Improving BMW E39 audio.

Discussion:

(too old to reply)

Mike G

2006-10-10 18:12:43 UTC

Anyone with any specific suggestions for improving the OE system in an E39?
Car has the 'Business HU' with cassette, and 6CD changer in the boot.
System has plenty of speakers, but IMO the OEM sound quality is poor.
Both treble and base seem weak, without any clarity or 'presence'
I'm not looking for a very good u/g, but if a reasonable improvement can be
made by simply replacing the main speakers front and rear with some better
spec ones, I reckon my limited knowlege of car audio could cope with that.
:-)
Any suggestions?
TIA.
Mike.

In-Car Express

2006-10-12 07:53:17 UTC

Permalink

Post by Mike G
I'm not looking for a very good u/g, but if a reasonable improvement can be
made by simply replacing the main speakers front and rear with some better
spec ones, I reckon my limited knowlege of car audio could cope with that.

With the E39, the one fundamental thing you must do is change the head
unit. The orignal unit is so poor that any changes you make elsewhere
within the system without first replacing the unit are likely to be a
huge waste of money (same goes with most of the BMW range).

On the other hand, I've known plenty of cases where an upgrade of just
the head unit to a decent quality high powered aftermarket unit (ie.
something like one of Alpine's 4 x 50w 'Microdynamics' units) has made
enough of a difference to leave the customer happy with the system.

Jon

--
In-Car Express http://www.incarexpress.co.uk
Car Audio | Security | Multimedia | Navigation
Tel. 01223 301212 Fax. 0870 7484123

BigBob

2006-10-24 03:40:57 UTC

Permalink

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e39.html
scroll down to STEREO

Post by Mike G
Anyone with any specific suggestions for improving the OE system in an E39?
Car has the 'Business HU' with cassette, and 6CD changer in the boot.
System has plenty of speakers, but IMO the OEM sound quality is poor.
Both treble and base seem weak, without any clarity or 'presence'
I'm not looking for a very good u/g, but if a reasonable improvement can
be made by simply replacing the main speakers front and rear with some
better spec ones, I reckon my limited knowlege of car audio could cope
with that. :-)
Any suggestions?
TIA.
Mike.

BigBob

2006-10-24 03:41:37 UTC

Permalink

This one is good
http://www.jvrconsulting.com/bmwsite/bmwmain.htm

BigBob

2006-10-24 03:42:39 UTC

Permalink

and this

http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/tips_pages/M%20audio%20upgrade%20review.htm

BigBob

2006-10-24 03:48:34 UTC

Permalink

As suggested before.
Either a new aftermarket deck and some decent 3rd party speakers, (which
allows for real upgrades as in amps etc), or a line level pickup
http://www.mobileaudiocontrol.com/dept.asp?d_id=17612&l1=17612

http://www.mobileaudiocontrol.com/product.asp?Product_Id=222456&d_Id=17612&l1=17612&l2=
or
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=193

to allow the stock deck to supply signal to a new AMP and new SPEAKERS
combo.