[sohlman]

Long story short.

Found this forum

Realised my system was not great

Read lots of posts

Did my own thing in a different way

Spent a small fortune

Video'd the whole thing and spend a couple of weeks editing it down

Hope you like it

I love my new system

[sohlman]

I think I must of missed something. No one has commented on all my hard work!

Oh well never mind.

[Gazza0210]

Hi mate,

I gotta say that looks REALLY impressive. That's the kind of system that I'm looking at doing. I've just got my E90 with a base stereo system. Really happy with the car, just the system that lets it down.

Well done though mate, looks great.

[sohlman]

Thanks gazza.

It quickly spirals into an expensive journey. I decided I was worth it.

Happy to advice if you need help.

[cbad335]

Great video. Looks like a precision install, too. Enjoy the new system.

[Gazza0210]

One question I was going to ask is how hard was it to install the head unit, ie what harness did you use and did it retain the steering wheel controls and rear parking sensors. I have the bmw professional head unit and was thinking I would have to retain that and adapt the system from there with a LOC etc. if its easy enough I will swap out the factory unit for a double din unit.

Any advice/help is much appreciated.

[sohlman]

I have full steering controls and rear parking sensors. The harness was supplied by the installer so i can't tell you the make, but this was over £100 to ensure everything works.

Rear parking sensors now beep from the front behind the head unit and don't sounds as good as original, but work as before.

I now have full ipod control through steering wheel which is nice.

I did think about a double din, but this was further bumping up the price and the sound quality would not be as good.

[taibanl]

I was going to post this in the sticky but dont love of some of the methods (such as drilling tweeter sails/ OEM HU replacement, when its totally not necessary).

Not to knock the install, just don't want to suggest this to N00bs as this being the "right" way to do an install/ or that these methods are necessary.

Comments from the peanut gallery? Willing to reconsider.

[Rollo`]

Very nice video....great looking install.

[sohlman]

Originally Posted by taibanl

I was going to post this in the sticky but dont love of some of the methods (such as drilling tweeter sails/ OEM HU replacement, when its totally not necessary).

Not to knock the install, just don't want to suggest this to N00bs as this being the "right" way to do an install/ or that these methods are necessary.

Comments from the peanut gallery? Willing to reconsider.

Am honoured that I have produced something that might be considered sticky material .

Tweeters were drilled as I don't have the surrounds. But new surrounds are £26 per side. I will get oem ones at some point.

Changing the head unit is not for all, but as the cars get older and less valuable along with oem head units starting to fail through age I believe this will become more common

[Gazza0210]

Thanks for posting this up mate, you've gave me some good ideas for my project.

[kaigoss69]

Nicely done video, but the audio comparison of old vs. new is useless of course. I'm glad the video is focused mainly on the install itself (and lacks the display of dancing coins, or vibrating panels and gas caps )

I agree with Taibanl that parts of your upgrade path could have been done in a more OEM friendly fashion, especially the amp rack, the head unit and the tweeter locations.

From a sound quality perspective, I'm sure the Pioneer will give you better SQ and more flexibility than the OEM HU. It would help if you showed how many channels of amplifications you have, and how they are controlled by the Pioneer. I hope you decided to bi-amp the MB Quart set, as separate time alignment on the woofers is extremely beneficial. The subwoofer in the trunk floor compartment I have to say is probably not the best choice. That's the only part of the system where the OEM look has to be "sacrificed" in order to achieve the best results. A fiberglass corner enclosure, for example, will sound better, and be more efficient (louder).

In the end though you have to like it and if you're happy with the way it sounds then I'm sure it was worth it. If you're one of those people who constantly strive for improvement, then I'd suggest you meet with some local forum members and listen to their cars and see if you like some of their choices better or not.

[sohlman]

The system is effectively running three amplifiers.

The fronts are powered by one pair of channels full range with passive cross overs at 93w rms 2ohm load

The rears are run by another pair of channels full range with low frequencies removed running 63w rms 4 ohm load

The sub woofer is powered by a mono amplifier giving 562w rms. at a 2 ohm load.

The original head unit, and boot floor has been retained and the tweeter panels are cheaply replaced. The car has been installed with the brief that I want to return it to original. New speaker cable has been run in so that no splicing of cables is required and or kept to a minimum.

The amps could of been hidden, but are very attractive units and I felt they should be showed off. I realise it won't be to all taste, but without exception the proof is in the hearing and all who have heard the system have been amazed. This includes a sound engineer.

Take the point of corner subwoofers, but they take up boot space which means I can't get my golf clubs in. I think you will be surprised by the quality and tightness of the bass response which is what I look for. If you want bass to be heard a mile away then you want a different solution and probable a different vehicle that's less well sealed. I have the sub ticking over and it's plenty loud enough. It also drops down to frequencies I can only feel.

An active set up was looked at but we felt at the time this was the right way forward as to change it round is possible, but ideally would require another amplifier to keep entire system powered.

[kaigoss69]

I've run a corner enclosure, and golf clubs fit just fine.

[SarethX]

Great video! I seriously need to look into getting my system done as it is terrifyingly bad from factory . Awesome editing job though and really fun to watch.

[sohlman]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

I've run a corner enclosure, and golf clubs fit just fine.

But can you leave your woods on the bag?

[KN| BMW]

Very detailed!
How much did you spend for the new system? I'm saving to get a decent set to replace the crappy base

[sohlman]

If my wife is reading £1000, if not add another £1000 and that's there or there abouts. I have some speakers that I have not used which I need to sell. All kit was new with the exception of the amps which were bought second hand and then refurbished by the amp doctor and have a one year warranty. Had I bought the amps new then add another £500-£600.

[kaigoss69]

LOL, if your wife is reading, are you saying she's really bad with math?

Yes, the clubs fit even with a long driver. You'll just have to put the bag diagonally.

[sohlman]

I just hope she does not read this forum. It is unlikely as she does not like cars.

Diagonal clubs does limit luggage space when you go away mind you.