[Ticky]

Hi folks,

My audio knowledge is pretty much limited to home setups and personal portables, so I need lots of help in terms of ideas and suggestions here.

Car: Previous generation series 3 BMW, which was purchased in 2005.

Current audio system: Standard factory installed audio system - which is to say, it's not that great. (Front dash unit does not have an aux input for connecting my ipod and so I have to use one of a cassette converter)

Upgrade objectives

1) New front dash unit has a line-in for connecting mp3players. (I understand that there are dash facia kits to allow standard sized units to fit.)

2) Discrete and low profile. (i.e., speakers that would fit into the original speaker housing. I'm trying to maintain my car's resale value.)

3) Relatively easy on the wallet. (Say around $1,500 - $2000 max for the equipments. Is this a reasonable budget?)

The front doors of my car contains 3-ways speaker housings (I estimte the diameters are: tweeter (0.5 - 1 inch), mid range (2 inches), and bass (5 inches)).

The rear doors contains 2-ways speaker housing (2 inches and 5 inches in diameter).

I need suggestions on

1) Brands and models for the front unit, amp, and speakers.
2) Any tips in general that may be useful to know.


Thanks a bunch guys,

 

[WhatMACHI]

If you arent going for anything crazy $1500-2000 will get you pretty decent stuff. Try see if you have a friend working with or dealing with people who sell audio equipment, chances are you'll be able to get it much cheaper (as you would with any kind of stuff).

I mean you could spend alot less tha the $1500-2000 to get good sound if you werent too intent on having supper doof doof bass, or super clear crisp mid to high range.

What kind of sound/music do you tend to play? If you dont need the huge bass, spend less on a sub and an amp powering the sub (or go with a 5-channel amp to power ur speakers and sub) and spend a little bit more on ur speakers, if you want more bass, maybe you should consider an amp for your speakers, and a mono block amp to power your sub (or subs).

I dont know too much into brands, or models, but this advice as far as i know

But regardless the big brands are all decent, Pioneer, Caidance, JBL, JL Soundstream, Crossfire, and heaps more.

Gud luck!

 

[KYTGuy]

Custom Exhaust, chip, Mags, Performance tires...makes beautiful music!!!

Expensive stereo, speakers, lots of music visible inside, says STEAL THIS CAR!

Insurance says: we'll pay to replace the stolen radio/speakers/music, tires, exhaust with depreciated value of stock parts...

Noise meter says: custom stereo sounds just as bad when car is at speed as the stock one (or nearly so) -

Question: How much time do you spend in your car when the outside enviro is relatively quiet, and the car is not running? If a LOT, you might get a good return on your upgrades, otherwise, you magically now have more money to spend on HEADPHONES!!!

Great help, aren't I?

 

[MaZa]

Canton makes some very good speaker series.



hint hint I have Canton RS 6 II 3-way serie on sale hint hint

 

[velmeran42]

I've done many car audio installs for myself, friends, and family. Needless to say there is a huge range of price, quality, and performance available in car audio components. If I'm remembering my cars right, your car has 6 1/2" components in all four doors. Easy enough to replace with anything from Blaupunkt (don't) to Boston Acoustics or anything in between. The only hard part there is making sure that you can fit the new components tweeter in the stock location with out making a mess of things (has to be small enough).

Then there is the question, to amp, or not to amp? Are you going to want a seperate amp for your mains (I always do, but you might not). If so, what level of quality?

Do you need a subwoofer? How much bass do you want (trying to fill in the low end, or let people know you're coming from blocks away?)? How much install / fab work can you do yourself comfortably?

Once you've figured all of that out either go to a local installer with a good reputation, or head over to ebay, Crutchfield, or your preffered manor of part procurement and get started.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

1. While a "system" can sound much better than stock, it will never sound great, symply because cars are very poor acoustic enviroments. But your upgares seem very attainable.

*There are more headunits on the market than you can shake a stick at. If all you really want is an input for a MP3 player your options are in the hundreds, ,with prices from $99 - $3000. Do you want XM/Sirius, Sat navegation, a DVD player?

*Crutchfield.com has a good interface for finding speakers that fit you car. Just put new ones under the stock grilles and thieves wont be the wiser. You get what you pay for is a rule of thumb for speakers, but 'return on investment' drops sharply after $100/pair IMHO.

*As much as speakers, spending a few bills on soundproofing under the carpet and on the doors will give you a noticeable improvment when driving.

PS: While I'm partial to Infinity™ car loudspeakers, I don't care for their home speakers (I like PSB/Paradigm).

 

[Uncle Erik]

Don't put too much money into a car stereo. I can't tell you how many people I know who have had theirs stolen. And it's not just the loss of the radio and speakers, either. The thieves usually smash a window or two, shred your dash/console and tear up the doors and back. Also, detachable faceplates aren't a good choice. The thieves will break in anyway and rummage around to see if you stashed it in the glove box. I'm not saying this will happen, but it's something to consider.

Also, you're never going to get great audio in a car. There's always road noise, passengers, and, well, driving. Paying attention to the road means you can't focus on the sound quality like you can at home. You're always better off dropping the extra cash on another pair of headphones or an amp.

If you want to use an iPod, I'd figure out how to jack it into the stock radio. Even if it doesn't have an input, you could hide an inexpensive amp with an aux input and stealthily run a cable out of the glovebox. Upgrading speakers is OK, too, but make sure they're not noticeable behind the stock grilles.

The only good defense against thieves is if they think you're running a stock system.

 

[plus_c]

IIRC, that generation of 3-series has the iPod integration available as a retrofit. If your primary objective is to be able to hook up your iPod, I would look into heading back to the dealer to have this done.

Alternatively, you could also go to a stereo shop and see if they can wire in an aux input for you...if you don't have a CD changer installed already, I believe you should have an open set of inputs (because that's where the iPod integration kit goes).

 

[uofmtiger]

A phatbox is the way to go with an E46 series. It installs where the CD changer would go in the trunk. I have the Phatbox and blitzsafe adapter, if you are interested in buying it, PM me and we can discuss it. I reviewed the setup here.

An alternative is the fact that blitzsafe also makes adapter that will add RCA inputs. You will have to pull the wires from your trunk to your mount, but it would work, too.

 

[Ticky]

Thanks for the inputs.

I'm not too much concerned about auto thief because I don't often park in isolated garages. (It's either at work or at home). Plus, I hope to keep the original speaker housings and simply change the front unit. That shouldn't attract too much attention.

Actually, I live in Thailand so... purchasing from the US is a bit out of the question. Sorry.

I'm not a bass fanatic - always wondered how people can drive in those cars with four 15' subs or something. I prefer a more balanced sound. I would like the trebles to be crisp and mids to be clear. The bass well controlled but not necessarily chest pounding.

I had a cousin who was upgrading his car stereo over 5 years ago. I listened to some Boston Acoustics but didn't quite like the house sound.

In terms of home audio, I lean towards the sounds of Celestions, Tannoy and B&W. Anyone know of auto makes with similar characteristics? (I understand that car speakers' sound might be hard to predict as they depend on the vehicle environments)

I listen to all sorts of music - from new age to mainstream pop, rock, hip-hop, bossa nova, classical, you name it.

Also, there are some mention of sound proofing above. Is it vital to an audio set up in a car?

 

[uofmtiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ticky /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually, I live in Thailand so... purchasing from the US is a bit out of the question. Sorry.

You should still be able to find someone that sells an adapter like Blitzsafe to add the aux input to your original radio. I personally preferred the Phatbox because it would allow you to control mp3s, ogg, flac files using the steering wheel controls and voice commands. Not sure if you can find a Phatbox in Thailand, so that may be out of the question. However, the CD changer connections in the trunk are fairly standard and several companies make adapters that add aux inputs. If you just want to go aftermarket, that is cool, too. I just don't like the look of it myself. Roadfly forum probably has your answer.

 

[Ticky]

Thanks for the suggestion uofmtiger. Actually, now that I think about it some more, the Phatbox sounds like an attractive alternative to a new front dash. I actually would like to preserve the factory installed front unit as it is designed to fit in with the console.

I'll see if they have the Phatbox on sale in Thailand or something similar.

Cheers,