BMW Audio

[Stephen Albrecht <albrecht@xxxxxxxxx>]

I guess I'll add to this thread also.  My 540 came with an after market
radio/CD system. it is a 35 watt X 4 system and uses the standard BMW
factory speakers.  Judging from some of the descriptions I have read
lately, this system is just as bad as as the factory installed systems. 
BTW, it is an Eclipse. That brings two obvious explanations to the
forefront. First, the standard speakers suck! Second, the internal
dimensions of the car are not conducive to good audio reproduction. My
bass is a no-show, and the treble is so bright it is really annoying,
and it completely overpowers the midrange. If I try to get any volume
out of it, the rear deck speakers just go blaaaatttt!  I miss my
Aerosmith and Zeppelin at 98 dba!!

Back in the old days in Boston (mid '70s) my friend & I built custom
speakers that competed with Bose. IMHO, we blew them outa the ball park!
I was obviously not a fan of Bose speakers and I thought they were all
marketing hype. Then I bought an Acura Legend a bunch of years ago ('90)
with a factory installed Bose system. It consisted of four distributed
amps of 75 watts RMS each, and was the best sound I have ever heard in a
car. What a difference 15 years makes.  I used to arrive at work stone
deaf for the next couple of hours. I never was able to get it loud
enough to find the clipping point. And I like LOUD music. If it's too
loud, then you are too old!!! BTW, I'm over 50 and haven't grown up yet,
and don't plan to anytime in the near OR distant future. "Grow old - not
up"

So what can we do about this situation?  Amplifiers are not difficult to
design or build, been there and done that. My best amp was 2 kW RMS per
channel and it would shatter windows in the typical Beacon Hill
apartment (been there - done that also) without any noticeable
distortion. A typical class A amplifier must be designed and built
according to the way class A amps are defined. There isn't much room for
variation in circuit design. It's all pretty much done 'by the book'
these days. The variation comes in component quality selection. With
that in mind, the guilty finger may need to point to the speakers. There
is a book about 8 inches thick that is chock full of formulas dealing
with speaker design and their associated enclosures. This is where the
'system' designer has the most latitude available to succeed or fail. I
believe I will start replacing speakers as time and money permit. More
power never hurts either. Perhaps a 50 watt self powered sub woofer
should be my first addition. All the input on the digest regarding this
subject has been quite interesting and I have enjoyed it. 

This reminds me of the current Beck's Beer commercials running in the
media ... Germans don't do comedy, they do beer.  Well, apparently,
Germans don't do audio, they do cars. 

I apologize if I got a bit carried away with this post.

Steve Albrecht
Golden Gate Chapter
'95 540

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