Starting my audio project today.

[YearONE1]

Technic, I believe it is on signal sensing, since it was activating without the black remote wire hooked up to it. I have recently hooked up the black wire, but have not turned signal sensing off. I will do that. The LC6i gains did not seem to affect the hiss.

Strike, I am not sure what the ground isolation is set at, I will check that as well. My LC6i gains are about the same as your, with the pdx-5 gains on minimum except the sub which I put at about 1/4, but didn't affect the hiss at all. I will go check this all out now.

[YearONE1]

Well, the ground loop was and still is isolated. Channel 1 and 2 gains are set at 80%, channel 3 is maxed. I did notice channel 3 was summed so I un-summed it to see what would happen. I don't know if this would make any difference at all.

BTW, is there a way to turn off signal sensing? I didn't see a jumper or switch.

And yes, the PDX-5 is remote activated by the remote-out on the LC6i.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

Well, the ground loop was and still is isolated. Channel 1 and 2 gains are set at 80%, channel 3 is maxed. I did notice channel 3 was summed so I un-summed it to see what would happen. I don't know if this would make any difference at all.

BTW, is there a way to turn off signal sensing? I didn't see a jumper or switch.

And yes, the PDX-5 is remote activated by the remote-out on the LC6i.

Signal sensing is deactivated automatically once you use the thin black wire as the remote turn on of the LC6i. Try using the ground setting instead of isolated in the LC6i to see if you can eliminate the hiss.

Are you using more than 4 inputs channels in your LC6i? If so then you do not need to sum any channels.

[GtiGyver]

Hi,
Where did you install the subs? Did you replace the ones under the seats, if so, did you need adapters?
What other speakers did you replace?

Regards

[ridin135]

I have the same setup minus the LC6i, and my subs sound like shit. By shit I mean you can barley hear them they dont hit hard at all. From what I have seen is that our factory head unit limits what the subs get. I took my buddies sub which sounds amazing in his car and put it in mine and again it sounds like shit. This was with the exact same amp in each car and we just set the sub box in the back seat to keep consistency. My question was have any of you found a fix for this.

[YearONE1]

Originally Posted by ridin135

I have the same setup minus the LC6i, and my subs sound like shit. By shit I mean you can barley hear them they dont hit hard at all. From what I have seen is that our factory head unit limits what the subs get. I took my buddies sub which sounds amazing in his car and put it in mine and again it sounds like shit. This was with the exact same amp in each car and we just set the sub box in the back seat to keep consistency. My question was have any of you found a fix for this.

I must say I definately do not have this issue. My subs actually hit VERY hard for what they are. I put in the SWS-8s and left the stock mids/highs. I am VERY happy with the way it sounds. I gets very loud and never distorts.

Technic, I think I fixed me problem. Maybe it was the fact that I had the subs summed. If I pay attention, I can still barely hear a light static sound even if the radio is off. Pretty much normal right?

I think I need to drop my LC6i gain because with my bass on zero, my subs are hitting hard. The only thing I want to change now, is time correction. I have my balance at plus three to the right so the sound seems more balanced rather than just hearing the speakers on the drivers door. But the LC6i doesn't support tuning for this.

[strike4A]

Originally Posted by ridin135

I have the same setup minus the LC6i, and my subs sound like shit. By shit I mean you can barley hear them they dont hit hard at all. From what I have seen is that our factory head unit limits what the subs get. I took my buddies sub which sounds amazing in his car and put it in mine and again it sounds like shit. This was with the exact same amp in each car and we just set the sub box in the back seat to keep consistency. My question was have any of you found a fix for this.

The output of the OEM HU in HiFi mode is a flat signal so the problem lies with the amplifier I think. What level is the sub channel low-passed at?

[strike4A]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

Technic, I think I fixed me problem. Maybe it was the fact that I had the subs summed. If I pay attention, I can still barely hear a light static sound even if the radio is off. Pretty much normal right?

I think I need to drop my LC6i gain because with my bass on zero, my subs are hitting hard. The only thing I want to change now, is time correction. I have my balance at plus three to the right so the sound seems more balanced rather than just hearing the speakers on the drivers door. But the LC6i doesn't support tuning for this.

Have you tried disconnecting the inputs to the amplifier and seeing if you can still hear any hiss? If you can still hear it then it's probably the amplifier causing this.

[mrgoochio]

If anyone has the total sum of their projects does anyone mind letting me know the approximate cost? I have tons of audio equipment in my garage removed from previous cars but none of them fit in the new whip.. Aside from the subs, but I don't feel like throwing 2 12"'s in the trunk of my 1er Thinking about selling off my old equip and going with a similar setup

[YearONE1]

Originally Posted by mrgoochio

If anyone has the total sum of their projects does anyone mind letting me know the approximate cost? I have tons of audio equipment in my garage removed from previous cars but none of them fit in the new whip.. Aside from the subs, but I don't feel like throwing 2 12"'s in the trunk of my 1er Thinking about selling off my old equip and going with a similar setup

SWS-8 $130 shipped x 2= $260
PDX-5 $378 shipped
LC6i $125 shipped
Labor $300

Total of $1063

[YearONE1]

Originally Posted by strike4A

Have you tried disconnecting the inputs to the amplifier and seeing if you can still hear any hiss? If you can still hear it then it's probably the amplifier causing this.

I will have to give this a try.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

I will have to give this a try.

For some "strange" reason, eBay PDX amps are a lottery... some are great, some are refurbished, damaged, or just defective. Too many threads of PDX hiss in BMW forums.

I used to have an ebay-purchased PDX4.100 with a nasty hiss without any inputs. Returned it and got a new one without any hiss.

[mangotangoe]

Any recommended online retailers for the PDX5 ? I've bought thru sonic in the past, but their current price is $450
Thanks...

[mrgoochio]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

SWS-8 $130 shipped x 2= $260
PDX-5 $378 shipped
LC6i $125 shipped
Labor $300

Total of $1063

cool, not bad

[YearONE1]

Originally Posted by mangotangoe

Any recommended online retailers for the PDX5 ? I've bought thru sonic in the past, but their current price is $450
Thanks...

I got the subs and LC6i through sonic, and the amp here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-PDX-5-AMP...3A1%7C294%3A50

Hope this helps.

Technic, I hear what you are saying. Hopefully that's not the case here because the one I bought was a "new" unit.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

I got the subs and LC6i through sonic, and the amp here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-PDX-5-AMP...3A1%7C294%3A50

Hope this helps.

Technic, I hear what you are saying. Hopefully that's not the case here because the one I bought was a "new" unit.

Mine was "new" as well... those "new" PDX at eBay are the ones that I'm referring to, not the usual used suspects.

[YearONE1]

I think the summing fixed it. I am not noticing the hiss at all now. To be honest, it sounds great! Gave a couple 335 guys a demo today and they couldn't believe how much bass comes out of those little 8s. This has changed the car for me in a positive way.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

I think the summing fixed it. I am not noticing the hiss at all now. To be honest, it sounds great! Gave a couple 335 guys a demo today and they couldn't believe how much bass comes out of those little 8s. This has changed the car for me in a positive way.

Too many members in forums discard the OEM speakers as they were junk when in reality the main limitation is power from the OEM amp. Of course a set of Focals or Morels will sound much better than the OEM speakers, but they are also $400+ a set plus custom installation.

I think that as a relatively low cost investment what you did is a very high yield upgrade...

[strike4A]

Originally Posted by YearONE1

I think the summing fixed it. I am not noticing the hiss at all now. To be honest, it sounds great! Gave a couple 335 guys a demo today and they couldn't believe how much bass comes out of those little 8s. This has changed the car for me in a positive way.

Mission accomplished! AudioControl make great pieces of kit but they seem to be let down by their assemblers. It shouldn't be unreasonable to believe what the manual says regarding the standard jumper settings for ground isolation, summing etc. Shouldn't really have to take things apart to double check.

[YearONE1]

<Me driving the 1 down the road now.

[miro2296]

congrats! Glad you were able to resolve your hissing issue. I've only heard great things about this type of setup. I will most likely go this route in the future!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by strike4A

Mission accomplished! AudioControl make great pieces of kit but they seem to be let down by their assemblers. It shouldn't be unreasonable to believe what the manual says regarding the standard jumper settings for ground isolation, summing etc. Shouldn't really have to take things apart to double check.

I know of three AudioControl devices (two that I bought and one of a friend) with the wrong jumper settings right out of the box...