Unfortunately, Apple Lossless format sounds like crap. I have done extensive testing of all formats, and nothing on an iPod can compare with a CD except for an uncompressed WAV. Even the WAV doesn't sound quite as good, which I blame on the iPod itself. iPods are not high-end gear. They are disposable pieces of junk, and every little piece inside them is garbage. So I want to get away from it completely. But I love the convenience of having all my music on a hard drive, rather than carrying those huge CD wallets. I guess the best solution would be to have a laptop computer in the car, with a 500 gig external hard drive for the music. Then the only problem is, how to operate the laptop while driving.


Anyway..... But what do you think about my other idea.... running compression horns under the dash, and using the underseat woofers as midbass drivers to complement the horns?


Think I could put together a pretty nice system with the following:


AudioControl DQL-8
ImageDynamics CD2 Comp mini-horns (horns require stereo, 1/3 octave EQs.... so the DQL-8 could provide that)
BMW underseat woofers (keep the woofers, but run them with an aftermarket amp)

Disconnect power from the factory speakers, but leave them in their locations.
Add subwoofer to the trunk.
Add 2 amps (one to power the horns and woofers, other to run subwoofer) (Or maybe a single, multichannel amp would do? like a 6 channel amp, with 2 channels bridged for the sub?)

 

So....if I have the Logic7, then feed in the audio from the AUX, the Logic7 will try to analyze it and make the sound output better than it should be? Is it what you are saying?

 

It doesn't really make it "better."

The Logic7 processor takes a stereo (2 channel) audio signal, and tries to make it sound like a multi-channel sound source. It does this by separating sounds and sending them to certain speakers. This is done in an attempt to improve the "soundstage." It works in this respect, but it's definitely not a high-end audio system, by any measure.

 

Any luck with the pictures? We are looking forward to see your setup.

 

I don't think i would rely on just adding power to the factory under seat sub and rely on it being nice tight mid bass. I would just replace the factory speakers, add a little power to the factory sub, and add a couple of subs in the trunk and believe me it's sounds extremely good. Honestly, it really doesn't need to be complicated.

 

But aren't the factory speaker locations small, and shallow? I thought you couldn't get a decent sized speaker in those locations without cutting or modifying.

I am pretty hard set on using horns again. Ever since I switched from horns to the Dynaudio speakers in my last car, I swore to myself I would always use horns from then on. They are just so easy to install, and they sound incredible. You don't have to cut anything to make them fit. They just strap under the dash. The only catch is, you need some good midbass drivers to compliment them. In my Acura, I installed 8 inch subwoofers in the doors. That's how much room the Acura factory speaker locations had. Absolutely one of the best cars ever built for aftermarket audio.

Here's some pics of the install in my Acura:

The horns simply attach with metal straps you can screw into the horn body and then hang them under the dash.
The Acura was white, so I had the horn bodies painted to match the car's color.



Once you have hung the horn, you can fabricate a custom trim panel. I had these made and covered in tan vinyl to match the car's interior.



Here is the horn on the passenger side.



And here is a picture of the 8 inch woofer installed in the door, factory speaker location.



And with the door panel back in place, you would never know there was an 8 inch subwoofer installed there.






I would like to do somthing similar in the E60. Horns under the dash, and then some midbass drivers up front somewhere to compliment them. But the door locations are too small for a decent sized midbass driver. That leaves me with the underseat sub location, or custom kickpanels. Custom kickpanels would sound best, but I had kickpanels in my Lexus and I don't like losing all that footroom. Plus, I would have to remove the driver's dead-pedal... and I like that thing for resting my foot on.

Maybe I could remove the OEM underseat woofers and replace them with something else? Not exactly an ideal location, but short of cutting the doors... doesn't seem like there are a lot of options.


I never use rear fill speakers.... which makes things easier, too.

I am not 100% sure what to do in the trunk for subwoofers yet. I would like to have an aperiodic enclosure built. We'll seal off the trunk from the cabin, and install the woofer or woofers firing into the cabin through the split-fold seat opening. The AP mat will vent into the trunk. I'm debating whether I will be OK with a single woofer... either a 12 or 15", or if I should go with 2 woofers. I am leaning more towards just running a single woofer, because I want to keep this system simple and relatively low on power consumption. The system in my Lexus was 1800 watts. I don't want to get anywhere near that high this time. In that Lexus I had a 15 farad capacitor and Optima battery, and I still had lights dimming at night with the bass. Just too much current draw for the alternator to handle.

Luckily the horns are extremely efficient. They require very low power. 30 watts is ideal. So I could get a 4 channel amp with 30-60 watts per channel, and run the horns and midbass with that. Then run a single subwoofer with about 300 watts. Or maybe I can find a good multi-channel amp which could run everything?

In the Acura, I had 4 amplifiers. Precision Power ArtSeries. Each horn had it's own separate amplifier. Then there was an amp for the two 8 inch woofers, and one amp for the subs in the trunk. But that's just way more complicated than I want to get this time.

 

Wow! that's not too bad for 1990, but this is a BMW and it should mainly be about seamless vehicle integration..at least for me.

Go with a single 10" or two 10" JL10W6V2, but it all depends on the music you listen to. You'll get tighter, more responsive, and pretty low bass if the enclosure is built correctly.

I personally would not go with an optima (red top) battery, because they don't like to be pancaked, and they really don't have that many cold cranking amps. your better off just going to Sears and getting their largest cold cranking amp battery that fits in your stock location or sometimes you might be able to change the tray in your vehicle to a bigger tray if applicable.

JL Audio is releasing their shallow woofer very soon which is based off thier home line and believe me will be testing them immediatly in BMW 5/6/7 and Maserati Quattroporte. I'm not sure how much air space they'll require yet, but by looks of them it should work.

 

1994 Acura Legend LS Coupe
Probably one of the best cars ever designed from the standpoint of aftermarket audio. Excellent interior acoustics. Huge trunk. Solid construction, requiring very little dampening. Low seats, high dash. Double DIN radio slot. HUGE, heavy doors (with electronic closing mechanism), capable of holding 8 inch woofers. All the interior panels come out easily, since it's a Honda. I loved that car. I really miss it. :'(

Once I had owned a system with horns, it has seriously been hard to go with anything else. They are just so simple to install, and setup.... yet they yield incredible sound quality and imaging. It's like the "Idiot's Guide to a Perfect Soundstage." When I did the Lexus after that Acura, and used the Dynaudio speakers... they sounded great, too. But the amount of work that went into installing them was obscene by comparison. Plus, I did not like losing the footroom with the kickpanels. Particularly the driver's dead pedal, which had to be removed.

The BMW factory speakers are just too small. There are not many companies who even make a 4" speaker, and even if they do a 4" speaker is suitable only for midrange. It certainly isn't ideal for serious midbass. So if I wanted to add decent sized speakers I would need to cut or build custom kickpanels again. So in either case, adding horns creates a more seamless integration. You just strap them under the dash and make some trim pieces to make them look nice.

Never used the Red Top Optima. Used the Yellow Top, which is the deep cycle version. In the Acura, we changed out my alternator for a larger one. I never had problems because the Acura system was under 1000 watts. It was 850 watts total, I think. But the Lexus was a different story. That system was 1800 watts, and I couldn't replace the alternator because there just wasn't enough room in the engine compartment to fit a bigger one. So in the Lexus, even with a 15 farad capacitor I would get lights dimming with the music. :thumbsdown:

I have used three JL Audio 10W6 subs with sealed enclosures in the last 2 cars I did. In my next system, I have always planned on building an aperiodic enclosure instead of sealed. The sound quality is better, and they can be smaller. But with an aperiodic enclosure, it helps to have a larger coned woofer. These types of enclosures are over-damped, so a large woofer can still yield tight bass with excellent transient response. But the larger woofer gives you a little more capablility for lower frequencies. Most of the better aperiodic systems I have seen used a single 15" woofer. I have also seen some with dual 12" woofers. I just haven't decided yet which way to go in my car. I would prefer to keep this system low on total power, at least compared to my previous cars. So for this reason, I am leaning towards using a single woofer rather than two.

 

subterFUSE to my undrestanding L7 as well as the HIFI audio system do play 5.1 surround MP3s... im not 100% sure cause i havent tried it... but i read it on the forum here somewhere

 

There is no such thing as a 5.1 channel MP3 recording.

Mp3 recordings can only be stereo, joint stereo, or mono.