My 2005 X5 Aftermarket Radio Install Thread

[FastEddie313]

Wow 111 pages..

I have been thinking about doing up the stereo in my X5 but with these BMWs it's all or nothing, go big or go home, pretty much start from scratch and reamp everything..

I'm thinking that for my X5 a legit way to go would be one of these android head units to a JBL MS8 to all of the original speakers + another amp and a sub..

I have a lot of reading to do.. You guys get the oem disk changers dvd/cd stuff to work with the android head units?

[semcoinc]

Originally Posted by FastEddie313

Wow 111 pages..

I have been thinking about doing up the stereo in my X5 but with these BMWs it's all or nothing, go big or go home, pretty much start from scratch and reamp everything..

I'm thinking that for my X5 a legit way to go would be one of these android head units to a JBL MS8 to all of the original speakers + another amp and a sub..

I have a lot of reading to do.. You guys get the oem disk changers dvd/cd stuff to work with the android head units?

I used Xoutpost guidance to upgrade all of my E53 speakers and WOW, what an incredible improvement to my ears.

New mids in the dash
JLs in the front doors and tweeter
Something very close to the JLs in the rear doors

There is only so much that the old paper and foam technology can deliver.

In combination with the new fidelity of a modern head unit, the E53 is my favorite ride simply for audio experience for me.

I also fitted a DSP subwoofer into the right rear factory location and power it with a separate amp and have a very decent bass boost.

The loss of OBC functionality was quickly restored with the use of the BMW-IBUS app running off the Android head unit.

I do not miss the multi disc changer or old school GPS computer OEM components.

Mike

[FastEddie313]

Originally Posted by semcoinc

I used Xoutpost guidance to upgrade all of my E53 speakers and WOW, what an incredible improvement to my ears.

New mids in the dash
JBLs in the front doors and tweeter
Something very close to the JBLs in the rear doors

There is only so much that the old paper and foam technology can deliver.

In combination with the new fidelity of a modern head unit, the E53 is my favorite ride simply for audio experience for me.

I also fitted a DSP subwoofer into the right rear factory location and power it with a separate amp and have a very decent bass boost.

The loss of OBC functionality was quickly restored with the use of the BMW-IBUS app running off the Android head unit.

I do not miss the multi disc changer or old school GPS computer OEM components.

Mike

So the stock speakers are crap, copy.. There goes another what, $500..

How many channels are you running and what are you amping with?
The X5 has tweets, mids, mid bass, and sub + the rear doors.. Are you running all of these with proper Xovers/processing or just like runing a pair of components off of your HU amp? Using the BMW amp?

[semcoinc]

Originally Posted by FastEddie313

So the stock speakers are crap, copy.. There goes another what, $500..

How many channels are you running and what are you amping with?
The X5 has tweets, mids, mid bass, and sub + the rear doors.. Are you running all of these with proper Xovers/processing or just like runing a pair of components off of your HU amp? Using the BMW amp?

This thread was my speaker upgrade guide and I'm thrilled with the results

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...-speakers.html

I simply placed the speaker upgrades into the existing wiring of the speaker that was being replaced. The head units typically connect into the OEM speaker wiring (unless you have a DSP system in which case you are in a whole mother world of compatibility hurt. I won't even begin to say I understand what's going on there with these retrofit head units.) and whatever magic the OEM processing does comes out the front end of the speakers.











These are the mids identified by PropellerHead that I went with also and they are a great improvement. This was the first speaker I replaced in my system and the improvement was distinctly much nicer to my ears.



The biggest PITA for factory NAV installs is routing the long harness connector to the rear battery area up to the front head unit. For factory Mid unit installs, the wiring is stone cold plug n play, cutting of the mounting frame to install the new head unit is the most complicated issue with that type of install.

Here's a start on JL Audio front door and tweeter upgrade

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391203611809

I used the Dayton Audio woofers and the JL tweeters in the rear doors.

FYI, the Dayton Audio drivers are a wee bit smaller diameter than the JL woofers making for a little more work for the adhesive to do to hold them in the rear door mounts.

The pipe insulating foam was used to secure the tweeters in place and I used a vibrating cutting tool to remove the connector plug from the old mids to use them for connection to existing connector in the door.

Mike

[Crowz]

Originally Posted by FastEddie313

Wow 111 pages..

I have been thinking about doing up the stereo in my X5 but with these BMWs it's all or nothing, go big or go home, pretty much start from scratch and reamp everything..

I'm thinking that for my X5 a legit way to go would be one of these android head units to a JBL MS8 to all of the original speakers + another amp and a sub..

I have a lot of reading to do.. You guys get the oem disk changers dvd/cd stuff to work with the android head units?

There isn't any need for the factory changer with the new android radios. Just rip the music to mp3's and play them off the radio itself via usb or sd card. No changer known to man can hold enough cd's to compete with memory cards.

As for switch over if it doesn't have factory dsp its a breeze and very cheap to do to boot.

[Crowz]

My next project as soon as spring weather gets here is a bit one full dsp unit which has active crossover and live on the fly adjustments.

Plus focal speakers, jl stealth 10" subwoofer, and new amps.

Frequency response should be 17 to 25k. Going full sq route.

I figure this fall I will buy an F15 X5 for trips and use the E53 for daily driving and fun so no reason to limit myself on the stereo now.

Plus it will be kind of cool to own all 3 generations of the X5.

[FastEddie313]

Originally Posted by Crowz

My next project as soon as spring weather gets here is a bit one full dsp unit which has active crossover and live on the fly adjustments.

Plus focal speakers, jl stealth 10" subwoofer, and new amps.

Frequency response should be 17 to 25k. Going full sq route.

I figure this fall I will buy an F15 X5 for trips and use the E53 for daily driving and fun so no reason to limit myself on the stereo now.

Plus it will be kind of cool to own all 3 generations of the X5.

Nice! Sounds like good stuff..

I just got done doing my M3 with jbl gto939 6x9s in the back and jbl gto509c components in front on a nvx jad800.4 amp and a W12GTI in a big ported box on a kicker cxa1800.1 amp.. Big deka group 49 AGM battery and 140 amp alternator upgrade..
And I would still like to add a DSP to that possibly a MS8 or that rockford one idk..

I'm feeling like my X5 will need basically the same thing and darn I just dropped like $2k on all that in the M3 and I'm not going to say I'm broke but redoing these BMW stereos is like an all or nothing situation replacing the factory amps you might as well just run amps and that's a lot of money for me to drop right now..
So that's not going to happen soon..

[Crowz]

Originally Posted by FastEddie313

Nice! Sounds like good stuff..

I just got done doing my M3 with jbl gto939 6x9s in the back and jbl gto509c components in front on a nvx jad800.4 amp and a W12GTI in a big ported box on a kicker cxa1800.1 amp.. Big deka group 49 AGM battery and 140 amp alternator upgrade..
And I would still like to add a DSP to that possibly a MS8 or that rockford one idk..

I'm feeling like my X5 will need basically the same thing and darn I just dropped like $2k on all that in the M3 and I'm not going to say I'm broke but redoing these BMW stereos is like an all or nothing situation replacing the factory amps you might as well just run amps and that's a lot of money for me to drop right now..
So that's not going to happen soon..

If you dive into the X5 check out the bit one before going the ms8. The bit one is way more powerful.

bit | Audison - car audio processors, amplifiers and speakers

[Crowz]

This is the bit one Im going with.

Despite its compact size, the bit One is equipped with a fast, latest generation 266 MHz / 32 bit floating point DSP microprocessor, working in real time on all the functions of the most complete systems. Managed and configured by a simple and intuitive computer software, it is possible to make adjustments to improve the signal through each phase of its path; from input to output. Eight input channels for four different signal typologies (amplified, pre-amplified, coaxial electric and TOSLINK optical digital) and six different sources managed through a remote control, making the bit One a unique interface suitable for any need. Eight analog and/or digital output channels ensure vastexpandability for any audio system configuration.

[FastEddie313]

If one was to run one of those android head units I wonder if you could just find an android app that would give you Xovers, EQ, gain, and time alignment on every channel..

Couldn't be that easy though, not in the real world.. Could it?