$2,000 - $3,000 Budget for Awesome Sound for my BMW M3. .... Help Please

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Are you people smoking crack? Since when will $3k not get you an amazing setup? I have waaaay less than that into my gear and I have some sick shit. I mean, I source used and do all the install myself but Clarion drrz9255 3 way active on Dynaudio System 340 on Tru Tech and Linear Power is no joke.
Let's see...

For ease of use and budget let's go with a Pioneer 80prs or Alpine 9887 for the HU - $300ish

Zed Leviathan to run the whole damn system - $800

Woofers- low end - Exodus Anarchy - $180ish/pair.

Tweeters - ScanSpeak Illuminators - $300ish/pair

Subwoofer - $300-400 can get a pretty sick SQ sub.

That's less than $2k. Do the work yourself and you can get a processor or use that money for install, deadener, wire, etc.

I think this pretty much sums it up..

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

ps..there is nothing wrong with having a sub system that can be heard from blocks away....I adjust mine for my musical tastes, and you will not hear it a block away.....unless I want you to.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Zako got u off to a good start OP.

Completely ignore those posts about $3k not being enough for good sound. For $3k, you should destroy most the setups on this site when it comes to SQ.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

In fact, I think people who have experience with installing and tuning home audio DIY gear like Dayton, Peerless, or Vifa raw woofers and tweeters, could come up with an awesome setup where all speakers and subwoofers actually cost less than an amplifier that's driving them. These usually require some custom manufacturing handiwork since those drivers are often bigger than what fits in a stock car.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

Zako got u off to a good start OP.
Completely ignore those posts about $3k not being enough for good sound. For $3k, you should destroy most the setups on this site when it comes to SQ.

that honestly doesn't say much since most on this board just wants lots of bass

but yes, 3k is more than enough. The thing is that I've heard bad things with BMW and going into the aftermarket sound setup.

I would recommend the JBL MS-8 if you're not worried about the low output voltage. There's also the RF threesixty.3 or the audison bit one as processing units. That would be where I would start for your system.

 

[Fi-brations 10+ year member]

as far as modifying bmw's in audio, I used to have an 00' Bmw 528i...they are not made to be taken apart, everything broke when i was taking it off, all the clips and got lots of cracks in panels, no matter how hard i tried to be gentle and look of tutorials on how to take them apart the right way. It may have just been its age, but who knows...also the truck is sealed off real nice for road noise but not nice for bass, cutting a ski hole if you dont already have one helps

 

[Pianist718]

Dont listen to these people. If you do the install yourself and are only paying for equipment, you can get some KILLER sound for $3k.

Exactly.

I am not sure about $3000 not being enough.. It almost sounds like some guys don't even want to try. Perhaps if you pay for labor, that may not be enough for some of higher grade setups. I would recommend a simple 2 or 3 way active front stage plus a subwoofer. Add rear speakers if you have a surround sound processor.
Let's start with the most important thing, a capable DSP. There are plenty. JBL MS-8, Arc, BitOne, Alpine H800, 3sixty3, etc. JBL MS-8 and Alpine H800 can tune themselves which is a good start for a beginner. MS-8 costs in the neighborhood of 700-800. Alternatively, a high end head unit like P99RS could work. Sound treatment: $200 should be plenty if using a budget supplier such as raammat.com. Amplifiers: one high performance 5-channel amplifier such as Hertz HDP5 or Alpine PDX V9 or JL HD900/5 ($600-800)? Wiring: $100. This leaves just over $1000 for speakers and sub. Start with nice proven relatively budget products. A set of very nice 2-way components that cost in the neighborhood of $500-600 (e.g. Focal Polyglass line, HAT Clarus, Hertz HSK165, etc). If you can't afford the best speakers, you can always throw in a set of $300 HAT Imagine or JL Audio C5, both proven performers and should sing well running active with good processing. A good SQ subwoofer can be obtained for under $300. E.g. Image Dynamics IDQ/Peerless XXLS/Scanspeak. Put it into a prefab sealed box with volume close for reasonable box qtc. In fact heck.. if you don't need to vibrate things outside of a car, Alpine SBR for $200 will give impressive SPL and SQ (this is Alpine's Rype R8 in Alpine's own prefab ported box, 0.6 cu ft total space used or so. This is a proven SQ subwoofer robust enough to handle subwoofer channel on a typical 5-channel amp, )

$3000 should be enough.. assuming you do the installation. One issue is that a lot of speakers may not fit due to peculiarities of European cars. It may be worth checking out HAT's Legatia Carbon edition woofers which were made with European cars in minds. They do cost a lot more, and that's just woofers without tweeters.

Great advice from quite a few fellas here. Really appreciate it.

I just spent $4,000 on my home theater and love it. I value quality sound and since I listen to music every time I get into my car, I wanted to make the sound better.

I don't know if I would go as far as cutting things up, changing layout of speakers, taking entire car apart. I want to get best sound possible with what I have.

Placing better quality speakers, adding a sub and amplifying it ..... if that gives me better quality sound, I am happy. Doing a little sound proofing inside doors ... if that helps, I am willing to do it. But .... to rip apart the front, change speaker layout, etc, etc .... I am not trying to be the best at car audio. This is just for me .... not to show off at pro events.

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

What year is your M3 and is it a hardtop or convertable, I myself drive an e39 and have installed several systems into bimmers. As stated before they are already well insulated, especially at the trunk and if doesn't already have a ski pass then you will want to look at either making one, leave the rear speakers out so sound can vent into the cabin or either do some type of bandpass type of install. If it was me I would go the ski pass route with a single 10" or 12" driver which is the least invasive and would give ya the best performance for what it seems like you are looking for.

 

[Pianist718]

it's a hard top, year 2010.

 

[jockhater2 10+ year member]

[quote name='Pianist718']Hi guys,

So, seems like there is a ton of info on home theater sound but not that much on Car Audio.

I am looking to do this once and if I ever change cars to be able to reuse most of the set up.

Anyway .... stock sound ***** even in BMW M3,. We know that. I value quality of sound, crisp, detail and a accurate punch. Not looking to blow the roof off my car or make others hear my bass 3 blocks away.

I listen to dance, pop, jazz, etc.

I have 2-3K to spend on good speakers, sub, amp, etc.

What do you guys suggest?
is there a website where they sell high quality car audio gear?[/QUOTE]

@keep_hope_alive ;
He is a very smart guy.

Pics of the M3 please. I must see.

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

it's a hard top, year 2010.

Coupe or sedan? Either way, keep the factory head and get something like the JBL ms8 or Audson bit10 to intergrate into it, then look at some of the suggestions on here. Again I would use a Zed Leviatian to power the entire setup, a single 10" or 12" sub through the ski hole and a nice set of components for the fronts and maybe a set of components or coax's for the rear....

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

what differentiates car audio from home audio is that with home audio you just buy the components, connect them, and enjoy. very little effort required other than choosing proper speaker locations (easy) and maybe treating the room acoustics (not cheap, but easy).

with car audio you are the system designer. you don't get an integrated receiver, you get the building blocks for one but assemble them separately - including all wiring, level matching, and tuning. a lot more time and effort on your part. i can spend 3-4 hours just making power wiring and grounding done to an acceptable level. i can put 10-20 hours into an amp install (including designing and fabricating the mounting, planning wire routing, etc.). but i'm not just screwing amps to sub boxes either.

with car audio you are the speaker designer. you don't get a pair of floor standing speakers that have hundreds of hours of R&D in them (with decades of experience), you get raw drivers and the worst possible environment for a speaker (a leaky tin can). you must fabricate appropriate mounts to achieve adequate seals. you must treat the airspace as you would any other speaker - by increasing rigidity, lowering resonance, adding seals, and providing ample absorption (that is water proof). you much choose speaker aiming and mounting locations that may differ from stock if the stock locations are done for form rather than function. you must execute all wiring of the speakers, including crossovers, just as the home audio speaker mfr already did. you must execute all of this with high levels of precision and quality otherwise you'll have failures and lost investment. (figure 10-20 hours per speaker).

with home audio you have a room with typical furnishings offering diffusion and absorption. in a car you have glass all around you - creating many specular reflections. the acoustics of a car are a challenge and need to be considered heavily when choosing placement.

i can say that after hundreds of hours of effort, i have a great sound system with a very small financial investment. but that's after testing dozens of configurations and using equipment i've had for a while (some over a decade). my amplifiers are worth several times more than everything else in the car, combined. and that, i feel, is vital to a successful car audio system. good amplification along with substantial installation effort. i consider 100 hours a good benchmark for a great sounding system (HU, amps, speakers, subs, treatments). less than that, and you are cutting corners and not realizing the potential of the equipment. treat it as if you were designing a home audio speaker, and you'll be alright at any budget. you can't afford to pay a professional 100 hours, and they won't spend that much time on your car anyway. only you, as the DIY owner, care to take that much time making sure every wire strand is perfectly placed, that every wire is routed to the best of your ability, that the fabrication is worthy of showing to the world build logs, of everything, keep you honest.

one huge cost saver is buying used gear. most of my car audio over the years (95%) has been used. and there is plenty of amazing car audio just looking for a home - especially amplifiers.

 

[Falcons 5,000+ posts]

what differentiates car audio from home audio is that with home audio you just buy the components, connect them, and enjoy. very little effort required other than choosing proper speaker locations (easy) and maybe treating the room acoustics (not cheap, but easy).
with car audio you are the system designer. you don't get an integrated receiver, you get the building blocks for one but assemble them separately - including all wiring, level matching, and tuning. a lot more time and effort on your part. i can spend 3-4 hours just making power wiring and grounding done to an acceptable level. i can put 10-20 hours into an amp install (including designing and fabricating the mounting, planning wire routing, etc.). but i'm not just screwing amps to sub boxes either.

with car audio you are the speaker designer. you don't get a pair of floor standing speakers that have hundreds of hours of R&D in them (with decades of experience), you get raw drivers and the worst possible environment for a speaker (a leaky tin can). you must fabricate appropriate mounts to achieve adequate seals. you must treat the airspace as you would any other speaker - by increasing rigidity, lowering resonance, adding seals, and providing ample absorption (that is water proof). you much choose speaker aiming and mounting locations that may differ from stock if the stock locations are done for form rather than function. you must execute all wiring of the speakers, including crossovers, just as the home audio speaker mfr already did. you must execute all of this with high levels of precision and quality otherwise you'll have failures and lost investment. (figure 10-20 hours per speaker).

with home audio you have a room with typical furnishings offering diffusion and absorption. in a car you have glass all around you - creating many specular reflections. the acoustics of a car are a challenge and need to be considered heavily when choosing placement.

i can say that after hundreds of hours of effort, i have a great sound system with a very small financial investment. but that's after testing dozens of configurations and using equipment i've had for a while (some over a decade). my amplifiers are worth several times more than everything else in the car, combined. and that, i feel, is vital to a successful car audio system. good amplification along with substantial installation effort. i consider 100 hours a good benchmark for a great sounding system (HU, amps, speakers, subs, treatments). less than that, and you are cutting corners and not realizing the potential of the equipment. treat it as if you were designing a home audio speaker, and you'll be alright at any budget. you can't afford to pay a professional 100 hours, and they won't spend that much time on your car anyway. only you, as the DIY owner, care to take that much time making sure every wire strand is perfectly placed, that every wire is routed to the best of your ability, that the fabrication is worthy of showing to the world build logs, of everything, keep you honest.

one huge cost saver is buying used gear. most of my car audio over the years (95%) has been used. and there is plenty of amazing car audio just looking for a home - especially amplifiers.

boom.

 

[Pianist718]

what differentiates car audio from home audio is that with home audio you just buy the components, connect them, and enjoy. very little effort required other than choosing proper speaker locations (easy) and maybe treating the room acoustics (not cheap, but easy).
with car audio you are the system designer. you don't get an integrated receiver, you get the building blocks for one but assemble them separately - including all wiring, level matching, and tuning. a lot more time and effort on your part. i can spend 3-4 hours just making power wiring and grounding done to an acceptable level. i can put 10-20 hours into an amp install (including designing and fabricating the mounting, planning wire routing, etc.). but i'm not just screwing amps to sub boxes either.

with car audio you are the speaker designer. you don't get a pair of floor standing speakers that have hundreds of hours of R&D in them (with decades of experience), you get raw drivers and the worst possible environment for a speaker (a leaky tin can). you must fabricate appropriate mounts to achieve adequate seals. you must treat the airspace as you would any other speaker - by increasing rigidity, lowering resonance, adding seals, and providing ample absorption (that is water proof). you much choose speaker aiming and mounting locations that may differ from stock if the stock locations are done for form rather than function. you must execute all wiring of the speakers, including crossovers, just as the home audio speaker mfr already did. you must execute all of this with high levels of precision and quality otherwise you'll have failures and lost investment. (figure 10-20 hours per speaker).

with home audio you have a room with typical furnishings offering diffusion and absorption. in a car you have glass all around you - creating many specular reflections. the acoustics of a car are a challenge and need to be considered heavily when choosing placement.

i can say that after hundreds of hours of effort, i have a great sound system with a very small financial investment. but that's after testing dozens of configurations and using equipment i've had for a while (some over a decade). my amplifiers are worth several times more than everything else in the car, combined. and that, i feel, is vital to a successful car audio system. good amplification along with substantial installation effort. i consider 100 hours a good benchmark for a great sounding system (HU, amps, speakers, subs, treatments). less than that, and you are cutting corners and not realizing the potential of the equipment. treat it as if you were designing a home audio speaker, and you'll be alright at any budget. you can't afford to pay a professional 100 hours, and they won't spend that much time on your car anyway. only you, as the DIY owner, care to take that much time making sure every wire strand is perfectly placed, that every wire is routed to the best of your ability, that the fabrication is worthy of showing to the world build logs, of everything, keep you honest.

one huge cost saver is buying used gear. most of my car audio over the years (95%) has been used. and there is plenty of amazing car audio just looking for a home - especially amplifiers.

Excellent point. Appreciate it.

While reading your response I had thoughts of flying you out to NYC when I am ready to do the install and paying you to put things together in my car. Wonder how much that would cost.

 

[njknittle 10+ year member]

You want the best bang for your buck? Go to eBay, and look up PYLE or LANZAR audio. They are THE BEST , when it comes to SQ, not to mention, they can handle almost anything you throw at them....//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rotflol.gif.b453361716769b8110ddefc85ff03cd2.gif