[LeMans330d]

Evening all!

I have been a long time crawler on these forums, but never posted!

I have recently bought a 2008 E92 330d M sport, which i love, however i have a few questions.

When i ordered the car i requested that the dealer fit both the Alpine sound upgrade ( on the positive feedback from people on here) and also the Ipod connection in the glovebox. They fitted these 2 options for around £690 in total inc fitting, which from reading this forum seems like a good price.

Since getting the car i realised straight away that the Alpine sound system sounds pretty s**t, now admittedly i have never really listened to the standard sound system for any length of time, but coming from a Bose system in my old A3, this Alpine system just sounds poor. Basically the sound lacks clarity at any volume, however when i turn the volume up high the front speakers distort badly!

Now initially i thought that perhaps the dealer had cocked up the fitting, so i took it back and they have checked it over (removing the door covers etc) and apparently everything is all present and correct.

Due to the dealer claiming that everything is set up correctly i decided the best bet is to ask the guys on this forum to see what your experiences of the Alpine upgrade are.

Am i expecting too much that the system shouldn't distort at high volume, or does something not appear to be right with it?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Tom

[lee.minwoo_]

hey there~
Im not an expert of or anything, but even the stock speakers dont even get distorted or sound really bad. I havent owned a alpine sound system on a bmw yet only the logic 7 but even that sound system was amazing! i think your sound system may have experienced a defect, you should bring it back to get it replaced completely since its brand new with warrenty. dont let them jerk you around saying that everything is fine~ sorry but i hope this kinda helps? best wishes!
- M

[AlanQS]

The front door speakers should have been replaced in the Alpine kit. I have had it fitted on mine to replace the standard system and it is much better than before. Mine can distort with a strong signal source (ever noticed how when you convert to MP3 some tracks are just louder than others, irrespective of the type of music) but it does it a volume level I wouldn't usually run since I have no interest in letting people at the other end of the street hear it.

I hope I haven't spent over £500 on a piece of shit and think it's either a faulty unit or your ears are way too sensitive.

[lons]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

The front door speakers should have been replaced in the Alpine kit. I have had it fitted on mine to replace the standard system and it is much better than before. Mine can distort with a strong signal source (ever noticed how when you convert to MP3 some tracks are just louder than others, irrespective of the type of music) but it does it a volume level I wouldn't usually run since I have no interest in letting people at the other end of the street hear it.

I hope I haven't spent over £500 on a piece of shit and think it's either a faulty unit or your eng to do with the soundars are way too sensitive.

Hi

Nothing to do with the sound quality but it is very easy to solve the problem of mp3 tracks being different sound levels:-

Do a google search and download a free little prog called "MP3 Gain" and before putting the tracks on a cd or your player or whatever you use, just run them all through the program and it will in just a few minutes equalise all to the same level. Default settings are fine although I usually set it a little higher.

There are other progs available but I've used this for years and it's dead easy.

[LeMans330d]

Thanks for your comments guys!

I have to admit that i do like my music loud and perhaps i have to accept that the volume may distort at high volume, however as i said before i can only compare it to my Bose system which i paid the same for (albeit the Bose was a factory fit option which i know is usually going to be cheaper), which is hugely superior in all aspects, bass, clarity etc.

Most people who have riden in the car with me agree that it doesnt sound good, but if that is the best it's going to get then i may have to shell out more money on bringing it up to an acceptable standard!

[E92 LeMans]

Lemans

If you want to listen to standard hifi mine has that so welcome to compare

I read a post here which i think they had to turn down bass and treble setting to around 2 ish I am sure some one will chime in.

[LeMans330d]

Thanks for the offer E92LeMans, you have the standard set up right?

What would be great is if i could listen to someones Alpine upgrade sound system?

[Budgie]

There was some faulty alpine units around...but i think that was when they first come out.

[doughboy]

The basic system is fairly poor, but as a reference for you, I have the HiFi system (lowest factory upgrade £380) and that is the same or better than the BOSE I had in a 54 reg Audi A3 3dr.

I don't know if the Apline upgrade is above or below the spec of HiFi system which inludes subwoofers under the driver seats and about 10 speakers i think.

After HiFi you've got HiFi DSP and then the Individual system above that.

[paulcurtis]

Depends what the dealer means by the Alpine upgrade as that's not a factory option as far as i'm aware.

If they took a basic system and added the alpine upgrade kit then you've got small basic speakers under the seats and same speakers in the rear (as far as i know). This is not the same as the HiFi upgrade which i've had before and sounded great.

I'm slowly getting my act together and upgrading but the fact that the alpine won't really be powerful enough to drive upgraded speakers under the seats puts me off that route, despite the fact that it's great value for money.

cheers
paul

[biscuits]

Hi LeMans,

I think the Alpine upgrade is good compared to the stock system, which is utter rubbish, however like others have said, it's only a 1/2 upgrade.

Having completed my upgrade using the Blaupunkt THS555 amp, Logic7 front door speakers and Earthquake SWS8 4ohm subs... I am now pretty impressed with the outcome... but it's quite a big step up from the Alpine BMW upgrade.

If you fancy popping along to the UK7 meet there will be various different systems in various different E9x cars to listen too.

[LeMans330d]

Thanks for your input guys!

doughboy - my A3 was a 55 plate so i would imagine it would have the same system as your one. The Bose had a volume control on it where by it would not go any louder than what the system could handle ( volume level 30 from memory), so i would have thought that the Alpine upgrade would have a similar system (in fact i would've thought even the standard system would do the same, im not entirely sure)? Maybe the HiFi Loudspeaker system has this feature too?

paulcurtis - you mention that the Alpine upgrade amp will not be powerful enough to power the subs under the seats, do you know the wattage of it? I know people have been saying they cannot find the power of it anywhere!

biscuits - i was thinking that maybe the front Alpine upgrade speakers arent good enough, so perhaps i could just upgrade the speakers again (i too was thinking of getting the Logic7's) Was your set up expensive, hope you don't mind me asking!!

Where is this UK7 meet taking place?
Nice car btw, i bet it flys.....

Thanks

[paulcurtis]

Originally Posted by LeMans330d

Thanks for your input guys!
you mention that the Alpine upgrade amp will not be powerful enough to power the subs under the seats, do you know the wattage of it? I know people have been saying they cannot find the power of it anywhere!
Thanks

I couldn't find the proper specs, the model number is PDA F200, they do a similar sounding F200 which is 4 x 50 into 2 ohm and 4 x 40 into 4Ohm. To all intents and purposes seems like it's a match...

cheers
paul

[AlanQS]

Difference between Alpine upgrade and the factory fit HiFi system:

Same speakers all round except the factory fit has a 2nd pair of tweeters in the rear.

The standard subs are unchanged under the seats.

From reading the material, the HiFi seems to add 80 watts to the standard system but I think the Alpine upgrade is 115w. The Alpine upgrade has four channels, one pair driving the front door speakers and tweeters, and each of the other channels drives a sub. The existing head unit continues to drive the rear speakers. Some people have expressed the opinion that having the rear tweeters spoils the sound stage and the bias should be towards the front. With the Alpine upgrade, you have no choice.

I don't know what level of bass you guys consider good in a car - sufficient to start vibrating the bolts and screws loose?

All I know is that on a good bassy track, you can feel it in your chest as well as through the seat of your pants. It doesn't blow your socks off - or your windows out, but in comparison with any stock system where the head unit supplies all the power, it is much better.

The Alpine drives the standard subs very well IMO, unlike the original head unit.

Having said that, if I could go back to the time I ordered the car, it would have had the Logic 7 system, no argument.

[paulcurtis]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

Difference between Alpine upgrade and the factory fit HiFi system:

Same speakers all round except the factory fit has a 2nd pair of tweeters in the rear.

The standard subs are unchanged under the seats.

Im quite prepared to be wrong but i'm pretty sure the HiFi spec includes 8" speakers under the seats, not the 6 or 6.5 of the very basic system. Certainly in my old car (HiFi spec) i could feel the bass, on the current one (basic spec) there is nothing...

cheers
paul