After Market Radio/Audio

T

Tbone

Member
 Dartford, Kent
Hi Folks.

Since picking up my Zed last Summer I've been really disappointed with the audio system, are BMW radios generally this crap?

the volume is limited so when you have the top down you cant even bloody hear it.
plus that I have a lame speaker which keeps buzzing on anything above bass boost +1.

is it worth retro-fitting an upgraded BMW audio system? (im guessing mine is a basic one (non iDrive)

I have a Merc CLK as my family car, and thats packing a Harman Kardon system and that totally kicks ass, the sound quality is absolutely great.

Im aware that a 3rd party fit might make the steering rack controls redundant... but at the very least i want to get some holes cut in behind the seats to allow for some bigger more gutsy speakers. is this recommended?
 
You have a few choices, depending on your budget and wishes.

You could go the non-oem route and fit an aftermarket head unit and new speakers. There are details on this within this forum.

You could go down the OEM route in one of two ways....

Firstly you could fit an upgraded head unit, ie one that has Bluetooth and USB ability built in. These are available new or used from eBay and along with a microphone and a USB/AUX point for the centre console this should set you back just under £200 for all new items.

The second OEM option is to retrofit iDrive. This is far more expensive but would mostly consist of used items and would come in at just under £1500 for all that you'd need to undertake this upgrade.

Both of the OEM options also require coding to your car for all of the functions to work, but this is a relatively simple task even some sellers of the head units on eBay will actually pre-code it for you.

My personal choice would be to have iDrive, but I simply can't justify the expense, so instead I opted for the upgraded bluetooth/USB option and a pair of tweeters. I'm currently awaiting for the tweeters to arrive but the sound out of the new head unit is awesome compared to my old unit, the volume is far more responsive and far superior. Oh and I now have full control of my iPod via the steering wheel controls.

Hope that is of help to you.
 
Whoops forgot to say, just replace your door speaker with an original one from eBay if you go the OEM route and you'll be very happy.
 
I’ve added Mini door speakers (magnets are twice the size of the standard Z4 speakers!), tweeters and MB Quart rear co axials.

It sounds a lot better, not great but better.

I’ve had numerous quotes for upgrades but it just gets silly. I need to revisit a couple of shops and discuss a lower budget solution (they seem to all go straight to the high end digital setups and you’re looking at £1500 for replacement door speakers, footwell woofers and an amp wired tonthe standard headunit).

I think £1500 is a tad excessive.

There’s 2 routes I have at the moment.

1) Add an amp and see if that makes a difference.
2) Add an active underwear subwoofer so I can take all the bass out of the door speakers etc.
 
I already have a console AUX and USB socket with the system I have, I will have to post up some photos etc... as Im not 100% sure which system i have, although i have no sat nav so im assuming the car only had the basic audio system when it rolled off the production line.

yes £1500 is above budget for me too,. Im not out there to deafen myself or everyone around me, but it would be good to hear some music when the roof is down. and more than volume, the issue is sound quality. the current system is just not cutting it.

my budget would be around 500-1k I guess.

And I dont particularly want to start cutting holes in the car if I can avoid it.
 
I do plug my phone into the AUX and use that more often than not, as I use Spotify.
CD's tend to be a bit better, but not by a lot., besides, I dont want a huge pack of CDs in my car, the glove box is too small for one, and its too much of a faff when driving to find what you are looking for and change it over.

For me driving and music go hand in hand, Although moreso lately I drive a lot with no music on because I just love the sound of the 2.5L 6 cylinder when you rag it.
 
it's interesting how a "premium" brand like BMW can't get the sound systems right! my z4c with standard 6 speaker doesn't sound amazing it's like average.

but my cheap mazda 3 that I had a while ago was amazing, subs underseats, 4 fat speakers etc.. shook the whole car and sounded great.
 
I was surprised too, especially for a 'luxury' (for want of a better word), car brand.
but then since owning this Zed there have been a few things that have been uncharacteristically non-German about BMW.

The alloy wheels for one!!! you'd sure as hell not expect the wheels to repeatedly break on a car with that price tag.

My view is the audio system in my Z, isnt even average, its below par... you get better in much cheaper cars IMO
 
Do you have any links for the upgraded head unit that you purchased? I will also go that route for my e89 non idrive z4. Mike
 
So my car has Pro Nav but nothing in the spec to say upgraded audio, so I'm also assuming its just the basic version. Can't see any tweeters behind the grills.

The sound is actually much better than expected - loud enough with roof down, handles bass without distorting but it just sounds a little muffled. I can live with it, but if an upgrade is easy and cheap, then i'd be interested.

Can I just upgrade the existing speakers, with out adding extra (expect maybe tweeters) and will it make a difference because the replacements are "better"? I heard before that the stereo is coded to make the most of the original spec, so it may not make the most of "better" speakers without re-coding? I wouldn't want to do that, just a "plug&play" solution, c£150? Recommendations on good brands?
 
ihadablackdog said:
So my car has Pro Nav but nothing in the spec to say upgraded audio, so I'm also assuming its just the basic version. Can't see any tweeters behind the grills.

The sound is actually much better than expected - loud enough with roof down, handles bass without distorting but it just sounds a little muffled. I can live with it, but if an upgrade is easy and cheap, then i'd be interested.

Can I just upgrade the existing speakers, with out adding extra (expect maybe tweeters) and will it make a difference because the replacements are "better"? I heard before that the stereo is coded to make the most of the original spec, so it may not make the most of "better" speakers without re-coding? I wouldn't want to do that, just a "plug&play" solution, c£150? Recommendations on good brands?
Click to expand...

I think a few folks here have added the tweeters and speakers with some success (the tweeter grills are blanks on the standard setup) I had retro OEM stuff fitted to mine (Almost like an Alpine upgrade) adding tweeters, replacing the door speakers and an amp to drive it all, wasnt cheap @£950 but sound was very decent with PRO nav setup .. and it included coding the car to Hi Fi spec so the high frequency sounds were channeled to the right speakers (so I was told!)
 
Good evening all.

Well, firstly if you already have iDrive/Nav then this won't help as this is for non-iDrive vehicles.

This is the full run through, complete with parts required, for an upgrade from the basic "professional" system (the one with 6 speakers and no tweeters - 2 x rear + 2 x door + 2 x footwell speakers) to the Professional system with buit-in Bluetooth and USB (iPod. memory stick) control. What's not included is how to fit the tweeters, but that's just door panels off, plug tweeter wire into main door speaker, fit in housing and put door panel back on (there is a video that shows this on YouTube)

Link to a Word document on Dropbox - I compiled the information that I found out when I did my own and is now complete with an update on the microphone that wasn't originally working correctly. All external links within the doc are safe links and verified by myself. Some links to eBay may be out of date, but I've added the photos of the parts for recognition so you shouldn't have a problem finding alternatives.......

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b18u0025vmc51ct/Stereo%20Install%20BMW%20e89.docx?dl=0

I hope that is of use to someone.
 
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