[Cwa1019]

I want to upgrade the oem speakers and amp. My plan right now is to get the bsw stage 1 upgrade and a jl xd600/6 amp to replace the original once since it will fit in the original enclosure. I understand that I also need a harness (technics) or similar.

Can anyone give me some advice as to if this sounds reasonable? I'm
Have a tight budget (~$1000 max) right now however will have more money this summer. I've thought about putting in the morels or rainbows but the ease of the bsw upgrade for the price is hard to pass up.

[Spy021]

I was in the same boat as you about this time last year and also was looking at the BSW Stage 1 upgrade. However, after doing some research and checking out my options, I ended up going with a kit upgrade from Ken @ Musicar Northwest and am very happy I did so. They offer a complete plug and play kit with Technic harness and adapters that let you simply plug and play. In addition, Ken can make recommendations based on your musical preference and budget.

Even if you ultimately do decide to go with the BSW setup, give Muiscar a shout and see what they offer. You might be pleasantly surprised!

[fatass]

did you install the kit from musicar yourself? i'm super tempted to try and save $500-$600 bucks on labor

[ctuna]

I installed one myself .
There is a link with many examples in the sticky that we finally got stickyed.
If you are reasonably competent with tools you and do it.
There haven't been any disaster story's with the musicar kit
however there have been a few with bay area installers
doing there own thing . But there are a few good installers around here to.
There are many examples in this link.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323

[taibanl]

^ See link posted, but you are well on the right track

XD 600/6 (250)
Fronts (150-250) DLS, Rainbow...
Underseats (100-200)
Harness 85?

+1 on the musicar kits. they will get you far

Originally Posted by fatass

did you install the kit from musicar yourself? i'm super tempted to try and save $500-$600 bucks on labor

Its brainless work

[Cwa1019]

How good is the level one system? $1,500 is a lot for me to shell out right now. That being said, I don't want to spend that much and just wish I had paid $500 more for the level 2... What's the consensus on this? Do most people here just have the level one?

[Cwa1019]

Originally Posted by taibanl

^ See link posted, but you are well on the right track

XD 600/6 (250)
Fronts (150-250) DLS, Rainbow...
Underseats (100-200)
Harness 85?

+1 on the musicar kits. they will get you far



Its brainless work

How difficult would it be for me to install something like that? Much harder than a plug and play kit or what?

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by Cwa1019

How difficult would it be for me to install something like that? Much harder than a plug and play kit or what?

It IS plug and play...well when part of a musicar kit.

If you don't get the musicar kit, it will take more time (wiring harnesses, connections/connectors, etc).

Edit, I see you were asking about getting components individually.

I am one of VP Electricity's customers from BEFORE he sold complete kits. I wish, I wish, I wish, I could have bought it all in a ready to go kit. I spent 3 full weekends WITH my brother installing my system.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=541705

...I'm still (as of today) going back and cleaning up my install (adding OEM connectors, better spacers for under seats, etc).

Bottom line, you could save money, but not nearly worth your time.

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by Cwa1019

How good is the level one system? $1,500 is a lot for me to shell out right now. That being said, I don't want to spend that much and just wish I had paid $500 more for the level 2... What's the consensus on this? Do most people here just have the level one?

I'm pretty sure Level two adds an MS-8....which can be done later. VP Electricity will guarantee his stuff and you can upgrade later.

Level one should be better than the HK system (I would hope).

Basically, Level one = much better components than avail from factory
Level two = add DSP (Time alignment, level matching, individual eq by channel)

VP Electricity...your site is beginning to look top notch!!!

[Cwa1019]

Taibanl - thanks for the advice. I emailed musicarnw to see what they could do for me.

[Spy021]

Prior to installing this setup, I had almost zero experience. With just a few hand tools and a weekend, I had everything installed and back together, with time to enjoy it. It really is super easy.

[dmatre]

Originally Posted by Cwa1019

How good is the level one system? $1,500 is a lot for me to shell out right now. That being said, I don't want to spend that much and just wish I had paid $500 more for the level 2... What's the consensus on this? Do most people here just have the level one?

$1500 is a lot for anyone.

I spent it, I installed it myself, and I'm extremely happy. In no way do I think that I paid for more than I received.

The installation took me about 5 hours, but I think that I could drop that by an hour or two the second time around.

Ken was great in listening to what I wanted, proposing a solution, and then delivering what he promised.

If you look around, you may be able to find someone with one of his systems to demo. If you ever get around Charlotte, I'd be happy to demo it for you.