» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 05-02-2024 08:18 PM 6 Replies, 402,457 Views | | | | | | 11-30-2006, 03:51 PM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | 10 speaker stereo I've read a few discussion about the 10 speaker radio but I wanted to ask about my situation still. I just bought my 318ti and it has the 10 speaker set but it has an aftermarket cd player installed by Circuit City. So a few people have said that just installing a new head unit will make the sound worse since you have to bypass the amp. My question is, the original seller still has the original tape deck, but just the tape deck only. I thought I read that if you install another head unit, you would have to move the amp. Does this mean that Circuit City took the amp since the original owner only has the tape deck? I asked him to swap the head units because I wanted to use the 10 speakers and the high power amp, but now I'm not sure if it is possible to go back to the original 10 speaker setup using the factory amp. | | | 11-30-2006, 04:08 PM | #2 | TRETEN IRGENDEINES ESELS Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 3,687 | Well to see if you still have the amp in the car remove the rear driverside panel in your trunk and it should be right there in plane sight. __________________ 98 Avus Blue 318 ti Active clear outs all around,stealth turning signals,blue led interior lights, 35% tinted windows,K&N air filter, 12" Kenwood Sub, MTX Thunder Amp,Alpine cd changer, Leatherz Armrest,ACS Pedals/Handbrake/FloorMats & Vitesse Tuning Carbon Fiber B-Pillars/CF Spark Plug Cover, New 16" MSW Typer 14 Rims on Goodyear Triple Treds www.myspace.com/avusblueti | | | 11-30-2006, 04:33 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | Ok, so if it is still there, then if I want the best sound with the current speaker setup, going back to the stock tape deck is best bet right? | | | 11-30-2006, 05:12 PM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | All right, some more research seems to say that Circuit City may have tapped into the existing amp. I hope they did. The sound just doesn't seem balanced. I feel like the front sounds a lot louder, but I should check the cd player's front and rear balance first. | | | 11-30-2006, 08:30 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Virginia Posts: 368 | Quote: Originally Posted by Ji Money I feel like the front sounds a lot louder, but I should check the cd player's front and rear balance first. | Umm, yeah. And they're probably closer to your ears, too!!! The stock head unit sounds like crap. And, and I do mean any, after-market head unit is an improvement in sound quality. I'll try and find you a link since you must not be able to manage the search function by yourself: Factory head unit deficiencies | | | 12-01-2006, 02:45 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | Quote: Originally Posted by Phil Marx Umm, yeah. And they're probably closer to your ears, too!!! The stock head unit sounds like crap. And, and I do mean any, after-market head unit is an improvement in sound quality. I'll try and find you a link since you must not be able to manage the search function by yourself: Factory head unit deficiencies | Ok ok, I should have used the search feature. I just read somewhere in the I.C.E. forum that using an after-market head unit can make the sound worse because you have to bypass the amp which has the cross-over or something. Anyway, I've decided to keep the Kenwood CD player, it has mid range controls which is nice. I was sitting in my 318ti today and playing with the different bass, mids, and trebel settings seem to help balance the sound. Maybe the bass being so low made the front tweeters stand out more. This car has been sitting in my driveway since Sunday. My check finally cleared and the title should be in the mail soon. I can't wait to drive it. The manual says that you shouldn't start the car and leave it idle and let the engine warm up. I think thats the end of the stereo sessions for now. | | | 12-01-2006, 03:16 AM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Central NJ Posts: 2,440 | Well, the main deficiency of the tape teck (Applies to C33 and earlier) is that it compresses signals coming from FM and Tape (but not CD) down to 12k hz and lower, from what I've read. I have a Sirius tuner and a USASpec iPod adpater hooked up to my CD Changer input and it sounds better than my old Kenwood iPod setup running through that cd-input. Also the speakers are a little weak on bass, so I added a subwoofer (6.5" Bazooka tube). | | | 12-01-2006, 09:46 AM | #8 | Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 59 | In my car the previous BOZO stereo installers simply bypassed the amp/crossover by splicing two wires on one side into one on the other (i.e. they took the left rear single wire where it went into the amp and crimped it to both the woofer and tweeter feeds for the left rear.) I would assume that I am getting less than optimum sound this way. Should I build a board of crossovers back there? One for each corner? Also, why can't you run a new head unit through the original amp/crossover? I would think that you would just increase your power. | | | 12-01-2006, 12:38 PM | #9 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Central NJ Posts: 2,440 | What they did sounds like they created an imedance mismatch. I'm surprised the system doesn't sound like crap. | | | 12-01-2006, 04:17 PM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | I hope Circuit City did not do that crimping stuff. The stereo sounds decent now after playing with the bass, mids, and trebel. | | | 12-01-2006, 04:18 PM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | Quote: Originally Posted by SporTi In my car the previous BOZO stereo installers simply bypassed the amp/crossover by splicing two wires on one side into one on the other (i.e. they took the left rear single wire where it went into the amp and crimped it to both the woofer and tweeter feeds for the left rear.) I would assume that I am getting less than optimum sound this way. Should I build a board of crossovers back there? One for each corner? Also, why can't you run a new head unit through the original amp/crossover? I would think that you would just increase your power. | If you are keeping all of the stock speakers you can keep the stock amp without to many problems. The main issue with aftermarket headunits is their output to amp voltage. As the stock amp is hardwired to accept the signal from the stock amp it does not have a gain control. The main purpose of gain control on an amplifier is to set the amplifier at the proper sensitivity so that you are not generating noise and distortion. So let's say that the stock headunit as a 3volt signal, and your new headunit has a 4.5volt signal. That 4.5volt signal will cause noise and distortion when you start to crank the radio up. Where as if you have an aftermarket stereo you can simply turn down the gain on the amplifier to accomodate the higher output voltage of the head unit. | | | 12-01-2006, 04:49 PM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | Quote: Originally Posted by mohaughn If you are keeping all of the stock speakers you can keep the stock amp without to many problems. The main issue with aftermarket headunits is their output to amp voltage. As the stock amp is hardwired to accept the signal from the stock amp it does not have a gain control. The main purpose of gain control on an amplifier is to set the amplifier at the properly sensitivity so that you are not generating noise and distortion. So let's say that the stock headunit as a 3volt signal, and your new headunit has a 4.5volt signal. That 4.5volt signal will cause noise and distortion when you start to crank the radio up. Where as if you have an aftermarket stereo you can simply turn down the gain on the amplifier to accomodate the higher output voltage of the head unit. | So the stock amp does not have gain controls, but the new head unit may have them. If the head unit is connected to the amp correctly, you are not using the head unit's built in amp right? I remeber doing that with an adapter when I swapped out the stereo on a 93 Nissan Maxima but still keeping the amp and speakers for the Bose system. | | | 12-01-2006, 05:14 PM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | It totally depends on how you plug it all in. Most consumer level car headunits do not have an adjustable amp pre-out. It will be at one voltage and that is it... Now high end competition head units may have adjustable amp pre-out voltages. My Clarion Pro-audio unit is 5volts and that is it. No gain control. You can use a line level converter or controller. In some cases a headunit does not have a pre-amp output. In those cases you can take the amplified output, run it through a line level converter and it will drop it back down to the proper voltage range. Most good line level converters also have the ability to make slight changes to the output voltage, which is essentially a gain control. You could also use a line level converter to use the stock headunit with an aftermarket amplifier. They are all work arounds in my opinion. As the stock system is designed, and not that well, to work with the stock headunit, amplifier, and speakers changing any one components is not going to give you a good sound. The best way to get good sound is to gut it all and start over. | | | 12-01-2006, 07:07 PM | #14 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orange County, NY Posts: 1,067 | Yeah, maybe I'll swap out everything one day. | | | 12-09-2006, 10:11 PM | #15 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Cashville,TN Posts: 124 | Quote: Originally Posted by Ji Money Ok ok, I should have used the search feature. I just read somewhere in the I.C.E. forum that using an after-market head unit can make the sound worse because you have to bypass the amp which has the cross-over or something. Anyway, I've decided to keep the Kenwood CD player, it has mid range controls which is nice. I was sitting in my 318ti today and playing with the different bass, mids, and trebel settings seem to help balance the sound. Maybe the bass being so low made the front tweeters stand out more. This car has been sitting in my driveway since Sunday. My check finally cleared and the title should be in the mail soon. I can't wait to drive it. The manual says that you shouldn't start the car and leave it idle and let the engine warm up. I think thats the end of the stereo sessions for now. | keep in mind you have a 10 speakers soud system but its nothing but high and mid range. this is the WORST feature of a ti in my opinion. i mean, the only real bass you have is coming from the kick panels by your feet. thats ridiculous. so yeah, you're going to need at least a small like 8inch or 10inch sub in the hatch the balance it all out. __________________ Mmm.. | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |