Standard audio upgraded...WOW!

[wa128]

Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to share my experience in having the speakers in the standard audio system upgraded and hopefully pass along some useful information for those wanting to do the same. Many of you, I'm sure, already know most of this.

I'm no audiophile and am a complete noob in the car audio scene. Many might say the system is ok and good enough so why waste the time and money. In the past I might agreed but not this time. "Good enough" was not good enough. At this stage in life I wanted to have and enjoy something better so I dropped some bucks to upgrade.

I consulted and enlisted the services of a very friendly, patient, informative and well versed professional named Scott at Speakerlab in downtown Seattle. My goals were simple:
- keep the functionality of the steering wheel controls
- achieve a noticeable improvement in bass and overall sound quality
- minimize having to use up trunk space (no sub enclosures)
- keep the cabin looking like stock (no cutting or hole punching)
- use quality components given a relatively limited budget

Scott’s initial proposal were 4" Hertz speakers with separate matching tweeters from this Italian company's Energy Series for the doors. 6" Morel Hybrid Ovation woofers to replace the 8" subs under the seats. Power from a Zapco i-Force 450 amp. Original BMW amp to drive the rear speakers which were not being changed.

Hertz makes product that fit the shallow mounting depths in our cars. The original door speakers have a 1-1/2" mounting depth. The 8” BMW subs are not of a standard design. The mounting depth is also about 1-1/2”. The magnet section is housed inside of the speaker's basket and then the cone on top of it thereby producing a very shallow profile. There were no 8” replacements that could fit so we had to go down in size.

That was the original plan. In the end the Morels could not outperform the BMW woofers to justify its cost. So we decided to drive the BMW woofers with the more powerful Zapco amp. The circuitry was adjusted somehow so that I could not accidently overdrive the woofers. The savings from not installing the Morels went to further upgrading the 4" speakers. The Hertz were replaced with MB Quart DSD 210 speakers with matching tweeters. The leftover savings then reduced the overall project cost.

The Zapco amp was mounted upside down on the metal frame under the package tray in the trunk. I also gained a separate bass adjustment knob which was mounted below the steering wheel column, the only visible change in the cabin.

Folks, to my ears the new sound is bordering on awesome! I set the bass knob at about the 4 level on the 0 to 10 scale and I can feel the bass in my chest! It’s fuller and deeper. The highs are definitely clearer and cleaner. Jeremy, my installer, tuned the system to deliver the best sound quality the components together as a whole could offer. The new speakers need about 80 hours of break-in time and they should sound even better after that. Sure, there are higher level components in the marketplace that will produce the utmost in sound quality but that would break the bank. I wasn’t after that.

This project did encounter some new issues. Previously, when you insert the key fob into the ignition the audio system would turn on. Well it does, but only the BMW amp and the rear speakers. The new amp and speakers turn on only when you also press the start/stop button. Seems like there’s a signal being sent that is only being recognized by the BMW equipment. Anyone know if there is a solution to this?

Also, the door warning chime is very, very loud for example, when you have the key fob in the ignition and the doors are open. Turning the volume down on the radio doesn’t do anything. Seems like the new amp is magnifying the chime signal considerably.

Finally, if you are listening to music at a certain volume level and you receive an incoming call on the Bluetooth system, the ringing and the call volume seems to be double that of the music volume. Much louder than the door chime problem I mentioned. Driving home after the installation I set the music volume a wee bit louder than what I usually listen to. I was completely startled when a call came in. I thought the speakers would burst.

I’ll check with Scott and Jeremy to see what fixes are available. All in all however, a project well thought out and executed by Scott and Jeremy at Speakerlab in Seattle. Being their first 1er to be worked on I’m sure the issues above will be sorted out prior to the next project they undertake. I’m very pleased.

1ers in Seattle, give Speakerlab a try if you’re interested in doing something about your system. For the rest of the 1ers I hope I’ve shed some light as to what to watch out for when tweaking your system.

Here's a couple of pictures.

[atr_hugo]

Looks like a nice clean install - did they have significant prior experience with installing upgrades into BMWs?

[Mad Dragon]

I always thought it was a bad thing to mount an amp upside-down. Does it have fans?

[wa128]

According to the Zapco manual the amp can be mounted in any direction on wood, metal or carpet. It does not appear to have fans. It does, however, require to have adequate ventilation around the amp. If it was mounted underneath the trunk floor where the existing BMW amp is now, for example, I don't think it would meet the ventilation requirement.

atr-hugo: I searched for BMW experienced installers. I went to a place that did custom work on high-end cars (Lambos, Ferraris, Porches, BMWs, MBs). They were referred by a very well known local audio company. This custom shop was asking for double of what I eventually paid. Also, I wasn't about to let large retail electronic stores touch my car. So my next alternative was to look for long established businesses that offered MECP certified installers. Speakerlab seemed to fit the bill.

[wa128]

It was indeed a clean install, in more ways than one. Funny thing is...I vacuumed the cabin a little before going in for the install. The cabin seemed to be in a more cleaner condition when I got the car back.

[atr_hugo]

You sure did your homework. Keep us posted on how they deal with the odds and ends.

[wa128]

I'll sure keep everyone posted. There's always risks involved when we entrust a prized possession to strangers no matter how competent they appear to be. I want to ensure we separate the good from the bad and offer confidence to others wishing to use the sames products or vendors.

[HIPSI]

I ordered the base unit as well. The upgraded unit from BMW is a $900.00 option or thereabouts. What is the expense associated to do this?

[wa128]

I went to a specialty shop knowing I would be paying full retail, and not to a discount retailer. The amp, speakers and crossover units cost about $800. This does not include taxes, labor and the miscellaneous parts including additional wiring needed to assemble the package.

The flat rate for the amp and speakers alone was about $200. It took about 8-1/2 hours to complete. I was the first 1 Series to be installed so they took their time to make sure everything was right and not just to rush me out the door. We stayed well past the shop's closing time. Plus, there was a little downtime during the day as I was unavailable for a period of time when they wanted to discuss possible solutions to resolve the Morel bass problem.

Gotta run now...going to drive and shakedown the system further. Trying to get the 80 hours break-in over and done with. :thumbup:

[blacknbean]

Interesting install. if i were to upgrade the sounds system one day i would go down this route. i have a big sub box in my current car and dont want to do it again.

couple of questions..
How did you tap into the output of the headunit. Im guessing you used some sort of line driver? I dont think BMW headunits have any kind of preout do they? how is the quality of the output to the amp?

Also, it seems as if you powering your component set and the BMW sub with the Zapco amp. Do you know the specs on the BMW sub or the BMW amp? If powering the BMW sub with an external amp makes it sound that much better I may want to just do that with a 2 channel amp

nice choice of audio equipment btw. zapco ftw!

[larryn]

You should be able to find the wire that becomes hot when you insert the fob, back at the amp. Once you get that wire, just stick a relay on it and use it to switch power on/off the amp.

The stock amp is behind the felt/carpeted covering on the left side of the trunk.

As for the rest of the blaring chimes and phone connection, I don't know what you can do if the volume knob no longer controls the call volume and the chime volume.

Other than that, it sounds like a very clean setup. Congrats!

[Bye Bye GTI]

There is a remote turn on wire in the factory amp wiring harness that is black in color.
Others on e90post have used this successfully.

This wire could be the one that larryn is thinking of.

if you are hunting for the factory amp - I pulled my car apart and took some pics which are posted in this sub forum.

[Impulse]

There is a 8" sub that fits in our cars. Earthquake sws8

[wa128]

blacknbean: I don't know if BMW headunits have preouts. The installer used a Symbilink setup wherein this device is placed in the signal path between the headunit and the amp. It's supposed to eliminate induced noise before reaching the amp. The cleaned signal is then fed into Zapco's balanced line inputs. I guess Symbilink is sort of similar to JL Audio's Cleansweep, although I don't know much about Cleansweep. To answer your other question, the Zapco amp is driving the new tweeters, midranges and the BMW subs. The BMW amp is still working and driving only the factory rear speakers. Sorry I do not know the power ratings for the BMW equipment.

Larryn & bye bye GTI: Thanks for the tips on the remote turn on line. I'll pass it on to the installer. The Zapco amp has a remote turn on terminal. That line-in is currently hooked up but I do not know where it was fed to.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the tips! If anyone else knows what controls the volume on the Bluetooth and door chime please let me know. Thanks again.

[Bye Bye GTI]

WA128 - I was at an installer yesterday to discuss my new system and brought up the issue with the gongs that you were experiencing.

We came up with a possible solution.

The gongs are produced via the front speakers. It sounds like the gain on your amp is amplifiying the gongs. If you are using a 4 channel amp to power the front and rear's - then reverse the inputs (put front head output to amp rear input). This way you can turn down the gain on the rear speakers and maintain your hands free and gong sounds at a level that doesn't interfere with your music. This won't affect music playback either unless you have a logic 7 dsp.

I realize you are using your 4 channel amp to drive the subs at the moment but if the problem is that annoying - this might be an upgrade worth considering. Or see if your shop will swap your amp out for the Alpine PDX5.

Good luck and let us know if you find another solution.

BTW - here is a link to a earthquake seller that has them for an excellent price.

http://www.caraudiocraze.com/subwoof.../prod_762.html

[wa128]

Thanks bye bye GTI! I'll pass this info along. I'm still testing out the system and electricals in the car to see if anything else might be affected just as a precaution. Then I'll contact the installer later this week.

[ansun]

So how much did this install cost you including labor and parts?

[RedTRex]

Very nice install...

BTW - under audio setting you can change gong/chime loudness as well as Volume % increase for road noise (i.e. ---- you set volume while at a light, it will increase volume automatically as road noise increases). Refer to your radio operators manual.

[wa128]

I tried the gong volume control. It does not work. There was an earlier post by another member about that. Everyone who replied said that it didn't work either. The volume remains the same no matter how soft or loud you set the level at.