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      03-25-2010, 08:31 AM   #67
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Originally Posted by joelc73 View Post
Just got my 2010 E90 yesterday and, boy, is that sound system bad!

Subscribing to this thread to see what develops.

Has anyone done an upgrade on there 2010 yet?
tomorrow after my tint gets done. picking the car up tonite
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      03-25-2010, 10:00 AM   #68
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Originally Posted by mathu.bala View Post
Technic, any update on that harness for OEM HU powered systems?
I should receive inventory by the end of next month. I have one full-production sample on hand if interested.
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      03-25-2010, 02:59 PM   #69
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Originally Posted by Technic View Post
I should receive inventory by the end of next month. I have one full-production sample on hand if interested.
Of course. I'm in Toronto . Do you have photo of it? How much are you looking for?
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      03-26-2010, 12:44 AM   #70
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car is picked up, but its going to be raining/snowing in NYC tomorrow. not enough space indoors to do the install, so its going to have to wait till the weather gets better.

i can confirm that my MY 2010 has the new wiring harness where the the branch point for the audio is at the sub and not toward the A pillar. the seats have to be moved aside to get at the wiring harness now.
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      03-28-2010, 10:54 AM   #71
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Has anyone tried purchasing/installing this Alpine upgrade kit from their dealer?

I'm looking at a 2010 E92 from a dealer near me that has almost ever option configured just the way I want, including the M-sport bits. Unfortunately, I don't see the L7 upgrade on the build sheet and no center channel speaker grill on the dash, so I assume this car has the base rubbish audio system.

The Alpine upgrade looks tempting for this car, but I don't know how difficult it will be to install for someone like myself who's never worked on a BMW before, especially a virgin car off the showroom floor. The install instructions look pretty straightforward with a lot of panel popping involved, but I wonder if I can talk my dealer into this instead.

Is there any chance a US dealer can purchase this kit as well or must we go through a source like Roveractive?
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      03-28-2010, 11:23 AM   #72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC View Post
car is picked up, but its going to be raining/snowing in NYC tomorrow. not enough space indoors to do the install, so its going to have to wait till the weather gets better.

i can confirm that my MY 2010 has the new wiring harness where the the branch point for the audio is at the sub and not toward the A pillar. the seats have to be moved aside to get at the wiring harness now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
Has anyone tried purchasing/installing this Alpine upgrade kit from their dealer?

I'm looking at a 2010 E92 from a dealer near me that has almost ever option configured just the way I want, including the M-sport bits. Unfortunately, I don't see the L7 upgrade on the build sheet and no center channel speaker grill on the dash, so I assume this car has the base rubbish audio system.

The Alpine upgrade looks tempting for this car, but I don't know how difficult it will be to install for someone like myself who's never worked on a BMW before, especially a virgin car off the showroom floor. The install instructions look pretty straightforward with a lot of panel popping involved, but I wonder if I can talk my dealer into this instead.

Is there any chance a US dealer can purchase this kit as well or must we go through a source like Roveractive?
The individual whose post I quoted above you is in the process of installing the Alpine upgrade.

I am awaiting his results to determine if I go the same route.
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      03-28-2010, 02:22 PM   #73
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Is the Alpine kit a better option than just having an amp installed?

I went to my local car audio guy and he recommended adding a six channel amp, putting 6.5" speakers in the front doors and in the back (swapping out the four that are in the car currently), adding tweeters up by the windows in the front, and replacing the subs under the seats.

Reading this forum it seems like most are waiting for a harness of some kind. Is that to allow the Alpine kit to work?

Anything wrong with going the route recommended above?

Thanks in advance,
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      03-28-2010, 02:49 PM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joelc73 View Post
Is the Alpine kit a better option than just having an amp installed?
It is a better option to those that want to keep as most as their warranty intact as possible as well as improving the sound somewhat.

Now, compared with a mild aftermarket audio upgrade (front component set, underseat woofers and 4-channel amp) it is not that great especially for the price and components included.

Quote:
I went to my local car audio guy and he recommended adding a six channel amp, putting 6.5" speakers in the front doors and in the back (swapping out the four that are in the car currently), adding tweeters up by the windows in the front, and replacing the subs under the seats.
Find another "local car audio guy" that knows what he is talking about... there's no room for 6.5" speakers front or back in any current BMW.

Quote:
Reading this forum it seems like most are waiting for a harness of some kind. Is that to allow the Alpine kit to work?
My harness allows any 4-channel amplifier with high level inputs to be connected directly to the MY2010 standard system without cutting any OEM wire; other amplifier/processor configurations are possible with extra equipment. It should be ready for sale in about 6 weeks.

Quote:
Anything wrong with going the route recommended above?

Thanks in advance,
The only thing wrong here is your "local car audio guy".
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      03-28-2010, 03:09 PM   #75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
It is a better option to those that want to keep as most as their warranty intact as possible as well as improving the sound somewhat.

Now, compared with a mild aftermarket audio upgrade (front component set, underseat woofers and 4-channel amp) it is not that great especially for the price and components included.



Find another "local car audio guy" that knows what he is talking about... there's no room for 6.5" speakers front or back in any current BMW.



My harness allows any 4-channel amplifier with high level inputs to be connected directly to the MY2010 standard system without cutting any OEM wire; other amplifier/processor configurations are possible with extra equipment. It should be ready for sale in about 6 weeks.



The only thing wrong here is your "local car audio guy".
Thanks so much. That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I'll connect back with you in six weeks. It sounds like the harness is something that I'll definitely want.

Could I use the harness to allow me to just add an amplifier, new subs, and swap out the existing speakers? Or should I have separate tweeters added as well? I'd like to not have to carve the car up too badly if possible?

An would I need a different harness in either scenario?

I love the idea of not cutting any OEM wires...
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      03-28-2010, 04:43 PM   #76
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
It is a better option to those that want to keep as most as their warranty intact as possible as well as improving the sound somewhat.

Now, compared with a mild aftermarket audio upgrade (front component set, underseat woofers and 4-channel amp) it is not that great especially for the price and components included.

I'm curious if the Alpine upgrade kit just brings MY2010 cars with base audio up to the standard of the previous hi-fi system or if the power/components are a better performing solution.

I won't derail the thread on which component to choose or how to implement, but I'm interested in the OEM interface harness as well. Does the harness interface with the OEM connector under the driver's side seat or is it back behind the HU?

Which channels are driven by the 4-channel OEM HU? Front full-pass and rear full-pass or front full-pass and subwoofer?
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      03-28-2010, 04:57 PM   #77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
I'm curious if the Alpine upgrade kit just brings MY2010 cars with base audio up to the standard of the previous hi-fi system or if the power/components are a better performing solution.
No quite that far is the answer.

The Alpine kit is basically adds a 4-channel amp and replace the two front 4" speakers with a set of OEM Logic7 4" component (or similar) to the base 6-speaker system. The rear 4" and the 6.5" underseat woofers remain stock. The Alpine 4-channel amp power only the front and the underseat woofers; the rear 4" driver remains powered by the OEM HU/iDrive.

The HiFi system was a 6-channel amp powering front and rear 4" component sets and a pair of 8" underseat woofers.

Quote:
I won't derail the thread on which component to choose or how to implement, but I'm interested in the OEM interface harness as well. Does the harness interface with the OEM connector under the driver's side seat or is it back behind the HU?
Behind the OEM HU/iDrive.

Quote:
Which channels are driven by the 4-channel OEM HU? Front full-pass and rear full-pass or front full-pass and subwoofer?
Front full pass, rear high pass. Front output drives the doors and the underseat woofers in parallel. In the case of the OEM HU, there used to be a capacitor as a load isolator between the door speaker and the woofers, but it is not clear if that cap is still there or was removed from the 1- and 3-Series as there's no mention of that cap in any of the Alpine amplifier kits. There's no cap load isolator with iDrive.

Last edited by Technic; 03-28-2010 at 05:05 PM..
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      03-28-2010, 05:15 PM   #78
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Thanks for the quick answer. That's a real shame then... what's the point of using the rear channel outputs for an amplifier on a budget system? To me, it would make better sense to use a 4-channel amp and drive a set of 4" components in the doors with the other two channels reserved for a pair of SWS-8 drivers under the seat.

Only problem with this is MY2010 owners with the base system will have to purchase a pair of door sill tweeter modules and the 8" under-seat subwoofer enclosures just to accommodate the aftermarket goods.
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      03-28-2010, 06:57 PM   #79
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
Thanks for the quick answer. That's a real shame then... what's the point of using the rear channel outputs for an amplifier on a budget system? To me, it would make better sense to use a 4-channel amp and drive a set of 4" components in the doors with the other two channels reserved for a pair of SWS-8 drivers under the seat.
To be fair, you can do that with the Alpine system by just adding a pair of SWS-8 to the kit. But that will mean a $1100 Alpine kit with the dealer programming, and that does not mean that the SWS-8 will be happy with whatever power that Alpine amp is putting out (most probably some 40-50W max).

Quote:
Only problem with this is MY2010 owners with the base system will have to purchase a pair of door sill tweeter modules and the 8" under-seat subwoofer enclosures just to accommodate the aftermarket goods.
The 6.5" woofer enclosures are the same as the 8" enclosures. The 6.5" woofer uses an adapter plate.
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      03-28-2010, 09:32 PM   #80
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In my case, I'm leasing a 2010 335i with all options but Premium audio. The Alpine upgrade kit seems to be the least-invasive and most dealer-friendly mod--I'm pretty sure programming is NOT required for 2010 cars using this (revised) upgrade kit as the harness interacts with the audio branch connector under the driver's seat and sends the line-level signal to the amplifier. That same harness is necessary to drive the upgraded door speaker, tweeter and midbass driver under the seat.

I'm unsure whether this kit utilizes 2-ohm or 4-ohm drivers. I suppose you could swap out the 6.5s under the seats for the OEM 8" drivers from a Hi-Fi system, although the Alpine amp probably doesn't provide enough power. I wouldn't mind adding a small 2-channel amp and SWS-8 drivers to replace the 6.5s under the seat if it done in stealth fashion, provided I can find a compact, 2-channel Class-D amplifier with line-level inputs and a built-in low-pass crossover.
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      03-28-2010, 09:38 PM   #81
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
In my case, I'm leasing a 2010 335i with all options but Premium audio. The Alpine upgrade kit seems to be the least-invasive and most dealer-friendly mod--I'm pretty sure programming is NOT required for 2010 cars using this (revised) upgrade kit as the harness interacts with the audio branch connector under the driver's seat and sends the line-level signal to the amplifier. That same harness is necessary to drive the upgraded door speaker, tweeter and midbass driver under the seat.

I'm unsure whether this kit utilizes 2-ohm or 4-ohm drivers. I suppose you could swap out the 6.5s under the seats for the OEM 8" drivers from a Hi-Fi system, although the Alpine amp probably doesn't provide enough power. I wouldn't mind adding a small 2-channel amp and SWS-8 drivers to replace the 6.5s under the seat if it done in stealth fashion, provided I can find a compact, 2-channel Class-D amplifier with line-level inputs and a built-in low-pass crossover.
If you wouldn't mind adding a small 2-channel amp then you shouldn't be getting the Alpine kit at all, just get the new 6-channel JL Audio XD600/6, a pair of components for the front doors, the SWS-8 for the underseats and keep the rear OEM speakers.

Done right and you should not be cutting any OEM wiring.
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      03-28-2010, 10:12 PM   #82
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technic, i am definitly interested in your harness. Can't wait.
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      03-28-2010, 10:12 PM   #83
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I just picked up MY 2010 E93 with the base audio system and it still has the tweeters in the door. I had a look at my dealer and noticed that some #93 with the same specs as mine do not have the tweeters. Is this normal? I would like to upgrade my audio but I am not sure what I have and what I will need for the upgrade?
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      03-28-2010, 10:23 PM   #84
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Technic View Post
If you wouldn't mind adding a small 2-channel amp then you shouldn't be getting the Alpine kit at all, just get the new 6-channel JL Audio XD600/6, a pair of components for the front doors, the SWS-8 for the underseats and keep the rear OEM speakers.

Done right and you should not be cutting any OEM wiring.
...except you have to run wiring for everything back under the sills, through the doors, find a suitable place to mount the tweeters without damaging the door panels, hide the amp, etc. It's do-able, but really not desired on a leased car. My goal is to get the dealership to take care of the Alpine system; if not, then I'll look into adding my own components but it doesn't sound easy.

On the other hand, this base audio system should make for a nice platform to start if you have aftermarket components in mind. This sounds like it's easier to work with than the previous Hi-Fi cars.
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      03-29-2010, 12:14 AM   #85
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
. This sounds like it's easier to work with than the previous Hi-Fi cars.
How?

HiFi cars had a nice balanced output, unprocessed.

Base audio has deck power, equalized for a tweeterless system, and crossover filtered on the rear channels. Much bigger PITA to upgrade.


By the way, doesn't the base audio on the E90 come with tweeter grilles in the mirror sail positions, with no tweeters inside?
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      03-29-2010, 12:16 AM   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator View Post
...except you have to run wiring for everything back under the sills, through the doors, find a suitable place to mount the tweeters without damaging the door panels,
Tweeters go in the OE sail position. Yes, the rest is work.
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      03-29-2010, 01:10 AM   #87
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By the way, doesn't the base audio on the E90 come with tweeter grilles in the mirror sail positions, with no tweeters inside?
nope, there are blank plates. had to order replacement trim with grilles, 30 per side
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      03-29-2010, 04:16 AM   #88
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Depends on the car, I know 3 door 1 series get blank plates, where as the5 door gets grilles with nothing in.

I would forget the Alpine, get something like the Vibe Litebox Stereo 4 and even 1 Eathquake SWS8, far better upgrade and no harder to fit, also the auto turn on works by sensing the head units IC chip so it switches on as soon as you unlock teh car, it wakes with the car, not when it sesnes music. So you don't get that annoying delay like you do with the Alpine, and some people are getting problems with start/stop and the amp turning off. Maybe this is what they code with the new amp??
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