Sound system upgrade revisited
11-10-2010, 11:27 AM
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My Ride: E61 535d carbon black m-kit panoramaroof with beige nasca interior and wood trim. 172m rims. DimSport Race, SB, SAT
I have seen a number of posts heralding the cost benefit and superior sound using aftermarket parts; however I prefer to do an as-original install as possible. I am not a hifi enthusiast and I don't want a bass-pumping hip-hop car, but I think my base (European) sound system leaves something to be desired, not the least in basic sound volume. I haven't really come across a post that addresses my specific upgrade concerns (not saying it is not out there...) which are that everything must look stock and preferably should mimic the BMW option 100%. If I can, I prefer to save the installation cost and do it myself without doing undue damage to my car so it must also be a quick, straightforward install!
As far as I can ascertain, I have 6 speakers in my late 2007 LCI E61. This consists of:
- Two (very light and cheap) speakers in the trunk-area headliner
- Two not-quite subwoofers in the floor under the front seats
- Two 4" midrange speakers in the front doors
Some time ago, speaking to an audio professional (a guy in an audio shop in Copenhagen) who had no particular knowledge about BMW, I was recommended to ignore the rear speakers and focus only on the front and subwoofers. We agreed the earthquake SWS-8 would be good for the floor, mated to a suitable amplifier and in addition he would replace the front speakers. I don't recall any tweeter recommendation. When asked whether he suggested I fill the center dashboard cabinet out, he advised against it and suggested it would create an imbalanced sound picture! He subsequently never got around to giving a quote and I later decided I wanted everything with stock BMW parts so I haven't done any upgrades. However, what I've taken away from that discussion and from what I've seen online, I would like to proceed by:
- Adding a BMW amp in the trunk, mated to a pair of BMW subwoofers under the floor using original BMW wiring harness
- Adding upgraded 4" midrange speakers in the front doors
- Adding a pair of tweeters in the empty cabinets in the front doors
I will subsequently ignore the empty hole in the dashboard and leave the cheap speakers in the rear headliner untouched. I also won't modify the rear doors as there presently are no cabinets in the doors. This will leave me with a new setup of 8 speaker units and an added amplifier. Now the trick is to decide which specific units I will upgrade to. I looked at the BMW parts catalogue (excerpt attached) and think I'll opt for the units called top-hifi (illustration 3), which I believe really refers to Logic7 units, though not sure.
I don't suppose I'll need any other hardware as far as the doors are concerned, than to purchase the new midrange as well as tweeter speaker units and then proceed with the installation myself, using the quick guide here on how to remove the doorpanel. https://5series.net/forums/topic/736..._1#entry829600
I plan to proceed with the door upgrade now, without touching amp and subwoofer and see where that leaves me, before determining whether I will proceed with the costly and more complex install of amp and subwoofers.
If any of you have gone through a similar upgrade and have good pointers I'd appreciate sharing.
As far as I can ascertain, I have 6 speakers in my late 2007 LCI E61. This consists of:
- Two (very light and cheap) speakers in the trunk-area headliner
- Two not-quite subwoofers in the floor under the front seats
- Two 4" midrange speakers in the front doors
Some time ago, speaking to an audio professional (a guy in an audio shop in Copenhagen) who had no particular knowledge about BMW, I was recommended to ignore the rear speakers and focus only on the front and subwoofers. We agreed the earthquake SWS-8 would be good for the floor, mated to a suitable amplifier and in addition he would replace the front speakers. I don't recall any tweeter recommendation. When asked whether he suggested I fill the center dashboard cabinet out, he advised against it and suggested it would create an imbalanced sound picture! He subsequently never got around to giving a quote and I later decided I wanted everything with stock BMW parts so I haven't done any upgrades. However, what I've taken away from that discussion and from what I've seen online, I would like to proceed by:
- Adding a BMW amp in the trunk, mated to a pair of BMW subwoofers under the floor using original BMW wiring harness
- Adding upgraded 4" midrange speakers in the front doors
- Adding a pair of tweeters in the empty cabinets in the front doors
I will subsequently ignore the empty hole in the dashboard and leave the cheap speakers in the rear headliner untouched. I also won't modify the rear doors as there presently are no cabinets in the doors. This will leave me with a new setup of 8 speaker units and an added amplifier. Now the trick is to decide which specific units I will upgrade to. I looked at the BMW parts catalogue (excerpt attached) and think I'll opt for the units called top-hifi (illustration 3), which I believe really refers to Logic7 units, though not sure.
I don't suppose I'll need any other hardware as far as the doors are concerned, than to purchase the new midrange as well as tweeter speaker units and then proceed with the installation myself, using the quick guide here on how to remove the doorpanel. https://5series.net/forums/topic/736..._1#entry829600
I plan to proceed with the door upgrade now, without touching amp and subwoofer and see where that leaves me, before determining whether I will proceed with the costly and more complex install of amp and subwoofers.
If any of you have gone through a similar upgrade and have good pointers I'd appreciate sharing.
11-10-2010, 12:43 PM
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My Ride: E61 535d carbon black m-kit panoramaroof with beige nasca interior and wood trim. 172m rims. DimSport Race, SB, SAT
As mentioned, I don't plan to do woofer and amp right away, but I took a look at the parts catalogue and found the following attached excerpts.
From that, I think the "Top Hifi system" subwoofer 65139143133 and 134 respectively would be the one to go with. I assume I won't need any additional mounting brackets as there is a speaker in the floor in the first place!
As for AMP, well several are now discontinued so I guess it would have to be the 65129181743 for which I assume I'd need the holder, locking bracket, hex bolt, body nut and not sure about items 6 and 7 (socket housing).
I don't see any applicable wiring harness so I assume the car is pre-wired?
If so, apart from my own time investment, the upgrade would cost:
- 2 tweeters of Eur 50.6 each (parts number 65136978631)
- 2 mid-range of Eur 53,8 each (parts number 65139143121)
- 2 subwoofers of Eur 331 each (ouch!)
- 1 amp of Eur 835 + brackets approx Eur 9
All told about Eur 1.715 in parts - so my "stage 1" in the doors which costs just Eur 209 and which I heard makes 80% of the difference seems to be the right, easy place to start to get some bang for the bucks.
Key now to know is whether the parts I have chosen will work together. Whether anything is missing, i.e. brackets, templates or wires. Moreover, will the whole thing need to be coded at a BMW dealer and is the installation job I plan to do myself, a difficult one to do?
If the car need to be coded as a logic-7, will there be additional menu items on the i-drive, such as equalizer? I have the professional audio system which when coupled with the basic speaker setup basically only allows me to adjuste balance/fader and treble/bass. If the car thinks it is a full logic 7, will I somehow need to upgrade the rear headliner speakers, install a central dashboard speaker and add speakers in the rear doors? That latter bit would be hard/costly as there are no cabinets in the existing doorpanels in the back.
From that, I think the "Top Hifi system" subwoofer 65139143133 and 134 respectively would be the one to go with. I assume I won't need any additional mounting brackets as there is a speaker in the floor in the first place!
As for AMP, well several are now discontinued so I guess it would have to be the 65129181743 for which I assume I'd need the holder, locking bracket, hex bolt, body nut and not sure about items 6 and 7 (socket housing).
I don't see any applicable wiring harness so I assume the car is pre-wired?
If so, apart from my own time investment, the upgrade would cost:
- 2 tweeters of Eur 50.6 each (parts number 65136978631)
- 2 mid-range of Eur 53,8 each (parts number 65139143121)
- 2 subwoofers of Eur 331 each (ouch!)
- 1 amp of Eur 835 + brackets approx Eur 9
All told about Eur 1.715 in parts - so my "stage 1" in the doors which costs just Eur 209 and which I heard makes 80% of the difference seems to be the right, easy place to start to get some bang for the bucks.
Key now to know is whether the parts I have chosen will work together. Whether anything is missing, i.e. brackets, templates or wires. Moreover, will the whole thing need to be coded at a BMW dealer and is the installation job I plan to do myself, a difficult one to do?
If the car need to be coded as a logic-7, will there be additional menu items on the i-drive, such as equalizer? I have the professional audio system which when coupled with the basic speaker setup basically only allows me to adjuste balance/fader and treble/bass. If the car thinks it is a full logic 7, will I somehow need to upgrade the rear headliner speakers, install a central dashboard speaker and add speakers in the rear doors? That latter bit would be hard/costly as there are no cabinets in the existing doorpanels in the back.
11-11-2010, 12:01 AM
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Very interesting post, NavarroOne! You know Iam looking into doing the same "stage 1", so be sure to take ALOT of photes 
A guide of the same quality as your tail gate switch replacement would be highly valuable
A guide of the same quality as your tail gate switch replacement would be highly valuable
11-11-2010, 04:53 AM
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My Ride: BMW E60 520d SE Saloon M47 2.0dTitanium Grey II, Grey−Dakota Leather, Visibility Package, Media Package, Through Load System, Lumbar support − fr seats, Automatic Air Conditioning−Advanced, High beam assistant, Hi−Fi Loudspeak
Model Year: 2006
I have my OEM sub woofers for sale, if you are interested. Took them out when they were almost brand new.
I also have a pair of Hi-Fi mids and one L7 centre speaker.
I also have a pair of Hi-Fi mids and one L7 centre speaker.
11-11-2010, 07:49 AM
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There are several issues with your plan...
- Top HiFi coding is a matter of Vehicle Order, so unless your local dealer in Europe has the capability of changing your VO to add the Top HiFi and then code your E61 for it then you will be limited to either Autologic or forum member Patrys remote coding.
- To add the Top HiFi to your E61 you will need the whole OEM harness, including the MOST fiber optic cables. You could create your own "version", but it will be necessary to connect to your existing OEM Stereo harness -as it has the front speakers and woofers connected in parallel.
- IMO, if I'm determined to go the full OEM audio route I would try to get a full Individual Audio setup and not Logic7. It is the same harness but much better speakers and higher output OEM amp. Otherwise this will be a very expensive project with "decent" at best audio quality.
- Top HiFi coding is a matter of Vehicle Order, so unless your local dealer in Europe has the capability of changing your VO to add the Top HiFi and then code your E61 for it then you will be limited to either Autologic or forum member Patrys remote coding.
- To add the Top HiFi to your E61 you will need the whole OEM harness, including the MOST fiber optic cables. You could create your own "version", but it will be necessary to connect to your existing OEM Stereo harness -as it has the front speakers and woofers connected in parallel.
- IMO, if I'm determined to go the full OEM audio route I would try to get a full Individual Audio setup and not Logic7. It is the same harness but much better speakers and higher output OEM amp. Otherwise this will be a very expensive project with "decent" at best audio quality.
11-11-2010, 08:38 AM
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My Ride: E61 535d carbon black m-kit panoramaroof with beige nasca interior and wood trim. 172m rims. DimSport Race, SB, SAT
You make it sound as if it is nigh on impossible. I got the impression elsewhere in this forum that at least the door speakers (tweeter and midrange) are plug and play without any further ado; is that not the case?
11-11-2010, 09:25 AM
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Replacing the speakers and coding your iDrive are non issues, it is the Top HiFi harness install that will make or break your project.
11-18-2010, 12:52 PM
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My Ride: E61 535d carbon black m-kit panoramaroof with beige nasca interior and wood trim. 172m rims. DimSport Race, SB, SAT
I've checked that post and to be honest, don't feel all that enlightened by it. As it stands, with the comments I've got here, I'm basically inclined to do the door only and leave it at that.