[rup]

Another vote for the Alpine

[toxicnerve]

Hrm,

I just had my post-sale pack through from Elms, there's a 10% off voucher for accessories (car accessories not lifestyle).

So if Elms are doing the Alpine upgrade for £300 (which I would assume they are seeing as Sytner are doing it for that) I should be able to get £30 off.

I might look into this.

In the meantime, it seems I have another problem, less than a week after picing up the car one of my brake lights isn't working. Is this a warranty issue or (assuming it's just the bulb) a wear & tear thing?

[chris330D]

Should get that on warranty.

[toxicnerve]

Originally Posted by chris330D

Should get that on warranty.

Indeed it was, I took it to my local dealer (not the dealer I bought from) and they sorted it out right away thankfully.

Think I might end up going for the Alpine upgrade after some peoples comments. Will wait a little though (the dent in my wallet needs to heal a little).

[chris330D]

I think the Alpine route gives the best value for money upgrade, depends on how much of an audiophile you are. If cas is tight there are a number of DIY guides on the forum and the sticky has loads of guys who have done it themselves. I got the dealer to do mine, car was only 6 months old and didn't want to start taking it apart.

[rajdas69]

I've just brought the Alpine upgrade and "half installed it" as one of the crossovers weren't working so only have the tweeter working on the passenger side at the mo!

Haven't installed the amp yet, waiting for my next day off which never seems to come but I am defo upgrading the under seat subs, brought some Pioneer TS-SW841 subs, had some rings cut from MDF but the plastic enclosure needs chopping to make it fit properly and like the earlier post didn't want to chop anything but once you get going you can't help but chop here and there, you'll never see the mods as the sub will cover them and then eventually the grills!

[ibanezking]

BULBS - all covered under the 3 year warranty! Surprisingly.............

STEREO - i have a E92 2007 335d and it appears it just has the standard stereo......
I don't have any complaints about it at all - sounds great - the EQ needs tweaking from "flat" to get the best out of it....... Bass and treble both on +5 for Rock music

Just got back from the school run and sat on the drive flicking thru a few rock tracks and all sounded great and wondered why you were so disappointed????

I play guitar and sing in a rock band so i'm not some numpty who doesn't know bass from treble.............

Max

[Bungle009]

I initilly liked my "standard" sound system, but over time realised that there was something missing. It is however way better then the standard system used to be in the several E39's that I owned.

Over time its become apparent that the standard system is weak in the treble area, say over 5,000 hz, and im sure this is because there is no dedicated tweeters. Making a single speaker cover midrange & treble is a huge (cost cutting) compromise. I think just installing the tweeters would be a big step forward over the standard system if funds were tight.

[gIzzE]

I would comnsider the Litebox Stereo 4 from Vibe if you plan on upgrading the subs at some point.

This gives you full crossovers and gains, the Alpine does not and the front speakers are quite sensitive so when you add aftermarket subs you can't hear them properly and you can't adjust the gains to increase the volume.

The Litebox 4 is a very, very good amp, the signal to noise ratio is class leading, it is a Class GH amp too, so you get the warmth and detail of a Class A and the power of a Class D without the problems of a Class D like FM interference. It also has a chip that senses when you oem radio kicks into life through its IC chip, rather than waiting for a signal to come down the speaker wires, so it will turn on as soon as you unlock the car, so no nasty pops or clicks.

It also has over twice the power, so it fills the cabin far easier and gets to silly levels before it starts to struggle and get a little harsh.

It is £240, add a pair of L7 tweeters for £60 and you are at the same price as the Alpine set up, and imho a far better sound, plus you can then spend £200 on the Earthquake subs and have a really, really nice system.

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

It also has a chip that senses when you oem radio kicks into life through its IC chip, rather than waiting for a signal to come down the speaker wires, so it will turn on as soon as you unlock the car, so no nasty pops or clicks.

Gizze, question for you (and sorry to OP for a threadjack)....I have the Alpine system. I'm happy with it although it isn't as good as something like the set up you describe.
Anyway, when I switch on the radio there is a second or two when the sound only comes out of the rear OEM speakers; then the Alpine kicks in.
But when I do the same on my Ipod (connected through the glovebox interface and recognised as CD by the head unit) there is zero delay, I get the full Alpine sound immediately.

Why would this be? Not complaining, just curious. I'd have thought all sources would be treated the same?

Mike.

[Steve748]

There is a delay when you switch the ipod on so you don't hear the speaker delay in the back like you do with the radio.



Another + vote for the Alpine upgrade from me

[toxicnerve]

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it.

I will look into that Litebox amp and see how much I can get it for, going rate seems to be £240.

[chris330D]

Originally Posted by Mike in Hampshire

Gizze, question for you (and sorry to OP for a threadjack)....I have the Alpine system. I'm happy with it although it isn't as good as something like the set up you describe.
Anyway, when I switch on the radio there is a second or two when the sound only comes out of the rear OEM speakers; then the Alpine kicks in.
But when I do the same on my Ipod (connected through the glovebox interface and recognised as CD by the head unit) there is zero delay, I get the full Alpine sound immediately.

Why would this be? Not complaining, just curious. I'd have thought all sources would be treated the same?

Mike.

Generally the 3 second gap in the iPoD firing up is the same as the time it takes for the amp to kick in.

[Pagnobito]

The litebox 4 is phono in only, how do you get the signals from the HU as I thought the only option was to take speaker level inputs from down in the footwell?
(unless you fitted a speaker level to phono signal summing unit as long as they do not have their own volume control)

[gIzzE]

It comes with an adapter and there is a switch that tells the amp you are using a hi-level input.