Merzbow

Time for new audio in my 545i. I?m getting an 1800-watt system for about $9000.

I dropped the 545i at AMS Car Stereo in Santa Clara this morning. My audio guy is named Kurtis. He wants it until probably next Thursday. When the system is done, I will be sure to post an extensive update, with pictures. In the meantime, I'll give some details on the different options we discussed for an aftermarket system, what we decided on, and what we plan to do for the future.

I'm certainly not experienced in car stereo technology, so I'm learning most of this as I go. Thus I may be getting some of the details of the system I?m describing wrong. Please correct me if you see a mistake. Or you may think something about this setup is just wrong. If so, then please speak up soon. 

I chose AMS car stereo because they'd done a great job about five years ago fixing up a botched aftermarket install on my GS400 by another shop. (No, I won't reveal the shop's name publicly. If you really want to know PM me.) I didn't know Kurtis from before, but he seems unbelievably on top of the game. If the system turns out well, I will recommend him to the skies.

To start with, we agreed that of course we wanted to use our own amps and speakers in the system. The main question was what to do with the head unit. The complexity of the BMW OEM system is a big barrier here. Apparently, there is no standard pre-amp output from the BMW head unit. Instead, it talks to the BMW amp via fiber-optic cable. This means that if you want to keep the BMW head unit, you need to use a line-output converter (LOC) to turn the high-level output from the old amp into low-level input for the new amps.

This has the downside of a possible decrease in sound quality. Of course, the optimal solution would be to put in a new head unit. I?ve seen pictures of E60s with this done. If you take out the CD player, there?s room there for a head unit. However, Kurtis was not comfortable doing this because of the unknown effect that removing this piece of equipment would have on a very complicated computer and electrical system. Plus, I already have Sirius going into the BMW head unit ? and that is also where the PDC and Bluetooth phone audio are coming from. Channeling this sound through a new head unit would be non-trivial.

So, we mutually agreed that for now we would try to work off the OEM head unit. I will route my iPod through the BMW aux input (which isn?t installed yet). Kurtis is confident he can still get great sound even with a LOC in the system. There is a product from JL Audio coming out in June called the CleanSweep that will further improve this setup:

http://www.jlaudio.com/press/CleanSweep05.html

Apparently, the amplified output from most OEM systems is equalized somewhat by the OEM head unit to match the OEM speakers, as a function of volume. This EQ is on top of the EQ set by the user in the head unit interface. The CleanSweep is a digital processor that is able to remove the factory EQ completely. Even with this however, Kurtis isn?t worried. He specifically told me to get the base audio on my 545i instead of the Logic7 because the base audio head unit should put out a much simpler and less intrusive factory EQ. (Plus of course I save almost two grand).

If it turns out we?re not satisfied with this in the end, we can always take the route of installing a new head unit. Kurtis is willing to do it if I pay him enough and release him from liability for screwing up the factory computer and electrical system. 

Another cool option for the future won?t fix the LOC issue but will make it possible to natively control an iPod and add aftermarket navigation via the factory video screen. It?s a device from Alpine called the V-Hub:

http://www.alpine.de/content/english...ub-Details.htm

It?s controlled via a remote, so there is no modification of the dashboard or removal of factory equipment; the V-hub can be hidden in the trunk or under a seat. You can plug additional sources of audio and video directly into the V-Hub and control it via a graphical interface. Although it apparently still routes audio through the factory head unit, being able to add aftermarket Nav and video iPod control would be great someday. Unfortunately the video adapter for the E60 is not out yet; www.nav-tv.com promises one in a month or two that will work with the V-hub.

Anyways, for now we?re just going to install the LOC, new amps, and new speakers. The price for the current work? About $9000. Here?s how it breaks down:

1. Line-output converter components are coming from SoundGate; an XR4 and one of their LOCxx models (not sure which and not sure how they are wired exactly):

http://www.soundgate.com/

2. Amps will be coming from ARC Audio. I will be getting a 4150-XXK for the front for 640 watts, a 2100-XXK for the rear for 200 watts, and a 1500-XXK for the subs for 900-1000 watts. So total should be about 1800 watts.

http://www.arcaudio.com/arc-05/amplifiers.htm

3. Front and rear speakers will come from Morel (an Israeli company). In the front, I will have a pair of the Elate 6 three-way speakers. (They?ll have to cut another hole in each door for this, but will color-match the new grills). In the rear, I will have a pair of Elate 5 three-ways. (They won?t he won?t have to cut for these.) Kurtis is not a fan of horns so I deferred to his judgment on this.

http://www.morel.co.il/car.htm

4. In the trunk, I?ll have a ported box with three ARC 10? subs (yes, I see that they are rated at 250 watts RMS on the web site and the sub is rated 900-1000 watts ? gotta ask Kurtis about this tomorrow ? I?m not sure how he will wire them or if he?s using the 10D2 or 10D4 model).

http://www.arcaudio.com/arc-05/subwoofers.htm

5. In order to get bass to the rest of the car, the port in the subwoofer box will connect to a hole that will be cut in the area above and behind the rear seats. The box will take up the back area of the trunk. In front of it, they will attach all three amps and flesh out the back of the box so that it?s flush to all sides of the trunk. Curiously, I will still have to room to get to my spare tire, which I was prepared to sacrifice.

Since I?m leasing the car, we agreed to minimize the number of cuts we had to make. To that end, the only cuts we need are for two new speakers in the front doors, and the aforementioned hole for the subwoofer port. All three holes will have color-matched grills so hopefully BMW won?t notice when I return the car at the end of the lease.

So this is the current plan; we may change some details before the system is finished based on new ideas we have or obstacles we run into. For now, I?m really psyched!

Hamann5

Well I have a 1600 Watt amp for the subs as of now... soon to be doin the interior speackers as well... I have a 6in port right where the light is in my trunk its connecting to the back deck by the rear passangers... One thing I recommend asking Kurtis is about outside rattling... Trust with the E60 you WILL HAVE IT.. so see if he can dyno matt it... anyway sounds like you got quite a nice project going good luck.. show us some pics

heezy545i

Good luck with the system, but $9000 seems a bit steep, especially since you're not paying for a headunit. How much does the actual install cost?

The system should sound great as is, but for $9K, you should have top of the line everything. Arc is a great company, have one of their amps myself, but for $9K, I'd look into TRU, Brax and Sinfoni among others for amps. The only Arc subs I've heard are the KAR subs, but for your money, I'm sure you'll getting one of their higher lines. For me though, I'd just get some JL w7s, a bit played out, but still some of the best. I have not heard the higher end ARC subs though, so I don't want to pass judgement on them.

It looks like you've had a good experience with the sales guy and the shop, but in the end they are there to make money. Your system should sound great as is, but that price tag really struck me as being overpriced. If your willing to shop around, whether online or at other shops, great discounts can be had from authorized dealers. Just for example, top of the line components may cost $1000 and up, but online they can be found for maybe $500 to $600. I'd also recommend to spend some time on some online audio forums for the best deals, insight to the best amps and speakers out there along with just some good tips and advice.

heezy545i

Oh and I don't mean for the long-winded response, but just killing time since I have to drive to vegas right now at 11:00 at night, and I don't really want to go

Merzbow

Thanks.

I'm really not familiar with all of the myriad different brands of car audio components that are out there and which are considered the best. I could have spent weeks boning up on this and taking a more active role in which brands were chosen, but one thing I do know is that car audio in 80% installation and 20% components, and from everything I've seen and heard these guys are wicked good installers.

But I have spent some time browsing different forums reading about ARC and Morel. Overall opinion on both products is fantastically positive, and I've seen them listed in the same sentence as the brands you've mentioned as 'elite' brands. And $9k won't come close to buying some of those brands... I've seen ads for $4k individual Brax amps.

As for price, the $9k includes about $1500 in installation costs (which I think is reasonable for a week's worth of work), plus you have the 8.5% sales tax. ARC and Morel compents are very difficult to find in online stores; the prices I'm being charged for them are comparable to the prices in the two stores I've found, so it looks fair.

Merzbow

Tight. Kurtis is charging me for a bunch of Dynamat, I'll make sure he puts it where it's needed.

So you have two twelves... do you recommend this over three tens? Kurtis thought that to do two twelves right he would need to take up more of the trunk (that just the back portion).

Hamann5

Well I think 3 10's would take up more space (I guess it just logical) but for sound difference.. 10's are a sub for playing music really LOUD with good bass.. with 3 of them you will get a really good amount of bass.. but it all depends on what your trying to do with this system... Do u want it for good quailty for the people inside.. OR do you want to "BUMP" and be heard by other people... if you wanna be heard you want 12's or bigger.. don't get me rong 10's pack a punch but you need more of them and they just don't do it for me personally...but this all depends on what your trying to get out of this system (bass,quality,loudness) so to say if 3 10's would be a better choice for you or not it all depends on what you want it for

daydok

hi merzbow, yes please keep us posted. what i'm interested in is a clean aftermarket nav/dvd player system. good luck!

Merzbow

Well I think 3 10's would take up more space (I guess it just logical) but for sound difference.. 10's are a sub for playing music really LOUD with good bass.. with 3 of them you will get a really good amount of bass.. but it all depends on what your trying to do with this system... Do u want it for good quailty for the people inside.. OR do you want to "BUMP" and be heard by other people... if you wanna be heard you want 12's or bigger.. don't get me rong 10's pack a punch but you need more of them and they just don't do it for me personally...but this all depends on what your trying to get out of this system (bass,quality,loudness) so to say if 3 10's would be a better choice for you or not it all depends on what you want it for
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Good advise, this is what I was told also - the 10s will give 'higher quality' bass to the passengers, but won't rock the block like bigger subs will. This is fine with me.

Hamann5

Well if this is what you want I think you got an excellent setup for what your looking for