DSP Removal And Speaker Upgrade

[downtownva]

I want to start this post by stating this is a completely unsolicited testimony. Like most of you in this group, I decided to upgrade the sound system in my X5. I have used this group to facilitate the majority of my work, and I would really like to thank all that have responded to my post. In addition, I would really l like to thank Ken, aka el_duderino, from Avincar. I original called Ken to speak with him about making HU preouts and the Ipod integration. Ken is the best . He spent tremendous time assisting me on the phone with my system design and installation. Ken helped me, regardless of the fact that I had never spent a dime at his place of business. Most guys would rush you off the phone or treat you like an idiot, but Ken was always kind and willing to help. For that kind of service I will always keep him in mind for my future purchases and will always recommend Avincar to my friends and associates. Thank you so much Ken for your help, guidance, and patience on the design and installation of my system. Everything works great and the sound is incredible.

Let’s talk about sound. After removing the door speakers, I had to find suitable replacements. I decided to replace the speakers on the dash and the doors. I chose a set of German made speakers, the MB RCE 216. I figured German speakers, German car, what could be better. Boy was I wrong. The speakers did not set a nice soundstage, the midbass was way to strong, and the vocals were distant. I tried using an equalizer to help with the issues, but the tweeters did not play low enough to bring out the vocals. Once again I called Dr. Audio, aka el_duderino, to talk at length about the issues with the sound. He gave me several recommendations of other component sets I could try, but they were pushing my budget. In the end the component set I chose was from Avincar (Yes, Avincar manufactures a custom component speaker set). My first impressions of the speakers were that they appeared plain. There is no glitzy stuff here. I installed the speakers in the car anyway and setup the Ipod. The sound was far from plain. The soundstage was perfect and the vocals and midbass were balanced. Although, the highs were a little harsh initially, I allowed them to play for a few minutes and the tweets mellowed out nicely. I absolutely love these speakers, they deliver everything I expected from a major system upgrade.

In addition to the component speakers I added two 12’s. These subs put out serious bottom, and I worried they would drown the front soundstage. I was happy to hear the Avincar car component set kept up with subs effortlessly. I can’t wait to get the speakers for my rear doors, to complete my upgrade. If you are looking for an excellent component set give the Avincar’s a try, you will love them.

Below is my system setup

2001 BMW X5 4.4 Sport
Avincar 6.5 Component Set
2- 12 Phoenix Gold XEON Subs
2- XENON 200.4
Dension Icelink
BMW HU Retained

PS. I had the DSP system before this. If you have the DSP system with the coax cable, I can tell you how to eliminate the DSP amp and plug directly to the tuner module to use your Dension kit.

[el_duderino]

Hey, I'm glad he liked them so much. When he called his complaint about the MB Quarts was "distant, hollow vocals". Well, the X5 door midwoofers are basically inside a tube when they're mounted. The OEM mids help fix taht, but when you take them out and go two-way components up front, all your vocals have to come from the tweeter.

MBQ tweeters start at 4500 Hz. a/d/s/, DLS, Morel, and Dynaudio tweeters play down to 2000-2500 Hz depending. That's an octave more energy. These are playing down to 3200 or so - not quite as far, but a lot lower down and so a lot more vocals.

We don't own a speaker factory, but we do buy drivers direct from various European factories and have some made for us at a factory in the Midwest (those are 6x9 woofers).

Those mids and tweeters are made in Europe, tweets in Germany, mids in Denmark or France, and the passive xovers are assembled by us and designed on a computer.

[drex]

downtownva--

could you please post how you overcame the A/D DSP AMP converter problem and hooked up directly to the HU for everyone else? thanks

[downtownva]

Sorry it took me so long to respond. To remove the DSP and use the Icelink you send the audio signal directly to the tuner module. I used a stranded cat 5 cable and a 10 pin data connection from a hp computer. I will take pictures of the connector, so all can see. My audio positives were pins 10&9. The negatives were 5 & 4. Goto http://www.xoutpost.com/showarticle-128.html for the pinout.

[downtownva]

Below is a link to my setup. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2168531/1