Xoutpost.com - My E53 Audio Upgrade - Stage 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcris (Post 927854)

I'm in the process of doing my second E53 and I've got to say that's some nice clean work....As far as your front stage I'd avoid the dls because they are tough to deal with in the u.s. I would instead opt for this setup which is very reasonably priced and will pretty much bolt right up with minimal mods....The Madisound Speaker StoreI I would also check out this guy's E39 build thread. This guy is an absolute guru on this setup and it works......I'm actually trying to upgrade to the alpine 701 processor and have full control from the head including bluetooth and navi...Wish me luck... I'll be starting the build in about two weeks and I'll try to post some pics.
Here's a list of my gear.
Processing/oem integration
Intravee ibus-ainet converter
Alpine pxa-h701
Alpine Kca-420i
Audio Control LC2i
Amps
2 each Jl Audio 600/4 HD
Jl Audio 750/1 Hd
Speakers
Front stage Hertz Mille Ml2800, Ml700, Ml1600 (full active setup)
Rear fill Audison Voce Midbass with Morel MdM 55 midrange Modified to fit factory housing (passive setup with mid to roll of at 7.5Khz)
Subwoofer Jl Audio 10w7ae in 1cu net sealed in modified factory location.
Power system
Optima Yellow Top (2nd battery next to spare tire in rear well)
Upgraded factory battery to East Penn Mfg Agm Intimidator)
Cadence high strand 0/1 gauge to jl dat blocks
homemade signal cables

I like what RichardP did in his e39 thread, but where does one get the modified cable he refers to? I need to source this and then I'm on my way with the X5 stereo mods. Buh-bye bank upgrade funds!

Using the intravee the way Richard does, the head unit is faked out and the Alpine unit takes over signal processing. You can toss the DSP and factory amp, if I am reading things correctly. Replacing the factory amp with a halfway decent aftermarket amp(s) and adding the signal processing capabilities of the Alpine unit alone will make a great difference in the sound. I just added a JL XD 600/6 (an OK amp) to my 2011 E90 M3 and the difference was quite remarkable. I have Hybrid Audio Technologies speakers and decent aftermarket amps in my 2002 M3, so I have some idea of what a halfway good system can sound like. I'd like to add signal processing to the 2002 M3, but the stuff that's out there is more expensive than I'd like to spend right now or has integration issues (cleansweep, bitone, etc.).

Anyway, some nice ideas here and if anyone has info on how to get the interface cable (box) setup for the intravee like RichardP has, I'd love the info!

Good luck with the install above. Looks like a lot of work (fun). :thumbup: