BMW M5 Forum and M6 Forums banner

audio upgrade - question

18K views 50 replies 16 participants last post by  epiphanyray 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys, I have 2000 M5 with DSP system. Speakers sound like crap, etc... Ive been slowly restoring this beast for about 7 months now, and its time to upgrade its system. I am not an audiophile, I just want good, clear sound from the speakers, and a nice punchy base. Nothing extreme.... I plan on leaving my stock head unit on for now (I like the oem look until i get a dynavin or avin avant.

Anyway, I just purchased 4 speakers 5.25 (Polk DB521). I need an amp that would power these 4 speakers and sub. Questions:

1) What kind of sub should I get (watts, etc)? Again, I dont want to go crazy, just one enclosure and one speaker is fine for me.
2) What amp should I get? 5 channel, 800-1000 watt? Would this be fine?
3) If I put these four speakers in (2 in the front, and 2 and rear doors), what do I do with the little tweeters on the doors? Just disconnect them, and not use them? What do I do with the two speakers all the way in the back near rear/trunk window?

Please keep your responses nice and simple, I dont know JACK about RMS, watts, etc....

thanks
 
See less See more
#3 ·
ok... I guess anything is better than OEM. That is a way to go. BUt I already purchased two pairs of these DB521 (polk audio). Now I need advice on which amp (how much power) and what kind of sub. I dont know crap about the subject. I am aware there are a lot of threads out there, but they automatically become too techie. RMS, WATT, Crossover, etc...
 
#4 · (Edited)
Hi Ray,

Just about to crash here after a long day...

Unfortunately, you've purchased the wrong speakers. The right speakers for your DSP setup would be the Bavsound ones. They're specifically designed to make the 'best' of the oem DSP amplifier. They're the correct impedence and size to simply swap with the old drivers. They're priced at $397 USD currently which is around $239 cheaper than their usual price and that includes worldwide shipping.

This upgrade will make the current setup sound substantially better. If you adjust bass levels, you'll perhaps find a good setting which makes the best of the bavsound upgrade. The kit will replace the front tweeters and mid bass drivers, the midrange is left alone. There's another pair of mid bass drivers for the rear deck and a pair of tweeters to go in the rear doors (according to their website)

This will give you time to evaluate how you wish to progress for even better performance later (or sooner!) The reason is due to multiple routes forward. Some members will say to keep the oem head unit and amplifier and to upgrade the rear deck woofers to aftermarket ones. Other's will say to keep the oem DSP speakers you currently have and use the Dynavin N6 along with the GAS crossover to 'drive' the oem DSP speakers to a better level of efficiency, whilst others will suggest you remove the whole lot of oem modules and install a high quality head unit, amplifier and speakers for the potentially a much higher level of audio performance.

Each route has it's pro's and con's. I'd personally recommend the latter option of a complete new head unit, amplifiers and speakers. Other's will scorn at this due to not having 100% oem looks in the dash. Other's will compromise and go for the best of the cheap chinese head units which is the Dynavin if you wish to keep the oem DSP speakers, or the AVIN if you really want an Android experience for your head unit.

I'll explain each one so that it'll give you a better idea for each route.

1. Keeping OEM head unit, amplifier and speakers - Pro's = 100% oem looks in the dash and 100% OBC functionality. Con's = Expensive to get 'add on' products to enhance functionality, expensive to maintain the various modules as each has multiple points of failure and each one is 'relatively' expensive to fix/change/repair. To increase sound quality, all the oem modules need to be retained except the speakers. Equipment like a Sound Processor, amplifiers and speakers then need to be purchased and installed. If say the oem amplifier becomes faulty, then you must spend the money fixing/repairing it to continue using the setup. If the TFT screen in the monitor goes kaput, then it's more spend there again and so forth. If you wish to 'upgrade' the oem modules, there's some clever guys doing various things to the oem modules,like adding more powerful IC's, adding more modern Bluetooth, adding an Aux in etc etc, The prices for these additions soon adds up! - However, perhaps 'most' E39 M5 owners are the 'must be oem' type, so they don't mind the big costs that are/will be associated keeping everything working.

2. Aftermarket Chinese head unit - Pro's = oem'ish appearance and modern functionality all built into a single chassis unit to go into your dash. Cons = cheaply built and low end grade/quality internals and electronics. Reliability, performance and useability issues are very common with these units. Next to none or zero help/support from the sellers/manufacturers of the units. OBC is not retained. The 'best' choice for a chinese unit is the Dynavin N6 and/or the Avin Avant 2. The reason is that they're actually well supported by Jeff at J&T distributing ( I think the AVIN is supported by an enthusiast called Tommy) also, the N6 has a higher quality Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) compared to all other cheap(er) chinese head units. It also has the benefit that it has some support for the display of some OBC data and, if you wish to retain the oem DSP speakers, then by also retaining the oem DSP amp, it will work via them. No other chinese unit offers these aspects. The AVIN I believe doesn't have the higher quality DAC nor the limited support of some OBC data nor the capability to retain the DSP speakers directly like the N6 does. However, it's driven by Android which offers the chance of more customisation etc. These are the two chinese unit's that I'd say are worth considering due to that excellent support. All the other's you'll see awash on ebay won't have the support and it's basically a gamble if you'll get a 'good' unit or not (most likely not !)

3. Aftermarket Premium brands. Pro's = high quality solutions, reputable and very well known brands, excellent build quality and the very latest technologies. Superior audio performance and also reliability, the best value for money by a significant margin (given all the criteria above), fully supported by proper after sales care and support if needed by thousands of independent car audio dealers all over many many countries around the world. Cons = not 100% oem looks and no OBC support.

Incidentally, for choice 3, if you do wish to retain the oem DSP speakers, then it's possible to do so by using the GAS E39 specific crossover. It allows you to fit the head unit of your choice and use an aftermarket 5 channel amplifier to then drive the oem DSP speakers with much better 'efficiency' resulting in a much better audio performance from them. You can also do this for the cheap chinese head units and the AVIN unit if you wish. The N6 is exempt as it can 'connect' to the oem DSP amp so no need for the GAS crossover and amplifier.

I hope the above makes it a bit clearer for you, I know you'll have questions still as there's still quite a bit within each of those for you to evaluate and consider. As mentioned, I personally prefer option 3 as I like my music to be reproduced fantastically well and I also like peace of mind and reliability knowing I have excellent quality products. I don't mind not having 100% oem looks in the dash, and I'm too busy enjoying driving to be worried about my Average speed or MPG figures!

If you have any questions or things you'd like to ask, post here and see what other members responses are and feel free to PM me. As this thread continues, I'll post up some pictures if you wish to help you understand more about the 3 main routes you'll need to consider :)

I have a brief rundown of my setup in my signature - the same 'design' could be done in your car too (minus the door builds and D pillar pods and door subs I have!)
Cheers, Dennis!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Dennis...that's by far one of the best and most informative posts I've seen on the topic...so thanks!

Did have a quick question for ya though. Is there a way to keep the stock headunit, but run upgraded speakers (eg BavSounds or others) but also with aftermarket/upgraded amps, so you can get the most out of the speakers?

Also, to complicate things, based on BavSound's website, they don't offer any speaker upgrades for the '03 M5 with M Audio??

Thanks!
 
#6 ·
Hi,

Yes, you can keep the oem head unit and run aftermarket amplifiers and speakers. It's quite easy to do as well. By adding a signal processor, it will take all the speaker level outputs from the oem amplifier and intelligently provide a much cleaner, non distorted, voltage boosted signal via RCA's. You can then use any amplifier(s) you wish and then also any speakers you'd wish too.

The above is an 'easy' way of doing things. I think there's some posts where people have worked out which oem wire needs to be used in order to get a low level signal which would negate the need for a signal processor, but it's fiddly, time consuming and a faff. It's ok for perhaps DIY, but if any owner wants to give the car into an audio installer shop, I don't think they'd want to pay for hours of wire detecting.

I often post up this car which is local to me and the owner wanted to keep the oem head unit in the dash. All oem modules in place, a full JL Audio install. Sound processor from the oem amp, a single 5 channel amplifier, upgraded 5.25 inch 2 way components in the front (using MDF baffles) 5.25 inch co-axials on the rear deck and 2x 10 inch subwoofers in a sealed enclosure with the 'vent' into the cabin well sealed from the trunk/boot. The car has the floorpan, roof, doors all covered in sound absorbing material. There was no need to cover the boot/trunklid or floor as 100% of the bass flows into the cabin.











No cabin pics as it all looks oem. The sound is excellent as well, very punchy and controlled. The owner wanted some 'show' for this install, so you can see the perspex, lighting and it's a full alcantara trim on the custom made panels in the trunk area. For a simple and cheaper version of the same setup, it's crucial to get the enclosure sealed so that all the bass flows into the cabin. If you run a modest amount of power for the sub bass - perhaps 300-500W RMS, then you'll not need to sound deaden the roof or doors. Even with 750-900W RMS of sub bass power, you'd perhaps still get away with not having to sound deaden the interior.

I think the M Audio only differs from the DSP by having the two 10 inch subs on the rear parcel shelf, all the rest if the same, so the front speaker packages should all work.

Another solution for those wanting to keep their oem DSP speakers would be to use a JBL MS-8 amplified sound processor unit. There's been some threads here on M5 board about use of that unit.

Cheers, Dennis!
 
  • Like
Reactions: FDNewbie
#8 ·
Hi FDNewbie,

There's various signal processors available out there from a number of the high quality, car audio brands out there. It depends on how you want to have your audio setup done as to which processor to use. Alpine, AudioControl, JL Audio, Arc Audio and Cache etc etc all have processors within their product range. Any dealer would be able to order a processor in if they don't' already have it in stock.

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#9 ·
FWIW, and I realize this is not for everyone, after having done the research and gone through much of the same discussion I chose to yank and replace everything. It was a very slippery slope in my eyes compromise after compromise to try and keep the stock stuff. I spent a ton of money doing it but certainly could have gone much much cheaper and still vastly out performed the stock system.

I know most BMW guys are all about keeping OEM stuff, but if we're honest the system in the e39 was out dated when it was new using technology from the early 90s. For me it was all about sound quality but also functionality, gaining proper use bluetooth for example was huge for me because I spend such a tremendous amount of time in the car that good quality phone calls was one of the most important things I had to look at.

Either way you won't be unhappy with any change you make, the stock system sounds atrocious, and could easily be completely replaced for 500$ and still sound better.

Respectfully - Z
 
#13 ·
I did a full rip and replace

pioneer nex8100
FOCAL PS165FX's in the front
FOCAL PC130's in the rear
JL Audio 10w7 in a sealed enclosure
Alpine PDX9 (update, my JL HD900/1 died, replaced it with this!)

sirius, backup camera, bluetooth, remote mounted USB's, and custom box. It's definitely one of the cleanest systems I've had built

I am still struggling with the fronts, I can't get quite enough clearance for such a large speaker, so I am likely going to have to downgrade them to the PS130's (5.25 instead of 6.5") but the setup sound so amazing right now I'm trying my hardest to make them fit.
 
#18 ·
Hi,

FDnewbie - The oem Bluetooth module/functionality is limited for the following reasons.

1. Currently, the 'best' chance of a mobile phone handset having full compatibility with the oem BT is an Apple iPhone. With Android, it's hit and miss, some phones that are the same - say like a Samsung S5 or a HTC one, some owners find their's works and another owner with the same phone and crucially, the same one of 13 generations of BT modules finds it partly works or it won't connect at all. Nokia phones have the least chance of compatibility. 'IF' Apple decide to change their BT in the next version, it might mean they also become less compatible. There's lots of threads over all the BMW forums about the above and how owners today seem to think their brand new phones *must* work with hardware from 2007 back to 2001/2 ish!

2. OEM Bluetooth doesn't have the audio streaming profile. All the oem hardware was around before this profile existed.

3. There's no real validated known to work well upgrade of the hardware inside the oem BT module. I think there's been some threads where some owners have done a few things to modify them to make them work, but seems that's it quite fiddly or is a faff and also 'might' not work, so, not much has been mentioned of it.

4. It's very expensive to retrofit into an E39. Then there's potential issues with the front dual voice coil speakers where the phone audio comes out from and some E39 owners who've tried and found all sorts of hair pulling out frustrations when it doesn't work or doesn't work well.

zmw - To fit 6.5's in the oem locations, when using excellent quality drivers and often have 'deeper' mounting depths and potentially larger cone movement, there's quite a lot of work/toil/faff required to fit them nicely so there's no problems, as you are discovering ! this of course means more 'time' spent faffing around and usually more money is required to be spent as well. However, if you do 'want' those 6.5's, it can be done. Have a look at this thread for one of my good friends over here in the UK who simply 'had to had 6.5's' and all he had to go through !

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...6674-sound-system-installed-using-oem-hu.html

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#19 ·
Dennis, Good info as always.

for me the ONE thing I was not willing to do is permanently modify the interior, doorpanels, etc - I Could make them fit by possibly converting the lower pocket into an enclosure or something crazy, but insanely expensive. I also could make them fit using a slim(mer) profile speaker, the 6.5" diameter doesn't seem to be the problem - the custom plates I paid to have built worked beautifully but the depth of the speaker I chose is a challenge it's a solid 10-15mm too deep safely, I could MAYBE make 8mm extra work - but we're maxed out, any more spacing on my plate and the door panel either doesn't fit or the speaker contacts the door panel. I could also significantly downgrade to like the FOCAL AS series speakers, still sound great, but I truly believe the flax 5.25s sound better than the 6.5s in the AS series.

Bottom line is I am very likely just going to step down to the 5.25s and lick my wounds, they certainly aren't much cheaper and when crossed over the way I have them It's debatable whether or not I'm even using the mid bass capabilities at all in the 6.5.

I think more than sound quality I'll just be mad that I didn't make it work, I'll need to turn the gain up on the front channel a bit to match the output of the 6.5s but it's still going to sound great, and best of all my windows will actually work properly!

-Z

Hi,

zmw - To fit 6.5's in the oem locations, when using excellent quality drivers and often have 'deeper' mounting depths and potentially larger cone movement, there's quite a lot of work/toil/faff required to fit them nicely so there's no problems, as you are discovering ! this of course means more 'time' spent faffing around and usually more money is required to be spent as well. However, if you do 'want' those 6.5's, it can be done. Have a look at this thread for one of my good friends over here in the UK who simply 'had to had 6.5's' and all he had to go through !

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...6674-sound-system-installed-using-oem-hu.html

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#20 ·
Hi zmw,

You'll need to research and check, test fit and modify etc for the speakers you want to fit in order to hopefully have them secured well and fit nicely whilst allowing them to play without any issues. From the link above, you can see it can be done but it might mean a change of drivers etc.

The thing is, lots of owners automatically assume a 6.5inch is going to sound better than a 5.25 inch, so will look at say $400-500 6.5 inch component sets and may have to spend another $2-300 making them fit properly and nicely to allow them to play correctly and that's on top of the MDF/birch ply baffles costs. For the same $4-500 budget, perhaps even up to $600 lets say, a high quality set of 5.25's will provide similar levels of 'performance' the 6.5's will. If you are a 'high end' audiophile and car audio enthusiast, then yes, perhaps it's then more justifiable to spend the extra getting a well known very high performing set of 6.5's to work. I suspect, for 'most' E39 owners who want a 'good' increase in sound quality, then the difference betweeen 5.25's and 6.5's is next to indiscernable.

The above is the reason I've stayed with my DLS 5.25's for the front end in my car. If I'd wished to have wanted 100% oem looks in the door card, I'd have been able to get the baffles in, fit the speakers and buttoned the card back up and completed the job in next to no time. I have gone the low profile door builds route in my car as I don't mind not having total oem looks. You can convert the door pocket etc for space but it won't look oem!

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#21 ·
Regarding bluetooth, why can't you do the following:

- Keep OEM headunit
- Get Bluetooth functionality with a BMW-compatible product (eg BavSound's SoundPlicity Control III)
- Use the signal processors to go with aftermarket amps & speakers/subs

That way, you get the best of both worlds. OEM headunit but with full aftermarket components AND Bluetooth (phone & audio steaming)

Oh and re: the subs, yea, I dunno why every audio shop I've worked with has always wanted to make a large ported box for the JLs I had. But in my experience, nothing sounded as good as my sub with my original small non-ported enclosure...
 
#24 ·
FD: The biggest thing I notice is many people are using sub for volume not quality - and there is no two ways about it, ported boxes are much much louder, even at far lower power levels - you can put 2 crappy quality 12s in a big *** ported box and at moderate or even unclean power it'll shake your teeth loose and the guy two blocks away will hate you.

To me that sounds like complete garbage though.

There are some exceptions. I think JL makes a fantastic "microsub" setup when they use their 8w3 in their JL provided ported box. It hits tight and clean and for MOST it's enough sub to compliment a stock system, I have had the same "microsub" for the past 7 years and love it.

I have considered dropping down to the 8w7 - it requires about 1/2 the airspace the 10w7 does, but after having the 10 I'm worried the 8 will sound anemic to me, but I have always loved the way 8s in general sound, they hit clean and tight - this 10w7 does as well, but for sure it's looser than my normal systems. I also have noticed as the sub as gotten broken in that it's gotten a bit sloppier, so I may try to work on tuning out some of that slop, or knowing me I'll replace it if it doesn't sound right to me.

As for keeping the OEM headunit, I looked at all that stuff man, by the time I loaded up the things I needed/wanted and then added all the aftermarket stuff - it just wasn't cheaper, I had close to 800$ in just bluetooth modules, ipod connectivity, signal processor, etc - and for that much I just felt it was smarter to get a modern headunit with modern features - I fully acknowledge it's a pain in the *** to get a proper double din fit, and i fully acknowledge my path is not for everyone.
 
#23 ·
I will tell you that we have tried ever conceivable way to get the FX's to fit properly - at this point they can't be shimmed any further without the surround coming in contact with the door panel when played at volume, they DO fit but they do not fit in what I would consider worst case scenarios, i.e. volume cranked to 10 and running hard.

Had I know about those baffles I would have bought them, but the ones we created look very similar.

Also I would note that on that link there is someone specifically stating that the FX's don't fit without considerable shimming. But based on my experience with them that shimming will force them into the door panel.

Honestly though I have now put the 5.25s in the door, I cannot hear any difference - they are for sure not as LOUD as the 6.5s...



I love Focal speakers, have used them since 1995 and have 826W SE floorstanders at home.

I have these in my doors RW 165/1 L0017-04S

With the 12Velectronics baffles BMW E39 Front Speaker Mounts - 12v Electronics

I mention this because the Seas have a mounting depth of 76mm and the PS 165FX is listed at 77mm.

This sounds like a problem you shouldn't have...
 
#25 ·
Hi

FDNewbie - You can connect up an add on interface like the one you mention. It just also 'adds on' to the amount that's needed to be spent! Some unit's are also better than others too.

Ben5 - Hi, I hope you are well and things are good 'back home' now :)

zmw - I have a good friend here who runs the 8W7 in his E39 M5, and I can assure you, it plays very very well indeed! - If I can use 'street speak' for a second - the thing hits low and hard' ! You'd have no issue changing from a 10W7 to one, I'd never ever associate the word 'anemic' with the 8W7 !

In my Touring I use the 8W3 v3 and that is indeed enough controlled, musical, tight and smooth sounding sub bass for 98% of owners coming from an oem audio setup. The small remainder would perhaps be those who want the potential 'big' but controlled, musical and smooth bass along with that much higher 'level' of bass that could be provided from the likes of a W6 or W7 type subwoofer.

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#26 ·
I'm putting the final touches on an audio overhaul to my M-Audio equipped 2003 this week. I always strive to maintain an OEM look and feel to any audio upgrades I do. I want the amps hidden, stock speaker grills and a head unit that fits the aesthetic of the car (always the hardest bit!).

BSW Stage 1 Speakers (installed years ago)
Dynavin N6
Kenwood XR400-4 4 channel amp
Pioneer GMD8601 monoblock amp
Custom crossovers

Personally I think the original 14 channel setup is ridiculous (3-way door setup, rear coax and dual voice coil oem subs) and felt no need to keep all of those speakers in the system. I pruned the system down to the BSW tweeter and woofer in the doors, BSW woofer in the rear deck (removed tweeter, just want fill) and the stock 10" subs. A friend built a custom crossover network for the front components so I could use a 4 channel amp to drive all of the door and rear deck speakers. I'm running a 1ohm stable Pioneer monoblock into the stock subs (4 voice coils in parallel) which works fine.

I installed the BSW speakers shortly after buying the car in 2010 and quickly added an Intravee with Sirius and iPod. That setup certainly works and keeps the OEM look but it's very dated at this point. Sirius reception was always finicky and the Intravee/Alpine iPod interface is pretty slow. What finally drove me to upgrade was looking at $500+ to replace the faulty BMW FM tuner.

I ran the Dynavin N6 for a couple of months with the BMW amp with mixed results. The Dynavin looks STOCK and follows the BMW design aesthetic almost exactly for its buttons, edges and screen dimensions. My mechanic was caught totally off guard when it booted up. The Bluetooth (phone + streaming), iPod, modern nav and touchscreen experience brings the car into the current decade. On the downside there are some niggling issues with the N6's volume control integration (iBus) that prompted me to replace the factory amp sooner than I expected. I also wish the Dynavin had more in the way of EQ and DSP settings that I've come to expect in higher end head units.

I managed to mount both of the amps in the stock location in the trunk. Removing the tuner, DVD, amp, and cd changer gives you a great deal of room to play with. I retained the stock amp bracket and used plexiglass to make amp mounting boards.
 
#28 ·
I don't have a write-up, I do have some pics that I can re-purpose after building a Facebook album.

I posted this back in 2010 when I put in the BSW speakers. It's meant as an amendment to BSW's instructions on taking the doors and rear deck apart. It may be useful if you decide to go the BSW route.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...167319-bsw-stage-1-m-audio-install-notes.html

I took some inspiration from this thread, lots of great pics. I used the same MSD Deutsch connectors to provide a professional looking and solid connections between the amps I installed and the factory speaker wiring.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...n-android-head-unit-install-plus-new-amp.html

I also created this wiring diagram for helping to decipher the speaker and amplifier wiring in the car. It's based off the diagram provided in the thread above but with cleaned up descriptions and color guide.
E39 M5 M-Audio Amplifier Wiring
 
#29 ·
If I was going to do this all over again from scratch starting with a stock M5 I'd:

  1. Replace amp, speakers and head unit in one go
  2. Source a quality set of 5.25" components with crossovers for the fronts (JL, Polk, BA, etc)
  3. Get a matching pair of 5.25 woofers for the back (no tweeter)
  4. Consider the AVIN (no need for DSP amp compatibility)
  5. Consider a single 5 channel amp to drive fronts, rear and sub (assuming sub channel is 1 ohm stable)

By doing everything at once you avoid the hassles of trying to mix aftermarket components with the factory amp or speakers. Initial investment is higher but you save a lot of time and effort in install in not having to take the car apart multiple times.

I imagine some people will take exception to using the stock 10" subs as they aren't particularly powerful. They work fine for me, and do hit a bit harder with the additional power I'm giving them in my setup. Regardless, if you went this route you could always replace them with a sealed box and use the new sub amp to power it.

Both BSW Audio (speakers) and J&T Distributing (Dynavin) have been a pleasure to deal with and very supportive. If you're wary of undertaking the install they are both great resources.
 
#36 · (Edited)
This ended being pretty much exactly what I did, although through my own deduction, wish I noticed your post earlier. I went with 2 10s in a ported box though, sound good.

My first time doing anything audio or car interior work, it took me a long, long, long time to get the system to where I want it, but I'm pretty close now. These new Pioneer components are real nice

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-D1...275951&sr=8-2&keywords=pioneer+component+5.25

I have one question though, why just woofers on the back deck and no tweeter? I dropped in some coaxials on the rear deck and they are OK, although no where near as clear and detailed as the front components. I appreciate nice crisp highs.

As far as Amp, the discontinued JBL GTO 5-EZ 5 channel amp is good!
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-YxOz38gxQVV/p_109GTO5E/JBL-GTO-5EZ.html
I got it for $230 on ebay though.....
 
#34 ·
I'm surprised how much people hate on the oem DSP system. I was playing around with mine last night, it has the ability to sound terrible but it can also sound pretty decent if the settings are dialed in. In my younger days I would have done a full upgrade with amps, components, and a head unit. For now I've gone with a 16:9 display and an mkiv nav drive.

I do plan to install a media bridge later, I'd really like sat radio and streaming from my phone.
 
#45 ·
Hi

Aok2me - The DSP functionality went out of fashion by the late 90's in consumer electronics. The church, stadium, hall etc effects were a nice novelty in the mid 90's on home hi-fi midi systems etc. That's when the E39 was designed, so DSP was included in the higher end audio options for the car. The specific DSP speakers used are now old and aren't really all that great and were also specific to the BMW audio setup due to having specific impedences and (low) power handling capabilities etc. In the 20 years or so of the E39 being around, no one has reliably and successfully developed a product which allows the retention of the DSP amp and speakers and the functionality. It's likely it'll never be done either due to relatively few DSP equipped E39's in the 1.5 million of them made and that plenty of owners will just get better sounding speakers and don't care for the church or hall effect!

Only the front speakers of an E39 with DSP had a mid range driver located in the air vent of the door.

The Bavsound solution will be the one to have for a modest to decent upgrade in sound quality if you only wish to change the speakers. They make the 'best' of the oem amplifier as they're more efficient than the oem speakers.

Cheers, Dennis!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top