07-12-2022, 02:20 PM | #45 | |
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Then just strip the two wire ends from the car harness and insert them into the spring terminals on the Earthquake spacer rings. See photo. (Remember to connect the wires coming out of the spacer ring terminals underneath to the speaker itself. They have spade connectors that fit perfectly. Black terminal on the spacer ring is negative and red is positive. I don't recall the wire colors on the BMW stock harness. But in Germany cars often negative is indicated by a brown wire or by a striped wire. In BMW HiFi systems and Harman Kardon systems, there are just two wires in the harness to each subwoofer. But the BMW Base audio system has four wires because it doesn't have a separate amplifier in the trunk. All of its power comes from the head unit in the dash. I have seen BimmerPosts about how to wire them properly to aftermarket subs. Note: I have done extensive searches for a pigtail with a rectangular connector that would fit the connector on the BMW harness- so that it doesn't have to be snipped off. I even bought a few from China that looked promising but nothing fit properly. Technicpnp used to sell a spacer ring with rectangular connectors on it but stopped. I inquired about the source of their connectors but never received a response. Hope this helps! Last edited by johnung; 07-13-2022 at 08:48 AM.. |
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07-12-2022, 02:28 PM | #46 |
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I connected my earthquakes the way it was described by johnung - and I believe most members have done the same.
Technic PNP (https://technicpnp.com/) used to sell the adapters, but not anymore. These from ebay seem to fit the bill, but I have no experience with them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/362946871646 |
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07-12-2022, 03:16 PM | #48 |
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He is NOT installing the earthquake woofers. He is installing the Match UP W8BMW-S woofers.
https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/medi...8BMW-S_Web.pdf The harness you see in the video comes with the Match woofers. |
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07-12-2022, 03:28 PM | #49 |
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07-12-2022, 03:30 PM | #50 | |
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i assume the pigtail is proprietary? can't be bought from ali express? lol |
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07-12-2022, 03:30 PM | #51 | |
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07-12-2022, 03:49 PM | #52 |
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Several of the aftermarket woofer vendors have a harness or adapter for plug-and-play without having to cut the cables. For example, Bavsound, Match, Focal. Feel free to contact them and see if they'll sell the adapter/harness to you. Several board members have tried, I don't know anyone who has succeeded.
Or buy your woofers from these other aftermarket vendors. Most of them are 2x the price of earthquakes and not as good, but you'll have pristine OEM wires |
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07-12-2022, 03:55 PM | #54 | |
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I'm starting to think this connector is the real reason why other aftermarket woofers are all $200 more expensive than the earthquakes |
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07-12-2022, 08:10 PM | #55 | ||
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07-12-2022, 08:18 PM | #56 |
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07-12-2022, 11:02 PM | #57 |
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any reason why the match BA-UP-W8BMW-S is not recommended ? due to price or quality? i understand crutchfield is selling for $520 a pair.
yes, earthquake is 50% cheaper, about $130 at amazon, so you can buy a pair of earthquake for the price of 1 match BA-UP-W8BMW-S sub. Curiously, their pair price is $270, more expensive than if you buy 2x each at $260. as always, appreciate your comments. thanks. so, a quick search for the sub harness at aliexpress, it looks similar to the youtube video harness from match... this one at $3 a pair although paying a $4 shipping fee Last edited by dangerus_car; 07-12-2022 at 11:16 PM.. |
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07-13-2022, 06:51 AM | #58 |
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Reason is quality: better specs on earthquakes than on Match woofers.
The sub harness you found looks like it could work, but i have no experience with it. Let us know how it works out if you end up getting them. |
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07-13-2022, 08:42 AM | #59 | |
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For many decades the audio industry has had good products, and average to poor products that use slick marketing to sell them. Heck, one marketing strategy in audio is to purposely price a product high. People convince themselves that something sounds great because they paid a high price for it. When I was younger I used to hang out at my buddy's family's high end audio store. One day he showed me two speaker lines. One was reasonably priced and the other cost maybe twice as much. He played them both and asked me which sounded better. I said that I couldn't tell the difference. He laughed and opened their cabinets. They were absolutely identical, made on the same manufacturing line. His store bought the two speaker lines from the same source company that made them both. It was cheaper to manufacture one speaker in large quantities and just put different brand names on them. They were marketed to be at two very different price points but they were really identical except for different shades of wood stain on the outside and different logos. That afternoon I hung out while he played speakers for many prospective customers. Over 80% said that the more expensive speakers sounded much better. He sold quite a few. He even told people that they were the same and most people still bought the more expensive speakers. Crazy! But they wanted to buy the better known brand name and they wanted to tell themselves and their friends that they were the best- because they had paid a high price. That's the marketing model that these couple of well known BMW aftermarket audio companies are using, and they are getting rich doing it. They are having inexpensive average speakers made in China. And they are spending most of their efforts on slick marketing to convince people that they sound great and that they are worth the high price. Often they purposely leave key specs out of their materials because it would prove that their products are nothing special. Read Billfitz's posts. He ignores the marketing and evaluates audio products based on their engineering specs. |
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07-13-2022, 08:46 AM | #60 | |
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Okay, thanks for the input. i m first sold on match amplified, now on earthquake. i m gonna get it and also i m willing to be the test rat for the harness.
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07-13-2022, 10:27 AM | #61 |
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07-13-2022, 10:38 AM | #62 |
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07-13-2022, 11:13 AM | #63 |
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how do you rate the difficulty of installing the match amplifier vs the earthquake?
which is more difficult? my review on match amp with match stock tune: very happy. with stock hi fi, at half volume, it feels like i m listening to empty can getting beat up with match, at half volume, it feels more full, and it's louder too... the base with match amp and stock woofer feels more punchy compare with stock amp i want to tune more, but i think i should wait until i get everything, the earthquake and additional tweeters. upon looking at your ebay harness and comparing it to the aliexpress i found, it seems like it's the same harness... thanks. Last edited by dangerus_car; 07-13-2022 at 10:26 PM.. |
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07-13-2022, 09:06 PM | #64 | |
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Check out the post from johnung with instructions, it is the 2nd post in this thread. some key points:
There is nothing too complex, just more time consuming. |
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07-13-2022, 09:41 PM | #65 |
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Also. Leave your usb extension attached and wrap electrical tape around it to hold it in place so you don’t accidentally unplug it when working in the drivers seat. Then just coil it up amd tuck away when done.
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