[Alex.Devol]

Just looking for advice on which of the 3 below options appears best of first glance. Apologies in advance for appearing lazy, i actually have tried reading the advised threads & stickies which are immediately posted when noobs like me ask questions regarding audio DIY, but the point is I have decided NOT to try and DIY and so these threads are of no help to me. I have a decent ear but i know absolutely nothing about the theory of car audio or components, i also have little free time to learn and am overwhelmed & confused by the minefield of information and options available, so instead I've opted to get a professional to do something turn-key and leave me out of it!

The worry is that the usual customer for services like this (such as myself) is completely ignorant and ends up getting ripped off. All i'm asking from anyone who can be of help is which (if any) of the below options looks to be the best, if anyone has any knowledge of the components being used, reputation of dealer, value for money etc. - it's all nonsense to me at this point so greatly appreciate any help.

budget is about £900. I currently have a CIC nav car but with the base sound system.

also any other options are very welcome.

1) http://www.audiofile-incar.co.uk/ind...d=46&Itemid=83

(do 3 options, only 2 of which are affordable for me and the 8" earthquake subs seem excessive for my needs anyway)

2) http://www.raysmith.co.uk/blog/2012/...o-improvement/

(these do 5 options)

3) http://www.kandmacoustics.co.uk/news...audio-for-bmw/

option 3 is i contact these who are local to me and go with a shopping list which I either pick from the 100's of threads on here & hope i get right, or one of your kind selves suggests.


Again, sorry for appearing lazy on the surface of things, although its more a case of knowing not to get involved with things i don't understand. thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
alex

[dmatre]

I'd look to 2) or 3) if you can't go with the 8" underseats on your first option.

I can't see that 6" underseats are going to give a balance to the sound - you'll be missing all of the lows. It'll likely sound like a very good AM radio, and no better.

Definitely replace the speakers (they ARE the worst known to mankind), and amplify. If there is ANY way that you can find to go to a decent 8" underseat, do this as well.

Dynamat is not really necessary in the doors (it's a BMW not a Honda), so you can save some money in that department.

Good luck, and let us know what you choose and how it works out.

[makkan00]

All of them are overpriced TBH and none of them is really attractive package.

If you want just a nominal upgrade, there is alpine kit getting sold on UK classified. Buy that asap with windows trims (by same seller) and get it installed.

My response to your options is in bold.

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

Just looking for advice on which of the 3 below options appears best of first glance. Apologies in advance for appearing lazy, i actually have tried reading the advised threads & stickies which are immediately posted when noobs like me ask questions regarding audio DIY, but the point is I have decided NOT to try and DIY and so these threads are of no help to me. I have a decent ear but i know absolutely nothing about the theory of car audio or components, i also have little free time to learn and am overwhelmed & confused by the minefield of information and options available, so instead I've opted to get a professional to do something turn-key and leave me out of it!

The worry is that the usual customer for services like this (such as myself) is completely ignorant and ends up getting ripped off. All i'm asking from anyone who can be of help is which (if any) of the below options looks to be the best, if anyone has any knowledge of the components being used, reputation of dealer, value for money etc. - it's all nonsense to me at this point so greatly appreciate any help.

budget is about £900. I currently have a CIC nav car but with the base sound system.

also any other options are very welcome.

1) http://www.audiofile-incar.co.uk/ind...d=46&Itemid=83

(do 3 options, only 2 of which are affordable for me and the 8" earthquake subs seem excessive for my needs anyway)

Option 2 is similar to Alpine kit, except that there is separate channel for subs and you have bass controller.
So for that if you are happy to pay Additional £500 (at the top of Alpine kit), choice is yours.
2) http://www.raysmith.co.uk/blog/2012/...o-improvement/

(these do 5 options)

Stage 4 is appropriate, however compare to the deal above (2nd deal under option 1),
-you will have better mid bass drivers
-however sound processing is passive. (2 channel amp vs 4 channel amp under deal above)
-And no separate bass control like the deal above.

3) http://www.kandmacoustics.co.uk/news...audio-for-bmw/

No packages I can see on there website

option 3 is i contact these who are local to me and go with a shopping list which I either pick from the 100's of threads on here & hope i get right, or one of your kind selves suggests.


Again, sorry for appearing lazy on the surface of things, although its more a case of knowing not to get involved with things i don't understand. thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
alex

In nutshell, I would not go for any of these.

If you want the things simple, get alpine kit installed. Plus point is that you can always sells it if you want to sell your car.

If you want more than that, add L7 subs to alpine kit and that would be more than enough for you.

However if you want better that that, then mob17 is selling DSP and nice mid range drivers under UK classified.

[Alex.Devol]

Thanks both for the advice, shame because from looking around these are the only 'package' installs i have found online and from the sounds of things they are both weak setups.

Makkan if i bought either the alpine kit or mob17's kit my problem is that i'm not able to fit it for fear of making a complete balls-up of things. the 3rd link i sent is just a very local supplier who i believe have a decent experience with fitting audio into e90s so perhaps it's worth me speaking to them about the alpine or DSP.
Anyone know if there are such things as decent mobile audio fitters to work on our cars (in UK)? I'd assumed there would be but google seems to believe otherwise :/

cheers

[afsar]

If you have a proper garage and a bit of courage you can have brilliant sounding system in around around £1300.

I fully understand you don't want to do it yourself but if you hire a guy to do it all for you. Atleast you can project manage and choose and pick the right part.

IMO none of above options were looking good to me. They will achieve good result though but you can get similar good result by just installing tweeters.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

Thanks both for the advice, shame because from looking around these are the only 'package' installs i have found online and from the sounds of things they are both weak setups.

Makkan if i bought either the alpine kit or mob17's kit my problem is that i'm not able to fit it for fear of making a complete balls-up of things. the 3rd link i sent is just a very local supplier who i believe have a decent experience with fitting audio into e90s so perhaps it's worth me speaking to them about the alpine or DSP.
Anyone know if there are such things as decent mobile audio fitters to work on our cars (in UK)? I'd assumed there would be but google seems to believe otherwise :/

cheers

Shame, you live far away otherwise I could install it for it.
Go for alpine kit but make sure your headunit is coded to hi-fi.

[VP Electricity]

Having worked on a lot of permutations for Stereo upgrades, I concur with the earlier posts that you need to get 8" woofers.

You can upgrade the door speakers to coaxials if you have to from a savings POV, but it's a shame to waste the on-axis door tweeter.

You need some means of correcting the signal. Doesn't have to be recoded. Is this for the 5 in your sig?

[Alex.Devol]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Is this for the 5 in your sig?

It's for a e92 2011 lci, base stereo, cic.

I've spoken to mob about the ms8 and I'm sure this would be a great solution for me, but there is so much reading on it across so many threads that I'm totally put off, because as mentioned I basically want something that's going to be an effective and good value solution but most importantly hassle free, something that doesn't give me an opportunity to get wrong or spend weeks crying to you guys when I realise I can't get my head round the project I spent my months wages on!

[Alex.Devol]

I should rename this thread to Idiot proof sound upgrade options

[dmatre]

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

It's for a e92 2011 lci, base stereo, cic.

I've spoken to mob about the ms8 and I'm sure this would be a great solution for me, but there is so much reading on it across so many threads that I'm totally put off, because as mentioned I basically want something that's going to be an effective and good value solution but most importantly hassle free, something that doesn't give me an opportunity to get wrong or spend weeks crying to you guys when I realise I can't get my head round the project I spent my months wages on!

If this is your criteria, then I would highly recommend looking into MusicarNorthwest (even with customs & shipping). They know BMWs, they put together all of the parts THAT WORK WELL TOGETHER, and they include EVERYTHING (including required fasteners, velcro, etc). They even pre-set the crossovers and amplifiers before shipping.

I was feeling exactly the same way you are - I didn't want to spend that kind of money to be disappointed. I was also planning to have the system installed locally - as I wasn't sure that I was up to the task.

Once the parts arrived, I found that the kit was so complete, and the writeups here for installation of door speakers, underseat speakers, and even routing cabling from the battery to the amplifier were so clear & simple; that I attempted to tackle the installation on my own.

Ken estimated 8 hours, and it took me about 6 hours. I could do it again now in 3-4 hours, but when doing it for the first time you take it slow & easy.

To be completely honest, the hardest part of the install wasn't even the install, it was reinstalling the window seals after remounting the door panels. Everything else came out as in the DIYs, and went in with flawless fit (even cable lengths were correct).

Search the DIY threads here for speaker installation. I think that if you have simple hand tools, and you're not the kind of person who rushes through things just to get to the end, you'll have no problem to do the installation yourself.

Good luck.

[Alex.Devol]

Ill speak to Ken about the car.. if i do go down this route, which i swore not to, then apologies in advance for when im up to my knees in interior trim and cursing all of you over the internet.

[dmatre]

To save you some time:

General Info: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352586
More General Info: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ght=door+wires

Underseats: https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/47031/BM...%20-%20PDF.pdf (with Ken's kit, no need to cut - he supplies spacer rings)
More underseat info: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=install
More underseat info: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586892

Doors: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=speaker
More Doors: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=speaker

My experience: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581379

Buy/borrow the plastic pry tools - do NOT try to improvise here!!!!

It's not too hard, and the reward is well worth the effort.