Anyone help with ICE Upgrade in E46

Hi all,

I have just bought a 2003 325 Coupe with standard ICE (BMW Business head unit, BMW 6 disc changer and std speakers).

I'm not hugely impressed with the sound achieved with this setup and was wondering if anyone could advise me on what was possible to improve sound quality whilst retaining the BMW head unit.

Does the BMW business head unit have pre-out feeds for an amplifier (i guess it must have in order to supply the HK upgrade amp which BMW do as an option) and if so, is this cabled up to the boot space or would i have to run my own cabling ?

If i do require to be doing any additinal cabling, how do you remove the head unit ?

Any info or help gratefully received, thanks,

Stephen

I would doubt very much that the headunit has preouts. It is more likely that the HK set up uses an amp with speaker level inputs.

Sticking to the original headunit will restrict the sound quality. No matter how good the rest of the system is, if the sound source isnt good, you will never fulfil its full potential.

Just by fitting a decent aftermarket headunit, as Tesh has done, will bring an improvement in sound - especially as all Alpine MP3 units have 60wx4 power, compared to 25 or 30w of the original.  If you are worried about losing the steering wheel control, I dont know about other manufacturers but Alpine do an adapter to fit their headunits.

Speakers - be careful with choice, as the space inside the doors is fairly shallow.

If you really want to stick with the OEM headunit, fit an amp with speaker level inputs, and change the speakers. Dynamat sound deadning will improve the Bass a bit more too.

atsutakeda, I see you put that the Alpine units have 4x60Watts - this is max power and at very high THD... best to get a amp otherwise you will damage your speakers, since the head unit can only output around 10-15w RMS at minimal distortion levels... Even a bad aftermarket amp will provide around 25-30w RMS at like 0.1% THD.. the internal amps in there head units provide around 15w at 1% THD... Distortion is what will kill your speakers in the end

When mounting comps in the front doors, the Coupe and Convertibles have around 60mm mounting depth, but best to stick to around 55mm max... so most good 5.25" speakers will fit, but try to go for 6.5" if you can so you get a better mid/bass.... Go for quality brands such as DLS, Diamond Audio, DynAudio, JL Audio, a/d/s etc...

Yes, the "Power IC off" feature is very useful... can I ask what your current set-up is - what car you got.. I have a E46 320Ci Convertible.. just installed the DLS R5A speakers in the front doors.. not changed the head unit yet, but had these speakers, alpine amp and Diamond Audio sub in my previous 323iSE saloon before, hance still got the Alpine 7893 Head unit at home... Just that I prefer the look of std system

I have just bought a E46 320d touring, what a fantastic car, execpt for the ice. I am going to upgrade the speaker as a matter of urgency, I will worry about the head unit sometime next year.

I would like some advice on what speakers to fit in the front doors and in the rear side panels plus what size the standard ones are? Also how do you take of the front door panels? I have never removed a door panel with an airbag in.

Many thanks

Tony

ok guys !

 for ur fronts , u can go for neodynium components or coaxials . neo is a lightweight alternative to the standard magnets , it is ten times more powerfull wich means they can be made smaller , meaning the mounting depths on most models are around half what the old ferrite  items were.

 as for the rears go for a set similar to the front but dont use the tweeters  as you will confuse the sound staging in the car by adding too much rear fill . 

 for the low frequencys use a ten or twelve inch woofer in a sealed box, again if you opt for a neo item you will be saving a considerable amount of weight  and will be able to use a smaller box  aswell .

 for powering the speakers , try and use a single footprint . ( one amp )

 it will save on space and of course wiring !  if you power the rear fill off the head unit  you will only need a 3 channel amp ,

 now the important bit which shops never tell you !! JUST BECAUSE ITS MORE EXPENSIVE , IT DUZNT MEAN IT HAS TO BE BETTER !! which means dont buy something just for the brand !

 i would tell you what i think is the best kit but i,d be biased as im sponsored by a couple of companys  and it might be said that im not being fair on other brands .

 as for the head unit , forget about power outputs of speaker outs if your gna use an amp , concentrate on finding a QUALITY  unit with 4 volt pre outs . if you audition units on the same system you will be amazed at the difference betwen them all , it all comes down to personal preference and your idea of what you think sounds good !

daddy cool wrote: if ur wondering about my qulifications in audio click this http://www.qxseries.com/qx-coole.htm   the title may give it away

My word you must be def by now. That is one serious system. That would knock a building down. I know who to ask for future upgrades on my system.

Blimey, that's one hell of a system. A little bit OTT for me.

Daddy Cool, thanks for the info. I visited a dealer (no not drugs) who did not know what size the front and rear speakers were, said he would have to take of the trim to find out and of course he would have to charge me for that. My reaction was bye bye. What is the standard size for front and rear and what is the max size I can replace them with? The one thing I do not want to do is cut any holes in the trim, I might though replace the current speaker grills with speaker fabric.

You mention neodynium in your post, never heard of that type, who makes that type of speaker?