[VP Electricity]

What would actually seal it is two Low-Z switches, one for 1-4 and one for 5/6. I will go look at the one in my car in a bit and see can't remember.

Otherwise, the single switch would change the voltage on both, I would think.

Or we just run an ID instead

I've done an E46 with the 100x2 running Morel Elate 6 active, 50x2 on Elate tweeters, and 50x2 bridged to 180 on a single 4ohm 10", sounded stellar. No rap or hip hop though, jazz and classic rock.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

What would actually seal it is two Low-Z switches, one for 1-4 and one for 5/6. I will go look at the one in my car in a bit and see can't remember.

Otherwise, the single switch would change the voltage on both, I would think.

Or we just run an ID instead

I've done an E46 with the 100x2 running Morel Elate 6 active, 50x2 on Elate tweeters, and 50x2 bridged to 180 on a single 4ohm 10", sounded stellar. No rap or hip hop though, jazz and classic rock.

There's only 1 switch. I just finished mounting mine last weekend so its still pretty fresh in my brain

[VP Electricity]

Cool, I did not want to unload the wagon

It would make sense on that amp for the switch to ONLY affect 5/6... I will double-check.

[VP Electricity]

I have an inquiry in to them...

[T-MC-G]

This forums makes me lol sometimes... Same reason I don't ask for serious medical advice online...

I would absolutely do a clean sweep in your car since you are leaving in the factory radio. It makes no sense what-so-ever to just plug high-level speaker outs into a Zapco (or any other amp with eq adjustments on it). The audio is still going to sound like crap at any other volume level besides the one you tune it at. The cleansweep is designed to automatically get your frequency spectrum back to level across the board with the included audio CD (doesn't use a mic or anything, unit knows what it should expect to see coming in from the speaker input and auto-corrects to flat for the pre-outs once it is all hooked up). Then it has it's own volume knob that you will use from that point forward.

This is all very important because the factory radio has a bunch of tricks up it's sleeve to try and make those stock paper cone speakers in the doors and rear deck sound as best as they can. Such as jacking the high frequencies at lower volumes and rolling off the lower frequencies as you turn it up louder to protect the speakers from damage by people who turn it up too loudly. Add these automatic eq adjustments with an aftermarket amp and speakers and they will be amplified all that much more and be more dramatic and harsh to your ears.

PM me if you have any specific questions, I have designed/sold many systems with cleansweeps back when I managed a car audio shop in college.

Good luck!

[VP Electricity]

Wow...maybe there is good medical advice online, considering how absolutely wrong this guy is...

The HU's outputs have been analyzed on here significantly. And I'm sorry to say you are not an expert.

To the OP: 3K gear only?

[T-MC-G]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Wow...maybe there is good medical advice online, considering how absolutely wrong this guy is...

The HU's outputs have been analyzed on here significantly. And I'm sorry to say you are not an expert.

To the OP: 3K gear only?

show me where?

[T-MC-G]

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v v v v

VP Electricity def knows his stuff with car audio, had not seen your threads before, nice work. I guess I was being dramatic in my response, but the medical comment was talking about all the completely different opinions in this whole thread with equipment and suggestions of what parts of the system to spend money on...all over the place. I guess I used "Zapco" in my response because it was fresh in my mind because I just read it.

never the less, I would be interested to see how a euro-E9x system is different then an American one...only 4 speakers and no tweeters??? even the most basic system in the US has seperates and subs under the seats, correct? I'll bet the head units are drastically different also. I wonder what, if any, external amp is in the euro-E9x. Safe bet is a cleansweep.

[VP Electricity]

No harm done, T-Mc-G. Nice crossover move

For 2010, the EU-base system in previous years is now the base system in the states. No amp.

Most of the games played with the audio system in the Hi-Fi cars - the ones with the amp but no Logic 7 - are in the OE amplifier, not the HU.

The Professional radio, when coded for base Audio mode, has a full-range signal coming out the front speaker channels with some fixed EQ (not dynamically changing with volume). Some OE HUs do this - the BMW does not. For more on this, check out OEinterface.com. There is a slight subsonic filter which can be overcome with the EQ in a CleanSweep, a 360.1/2, a bitone, OR a Zapco parametric EQ.

The R speaker outputs of the Professional HU are highpassed at about 150, and have a different fixed EQ.

The three ways that the HU can mess with the signal are:

- Response (flat, fixed EQ, dynamic EQ)
- Range (full range, partial with a usable xover, un-usable xover point)
- Time (time delay such as Mark Levinson and I suspect effects channels of Logic 7)

I consider the 150-ish HP on the R channels usable, in that if you install 4" rear speakers, that's a good HP point for them. As long as you get your sub signal off the front outputs, there's no summing of signals required.

The CleanSweep can't do anything about Range without a summing module. It can't do anything about Dynamic EQ except that volume knob - but if you have fixed EQ, that volume knob doesn't need to be installed. THe bitone has some kind of dynamic EQ but I haven't heard of anyone testing it on a dynamic EQ HU.

Nothing on the market can do anything about time AFAIK. The Alpine 650/660 COULD, but no one I know has tested it to see if it does.

The JBL MS8 MIGHT ship someday and it MIGHT do that, we will see.

[VP Electricity]

OK, here are some mnore $3K gear setups:

Morel Dotech 4 comps, ADMW9, Integra 4 in the R, Ultimo SC 10, CleanSweep or 360.1, JL 900/5.

Morel Dotech 4 comps, ADMW9, Integra 4, Ultimo SC10, DC650 on F/R/midbass, DC500 on sub.

Morel Hybrid Ovation 4 (upgrade), ADMW9, Ultimo 10", DC1000 on F and midbass, DC500 on sub. Stock rears.

[VP Electricity]

Front channels out of a Professional HU in basic system mode:



Does not change with volume - seems to lack even a basic auto-loudness feature that most OE systems have...


Rear channels:

[kaigoss69]

Just curious, how flat can you get the front signal with the Zapco eq?

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

Just curious, how flat can you get the front signal with the Zapco eq?

Haven't done a 2010 with Zapco yet. Mineo had his own amps. Based on doing this with other cars, do not see it as difficult. Working on 2010 X5 in 2 weeks - will post pics of that (unless a Portland forum member needs a system sooner?

10 parametric eq bands are more powerful than a 30-band graphic, I'll tell you that

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Haven't done a 2010 with Zapco yet. Mineo had his own amps. Based on doing this with other cars, do not see it as difficult. Working on 2010 X5 in 2 weeks - will post pics of that (unless a Portland forum member needs a system sooner?

10 parametric eq bands are more powerful than a 30-band graphic, I'll tell you that

VP, how do you go about settings gains with the Zapco amp on BMWs. Since there is really no volume indicator on the idrive display and the volume settings do not hold once you turn the car off, its difficult to set a reference point to start adjusting the input and output gains on the Zapco.

[VP Electricity]

Most of the time I adjust gains by turning the knob until it sounds good and I have no engine noise...

But I did do that professional radio and the 360 the other day, and found the Pro clipping starting at 45 out of 52. If I could do that mode with my idrive, I would do the O-scope sine wave deal in my car.

[Sirrus]

Couldn't you use a test tone (1k) and pick a reference voltage (4.5V) to measure on the HU outputs? Or measure the voltage at/before clipping and use than number.

Maybe one day I'll make a simple device to read the output volage and display a number on an LCD. Would anybody buy one of those? I'll put that on my project list along with the "clipping indicator LED".

[VP Electricity]

I guess I could, but I have yet to see the fatal flaw in my "turn the knob until it sounds good" technique.