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07-06-2016, 12:12 AM | #1 |
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E82 Audio Upgrade vs Coding, MOST, etc..
Hi all,
I've been doing extensive research over the last month before jumping into my next project: upgrading my sound system! However I still have some unanswered questions, and I hope there is someone out there who can shed some light for me Car info: 2011 135i Prod. date: 07/10 Engine: N55 Region: US Head unit: Professional (663) Speakers: Base (Stereo) Other possibly relevant equipment: - USB/Audio interface (6FL) - Complete prep. cellular phone USA/CDN (639) - I have an use hands-free BT with the radio - Satellite radio (655) What I am planning on doing: - add tweeters in the A-pillar (currently plastic covers with no griles) - replace midrange speakers with better quality (TBD) - replace underseat woofers with Morel MW266 (requires custom spacer/adapter) - add JL Audio XD700/5 to power the tweeters, midranges and woofers (paralleled) - add a DSP between the head unit and the amplifier (miniDSP balanced) - use Metra or Scosche connectors to make a harness that won't require cutting any wires from the car harness What I am not sure of yet: - either code my head unit to Hifi and add a small 2ch amp for the rear (nice-to-have down the road) OR - leave the rear speakers powered by the main unit and defeat the Base EQ in the DSP Prep work so far: - installed the BMW programming tools suite on my mac running WinXP (parallels) - ordered a K+D-CAN cable from eBay (link) - ordered the Morel woofers - ordered amp install kit - bought the JL amp (used) Some questions: 1. Has anybody measured the rms output level of the Pro head unit at max volume? bmw oem audio systems tis.pdf says 4x25W / 2 Ohm (4 Ohm mids // 4 Ohm woofers) --> that would mean that the voltage out is sqrt(25*2) = 7.1Vrms --> therefore each 4 Ohm speaker would receive: ((7.1)^2)/4 = 12.5W I read another post that said that Pro HU without CIC was only capable of 4x15W... If someone has an actual volt measurement (either with a multimeter while playing 50Hz full scale sine wave or with an oscilloscope) that would be very nice to know. 2. Does anybody know if my car likely uses MOST (for USB, Sirius or BT phone interface)? If this is the case, will I be able to use an aftermarket connector like Metra or Scosche? I remember reading that there was no aftermarket connector that supported MOST. I know it's easy to take the HU and check, I'll try do that soon... 3. I suspect my battery will need to be replaced soon (when I leave the radio on with engine off for like 10 min I get a chime with battery icon). It is the original battery from 2010 and the car has only 20k miles on it. Still it starts perfectly everyday and no particular problem. --> will this make coding unsafe? Shall I replace the battery before coding?* * I am aware that replacing the battery will require to reset the adaptive charging system. Any advice on that (what tool to use) would be greatly appreciated. 4. Because of the additional options like bluetooth, should I still be able to code my HU to HiFi? Is there any additional module I will need to reset? Honestly the complete procedure is still vague to me. 5. For coding the HU, I've read many different things. Can you please clarify (only if you have a working practical experience please): - do I need a powerful charger or can I start up the engine to maintain a safe battery voltage? - is it easier/safer to add 676 (HiFi) or SZMFA (Alpine retrofit) to the VO? Thank you for any help you can provide !!! Fox ============================= VIN decoder result below for my car: Type code UC9C Type 135I (USA) Dev. series E82 () Line 1 Body type COUPE Steering LL Door count 2 Engine N55 Cubical capacity 3.00 Power 225 Transmision HECK Gearbox MECH Colour BLACK SAPPHIRE METALLIC (475) Upholstery LEDER BOSTON 2/D1 KORALLROT (LWD1) Prod. date 2010-07-15 Order options No. Description 1CA SELECTION COP RELEVANT VEHICLES 2MR M ALLOY WHEELS DOUBLESP. 261 M/MB 2VB TYRE PRESSURE INDICATOR 249 MULTI-FUNCTION FOR STEERING WHEEL 319 INTEGRATED UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL 337 M SPORT PACKAGE 4AS FINE-WOOD TRIM OPLAR GRAIN GREY 4NA INTERIOR MIRROR WITH DIG. COMPASS 403 GLAS ROOF, ELECTRIC 430 INT/EXT RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-DAZZLE 431 INTERIOR RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-D 459 SEAT ADJUSTM., ELECTR. W. MEMORY 481 SPORT SEATS F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER 488 LUMBAR SUPPORT DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER 494 SEAT HEATING F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER 502 HEADLIGHT WASHER SYSTEM 521 RAIN SENSOR 522 XENON LIGHT 524 ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS 534 AUTOMATIC AIR CONDITIONING 540 CRUISE CONTROL 563 LIGHTS PACKAGE 570 STRONGER ELECTRICITY SUPPLY 6FL USB-/AUDIO INTERFACE 639 COMPLETE PREP. CELLULAR PHONE USA/CDN 655 SATELLITE RADIO 697 AREA-CODE 1 704 M SPORT SUSPENSION 710 M LEATHER STEERING WHEEL 760 INDIVIDUAL HIGH-GLOSS SATIN CHROME 775 INDIVIDUAL ROOF-LINING ANTHRACITE 8SC COUNTRY SPEC. RELEASE OF TELESERVICE 8SP COP CONTROL 840 HIGH SPEED SYNCHRONISATION 925 SHIPPING PROTECTION PACKAGE Series options No. Description 321 EXTERIOR PARTS IN BODY COLOR 473 ARMREST, FRONT 645 RADIO CONTROL US 663 RADIO BMW PROFESSIONAL 823 HOT CLIMATE VERSION 845 ACOUSTIC BELT WARNING 850 ADD FUEL TANK FILLING FOR EXPORT 853 LANGUAGE VERSION ENGLISH 876 RADIO FREQUENCY 315 MHZ Last edited by Poptarts; 07-07-2016 at 02:09 AM.. |
07-07-2016, 12:46 AM | #2 | |
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Regardless of what you do, you MUST recode your headunit to HiFi. This will remove the factory EQ that drastically overcompensates for the unfortunate misery that is the factory speakers. This is done by adding $676 to the cars VO and recoding your RAD2 module.
Also your headunit is not a CCC (this is the first gen idrive). BTW, personally i think you should have bought a 6 channel amp: - 2 ch for front speakers - 2 ch for front subs - 2 ch for rears Also, buy a technic PnP Harness. To Answer your other questions: Your car uses MOST for the sirius and bluetooth functions. Adding an amp will not affect this. You will not need to touch the MOST bus at all. Yes buy a new battery, go for a genuine replacement. Additional options have no bearing on recoding your head unit. Plenty of information on this but as i said above: add $676 to your vehicle order in NCSExpert, then use job SG_CODIEREN on RAD2 Module. Code your car after you change your battery, you do not need a charger but it is recommended. I would not recommend doing any coding on your car until you change your battery. Quote:
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07-07-2016, 02:18 AM | #3 |
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Hi Reisf,
Thanks a lot for all the answers you gave! Really appreciate. I know I should have gone for the 6ch amp... but I couldn't resist this one on CL for much less... Ok for the CCC --> I edited my post to prevent future confusions. Ok for the battery and coding. I guess I'll do the HW install first little by little, then when everything is done (and should sound so-so) I will get to the battery, recode and finally fine tune all that. I'm trying hard to stay on a budget (my family before my car) so I only put money into the parts that matter the most (and what I can't do myself). I know Technic's harness is great but I think I can do something for much less. It makes the project fun too! Will keep you guys posted when I make some progress. |
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07-08-2016, 01:46 AM | #4 |
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If your comfortable making your own harness then go for it! Just wasn't sure how familiar you are with this sort of thing.
Just with your idea of going with the hardware first, dont install your amp/dsp and use it without doing the coding. There is a huge amount of EQ added on the headunit with the base stereo. When you take that signal and put it through an amp and dsp it just sounds awful. |
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audio, coding, most fiber optic, sound, speaker |
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