[kaden335]

Hi all,

I've recently purchased a 2011 335d Sport as my first car. Everything with the engine/suspension has been taken care of, but its time to move on to the audio.

As a bit of backstory, I'm an engineering student with a large background in sound technology, therefor I am incredibly familiar with home audio, however car audio still interests me as I am learning something new every day.

Anyways, my 335 came equipped with no iDrive, but with the Harmon Kardon [Logic7] (I believe it was branded as this only for 2011 on the d's). It has 13 speakers (9 channels) and silver polypropylene woofers. Moving to the back, it has the Fiber optic (green) connection to the amplifier.

In terms of goals, my most important goal is the head unit (radio). I see kits for installing standard double dins with CarPlay and whatnot, however installation is not the issue. I'd like to retain all dings and dongs (my car has PDC) including backing up and letting me know the door is open/key is in. I don't however, want to spend 300 dollars on a wiring harness just to interface with the factory amplifier. Albeit I could have bought a car with HiFi and avoided a lot of these troubles, but finding a south-east 2011 335d that's black on black without iDrive is already hard enough! Plus I got it for less then I spent on speakers for my living room...

My audio engineer/car audio enthusiast friend came over to demo the factory sound system with flat eq and nothing extra as a baseline. We concluded that one of the sub-woofers is not working (I'll be pulling the seat this weekend to verify) and the other is rattling, possibly with voice coil damage. I suspect this due to the car having a leaking windshield (I did not know about this and left the car in the rain when it got delivered). The next day the carpet was all soaked and I vacuumed about 2 gallons of water out.

To my surprise, the factory L7 amp does a nice job at low-medium volumes. However anything moderately loud you can immediately tell the distortion/lack of mid-bass and the shrill of the tweeters. As much as I'd like to replace the amp with an inelegant DSP unit, it's not at the top of my list, right now just trying to find the easiest path of upgrade without dumping too much money and getting frustrated that nothing works.

I appreciate anyone that has made it to the end of my post, pardon the length, it is my first post here however I have done a TON of reading on the forum prior to posting. Any advice/suggestions would be incredibly helpful for me.

Kaden

[ctuna]

You pretty much have to dump money in to get a good result.

Why are all BMW amp specs bogus bs because at the rated inflated
power they are at 10 percent distortion.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1144129
at entry 19 in the above thread
Datasheets attached.
Attached Images
File Type: pdf TDA1562Q_ST_SD.pdf (139.4 KB, 224 views)
File Type: pdf TDA8566Q_3.pdf (110.1 KB, 238 views)

chip specs are in the above link.

the only company I am aware that makes a drop in replacement for the L7 amp
is mobridge ( If you have read here you realize the problem is the Most Bus link
from the Head Unit)

[kaden335]

After a bit of consideration, I finally found out what I am planning on doing with the audio system.

A week ago, I was able to listen to a 2011 M3 with the Individual audio option. I was quite impressed with how it sounded, so now I am planning on doing an individual retrofit to the 335d. I'm currently trying to source an individual amplifier, can always buy speakers new or used, and should be a fairly easy plug and play job.

In terms of the headunit, I am going to go ahead and purchase a car play dash mount android unit. There appears to be different tiers, some being higher quality then others. That way I'll be able to keep everything factory, including warning chimes/SOS, and still have the ability to add a backup camera.

I am going to keep my progress updated on this thread in case anyone wants to do the same.

Kaden

[ctuna]

Trouble with most of the piggyback android units is they use the AUX Input
and you are throwing away any fidelity you put in upgrading your cad audio
system through that Input nullifying
all your other modifications.

The only thing I know of that might allow you to not use the AUX is the new Mr12volt
adapter for android car play.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1002984

The above is a long explanation of why the AUX sucks.

Although the IA 752 may be better it still does not give you much control of the sound.
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/e...n-752.1275694/

BMW stereo types
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352586
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...2&d=1266451970
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...2&d=1260829447
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1209780865
http://bmwcoders.com/forum/3-er-8/bm...1-e92-e93-291/
http://technicpnp.com/menuDiagrams/d...e90_92_93.html
http://www.musicarnw.com/page-2/
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...3&d=1169133185
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1209780605
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...4&d=1278871872
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=343673
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/e...n-752.1275694/
base system wiring pre/post 3/09
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...tDpLJPcGkw_ui_
Base System Guide
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...5&d=1493273253

Mobridge makes the only drop in amp that is compatible with the Most Bus System.
It has good specs and DSP. I have seen the IA 752 amp sold on some of the BMW vending sites
for around 1k and change.

Bottom line AVOID THE AUX.

[kaden335]

This is extremely helpful, I appreciate all of the links. I will read them all very carefully before making any purchases.

[ctuna]

There are multiple threads on here about people becoming frustrated
with there sound system when getting and android unit that uses
the aux to piggyback into the stock system's

[aznbo187]

Originally Posted by ctuna

There are multiple threads on here about people becoming frustrated
with there sound system when getting and android unit that uses
the aux to piggyback into the stock system's

Are there any L7 DSP/Amp upgrades that aren't $1000+?

[ctuna]

Not that I am aware of .
You might be able to find a used Individual Audio Amp
but still would have to do some work
There are few instances of people describing that on this sub forum.

Some people try to add a more power full 4 channel amp for the front
locations piggy backing off the Logic 7 amps for Inputs .

You won't find a lot of Logic 7 upgrades here most people live with it.

If you really work with audio you will find the halfway solutions not satisfying.