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  1. #1
    Active Member One Ring
    Join Date
    May 11 2018
    AZ Member #
    418612
    Location
    CA, USA

    B8 coupe-Project Finished- added aftermarket 1" tweeters to blank sail panels-non-B&O

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    Hello All,

    This is probably the best upgrade I've done (besides the 8' sub/add amp upgrade in the oem housing to parcel shelf to look oem.. I'll post later on that another day and put a link here). In my opinion...do this first before messing with the dash speakers. See further down on that.
    LONG but, here's all info for anyone who wants to do this.

    Using the audienthusiasts.com tweeter upgrade article as a reference guide, I upgraded my 2012 non B&0 3g high/nav system 10 speaker to have tweeters in door triangle sail panels. I found the link/article years ago after buying the car used and wish I did it then! I didn't expect it do to as much as it did. Granted, I didn't use the oem B&O tweeter (8ohm is oem instead of 4 ohm and thought I could do better) so can't say how theirs sounded.

    Point is: It really brightens up the muddy sounding system. It's really fixing the lack of highs and clarity!
    Total cost: about $150 (depending on what tools you already have and if you buy new sail panels[below])
    What do you need?:
    Tweeters: Kicker KST25 1' tweeter silk dome MFR # 41KST254 (I suppose you could try 3/4 size tweeters for a better fit)
    Tools: zip ties, soldering tools, wire strippers/cutters, xt-60 quick connectors, electrical tape, sander/cutter tool to resize mount hole for tweeter as it's smaller than the new tweeter. Needs to be inset further to put covers on.
    Tools: New B&0 sail panels ($75ish on ebay for both) or ......buy a super tiny hand dremel tool set <1mm (amazon) if you want to poke holes in the blank covers to make grills. It was way too much work and time! And,while the hand drill tips are super small, the hole edges looked jagged/scratched/modified/discolored. It just didn't work well in my opinion. I also broke three various size tips(they are small!) in the process so... I gave up. You may not mind the work/look.

    This really livens things up and having the small tweeters so much closer really makes notes shine. Stuff I didn't hear before or was at least muted. So much more depth to the songs.

    Found a thread where someone tested a few brands and recommended these tweeters for the sail panels doors since they are off axis. Kicker KST25. Its a 1 inch silk dome tweeter. Got it for just under $70 on ebay since they are an older model. They are hard to find since it's been replaced with a newer model (and therefore more $). It has slightly revised specs but I'm sure it will work equally well.
    I used the mid bass from the door as my input per the article. This tweeter has the crossover already wired into the speaker wires so it's so easy to do!
    I used quick connectors so I could unplug them anytime but you could wire directly into the door speaker wire if you want.
    Tweeters are larger than the oem hole mount so whittle carefully/dremel away on the plastic tabs a while to get it so the tweetwer sits lower and still snug. Worked very well. Makes sense when you do it.
    Note: I cut the hole mount so I could angle them level and just slightly towards the center of vehicle at least. The oem housing has it angled in the housing up at an angle away from the ears! Who know why?!!


    Side note: Just over a year ago I put in the Dayton rs75-4's (3 inch speakers) in the 3 dash spots. With no crossover (so it's full range) for middle speaker but kept the 10uf caps on the dash corners. There's a thread out there on this upgrade. Anyhow, I wasn't completely excited about the upgrade. It wasn't that noticeable for all the work in my opinion to work in the tight space. It sounded a bit sharper but not much.

    All fixed now! Very happy! Sound is so close and detailed.A few pics in next post below.

  2. #2
    Active Member One Ring
    Join Date
    May 11 2018
    AZ Member #
    418612
    Location
    CA, USA

    Installed. Level and slightly angled towards center of the car. Just need to pop on the cover.
    installed and leveled.jpginstalled and angled.jpg


    OEM vs 1" Kicker tweeter. You could go 3/4 and probably be a closer direct install.

    size comparison.jpg


    OEM B&O tweeters and how they are mounted (didn't use them..i'll sell to anyone as they came with the BO sail panels?) but notice the strange angle up and almost towards windshield on these.. Nope! Not best shot but it's there.

    oem at angle.jpg

  3. #3
    Senior Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    Apr 12 2018
    AZ Member #
    416984
    Location
    ga

    Thanks for sharing. I have the Daytons in my dash corners too but need to solder in the capacitors and buy a third for the middle change. I think I will give this a try with a pair of Polk 1" tweets I have sitting around.

  4. #4
    Active Member One Ring
    Join Date
    May 11 2018
    AZ Member #
    418612
    Location
    CA, USA

    Quote Originally Posted by dkmesa View Post
    Thanks for sharing. I have the Daytons in my dash corners too but need to solder in the capacitors and buy a third for the middle change. I think I will give this a try with a pair of Polk 1" tweets I have sitting around.

    Yes. I used a rather large Jantzen Audio 10uF 400V Crosscap Capacitor for the driver dash corner one. It's big but works. However, the passenger side is more crammed so had to solder off the 10uf cap from the oem speaker and re-solder it to the Dayton since it's tiny. Can't tell its different in sound left to right. Maybe I would have been happier running those in full range? i dunno.
    No capacitor in middle for full range.
    Again, I'm happier with this upgrade vs the dash work.

    Anyhow, I think you'd be happy giving it a shot. Not too time intensive. Especially if you went 3/4. it would probably drop right in to the oem holder.

    Funny enough, our non BO setups, while they are blank from appearance, the backing has the holder there already. Just need a tweeter and need a cover with holes. lol.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    Apr 12 2018
    AZ Member #
    416984
    Location
    ga

    I installed my driver's side tweeter. Popped in the factory location without modification. I opted to drill out the holes in the factory cover...man what a pain. I wonder if the output will be lower since the door speakers are now sharing their power input, but it sounds good from a few minutes of listening.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    Apr 12 2018
    AZ Member #
    416984
    Location
    ga

    After completing my project, I can confirm Polk DB1001 1" tweeters in the sail panels off the factor midbass in the doors improved the clarity and crispness of my highs without noticeable attrition to the midbass. In my allroad, I now have Dayton RS-75 in the dash corners, factory 3" in the middle, factory midbasses in each door, Polk tweeters in sail panel, and an Alpine 10" powered by 500 watt Alpine amp. Very happy with the factory given I'm running the factory non-B&O amp.

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