Replace stereo head unit

[Stealth00]

Hi all, recently bought a 2010 E89 and I'm keen to improve the stereo and speakers. I could easily get carried away as I've always been obsessed with car audio, but I haven't had my own car for the last 20 years, so that obsession has been kept at bay.

Is it possible to do a quick and cheap improvement by swapping out the stereo with another single DIN unit and perhaps the speakers in the footwell? I'm really missing Bluetooth streaming etc. I'm guessing it's not that easy though as I don't see them swapped out that much? Does the OEM stereo connect the onboard amp and need to be kept in place?

Also, how would you go about finding out which stereo system I have? It just says professional on the unit.

 

[Chippie]

The base system has 6 speakers, 2 footwell sub woofers , 2 mid range in the front of the doors and 2 mid range below the seat belt mounts, powered directly from the head unit and is a pretty poor setup, the next option was HI-FI which has 11 speakers, which included 2 tweeters just above the door speakers, 2 x 8” subs behind the seats and a speaker in the centre of the dash, running through a amplifier in the boot, the top HI-FI has additional tweeters with the rear miss and a mid and tweeter in the rear panel between the seats, this is powered by the amplifier in the boot but uses fibre optics for the audio signal from the head unit.
The base system can be easily upgraded by changing the 2 sets of mid speakers to a better quality and again by fitting a small amplifier, the middle HI-FI again can be upgraded easily by changing the speakers and also by changing the standard amplifier, but not as straight forward, the top system is harder to upgrade because of the fibre optic connections,
Easiest way to tell if you have the base system is to look in the tweeter grills and see if you can see any speakers or behind the seats for the subs.
If you use the search function there are loads of threads on the subject.

 

[AnubisZed]

A while ago I made a video on how to replace the speakers, well some of them, in the Z4, with an explanation of the different versions (very well explained by Chippie above )...
https://youtu.be/CQVyPZQuB9U?si=A9raw0KdE9M1BYKw

There are some links in the video description of the speakers I used then, and I'm still running those speakers now that I've retrofitted the middle package with the subs behind the seats and the front centre option, so I can highly recommend those speakers

Originally after I did the initial speaker upgrade (new midrange front and rear plus tweeters in the door pods) I still wanted a bit more out of it and found this...
https://amzn.eu/d/hSOWy5M

I was considering fitting this until I decided to upgrade completely to the Business 676 package. As the Vibe is a plug-n-play system with your existing headunit there is no coding, no re-wiring or anything like that, it's a straightforward upgrade.

 

[B21]

Maybe useful to clarify which audio system you have…

Have you got two speakers mounted in the rear bulkhead ?

 

[Stealth00]

Thanks for the replies so far. I will take a look when I get a sec, looks like there is a lot of reading to do.

 

[Stealth00]

I've just checked and I have the base system. I'm really struggling without Bluetooth connectivity and even resorted to burning some CDs today

There's some brilliant info here and a great video AnubisZed.

So, I've not seen many people doing this.... but can you replace the BMW head unit? I'm concerned that if I replaced the speakers (had my eye on some nice Focal ones), the original head unit would limit sound quality. Is there a technical reason why people keep the stock stereo?

If I did stick with the BMW head unit, can I install an amp to drive some more powerful speakers.

I've also seen 1 din fold-out stereos like one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-AV...B07Q3295FF/dp/B07Q3295FF/ref=dp_ob_title_auto which could replace the BMW one. Or to be fair, Android Auto doesn't really bother me, as I'm used to using Waze on my phone, so maybe a standard 1 din stereo upgrade would be best with the bonus of less things to break.

 

[B21]

The head unit..if coded to ‘hi-fi’ is capable of more than adequate playback..the speakers and in built amp limit the audio performance..change of speakers and off board amp yield good results..

 

[Stealth00]

The head unit..if coded to ‘hi-fi’ is capable of more than adequate playback..the speakers and in built amp limit the audio performance..change of speakers and off board amp yield good results..

Fair enough. How would I know if mines coded to hi-fi?

 

[Chippie]

Fair enough. How would I know if mines coded to hi-fi?

Your head unit will be coded for the basic 6 speaker system from the factory, you would have to code it to the lower Hi-Fi one if you’re are going to upgrade the speakers, fit tweeters and possibly fit an aftermarket amp.

 

[Stealth00]

Fair enough. How would I know if mines coded to hi-fi?

Your head unit will be coded for the basic 6 speaker system from the factory, you would have to code it to the lower Hi-Fi one if you’re are going to upgrade the speakers, fit tweeters and possibly fit an aftermarket amp.

That's interesting, so would an Autel MK808BT (I'm contemplating buying one) be able to do coding or would you need a BMW tool?

 

[Chippie]

Fair enough. How would I know if mines coded to hi-fi?

Your head unit will be coded for the basic 6 speaker system from the factory, you would have to code it to the lower Hi-Fi one if you’re are going to upgrade the speakers, fit tweeters and possibly fit an aftermarket amp.

That's interesting, so would an Autel MK808BT (I'm contemplating buying one) be able to do coding or would you need a BMW tool?

I couldn’t comment on an Autel MK808BT, I used WinKFP program on a windows laptop to do mine, technically you don’t have to re code to HI-FI, it’s just that base system tone is set to a higher level because of the lack of tweeters and I found that after fitting some tweeters it was just “too bright” and needed coding to give a flatter level, hope that makes sense.

 

[Stealth00]

Your head unit will be coded for the basic 6 speaker system from the factory, you would have to code it to the lower Hi-Fi one if you’re are going to upgrade the speakers, fit tweeters and possibly fit an aftermarket amp.

That's interesting, so would an Autel MK808BT (I'm contemplating buying one) be able to do coding or would you need a BMW tool?

I couldn’t comment on an Autel MK808BT, I used WinKFP program on a windows laptop to do mine, technically you don’t have to re code to HI-FI, it’s just that base system tone is set to a higher level because of the lack of tweeters and I found that after fitting some tweeters it was just “too bright” and needed coding to give a flatter level, hope that makes sense.

That makes sense. Thanks.

 

[sakamoto]

E89 20i 2014Y
スタンダード６スピーカーでしたがアンプをHifiAMPに交換して配線をHi-Fi用に端子を抜き差しして２７０Wで聴いてます。
ただし純正スピーカーは音が割れてしまいハーマンカードンのスピーカーに変えセンタースピーカーも追加しドアスピーカーとツイッターもハーマンカードンに変えました。
またリアセンターとサブウファースピーカーは穴を開け取り付けました

 

[ibroker]

I had the same as you stereo wise until 3 months ago.

I put a vibe plug and play amp behind the head unit. Replaced the footwell speakers with 6.5 inch vibe speakers. Put a 5.5 speaker in the centre dash hole. Took out the rear panel and put in 2 6x9 speakers fed from the existing cable. Its banging. Quite time consuming but for the best part of £300 all in an easy option.

 

[sakamoto]

私の改造は日本メーカーは使わずBMW純正を取り付けました。
スピーカーはハーマンカードン製で統一してます
メインアンプは中古品で7000円
ドアスピーカーは新品で10000円
ツイッターも新品で8000円
センタースピーカーは中古品だと思いますがebayで15000円ツイッター付きでした
サブウファースピーカーは中古品で6000円
リアセンタースピーカーは新品でツイッター付きで10000円
以上です

 

[Stealth00]

I had the same as you stereo wise until 3 months ago.

I put a vibe plug and play amp behind the head unit. Replaced the footwell speakers with 6.5 inch vibe speakers. Put a 5.5 speaker in the centre dash hole. Took out the rear panel and put in 2 6x9 speakers fed from the existing cable. Its banging. Quite time consuming but for the best part of £300 all in an easy option.

Hi ibroker, do you have a link to the vibe kit you installed or a thread showing details?

 

[ibroker]

VIBE POWERBOX65.4BMW3 BMW... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FBHY5QG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[ibroker]

Just look on amazon for the vibe speakers

 

[Stealth00]

Just look on amazon for the vibe speakers

Any chance of linking to the ones you used as there seems to be a few options. Are they plug-and-play? Any mods needed, how does the amp power up and connect? It's been 20 years since I've messed about with car audio, so pretty clueless.

 

[Stealth00]

Also, where did you mount the 6x9s? behind the seats?