E60 550i Stereo Upgrade Project
10-02-2012, 12:51 PM
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E60 550i Stereo Upgrade Project
So I just finished the upgrade of my stock 550i sound system and I thought I would post my configuration and observations...
Equipment
JL Audio XD 700/5 5 channel amp (75X4 300X1)
Hertz energy 4" and tweets all around
Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seat
I did a lot of research before I did this upgrade, from the speakers, to the amp, to my installer. I used to be a car audio installer in my younger years, but I know enough to know that I was too far removed from that experience to mess with modifing the fickle 550i electrical system. I got recommendations to a shop call Soundwaves in Bradon, FL. They were very knowledgeable, and had experience working on high end cars. Be careful in selecting a shop to do the work, there are a lot of specialized tools and diagnostic equpment that are needed to do this job right.
I wanted a fully stealth install where you could not tell that the system has been upgraded until you hear it. The amp is mounted behind the left trim panel of the trunk and all the speakers were drop-in replacements for the stock garbage.
Install
The install went pretty well with a couple of lessons learned
- If you have the stock audio system (not L7) and you want to hide the amp behind the trim panel in the trunck you need the trim panel from a L7 car. I found one on ebay for about $75 bucks shipped and it snapped right in.
- Originally we planned using a Audio Control summing device, but we found that it did not work well with the BMW and the signal straight from the head unit sounded better than using the summing device. We later found that the way the BMW puts out the signal confused the device and caused a large hole in the frequency blanket.
- Make sure they have a coding computer with the correct plug for your car. After install my car was throwing a restraint malfunction error (they did not even unplug the seat cables). If they don't have the device you will get madly annoyed by the error.
Results -
The high energy may be Hertz's lowest line, but you would not be able to tell from the sound. They are incredible!. Very clean even when pushed to the top levels and they have excellant range.
The earthquake subs are ok...for the price they are a good value. They hit hard on rock type mid bass, but forget anything in the sub bass zone. I will probably end up with a 10" sub in the near future, but I am leary and don't want to lose too much trunk space.
The amp has plenty of power for the application and runs cool and efficently. Make sure you don't cheap out on the amp! Using a quality class D amp will keep you safe and avoid overloading the electrical system of the car.
Overall the quality is phenominal, I am very happy with the upgrade and would suggest it to anyone stuck with a hifi E60.
Equipment
JL Audio XD 700/5 5 channel amp (75X4 300X1)
Hertz energy 4" and tweets all around
Earthquake SWS-8 subs under the seat
I did a lot of research before I did this upgrade, from the speakers, to the amp, to my installer. I used to be a car audio installer in my younger years, but I know enough to know that I was too far removed from that experience to mess with modifing the fickle 550i electrical system. I got recommendations to a shop call Soundwaves in Bradon, FL. They were very knowledgeable, and had experience working on high end cars. Be careful in selecting a shop to do the work, there are a lot of specialized tools and diagnostic equpment that are needed to do this job right.
I wanted a fully stealth install where you could not tell that the system has been upgraded until you hear it. The amp is mounted behind the left trim panel of the trunk and all the speakers were drop-in replacements for the stock garbage.
Install
The install went pretty well with a couple of lessons learned
- If you have the stock audio system (not L7) and you want to hide the amp behind the trim panel in the trunck you need the trim panel from a L7 car. I found one on ebay for about $75 bucks shipped and it snapped right in.
- Originally we planned using a Audio Control summing device, but we found that it did not work well with the BMW and the signal straight from the head unit sounded better than using the summing device. We later found that the way the BMW puts out the signal confused the device and caused a large hole in the frequency blanket.
- Make sure they have a coding computer with the correct plug for your car. After install my car was throwing a restraint malfunction error (they did not even unplug the seat cables). If they don't have the device you will get madly annoyed by the error.
Results -
The high energy may be Hertz's lowest line, but you would not be able to tell from the sound. They are incredible!. Very clean even when pushed to the top levels and they have excellant range.
The earthquake subs are ok...for the price they are a good value. They hit hard on rock type mid bass, but forget anything in the sub bass zone. I will probably end up with a 10" sub in the near future, but I am leary and don't want to lose too much trunk space.
The amp has plenty of power for the application and runs cool and efficently. Make sure you don't cheap out on the amp! Using a quality class D amp will keep you safe and avoid overloading the electrical system of the car.
Overall the quality is phenominal, I am very happy with the upgrade and would suggest it to anyone stuck with a hifi E60.
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