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[LONG] improving your E36 stereo and the lowest form of life on the planet

	Following on with the thread regarding the woeful state
	of the E36's stock stereo I finally embarked upon the
	task of improving it, so I thought I'd share my experiences
	with everyone!

	Firstly, and without wishing to ellicit a storm of protests,
	I have to say that until I started to deal with Auto Stereo
	installers I used to think that the lowest form of life
	on the planet was a car salesman, how wrong could I be, it
	is of course your average automobile stereo installer/dealer!

	I spend a couple of days trawling up and down the S.F
	peninsula visiting the local stero installers attempting to
	get quotes/options for upgrading my 95 E36 M3's stereo.

	Having parted with a lot of money for the factory CD, and 
	not wanting to invite the thieft of an expensive aftermarket
	head unit what I was ideally looking for was an upgrade to
	the amp and speakers since the 2 problems that irked me were:
	
		1) lack of power == volume >= 80% in order to hear
		   it!

		2) Distortion of sounds from speakers when volume >=
		   80% ...

	I also didnt want to take up any space in the trunk so I
	wanted the replacement amp to fit behind the trim where
	the existing factory amp is located.

	I was amazed at the range of "advice" that I got from these
	people, everyone of them had a different story, for example:

		- the factory head unit has electronic (what other
		  kind are their) crossovers builtin so you will have
		  to replace the head unit if you want to replace the
		  amp and speakers. [not true apparently]

		- All you need is a couple of subwoofers in your
		  trunk

		- I'd have to specially built some crossovers for
		  that

		- I can do you a McKintosh Amp and Speakers for ...
		  lets say $2700 ...

		- Oh yes, Ive done a lot of M3's ... what make of
		  car is that ...

	Finally, exhausted I settled upon "Audiomobile" on El Camino
	in Mtn View, they would replace all my speakers with MBQuartz
	speakers that are very well regarded and specifically made
	to fit into BMW's along with a PPI Art Series A404.2 (?) 
	50Wx4 channel amplifier all for $1600 ...

	I was pretty sceptical of all of these people after getting
	so much concentrated and varied BS from them all, but they
	seemed to know what they were talking about, but the fact
	that they referred to me as "boss" with a "yeah right" 
	intonation should have been a warning to me!

	My first complaint is that these people have no idea of
	quality or customer satisfaction, they quote job times
	that they dont hold to, they had my car for 6 hours (how long
	they claimed it would take) and I showed up to collect it
	and stood for another 2 hours while they screwed around
	with it ... finally they put it back together so I could go
	home (no I dont want to leave it with you overnight!), but I 
	had to take it back again the next day for another 1/2 day 
	of work.

	Secondly, they claimed, tried and failed to install the
	amp where the factory one was located, ignoring the fact
	that when I went back on the first day I mentioned the
	fact to them that *I* didnt think it would fit, so now I
	have it on a shelf mounted on the trunk under the rear
	window, this eats up about 4" vertical by about 2' horizontal
	space in the trunk.

	I also watched them install the wiring, and the amount of
	"I wonder which wire this is" testing that went on in 
	front of me didnt inspire me with confidence ...

	Finally they scratched the grill and housing installing 
	the tweeter in the drivers door, they said they'd get 
	another one in and replace it, that was 3 weeks ago, in
	the meantime the guy running the place has been fired, and
	a new guy came in. He ordered the new speaker, and I left
	my car with them yesterday for 2 hours (30 minutes longer
	than they said it would take) when I got back they informed
	me they had ordered the wrong speaker, it then took them 
	another 20 minutes to replace the door again, so I still
	have to return to get this replaced ... sigh.

	In the end I am quite pleased with the MBQuartz speakers,
	although I still have to crank the volume above 50% to 
	hear it, it does'nt distort now ...

	So let me share some words of wisdom gleaned from this
	experience.

	1) decide *before* talking with anyone:

		- what aspects you dislike about your current system
		- what aspects you want to improve about your system
		- what components you'd like to keep and what you
		  dont care about
		- how much you want to spend
		- do some product research into price/options etc

	2) When selecting your dealer:
		
		- try and get a personal recommendation
		- go to a dealer that has verifiable experience
		  of installing in BMW's

	3) When talking with a dealer:

		- MAKE SURE HE UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU WANT AND MAKE
		  IT OBVIOUS YOU HAVE DONE YOUR RESEARCH (you're
		  not an easy mark)
		
		- prepare some criteria in advance, questions to ask
		  that will enlighten you to the fact that they know
		  what they are talking aboiout or not.

		- Take a look at his shop, is it clean, do the
		  staff look like they care ...

		- Take a look at some work ongoing, does it make you
		  feel like you are on a tour of a sausage factory?
		  If so bale out now!

		- Get a written quote on time/materials etc ...

		- Check their professional affiliations, maybe also
		  your local Better Business Bureau. Myabe mnention
		  to them you've done this check ... 

	4) Shop around (go on amuse yourself)

	5) While the work is underway

		- make sure they understand that you expect them
		  to deliver quality work on time as promised.

		- turn up a little early so you can check out
		  what they are up to.

		- inspect the workmanship.

		- VERY CAREFULLY INSPECT THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
		  OF THE CAR FOR DAMAGE. (I'd maybe let the car 
		  get dusty so that you can easily spot areas that
		  have been disturbed during the work).

	6) When its finished, make sure your happy *before* you
	   leave/pay ...

	Enjoy!

	- Larry

	P.S

	I would not recommend any peninsula stero dealers perhaps
	with the exception of the one (I cant recall its name, 
	Precision?) on the corner of El Camino and Showers Drive in 
	Mountain View.

	This obviously means I wouldnt recommend Audiomobile!
	
	
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 E-Mail: Larry.Cable@domain.elided	 Mail: Laurence P. G. Cable,
					       Senior Staff Engineer,
					       JavaSoft Inc., 
					       Mailstop UCUP01-201,
 Phone : 408-343-1776 (x51776)                 2550 Garcia Avenue, 
 Fax   : 408-343-1553       		       Mountain View CA 94043.

					       JavaSoft Inc.,
					       10201 North De Anza Blvd,
					       Cupertino, Ca 95014

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