tconner

Went through many concepts to reach this solution, thought I would share it. Wanted the full features of the BMW OEM system with great sound. Key is that I have tested the best point of sound and it is under the seats at the OEM subs.

Remember that there is only 2 CH sound in the car, so getting the amplified signal from the 2 subs is best. Then I have used a Genisis LOC to take the amplified sound down to low level to input to the Alpine MMM. From there it is rather straight forward, I selected Morel Elate 6 for the front and had to modify the door kick panels. I selected MB Quart RCK 110 for the rears, as they are a direct fit, and you only need these little guys for ambience filling the rear area. I opted for SEAS Lotus subs, 2 10" with aluminum cones, DLS amp, and a good power capacitor. I did not go for the BMW Ipod interface, scrolling is too slow... I put in the Harman Kardon Drive+Play, and it is great.

So I get all the benifits of the BMW functions, CD changer, telephone bluetooth interface, steering wheel controls and have great sound. Even the park distance sensors work as I installed a seperate speaker under the seat to pick up the beeps, did not want this noise going through my system.

I did not have to cut into any BMW system, only the left & right signals from the OEM stereo. And re-routing the park sensor signal. Look at the inset photo on the diagram, you will see where I mounted the control head unit for the Alpine MMM just above the rear view mirror. This is an amazing unit, sets up the sound perfectly and how I mounted it it looks very stock.

I went through a LOT of different ideas, and in the end this made the most sense to me.

Don't know if this is of interest to anybody considering ICE for their E-60, but for me it was the best decision.

Cheers!

Ted // URACA

Vpower

any pics of the install and front kick panel modify to fit he Morel?

tconner

Actually I bought all the items in Singapore (lower prices as in Thailand), and the shop down there reccomended me to an installer in Bangkok that had won some awards in Greece (IASCA??) for auto sound, I am not the installer, nor an expert, but I spent 3 days at the dealer in Singapore selecting each component, and I saw 2 E60's with similar installs. This dealer was great, he set up all the different configurations, with Genesis, Symphoni, Scan Speak, but most were above my budget, so I opted for DLS and Morel, but the Alpine MMM / Controller and Genesis LOC were the deal closers for me.

I will get some photos posted, the shop here made up some custom covers. Usually you have a 5" door speaker and a tweeter. With the Morel, it is a 2 way system, the tweeter is a direct fit I am told, but the opening for the 5" you cannot use for the larger speakers, and you need them.

I am a "freak" about things looking as stock, and in my old E39, I went through many versions of systems, and none met my requirements. So far this does.

The custom speaker cover is at the lowest front edge of the door, there is an area there about 11 x 7 inches covered in leather, this has to be modified and the 6" is mounted there - again with the custom cover to match the interior. the installer MUST seal the doors 100%! Especially where the old 5" speaker grill is. I am travelling now, will post the photos when I am back, I do have a photo of the Alpine controller install on my laptop, will post it in a few moments, Thanks, Ted

tconner

Very important is taking the amplified signal from the BMW system and converting it to a non amplified signal. This is what the Genesis S3 LOC does, then this signal is put into the Alpine Multi Media Manager. The Multi Media Manager allows you to tailor the sound, it is a very powerful tool, clean output, and even has the ability to set up the delay in sound so the bass from the trunk reaches your ears while you are in the driver's seat at the same time. It comes with a small microphone that you place where your head would be and it does a sort of automated setup. You can have many different setups stored for different music types and all are accessable from the controller mounted just above the rear view mirror. Also the Alpine unit has DTS and other features for video, but I am all about the music, never wanted a TV or DVD in my cars, just pure strong sound. Guess you could do a lot more with the Alpine unit and a TV or DVD interface kit, but that is not for me.

On my old E39, this was the point of failure. I had great components but still wanted to use the OEM head unit adn CD as the board computer was an integral part of the radio / CD system. And I really hate to see a bright silver aftermarket DIN radio sticking out of a perfectly engineered BMW cockpit. The Alpine MMM mounted overhead above the rear view mirror to me is just acceptable, and you never notice it is there until you change from R&B to Jazz or Rock, then you really appreciate it. Also you have all your bass, treble, fade, balance and volume in this Alpine. On my old E39, I had a Zapco in the trunk, was only useful for the initial setup and crossover, but once set - that was it.

Reducing the output from teh OEM system to line level, then processing is in the Alpine MMM, is the only way to go. The complete system cost me about 3500 USD, not including my Ipod. Install was about 800 USD here in Thailand.

Worth every penny (or Thai Baht!).

Only weak point (and I knew this on purchase) is the DLS 5 channel amp in terms of driving the subs. In a perfect world, could have gone for a 2 channel ultimate Amp for the fronts, a 2 channel classic Amp for the rears, and a monoblock D for the subs. But then weight and space is the factor. BMW has a very perfect 50/50 weright balance, and when you load all this equipent in the trunk, you are doing the driving experience no favors. So this is also a concern and your installer should keep this in mind... Try to spread the load throughout the car, don't just fill up the trunk. Maybe under rear seats Amps could be mounted, etc.

Again these are the things I came up against in the design, I bought items in Singapore, the car was in Thailand, so I had to transfer the idea of what I wanted from the expert in Singapore to the installer in Thailand, and so I made my own "concept drawings" and discussed closley with the supplier in Singapore, he gave me many ideas and as I said was great help.

With the drawings I was able to get what I wanted, how I wanted it, and the installer for the most part, acheived my goals. And I gained a better understanding of my system adn what was behind the sound.

Also about 4 weeks after the initial install, they told me to take it back to the installer to again "tune" the system, I am told that after the speakers "bed" in the sound dynamics change, and they told me it was critical that I come back to re-tune and adjust the sound via the Alpine processor. Took about 3 hours for the cheif installer testing many types of music and sounds, this is beyond me, but in any case it is like getting an oil change, there is likely no difference you can really notice, but you somehow feel better knowing is is done right.

Ted Conner
URACA

JetBlack

Great Job!! That is a very unique place to put the Alpine, I never would have thought about that

rjcastr

very good work i understand the weight concept although my ice system will be a little different , perhaps adding more weight you have a nice setup in yours

congrats

rj

tconner

Thanks, a few days after the install, I really had to opt for disconnecting 1 of the SEAS LOTUS SW 250 Subs, and run with 1 only, the DLS just did not have enough power to drive both... Then finally I gave in and yesterday I put it back in the shop to install a 1200 W class D amp to drive the subs... Could not get around it. It was a shame to have such low power to to the subs, had to be done even at the cost of the added weight. Lesson learned.

Thanks

Ted

subterFUSE

When it comes to quality audio, good amplification is one of the more important factors. A good amplifier can make any speaker sound better, even a poor quality speaker. But a good speaker being run by a poor amp will always sound bad, and will probably get damaged.

Powerful amps are not only important for loud volume. They also improve sound quality at lower levels, because you have more headroom. Better to run a strong amp at a low level than a weak amp a full. Similar to driving a car. It's better for the engine to drive on the highway at a reasonable RPM rate, rather than driving at redline.

tconner

Hey VPower,
Pics of the kick panels as you asked,
Cheers, Ted

KU530

are you getting any noise in your system from the H701? I heard that was an issue with that unit.