New member - looking for help with speaker/head unit upgrage for 97 BMW M3

[staric]

Have a 97 BMW M3 sedan with the stock (non-HK) system. I simply want better sound out of the speakers, which generally just sound kind of crappy. As for the head unit, the display is shot; plus I want something with an auxiliary line-in. The car has a built in amp, which I would probably keep so that the install is easier and I don't need to worry so much about power in the head unit.

I found a place online that specialized in BMW sound upgrades, and they recommend a speaker package that basically replaces all of the existing speakers with Rainbow Dream Line speakers, at a cost of about $500. This includes adapters to change the rears from 4" to 6"x9". They also sell a Blaupunkt Bahamas head unit that would seem to meet my needs and has a display that is a pretty good color match for about $180 (plus $35 for a prewired adapter harness). I can get it all at the DIY price of about $750, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend (had hoped to keep the upgrades around $500 to $600), but doesn't strike me as way out of line. I know I can get the same head unit at other places (like Crutchfield) for about $30 less. I have no idea what kind of value this is on the speakers.

Anybody care to chime in on whether this seems like a good plan or if they would strongly suggest something else?

Thanks a lot.

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[PremierAudio 10+ year member]

I think you may be talking about BSW.com? Pretty much you can get the same speakers for less than 200.00 for all of them. You are paying for their expierence. Check out e46fanatics.com, lots of info on there.

 

[WLDock 10+ year member]

Well, the BSW package makes things a tad easy but the bottom line is you still have to Do It Yourself and their prices are high. IMO I would not want to spend $750 and still have to keep the factory amp and have to install things myself. If you are going to dive-in for the sake of an improvement then you can do better in terms of putting together a system that sounds better than the factory equipment.

If it were my car I would go with a good 6.5" comp set upfront....just have to cut the factory hole a bit. I don't care for the factory mid and tweet location...too close to the listener. The goal is to get the speakers as far away from you. The factory kicks are great! Also, I am not big on rear speakers. I am not sure how you feel about this so I will offer a factory replacement solution.

Easy low cost solution:

The new Alpine decks seem like they will match nice with the red illumination. Should be out in FEB...look around for good prices. The JBL 5 ch amp is a great buy at that price. This system used the factory 5.25" kick location with the tweets in the sail panels(where the side mirrors are) or try them in the kicks aimed or maybe in the stock locations...Do what sounds best. (No 3" mid in this install). The PG RSd speakers and sub are VERY nice for the price and are a good value in terms of sound. Great reviews on them:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5698

http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/0605_cae_phoenix_gold_rsd12_test_report/index.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6342&highlight=rsd

http://phoenixphorum.com/rsd-10-mini-review-vt256.html?highlight=rsd

http://www.soundbuggy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4280

http://www.soundbuggy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4303

HEAD UNIT: NEW (Avail. FEB'07) ALPINE CDA-9885 or CDA-9883 - List price $230-$350

AMP: JBL GTO755.6 II 6 ch - $217

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JBL-GTO755-6-6-II-6-CHANNEL-6CH-CH-AMPLIFIER-AMP-560W_W0QQitemZ170018310432QQcmdZViewItem

FRONT: Phoenix Gold RSd5cs - $64.34

http://focuscamera.com/sc/cart.asp?id=964607433

REAR: Phoenix Gold RSd690 - $ 60.63

http://focuscamera.com/sc/froogle-lead-1.asp?id=964607467&rf=froogle&dfdate=01_16_2007&sid=713243318

SUB: RSd10 - $74.24

http://focuscamera.com/sc/froogle-lead-1.asp?id=964606964&rf=froogle&dfdate=01_16_2007&sid=713243318

BSW 4" to 6"x9" Adapter - $59.95

This system should be about $510 once you find a good price on the deck. You will also need the other usual stuff, wire, harness, sube enclosure, cables, etc..

Also check out http://www.bimmerforums.com

 

[phenryiv1 10+ year member]

The Pioneer Premier 580 and "regular" 5800 have red illumination. They both also feature Aux-inputs and MP3 capability.

I would consider a 4 channel amp (2 channels to the fronts; 2 bridged to the sub) and then run the rears off of the HU. You can run your own wiring to bypass the stock amp (if one of those forums does not have a how-to on the subject). This will almost certainly sound better then the stock amp in a 10-year-old car.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

I like the 6-channel amp that WLDock posted. But for the sub I would suggest a Soundsplinter RLi 10" Should be a better fit for the amp. Also, you might want to look at some Pioneer Rev coaxials. Pretty nice sound, and offer an easier instal than components if you are a beginner.