# Shouldn't have done it but I did!!



## Plupp (Jun 2, 2005)

I headed down a trecherous path I shouldnt have. Greed, envy, who knows what drove me there. Now I regret it. I should have left well enough alone but like others with new temptations, I couldnt help myself. Well enough of that garbage, its not all that bad.
I have an 01 740i I got 2 months ago or so. Hate the sound from the DSP audio system, or at least I think i did. I put in a rodi with wireless fm modulator and I will summarize what I have learned by reading these boards, and after the fact: modulators stink! Anyway I have a soundgate auxillary device thing ordered and a car audio shop is gonna install it using the cd changer. I am excited because it should hopefully sound better than the cassette (which actually sounds a lot better than the modulator.) The problem is I couldnt just leave it at that. Using some of the threads I read on other boards and within these forums I decided my speakers needed replacing. Anything put in would be better than the factory ones I thought. I purchased the infiniti reference 6.5 components for the front and had infiniti coaxials in the rear. Circuit city did a pretty good job i thought of installation. The sound leaves a lot to be desired though. Although the base and some of the certain ranges of sounds have a better kick or thump or whatever, I find voice fairly harsh at times, and overall not as smooth as what I originally had. Certain songs sound a heck of a lot better but some for some reason just sound bad. Now the question is what to do. I cant have 'em uninstalled due to various reasons. Would a new amplifier or otherwise make everything sound better? Is there incompatabilites between non bmw speakers and the head unit, etc? Or, did I just buy garbage. Does anyone have any idea where I can find information (technical) about what is in the car amplifier and speaker wise other than the generic "premium sound system with 14 or so speakers" I have seen a billion times while searching about this model and year. I would continue the upgrade path if I thought it would sound better than the original. It is interesting that cds now sound o.k., the rodi with casette o.k., regular FM radio absolutely horrible. I fiddle with the equalizer the entire way home hoping to make it clearer at lower volumes and enveloping/smooth. If anyone has any information about the amplifier, what is it and what could be better in this situation I would love to hear form you. Thanks to anyone who choses to reply.

Plupp :dunno:


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## sf bimmer (Dec 12, 2004)

*What to do?*

Plupp, 
Relax bud all is not lost, you just started in the wrong place. The factory speakers are matched to the crossovers built in to the factory amp...meaning if you just change out your speakers they will sound like ****, the improvement will be minimal if at all. When dealing with the dsp system you need to approach things a little differently. First and foremost, get as far away from circuit city as possible...once your away, stay away. The first thing to do to improve the dsp system is to add a sub and defeat the factory crossovers. Now I realize you didn't do that, in your case you need to find a nice 4 channel amp and replace the factory amp, use the crossovers on the amp unless you bought components and they include there own. The factory head unit can be retained, and actually sounds very good after you get rid of the factory amp...shops will tell you this isn't possible(especially with dsp), when they tell you this you need to realize they don't know bmw's and move on until you find a shop that does. Take a look at my 540 with dsp and you can see that you can do a lot to these systems while retaining the factory head unit. Another person on this forum who I think is a BMW audio genius goes by the name el duderino and he can probably explain this stuff in even greater detail.
http://www.carstereo.com/installs/photo_gallery_album.cfm?galleryid=521

Good Luck


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## Plupp (Jun 2, 2005)

Thanks sf bimmer,
I appreciate the response. If memory serves me you have posted on some of my other pleas for help so again thanks. Apparently I didnt listen very well. I understand everything you are saying in that I went about it wrong. The component speakers that were put in have that little crossover box you were mentioning. The technician said it went in the door near the speaker. With this in mind, should I still look for a new amplifier or is it possible that all of this wasnt hooked up correctly? As far as I know, he installed just taking off the door and switching out the speakers and didnt mess with the amp (wherever that is, trunk, under seat??) I could go to another car audio place and get a new 4 channel amp, but I am not sure what to look for, or at this point does it matter because the speakers are no longer bmw? Get the matching 4 channel infiniti amp for example??
Thanks for the information.

Plupp :bawling:


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## sf bimmer (Dec 12, 2004)

*What to do?*

Plupp,
Okay first off now I'm sure your installer is way off base. Let me explain why your system sounds like crap. The installer hooked up the crossovers that came with your front components, that's one set of crossovers. Your BMW amp has it's own internal crossovers that are set to match the factory speakers. Using both sets will result in some seriously lackluster sound. Bypassing the factory crossovers is a rather technical job and I'm not sure it would even be worth the effort. Here is my recommendation, I would replace your factory amp with a 4 channel amp with a balanced input. You will need this since your head unit provides a balanced output. Once your replaced this your sound will be substantially better. As for what amp? It depends, I went with some pretty high end equipment but I need to know your budget before I can make any suggestions.
Let me know and I'll see what I can find,


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## Plupp (Jun 2, 2005)

*Cool!*

Thanks again sf bimmer,
Seriously lackluster sound. hehe. that pretty much summarizes what I am hearing. Some songs not horrible, others hard to imagine the studio version/recording anything like it. The Car's song "Drive" for example sounds like a cow bell or something in the back ground. Sheesh. Okay, I am following you know. Either cancel out the internal crossovers in the factory amp (not highly recommended by you I see) or purchase a new amp, and dont use those crossovers, just the ones in the speakers. Need a 4 channel, balanced amp. I will look for those type of specifications. Would a multi channel be the same as 4 channel, and what would the total watts need to be? Is around $300 a reasonable amount for the amp or have I just insulted every BMW audiophile out there with that punny budget? You see, computers I know about in terms of horsepower, components, etc. Car audio not so good. hehe. Will follow your recommendations for the amp carefully because I simply dont know about it. I have been searching the internet for tech information about my car and the audio system it comes with and no luck. For example, can any amp with the above specs work or is there a size issue. Would this amp go under the passenger seat or slide into the rear where the current amp is (at least I think it is in the trunk???) Again, thanks for the help. I will shut up and listen now.

Plupp


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## sf bimmer (Dec 12, 2004)

*Here you go*

Plupp, 
Ok lets see what we can come up with, First I'll start with amp suggestions. I would go with a JL Audio 300/4, It has balanced line inputs and a very good reputation, it will give you 300 watts which should light up your speakers quite nicely. The amp retails for 500 but can be found in the 300 range if you do a bit of internet shopping. As for the difference in multi channel amps, they come in 3,4,5,and even 6 channels so make sure it's a 4 channel amp. In terms of mounting location, I would be seriously surprised if this or any 4 channel amp will fit under your seats, or in the factory location, an aftermarket amp will be quite a bit larger than the oem model. Do your rear seats fold down? If not I would mount the amp behind them. Now on to the not so good news, when you finally find a shop that has some experience doing this, it's probably going to cost you at least 500. I know you might be thinking about doing it yourself, but trust me, the dsp system is not the place to learn car audio installation. Another thing, be patient in looking for a shop, I live in a very rich area full of BMW's and it still took me 12 shops before I found a shop that had experience doing this install, If they have never done this before just move on to the next shop in the area, you don't want them learning on your car. Alright then, If you have any more questions send them soon because I'm off to climb Halfdome and will be hitting the bed very soon. :


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## Plupp (Jun 2, 2005)

again I appreciate it. Ill start my search soon. thanks again.

Plupp


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## sf bimmer (Dec 12, 2004)

Plupp,
One other suggestion, this amp would fit your needs quite nicely, might be worth bidding on.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Zapc...ewItemQQcategoryZ38638QQitemZ7999068621QQrdZ1


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## Plupp (Jun 2, 2005)

sf bimmer, 
I'll keep an eye on that ebay listing. I was wondering if balanced isolated input circuit is the same as what you are talking about. The Pioneer GM-6100F 600 Watt 4-Channel Amplifier
says it has that and its only like $120 or so at this one web site Im looking at. (shop.com. Sorry , I dont know how to do the links where the reader can just click on.) I may have to go cheaper than 3-400 if the install cost will be pricey. I have half a mind to go back to circuit city and ask them what technique did they use to disable the factory amps crossovers given that they put the speaker crossovers in the doors. When I asked them prior to the install if I needed a new amp they said absolutely not! Could make for a funny conversation anyway but I doubt they would do anything about it. I cant swear on a bible they didnt adjust the amp settings but I doubt it. Oh well. Your thoughts on that amp mentioned above? Please feel free to post tomorrow, later, etc as it sounds like you have stuff to do. Im gonna hit the bed now anyway given the hour. Thanks for your continued help though.

Plupp


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## hogsbmw (Jul 4, 2005)

*Audio Help*

Hey guys I could realy use your help. I found reputible audio installer in town, but am not happy at all with the results in my 2002 530i. He replaced the from speakers with component Alpine (137x) speakers and the rear deck with 5.25 inch eclipse point source speakers. Tied it all in with a JL audio E4300 4 channel amp. The sound is not so good now and the fader control doesn't work anymore either. I also noticed my navigation system won't show detailed roads anymore...the symbol tracks with movement, but no road display. The GPS icon in the upper right portion of the nav display no longer shows the GPS over the earth symbol, so I think I'm not receiving three GPS signals anymore.

My question is in two parts...What should I do about the sound system and has anybody ever had this GPS problem before?

thanks,

Hogs..


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## el_duderino (Aug 1, 2005)

1) I suspect that the gps antenna is not pugged in, maybe? 

2) The F speakers are good... but you will be tilted towards the treble due to the small speaker size. Only solution I know is to ace the rears for a sub.

3) Is the fader in the HU or in the separate roller knob? That separate knob often won't work with an aftermarket amp... 

4) What's wrong with the sound? 

Did they use an LOC? Don't really need one with that amp, just a way to get rid of dc, like a ground loop isolator. 

If the shopisn't familiar, have them contact us... kenw at avincar.com.


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## mike chase (Oct 4, 2005)

*740i speaker stats*

anyone know what size speakers are in a98 740i w pioneer no nav? thinking of changing to 2 way after mrkt. pioneer


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## Lastcall (Oct 10, 2005)

Plupp said:


> I Anything put in would be better than the factory ones I thought. I purchased the infiniti reference 6.5 components for the front and had infiniti coaxials in the rear. Circuit city did a pretty good job i thought of installation. The sound leaves a lot to be desired though. Although the base and some of the certain ranges of sounds have a better kick or thump or whatever, I find voice fairly harsh at times, and overall not as smooth as what I originally had. Certain songs sound a heck of a lot better but some for some reason just sound bad. Now the question is what to do. I cant have 'em uninstalled due to various reasons.
> Plupp :dunno:


I don't want to burst your bubble, but Infinity speakers are not what they used to be. All the suggestions above are very good, but as a former Kappa owner I can tell you that you are going to have the same problem of some songs sounding good and some a little iffy...


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