30 replies to this topic

[Calypso-E34]

The new stereo arrived this morning, so I thought I'd get going straight away. No real dramas, and everything is working very well now, and the sound is incredible in comparison to the standard head unit. I still don't think it looks as good as an OEM setup, especially a CD / MID installation, but the sound, interference free iPod connection and Bluetooth phone / streaming music more than make up for it.

SEE UPDATE BELOW - MY OPINION HAS CHANGED SLIGHTLY!

As Dan101smith pre warned me, the unit catches a fair amount of reflection, probablt due to the angle it's fitted at, but it's fine.

One thing I did have to sort out - the trim panel which clips around the unit would not stay on with the new facsia plate fitted. I had to trim over a millimeter off it all round, which was great fun. Odd state of affairs. I will warn anyone considering doing this that if you decide to fit the genuine BMW radio fascia and this particular Kenwood unit, the trim for around the unit WILL NOT FIT - period.

Anyway - here it is!

Edited by Calypso-E34, 19 July 2012 - 07:30 AM.

[Calypso-E34]

I'll be selling the MID unit, flat pin CD player, BMW harness to make it work and the Connects2 iPod lead (replaces the CD Autochanger). All you need to upgrade your factory radio cassette. I will also be selling the OEM BMW single DIN conversion fascia at less than it cost me (or would cost you).

[Justin..]

Nicely done. Stock speakers with a good HU are more than adequate. What do you think?

[GStarrr]

looks good Mark! Did you just buy the one autolead so that you could use the steering wheel controls with it?

[Calypso-E34]

Nicely done. Stock speakers with a good HU are more than adequate. What do you think?

Mine is sounding great on the factory speakers now, but they are 9 years old, so I might upgrade at some point. No hurry though!

[Calypso-E34]

looks good Mark! Did you just buy the one autolead so that you could use the steering wheel controls with it?

I got a Connects2 loom to go between the BMW block connector and the Kenwood one, with another lead added for the steering controls. I had to have an aerial conversion too.

I've fitted a USB splitter, and when it arrives I'll be putting another lead into the storage tray under the armrest, so I can choose to have the iPod either in the LumiDock or in there, out of the way. Handy for when we go on holiday, and Mrs Calypso has piles of crap in the front seat with her - iPod knocking potential!!

[GStarrr]

superb! Can't wait to get mine all fitted next week as well.

Edited by GStarrr, 14 July 2012 - 09:01 PM.

[godskitchen]

Good work. I couldn't live with the look of it myself, the plastic surround looks cheap to me. Why can it not be the same shade and quality as the plastic around the heater control??

[Calypso-E34]

Good work. I couldn't live with the look of it myself, the plastic surround looks cheap to me. Why can it not be the same shade and quality as the plastic around the heater control??

It is the same shade, and the quality isn't that far away to be honest.

[godskitchen]

It is the same shade, and the quality isn't that far away to be honest.

The BMW plastic is matt, the new plastic looks satin to me.

[Calypso-E34]

Oh well, it looks good enough to me mate - it seems to match the climate control panel extremely well.

[dan101smith]

Where did you get the fascia panel from Mark?

I had the OEM BMW one from Cotswold, and it's nothing like that.

[Calypso-E34]

I bought it from Car Audio Security on Ebay Dan - it was included in the kit I got. I bought an OEM one, but the surround / finisher trim that came with the Kenwood unit wouldn't fit in the space provided, so I didn't fit it. It's in the for sale section here now.

[dan101smith]

Ah, gotcha.

Glad you're happy with it though

[Calypso-E34]

Glad you're happy with it though

I am mate - thanks for the recommendation! It really is a great piece of kit, and I'll probably be discovering new things about it for a while yet.

[jamesno1]

Does the flap shut over the radio still? And does the radio work ok? When I fitted an aftermarket unit to my e46 years ago the radio reception was non existent and I had fitted the antenna adapter too...

Edited by jamesno1, 16 July 2012 - 09:37 AM.

[Calypso-E34]

The flap doesn't shut James, and even if it did, it would only cover half the stereo. Had I installed the BMW OEM adapter, I would have removed the flap, but as that wasn't happening, I left it alone. It'll make it easier to put it all back to standard in a few years when it's time for the next BMW.

[jamesno1]

I've got a Sony sot amp in mine just now but I am tempted to just fit a pioneer radio with iPod connector that I've had sitting about, it's the radio reception issue that bothers me, might just buy the fascia kit and give it a go.

If you can't see the display due to glare get some 3M protective film and put it over the panel, it'll be near invisible. I got some film to cover the exposed areas of my bike and it's pretty good stuff and I'm sure I saw an anti glare type when I was looking

[Calypso-E34]

it's the radio reception issue that bothers me, might just buy the fascia kit and give it a go.

Sorry James - I meant to say, the radio reception is perfect - or it is in and around Inverness!

[Calypso-E34]

A bit of an update on this.

I have had the new unit in the car since the weekend, and I'm not as happy with it out on the road as I was with it in the driveway. So far, I wish I hadn't bothered. The sound is better, but it's hard work getting it that way, and CONSTANT adjustments are needed. Dennis has suggested that to get the best out of the unit, I should at least upgrade the speakers, and possibly add an amp or two. I might do the speakers, but I don't really want to go any further. I just want decent sound all the time - without having to adjust bass boost, loudness, settings on the 13 band equaliser or WHATEVER - every time a song changes. As things stand :

The iPod / BT Audio sounds best using the EQ settings pictured below - not perfect, but as good as I can get it. The CD seems best with a flatter setup, and the radio is best with the two highest and lowest settings raised and the rest left flat - but I have to stress that music on the radio is sounding crap most of the time.

I'm now wondering if this aftermarket setup was worth the hassle. It's cost me a bit of money, doesn't look as good as the OEM setup, I'm having to adjust it constantly to find acceptable sound - it's doing my head in to be honest. I feel that if I went down the road of adding speakers, I would then need an amp etc - and will I really ever be happy with the sound? So far, my advice to anyone thinking about going down the aftermarket road would be to either go all out with a proper install, or don't do anything at all.

I expected to fit this Kenwood unit and immediately have a bit of an improvement in the sound. I didn't expect perfection, as obviously the stock speakers have their limitations, but the amount of farting around that I am now having to do is ruining my enjoyment of not just the sounds, but the car itself. Unless the sound settings are seriously tweaked, the sound is either muffled or tinny - and that can change from one song to the next. That wasn't the case with the OEM stereo, plus the OEM one had :

Treble and Bass adjustment
Individual buttons for the radio channels
Integrated looks
Better colour match to the dash

I'm going to stop going on now, as I'm putting myself in a bad mood. The stereo will remain switched off for now. Dennis, I'm grateful for all your advice mate, I really am.

[dan101smith]

Mark, see my reply in the other thread.

Do the front door speakers, don't do an amp. The Infinity 5030cs will do nicely and make a big difference.

Music on the radio will always sound "brighter" - that's how they set it at their end. Compare the same song on CD and on the radio and there's a noticable difference.

Also check you've got the right speaker sizes set in the menu, and try the different car types - in the E39 I had it set as a saloon for the best sound, in the Jag it worked best as an MPV (go figure!).

It does take a bit of time to get it sounding right, and I do think you'd be better off upgrading the front speakers, but you'll get there.

The reason it feels like hard work is because the OEM setup makes everything sound equally crap. Now your head unit can throw some power behind the music, you can hear the differences that you couldn't before. It can all be setup properly though, just needs a bit of fiddling (as you've found).

[Calypso-E34]

Cheers Dan!

I have the car set up as 'sedan', which seems to sound best, and the front speaker sixe is set to 16cm - now I realise that the speakers are actually 13cm, but the 16cm sounds better. I also have various other optimization / enhancement thingies set for the best sound.

Dennis suggested that the songs on my iPod won't be that clever, as they were mostly ripped from CDs at a 128 bit rate - he uses lossless all the time, but space is an issue for me, as I have a fairly big music library - my iPod Touch 64Gb can't hold it all, even at 128K. I'm also 'facepalming' at the thought of ripping all those CDs again - I'd need to book some serious time off!!

I'm making notes as I play different albums from the iPod of which ones could do with a bit of tweaking on the iTunes side, so I can perhaps level everything out a bit.

Are these replacement component jobbies reasonably easy to fit Dan? I'm thinking of the crossovers and tweeters really, as the 5.25" part should pretty much go straight in. I'm going to buy a pair of those Infinity 5030cs which Dennis, and now you, have recommended, and hopefully that will help matters.

[GStarrr]

Mark, I've just fitted my Sony headunit last night, and my initial impressions are:
1) it definitely sounds better than the OEM set up
2) I don't think it sounds quite as good as the Pioneer head unit i had in my old Sport
3) it still sounds woefull compared to the stock OEM Concert set up i had in my A6 Avant!!!
4) the BT phone signal for making/receiving calls seems pretty clear, although it's rubbish you can't send your phonebook to the headunit that i could do with the Pioneer set up.

But for £90 all in for the upgrade i can't really argue.

[Dan.]

Tough one there Mark, in theory an aftermarket should give the better sound out of box than stock, but given you have lost some of the OEM neatness and it's giving you stick setting the sound up right it does make you wonder why bother! I think this might be why I have not touched my E39 sounds apart from a 3.5mm input (http://forum.bmw5.co...tock-head-unit/ ). Even with that I find I have to turn the volume up more on the HU but it's more than adequate for my needs. Nearly all of my other cars I have fitted aftermarket setups normally with subs too, but with the E39 I dont feel the need.

[Justin..]

That's the trouble with aftermarket. You get one like you have and it has far to many adjustments for joe bloggs.

[dan101smith]

That's the trouble with aftermarket. You get one like you have and it has far to many adjustments for joe bloggs.

Don't forget, the adjustments are there to compensate for the varied sources you want to plug into it, not just for the sake of it.

It's like anything, you need to invest a bit of time and effort to get the best result.

[Calypso-E34]

Mark, I've just fitted my Sony headunit last night, and my initial impressions are:
1) it definitely sounds better than the OEM set up
2) I don't think it sounds quite as good as the Pioneer head unit i had in my old Sport
3) it still sounds woefull compared to the stock OEM Concert set up i had in my A6 Avant!!!
4) the BT phone signal for making/receiving calls seems pretty clear, although it's rubbish you can't send your phonebook to the headunit that i could do with the Pioneer set up.

But for £90 all in for the upgrade i can't really argue.

Sounds like a bargain to me Greig!

It's like anything, you need to invest a bit of time and effort to get the best result.

That's true actually. I've ordered up a set of Infinity 5030cs for the front as recommended by Dennis and endorsed by yourself. I managed to get them for under £70 with next day delivery to Inverness, so not bad really. If they arrive in time, I'll put them in over the weekend. If not, I'll do it the following weekend weather permitting!!

I'm leaving the rears alone for the time being until I see how I get on with the fronts.

[dan101smith]

There was a really good guide on Youtube to show how to change front speakers on an E39 - it was a US audio shop that produced it. Worth hunting out.

The key is to make sure you get a good seal between the speaker and the box on the door IIRC.

[Calypso-E34]

Got it - and it is very useful!

]

Edited by Calypso-E34, 19 July 2012 - 11:29 AM.

[Allanw]

Remember not to kneel on the passenger seat while you're fiddling - You DON'T want to risk an occupancy sensor!