[psmitty95]

Well i've been bored lately and last weekend finally decided to start my audio upgrade. Picked up a brand new XD600/6 on ebay for $300 and ordered the technic harness. I decided i'd post up a bunch of pics of the process to help people diy the install since it seems very straightforward and easy to me. I have the amp already so now i'm just waiting for the harness to show up to finish. Yesterday I got started on getting the amp setup to technic's recommended specs and pulling out my meth tank and getting ready for the harness to finish the install.

I think i'm just going to pull off the oem amp and rack and then hold in the new one with strong velcro. If anyone has any other recommendations for me to try with the settings on the amp let me know. I'm going to run like this and hope I notice a big difference. If it isn't enough or I blow my stock speakers I plan to switch to the MB quart kit. Anyways here are the pics so far

Edit: Also wanted to mention I am going to try and get a video showing the difference just adding the amp makes. I'll be using a variety of songs to see how it reacts to many different genres. Some rap, rock, EDM, and country are on the list I have to try and video


























Edit 11/14/13:

Harness finally came and finished up the install. Pics are below and video trying to show before and after will hopefully be up soon

















Cutting the oem rack to fit the new amp:































Oem amp:











So now that i've done the install I will say the difference is very noticeable. Speakers now sound the way they should have came directly from BMW. Bass is definitely more pronounced and better sounding and it is overall a good improvement. For now i'm extremely satisfied although time will tell. Hopefully I don't blow the speakers too soon or i'll need to get some new ones...

The Technic harness is amazing. Makes the install extremely simple and easy for anyone to do. If anyone has any questions on what exactly I did in the diy pics or anything feel free to post below and i'll answer them the best I can.

[BOTUS]

Hello psmitty95, I just registered and for me this is an interesting post, I'm planning on doing exactly what your doing on mine in the next few weeks.

Understanding the set up / settings you think works best should be a great help

[essex_lad]

got that amp for an amazing price I would luv one.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by essex_lad

got that amp for an amazing price I would luv one.

Yea I was very happy

Originally Posted by BOTUS

Hello psmitty95, I just registered and for me this is an interesting post, I'm planning on doing exactly what your doing on mine in the next few weeks.

Understanding the set up / settings you think works best should be a great help

Well these are just the recommended settings I found from one of technic's threads. I'm going to give them a try and if they don't sound good to me i'll try something else. I'll have pics of where i plugged in all the technic harness wires and whatnot. Even though its self explanatory I figured some guys on here might want to see pics.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Well i've been bored lately and last weekend finally decided to start my audio upgrade. Picked up a brand new XD600/6 on ebay for $300 and ordered the technic harness. I decided i'd post up a bunch of pics of the process to help people diy the install since it seems very straightforward and easy to me. I have the amp already so now i'm just waiting for the harness to show up to finish. Yesterday I got started on getting the amp setup to technic's recommended specs and pulling out my meth tank and getting ready for the harness to finish the install.

I think i'm just going to pull off the oem amp and rack and then hold in the new one with strong velcro. If anyone has any other recommendations for me to try with the settings on the amp let me know. I'm going to run like this and hope I notice a big difference. If it isn't enough or I blow my stock speakers I plan to switch to the MB quart kit. Anyways here are the pics so far

Edit: Also wanted to mention I am going to try and get a video showing the difference just adding the amp makes. I'll be using a variety of songs to see how it reacts to many different genres. Some rap, rock, EDM, and country are on the list I have to try and video

You should receive your harness Wednesday...

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by Technic

You should receive your harness Wednesday...

Awesome, can't wait. Thanks again!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Awesome, can't wait. Thanks again!

Actually, Thursday... yesterday was a holiday, sorry.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by Technic

Actually, Thursday... yesterday was a holiday, sorry.

Oh ok no problem

[djkevinnn]

JL XD600/6 is an awesome upgrade. I ditched my Logic 7 amp for it a few months ago and couldn't be happier!

[VP Electricity]

HiFi speakers sound slightly better with an aftermarket amp. However, you're ditching the fixed EQ curve that the HiFi amp applies to make the HiFi speakers sound less annoying. You will notice more upper mid/lower treble harshness and some midrange oddness. We have had a number of people add this amp to HiFi systems and later ask us for speaker upgrades, just so you know.

Front channels out of HiFi amp:



Woofer channels:


So those aren't "vehicle-interior" acoustic settings (if they were, we would see the same general curve applied to Logic 7 and HK systems, and we don't). Those are to make the stock speakers less annoying.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

HiFi speakers sound slightly better with an aftermarket amp. However, you're ditching the fixed EQ curve that the HiFi amp applies to make the HiFi speakers sound less annoying. You will notice more upper mid/lower treble harshness and some midrange oddness. We have had a number of people add this amp to HiFi systems and later ask us for speaker upgrades, just so you know.

Front channels out of HiFi amp:



Woofer channels:


So those aren't "vehicle-interior" acoustic settings (if they were, we would see the same general curve applied to Logic 7 and HK systems, and we don't). Those are to make the stock speakers less annoying.

Well i'm not an audiophile by any means but I do know what sounds good and what does not. In my opinion the stock hifi is one of the worst car stereo's i've listened to. I'm hoping the amp helps for me but I won't find out until I do it. If it's not enough or I blow the stock speakers the plan are doing the MBquarts. I would have gone with your setup but i'm doing this on a budget and don't want to go crazy. Since I already have the amp and harness do you sell your speakers seperate? If so could you shoot me a PM with the price of doing something similar to the MB quart kit (drop in door, tweeter, and subs). If it's relatively close to the price of the MB quart kit but higher quality I will go with yours when the time comes

[bmw325i]

I wonder how the Jehnert 3 way kit compares to the MB Quart kit, both sq and price.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

I wonder how the Jehnert 3 way kit compares to the MB Quart kit, both sq and price.

I know in terms of price it is more expensive. The mb quart is $517 shipped which I think is pretty good

[BOTUS]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Well i'm not an audiophile by any means but I do know what sounds good and what does not. In my opinion the stock hifi is one of the worst car stereo's i've listened to.

agreed... I can't believe anyone would be happy with the trash that's fitted to my car.

I've been driving an Omega with a Bose factory upgrade for last 9 years and I thought it was naff... its not comparable to the BMW system. The BM is so bad I wish someone would steal the car...

[ctuna]

I ran my xd for a few days on the stocks and
it was a big improvement. The tweeters weren't as harsh when turned
up and I was actually getting some bass out of the underseats .
The morels really sing in the doors and are not harsh .
The Jehnerts have some of the most well defined tight bass
I have ever heard. Most of the reports here say the MB's are more
harsh an trebly for the doors. That was the older style MB's though.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by BOTUS

agreed... I can't believe anyone would be happy with the trash that's fitted to my car.

I've been driving an Omega with a Bose factory upgrade for last 9 years and I thought it was naff... its not comparable to the BMW system. The BM is so bad I wish someone would steal the car...

Yea I know... Stay posted for my results in here and if they are good then you can do what I did for around 4-500

Originally Posted by ctuna

I ran my xd for a few days on the stocks and
it was a big improvement. The tweeters weren't as harsh when turned
up and I was actually getting some bass out of the underseats .
The morels really sing in the doors and are not harsh .
The Jehnerts have some of the most well defined tight bass
I have ever heard. Most of the reports here say the MB's are more
harsh an trebly for the doors. That was the older style MB's though.

Hmm I wonder how the new MB's are. Is the difference very noticeable with just the XD on all music genres?



I just went outside and filmed the before video of a bunch of different songs for you guys. Gonna put it into imovie in a bit and see if it captured the sound decently on my phone.

[ian2002525]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

HiFi speakers sound slightly better with an aftermarket amp. However, you're ditching the fixed EQ curve that the HiFi amp applies to make the HiFi speakers sound less annoying. You will notice more upper mid/lower treble harshness and some midrange oddness. We have had a number of people add this amp to HiFi systems and later ask us for speaker upgrades, just so you know.

Front channels out of HiFi amp:



Woofer channels:


So those aren't "vehicle-interior" acoustic settings (if they were, we would see the same general curve applied to Logic 7 and HK systems, and we don't). Those are to make the stock speakers less annoying.

Require any coding or re-program after installing an aftermarket amp or even logic 7 amp? thank you!

[Lifted07Duramax]

Can I do this to my L7 and get more power to the subs this way?

Also how do I get to the bass and treble setting on the idrive? lol

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by ian2002525

Require any coding or re-program after installing an aftermarket amp or even logic 7 amp? thank you!

It depends what system you have. It would be more work than its worth to install a logic 7 amp if you don't already have logic 7.

I'm assuming you don't have logic 7 since you were asking about installing a logic 7 amp, but if you did you'd have to recode to hifi to use an amp that accepts balanced inputs.

If you have hifi then no coding required the xd600/6 is a perfect replacement.

If you have base you'll need to recode to hifi or use a cleansweep to fix the eq you'll also want to replace the speakers if you actually want to make a difference.

[ian2002525]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

It depends what system you have. It would be more work than its worth to install a logic 7 amp if you don't already have logic 7.

I'm assuming you don't have logic 7 since you were asking about installing a logic 7 amp, but if you did you'd have to recode to hifi to use an amp that accepts balanced inputs.

If you have hifi then no coding required the xd600/6 is a perfect replacement.

If you have base you'll need to recode to hifi or use a cleansweep to fix the eq you'll also want to replace the speakers if you actually want to make a difference.

No, i don't have logic 7 amp, so i will need to recode
Thanks for the explanation.

[psmitty95]

updated it with pics of the install from today. Video attempting to showcase the difference coming soon

[psmitty95]