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RE: Poor 318iC music system.

Here is a thread that I have had going w/ another list member about this.
Some of the details may differ since we both have 318is and you have an ic.
I know the rear setup is different.  If you have any specific questions
ask and I'll give it a go.  The lines *not* behind the ">" symbol are from
me.  Since this seems to be a common complaint, I'm going to go ahead and
post this compilation of stereo ramblings.

(No affiliation w/ any brands mentioned.)

Jimmy Shrake
Current: '93 318is
Previous: '85 325e (KIA @ 150k)

jim@domain.elided

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>I'd be interested in starting a thread on the stereo system. After I
>installed the CD changer, the limitations of the amplifier and speakers
>became very apparent.

I took the whole thing out, put in 2 amps, a crossover, in dash CD, all new
speakers behind factory grills, and 2: 8" subs.  Fire away if you have any
specific questions, I have plenty of thoughts on the idea.  Oh yeah, which
year/model do you have?
____________
>I've got a 93 318iS. <snip>
>I'd like to keep the head unit but was thinking about a speaker change and an
>in-line amp. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Since the amp is in the head unit, you cant get around it.  You could come
off the speaker outputs of the BMW head unit, through a step down
transformers, to the amp inputs.  Some amps will take speaker level inputs
but not many and not the better quality ones that I know of.  The down side
of this is any distortion coming from the head unit will go right into the
amps and the transformer itself will probably add some, don't get a cheap-o
one.  The key would be to set it up so that the amps hit peak power when
the volume knob on the head unit it about 1/2 way or less (before
distortion gets too bad).  I saw a spec on the 325 stereo, and at the rated
wattage, it was at *10%* total harmonic distortion :-(.

Installing tweeters behind the factory grills on the door is quite do-able,
but not real easy.  The speaker and the grill are all one piece and must be
cut apart.  Expect to pay $50-100 for a shop to do it.  If you decide to do
it yourself, let me know and I'll tell you how I did it.  I installed 4"
MB-Quart stealth mount speaker in the back in the existing enclosure.  If
you are not going to do subs, you may want to look at how you could get
some 6 1/2" speakers in the back (would require cutting.)  The biggest
problem in these systems is no Bass, which is no wonder w/ only 5 1/4's up
front and 4" in the back.

Oh yeah, MB-Quart has a 3-way set designed just for the BMW 3 series now.
The tweeter and midrange both go into the size hole that is the tweeter on
a 318 or the midrange on a 325.  It is the same speaker I put in the back
of my car, but it has a grille and mounting hardware for 3 series doors.
It is black, but you could have it custom painted to match if you wanted.
A 5 1/4 in the kick panel goes along w/ the door-mounted mid and tweeter.
They would be a breeze to install, sound great, but be fairly expensive I'm
sure.

>IMHO, Alpine shouldn't let BMW spec such a wimpy unit. The Nokia
>speakers are another disappointment.

Could not agree more, the system is far below what one should get in a
$27,000 car.
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>The MB-Quart's sound interesting, but my knowledge of home stereo is 5 times
>what I know about car audio.

They are high-end speaker, made in Germany I believe.  On the level of
a/d/s, Canton, Klipsch, etc. if you are familiar w/ any of those.


>My largest exposure is Crutchfield!
Catalog is a good source of information, but watch out its expensive.


>been wrong about the amp being in the head unit in my car. I was told by a
>dealer parts man that my car had the "middle" system, and that the amp is
>under the rear deck near the driver's rear speaker. I've got six drivers, 2
>rear, 2 kick panel and  2 in the upper section of the door, about 3.5" in
>dia.

I'm pretty sure the amp is in the head unit.  Originally I simply replaced
the factory head unit w/ the Alpine head unit w/ no external amp and stock
speakers.  The Alpine has a 15x4 RMS amp built in.  I took the outputs from
it and wired them to the same wires that the factory head unit was
outputting to.  It worked perfect.  If there was an amp in between the
factory head unit and the speakers, it would have caused problems. (We have
the same car by the way, '93 318is)


>I thought the drivers in the door mounts were tweeters? You mean they're not?

Yeah, they are.  I'm talking about if you want to replace them with some
better after market ones.  As a side note though, the Quart 3-way I was
talking about replaces the door tweeters with a 3 or 4" 2-way.  The mids
and highs come from the doors and the low freq's go to a 5 1/4 in the kick
panel.


>I didn't realize the opening <in back> was that large. I'll have to look at it.

To be exact, it seems to actually be some metric size because it was a
little to big for the Quart 4".  I sealed the small gap up w/ silicone and
it worked great.


>My biggest question is how to you get those back speaker enclosures open or
>off?

Pop the rear speaker grills off.  There are two phillips head screws going
though the sheet metal of the rear deck into the boxes (you'll need a
"stubby" screw driver because. of the window being in the way.)  Once the
screws are out, there is a spring type metal clip that keeps it from just
falling into the trunk.

>The MB-Quart's sound interesting. Is there a mail order outlet or is this
>strictly high end stuff.
Some of the companies that advertise in Hi-Fidelity and other audio mags
have them I believe.


>Worst case, I could use line output converters.

This is indeed what it will take.  A friend of mine did this in a Mazda
MX-6 and it actually sounds quite good.


>If this doesn't produce a reasonable improvement, then I'd go for speakers.
>Rear ones first, they're the worst.

Yeah, but they are much less important than the fronts in terms of sound
quality.

- - I would recommend new front speakers as your first upgrade.  Installing
something like those Quart would make a BIG difference.
- - An amp as the second.  Will much better at high volume levels.
- - New rear speakers as the third.

________________________

>how about instructions for accessing the kick panel and door drivers.

Its been a while since I've been into the kick panels.  As I recall it was
fairly straightforward.  You *may* need to remove the under dash panels
first.  Here is what I remember

Under dash panels:

driver: screw up by steering wheel, one underneath, there are a couple of
clip like things on the top, cant explain, pull wiggle etc...you'll figure
it out.

passenger: 2 screws underneath, pull down, slide forward.

On the kick panels themselves there is only a plastic 1/2 turn screw, then
they are just kinda wedged in there.  On the driver's side you will have to
remove the hood release lever, screw is under the plastic cap.

Door panels: slide off "plate" that goes around door handle, also 2 two
little plastic caps w/ 2 torx screws underneath, lots of pop on/off type
clips around edges from here.


>Isn't it the inability of the amp to power the mid-low range that causes the
>distortion and lack of depth in the front speakers?

Yeah, the amp is a problem, but....   It has been my experience that
replacing the speakers in BMW's makes a big difference.  A friend of mine
has a '85 318i, we replaced the stock speakers w/ 4 Sony 6 1/2" coaxial
speakers and w/ only that his system sounded much better than a stock '93
318 system.  I installed the 30X4 Alpine CD first in my system and it did
make a noticeable difference but nothing drastic.

Once again the biggest problem is lack of bass and the problem trying to
fix it is that it is tough to get any larger speakers into the factory
locations.  4" speakers dont make good low bass, period, even the Quarts I
installed, they will play tight, hard mid bass, but you cant get a warm low
bass sound from them, they are just too small and that it as big as you can
get into those enclosures in the back.

I dont know what magnitude of improvements you are looking for or what you
want to spend.  Subs are ideal, but system prices skyrocket when they are
involved.  I'm going to assume you do not want to do this.

Here is what I would do knowing what I have learned thus far:

Try to get something bigger in the back, trash the little black boxes.  To
do it right you will need professional help, it will involve cutting metal
and building some sort of mounting plate, be sure and choose a very high
quality shop.  My first choice would be a Quart 6 1/2" stealth mount coax.
I read about something made by Quart that appeared to be an 8" setup for
the rear of our cars.  If this animal exists, it would definitely be the
ultimate w/o subs, but very expensive I'm sure, ~$500.

- - If you dont want to go this far, put the 4" Quarts into the enclosures,
put the Quart BMW E36 3-way front setup in if you can afford it, if not, go
w/ a high quality 2 way separate, Quart makes others that would do this
well also it would just involve custom mounting the tweeters to get them
behind the factory grills.

- - You might try leaving the door tweeters and just replacing the kick panel
speakers to save a few bucks.

- - Go w/ a 30X4 to 50X4 amp, stick w/ top brands, it makes a difference.
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