that lead me to believe it dropped in when I first put the $100 down.

AT this web page it says "Can be driven from the factory amplifier" : http://www.integralaudio.com/index.php/bmw/bmw-z3.html

AT this web page on What You'll Need: it says,"Amplifier - 100-250 watts [optional]" : http://www.integralaudio.com/index.p...model-81s.html

Am I missing something here? According to website the stock OEM should at least drive it even if not to it's potential. In which case I should try to figure out if something is wrong.

Kind Regards,
Rich

Well, you can hear sound coming out of the woofer right? "Can be driven". Yup. It's driven. Doesn't promise anything about quality of result.

Look at specs for the sub. Look at the RMS wattage requirement. That is the power your chosen amp needs to be able to put out consistently and cleanly for you to get good results. All amplifiers being sold have advertised RMS rating. You need to match that to what is required by the sub, at minimum.

[Mr Bingley]

btw get an amp with a remote level control to mount in the cabin--very useful with this set up.

[Yukonrich]

Hi Cngizbleeving,

I am not sure what felonious monk is talking about but you answered my question, thank you. The HK oem setup should at least drive the subwoofer enough to get some OK sound if set up properly and you saying it is better even using the stock amp is great.

I am now talking with Kevin at IA. He is great and got right back to me via email with some suggestions. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on.

Kind Regards,
Rich

[Mr Bingley]

Hi Cngizbleeving,

I am not sure what felonious monk is talking about but you answered my question, thank you. The HK oem setup should at least drive the subwoofer enough to get some OK sound if set up properly and you saying it is better even using the stock amp is great.

I am now talking with Kevin at IA. He is great and got right back to me via email with some suggestions. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on.

Kind Regards,
Rich

Sounds like a case of reverse polarity.

[felonious monk]

Hi Cngizbleeving,

I am not sure what felonious monk is talking about but you answered my question, thank you. The HK oem setup should at least drive the subwoofer enough to get some OK sound if set up properly and you saying it is better even using the stock amp is great.

I am now talking with Kevin at IA. He is great and got right back to me via email with some suggestions. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on.

Kind Regards,
Rich

One of the IA pages you linked states clearly:
Power Handling: 150 watts RMS/250 watts max
Impedance: Dual 4 ohms
Frequency range: 35-350 Hz

That RMS figure for power is what IA's supplied subwoofer requires for optimal operation. That max figure is the upper limit it can handle without risking damage.

In plain english: you need an amp that can produce at least 150 watts RMS and no more than 250 watts*.

*You can use an amp that produces more than 250 watts RMS, but you have to be careful to not crank it or play at volumes that produce distortion. If you do, you can literally tear the woofer cone apart.

And, yes, reversed polarity, or phase shift can adversely affect sound output even if paired with a proper amp. Try that first.

[Yukonrich]

Hi All,

Success and thanks to Cngizbleeving clearly letting me know that the new sub woofer worked fine using the OEM HK system, which is in my M Roadster.

Once I knew that it was supposed to work I was able to go to IA and ask for some help. Kevin at IA got right back to me with a few suggestions. They had me do a 40Hz test, which he sent me, to see if the speaker was moving. Once I said it was just humming but not moving Kevin told me: " I'd say it's pretty likely that the coils are connected in reverse polarity - either at the threadlock spices or at the speaker terminals."

I took Kevin's email to the shop owner/engineer. He nodded his head then went and checked them personally. He corrected the wiring and the IA sub woofer works great. I will be adding an amp to get the most out of it but I know have a working sub woofer.

The key was trying to get someone to give me a straight answer saying that the HK OEM system works fine with the new sub woofer and no I did not have to have a new amp to do that.

As you guys mentioned, it was a case of reverse polarity.

I know have learned something more about speaker wiring.

Kind Regards,
Rich

[legend921]

I finally got mine to hit hard like a proper sub. I had a replacement box because my first box the rear seam split away from the glue causing massive air leaks into the box so the back half of the box was vibrating on the notes and everything sounded loose. The second box worked great but I noticed that the back had the same issue and I didn't want to wait a month to get the another box because of where I live so I went ahead and fixed it. I took some silicone and re sealed the outside of the box and wrapped the back to the front going underneath the box with Dynamat and now the whole box does not rattle one bit. I recommend anyone who has the box where it doesnt sound to good to test to see if the back portion of the box split away from the top half. Overall great sound for the car. Now I am finally enjoying listening to music in the car!