BmwModder

Trying to hook up a sub to my E60, but i do have the stock amp in the car. Is it possible to splice these wires or do you need to also get it all the way up at the subs? If anyone has please link me to a turtorial on what to do. Much appriciated!

alex.baker89

I've only just discovered this thread.

I'm collecting the 2003 530i I've bought next week. The current owner has confirmed that the car does not have factory tweeter grilles in the front doors, meaning that my audio system will be a 6-speaker setup, powered by the M-ASK head unit up-front.

My plan will be to explore upgrading my audio with aftermarket components, but in the factory locations and no subwoofer in the boot.

After reading through the posts above, there are probably a few things to note:

-If you're trying to 'splice' into the audio signal from speakers in the car in order to connect a separate amplifier and power subwoofers in the boot, then you'll need to convert that signal to 'line level' from a high, speaker-level signal. If you don't do this, you will have lots of distortion in the signal path if trying to connect to RCA inputs in an aftermarket amp. I would not bother using cheap eBay adaptors for this. You should look into buying a dedicated line level converter, especially if you're looking to run all speakers from an aftermarket amplifier (for those without an OE amp installed)

-I think it was mentioned that when seeing the smaller box connected to the under-seat subs from the boot, they thought it might be a crossover. It's just a small amp to power the woofers, but only at about circa 40 Watts per channel I think. It's probably a small amplifier that uses small amplifier ICs, hence the small footprint!

-It's been mentioned a few times that the signal may be split from the head unit, as if there may be an active crossover built into the head unit itself. That might be the case, but I would have assumed each output is 'full range' at first, and each speaker might have a very rudimentary passive crossover somewhere to split the frequencies. I think somebody else confirmed that so it's good to know!

My car has the completely base-level system where the head unit powers all 6 speakers. I saw it mentioned that replacing the speakers might improve things. Although that might be the case, this would be a significant compromise. I see two options which are probably obvious (sorry if I'm repeating what someone has already said):

1) Install an aftermarket amplifier under the dash and replace all 6 speakers. Amplifiers are mostly Class D these days, meaning they have a much smaller footprint than the HK Logic 7 amplifier which was presumably not, although I think all modern HK automotive amplifiers are now Class D. I've seen a video of someone in the UK having installed an aftermarket amp in the top of the glovebox. I personally wouldn't want it there, but it's a much easier way of connecting it to the harness at the back of the M-ASK head unit to power all speakers without any serious re-wiring / re-routing of cables.

2) Install an aftermarket in the free space that would otherwise be occupied by an OE amplifier in the boot. I think I might go for this option, as there's plenty of space for it there. The only problem this presents is having to run an extended loom from the ISO harness in the dash to the amplifier in the boot, to supply it with power and an audio signal from the M-ASK. You'd then have to run loom alongside it for the speaker connections to plug into the harness back under the dash (I hope that makes sense).

I'm probably going to explore option 2 and see how it goes. In terms of aftermarket options I'm not sure what others have tried, but I quite like the Audiotec Fischer products as they're pretty well made (their TOTL stuff is still handmade in Germany). Their MATCH packages designed for OEM integration are here: https://www.audiotec-fischer.de/en/match/ They sell 8/9/10 channel DSP amplifiers means you could also run some subwoofers from the rear of the car, in addition to the speakers under the seats. I think many of their DSP amps also have the ability to add Bluetooth streaming!

In terms of speakers, Helix is of course an option, but Focal is also a fairly decent mid-range plug & play selection: https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/c...ation/plugplay

I don't know if anybody has heard of / used STEG before, but it's a brand I recently came across from a car audio installer here in the UK, who has been using them: https://www.gt-trading.it/bmw - they're an Italian brand who seem to position themselves as pretty 'high end'.

If once I get the car I decide it's definitely a keeper, then I'll report back on any progress with audio systems!

Oh and P.S. - for those of you installing car speakers for the first time, even if you're just using plug & play speakers in the factory locations, I'd recommend using foam rings between the gaps of the speaker chassis and the mounting surface. This helps eliminate standing waves. Something like this is always good practice to use in my opinion: https://topvehicletech.com/products/...RoCPmEQAvD_BwE

Jimmy 530

Hey guys just been reading back on old posts about using the factory subs under the seats to tap in an speaker to rca converter, my question is do I need to use the left and the right sub connectors to get better results or can you just use 1
at the moment I have placed a vibe power box in the stereo harness but the lack of bass from this sounds awefull

I hope there is someone that might be able to make this clearer for me

James