Georgieb

Well just about everyone knows that the stock stereo system in our E60s leaves a lot to be desired (and that's putting it mildly). Heaven forbid if you don't have Logic7 and just have the standard NA HIFI system as the one in my car. Don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself and "audiophile" by any means nor is my experience or understanding of the intricacies of the E60 sound system very thorough. That's why I'm doing what any self-respecting dude would do in my shoes if his wife's car produces sound that makes his 5 series sound almost embarrassing; I'm enlisting the help of a good friend who has much more knowledge about this than I do and who has tons of experience. Also I'm reading as much as I can and learning as much as possible to help me get through this kick-ass upgrade.

I'll use this post as a chronology of my experiences and log of my installation process, until the mod is complete. In advance, a million thanks to Nelson for making this happen (dude, you know I couldn't do this without you. Also a big thank you to Technic for providing the cable harnesses needed for a seamless integration and also his extensive knowledge and sharing of information regarding the E60's sound system. From the posts I've read, Technic is a guru in this area!

So lets kick it.....

Georgieb

The first stage is in deciding what budget we have to work with and what hardware we want to get to achieve the most we can. I've set a target of about $3,000.00 which as I understand now, is not that much in terms of integration of a great sound system.

Our first hardware choice is the JBL MS-8. This device, and I quote "maximizes frequency response, bass performance, dynamics, clarity, detail and stereo imaging ? every important parameter of sonic greatness ? from virtually any combination of factory-installed and/or aftermarket components.".

Retail price $799.00

skelevirus

Whats the lil screen and headphones for?

nelson29

The Bi-aural headphones is use for the time aligment and auto-eq feauture on the MS-8.

Here's a great review thread with videos on the MS-8

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...ls-ms-8-a.html

pclausen

Sweet!

I'e been looking at the MS-8 myself now that I've done the CIC upgrade and want to do something about the sound. While I do have the Logic7 amps & speakers, it leaves a lot to be desired to say the least.

My inital thought was to drop in the MS-8 and swap out the OEM speakers with the full set from Bavarian Soundwerks, leaving the underseat "subs" in place for mid bass only, and then adding a woofer firing through the "ski" center seat drop down, leaving my trunk mosly intact. I'd like to end up with an OEM look without doing much, if any, cutting.

I'm curious to see what you come up with Nigel!

TEAM M

Sounds good..

nelson29

for those looking for another alternative to the sws-8 8" underseat subwoofer, Jehnert also offers a 8" XE-200 woofer thats direct fit, so no spacers required.

http://www.jehnert.com/typo3/index.php?id=bsse0&L=1

Georgieb

In terms of our choice of speakers, we've decided to go with Jehnert doorboards to start. They offer a kit with double 6.5" power woofers for midbass, 1 midrange 4" driver and 1 1" Neodymium-Dome Tweeter per side. The midrange and tweeters fit in the stock locations on the door. The crossovers are 2Ohm. From what I've read, the fitment and cosmetic match of these doorboards integrate seamlessly as if OEM and with the right choice of amplifier the sound kicks ass. They are 2Ohm and can be driven a bit harder and also play louder and produce dry bass playback and very lively sound.

Check them out here.

http://www.jehnert.de/typo3/index.ph...nd&aid=184&L=1

Retail price USD $899.00


Next speaker choice will be mounting a center channel speaker and swapping the stock speakers in the rear of the car. (No center channel speaker currently exists as part of the HIFI soundsystem in my car).

Georgieb

Well after another long discussion with Nelson today, we've decided to do-away with the Jenhert cross-overs and move to a completely active setup with 6 channels dedicated to drive the speakers in the doors. In order to do this, we'll add two 4-channel amps and from one amp we'll bridge four channels into two channels (mono stable) in order to power the double 6.5" power woofers for midbass in the doorboards. (Each of the two midbass woofers are connected in parallel in each doorboard so we'll only need two channels to power the pairs).

Then we'll use two channels from the second amp to drive the mid-range speakers and the remaining two channels to drive the tweeters. Although we've now consumed all eight channels from both amps, we still have two remaining channels available from amp in the JBL MS-8 processor. One of these channels will drive the mid-range speaker we'll be adding in the dash, and the second can be used to power an active Sub that we install in the trunk. (If I decide on a sub in the trunk we'll go flying passed our budget, so lets see how things go for now.....

Now that I'm beginning to get a better grip on the technical details of the install, I will prepare a simplistic schematic of the wiring hookups so all of this makes sense visually. I am diving into this project with very little experience or knowledge of automotive sound systems and I expect to leave with a lot more than I knew before. Hopefully an "Audio-newbie" such as myself will be able to read this thread in the coming months and have a good grasp on how to do this all themselves.

Georgieb

Oh, I almost forgot. We've come to a consensus on the type of amps we'll be using. The choice is Tru Technologies Steel Series S44 Amps. These are Full-Range Class AB Amplifiers in dual-mono design. The anodized aluminum chassis may not be as cool as their Billeted aluminum counterparts in the B4-S Series, but lets try to remember we are working on a budget here. Tru Technology amps still kick some serious ass and these are a mid priced amplifier, with the basis on performance.

Check out the manufacturer's website here:
http://www.trutechnology.com/products/steel/s44_09.html

And check out a link to a review done by Manny in New Jersey. According to Nelson, Manny is another guru when it comes to car audio installs etc.
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...ne-driver.html

Retail price USD $799.00 x 2