Preface: E36 owners often visit the Car Audio forum wanting to learn how to obtain a better quality sound from their car and within their budget; A noble cause: Often though, they are asking the same questions and seeking the exact information that has been posted many times here. This thread is not intended to answer all of these questions, but is to be a guide to give direction that leads to these answers for someone who wishes to add superb quality sound to their E36 with little to no modification of the vehicle, which I think is most E36 owners here.
Components:
So you want to upgrade the factory sound system in your E36 because it sounds like garbage but you are new to car audio; you don't know what the best tech is right now, and you don't know which components you should replace to get that premium high-end sound you want. We'll go through the components of your sound system piece by piece, analyzing OEM options, popular options (or opinions), and high-end options, with my recommendations for each
- Head-Unit (HU): This is the main center of your audio system. It is where you control the functions of your system and is the most visible device. Many HU's today include dazzling lights, video displays, a multitude of functions, and other hocus pocus that has nothing to do with sound quality.
- SQ: The best HU's often lack exciting style and features with an emphsasis on subtle looks with the best sound production posssible (see any of BennyZ builds for reference). If you desire to produce the best sound possible you will want to look at brands like Denon, Mcintosh,Eclipse and Nakamichi.
- OEM: If you want an OEM look to your dash, stick with an OEM HU, as they are decent quality for sound reproduction. A popular upgrade to the C33 (tape player) is the CD43 (CD player) which is plug-n-play in the E36.
- POP: Select the HU that has the features that you want, you'll be producing quality sound from the rest of the system which will have a much larger impact overall anyhow.
My personal recommendation is to stay OEM, the interior of the E36 is lovely and doesn't look right with any other HU. In my E36 I have a CD43.
- Amplifier (amp): This is where the audio signal from the HU gets processed and then delivered to the speakers. An amps main purpose is to amplify this signal (make it louder). Many amps offer additional features that process the audio signal even further. A feature like this on the OEM amp is cross-over that divides the signal among several speakers to optimize the sound reproduction.
- SQ: There are many manufacturers of car audio amps, and quantifying which is better is difficult when trying to measure the quality of something that is based on personal bias. That said, Zapco amps aim to deliver a product that is absolutly customizable to whatever that personal bias is, and they have a reputation among many car audio professionals as being one of the best, so I think they are doing well on that delivery.
- OEM: The factory installed amp is in the trunk of an E36 (convertibles may be an exception). It is very weak and inadequate for driving anything larger than the factory speakers. Even at that it is a poor performer. People will try to keep the factory amp, while also adding an after-market amp, which I do not advise - just remove the factory one.
- POP: It will depend on your speaker selection to pair an appropriate amp, but generally a 4 channel amp is often selected to replace the factory amp and paired with component speakers in the front, and subs or mid-size drivers for the rear.
My recommendation is to select, or make a goal to install one or more Zapco amps to fill the needs for the amount and size of speakers you need to drive. These amps offer all of the tuning and customization you need to refine the sound to your own specific taste and are best of breed quality. If your budget does not allow for this equipment, then an amplifer that matches your speaker requirements will be adequate, but do not consider using the OEM amp. A Zapco amp was out of my budget when I started my build, so currently I am using a 4 channel Blaupunkt amp, but it is a point of mine to replace it with Zapco DC reference amps.
- Speakers ((o)): Speakers or transducers are the device that actually produce the sound that you hear when you are listening to your stereo. These devices resonate and create sound by vibrating a membrane at the frequency of the desired sound. The signal that comes from the amp quickly energizes and de-energizes a coil magnet to create these vibrations.
Depending on your model of E36, and speaker package that your or the original buyer selected, you may have six speakers, eight speakers or even ten. It doesn't matter they are all going to come out. All models have the front speakers in the same locations, and those are the most important anyway.
- Kick Panel: These are the largest of your speakers and are near the floor behind what is known as the "kick panel." The size of these speakers are roughly 5.25" and therefore will fit most 5.25" speakers with no modification. If you wish to fit larger speakers in these locations, you will need to remove sheet metal to fit them.
- Doors:Most doors also have two speakers a-piece in them (fronts only for sedans). There is a small tweeter and a mid-sized driver. A Few E36's have only the tweeter, and the speaker installed in these vary in size depending on the speaker package that was fitted factory with the car, but the size of the retaining brackets, when it has them, are the same for every E36 (that I have seen).
- Tweeter: The inside cavity measures approx. 1 inch across, but it fits a 3/4" tweeter rather well using the clips that help the OEM tweeter in.
- Mid-driver: The inside diameter is about 2.75" inches in size. You would not be able to fit a 3" driver in this space.
- Rear Shelf: The rear speaker are the most various in size, dpeending upon year and speaker package selected. The mounting brackets may also vary, but the mounting points are the same. Theese speakers mount on the inside of the trunk, and fire into the cabin through holes in the rear shelf. You can use these locations to mount many different size speakers. My suggestion is to remove, or disable them entirely but that decision is up to you
- SQ: The speakers are the devices that actually produce the sound from the audio signal. Converting an electrical signal to an audible reproduction is quite a feat, but to do so isn't very difficult - My brother took a first-year physics class and came home building speakers out of things in the junk drawer like plastic cups, paper-clips and wire. But to reproduce it in an accurate reproduction of the way that it was recorded is a matter for sound engineers. Kind of the way that you or I can make a rocket from a straw, but it takes a rocket scientist to put one in orbit. Scott Buwalda is the rocket scientist over at Hybrid Audio Technologies. You want SQ, you want HAT (obviously you should do your own research though). If there's someone making better speakers, I'm willing to be convinced .
- OEM: Ditch them, I don't care if you have the Harmon Kardon premium sound package, the speakers are poor quality. You can get better sound from your E36 just by replacing the speakers.
- POP: Most people seem to go to crutchfield and allow their software configurator to select speakers that fit the OEM locations, and select a brand they recognize. This will at least make your sound system better than it was. This seems acceptable for most people but if you spend some time researching the products you can find better solutions.
Speakers are arguably the most important component in your system for delivering true and accurate reproductions of an audio recording. This is an area that I want you to be very considerate in your decision. While I will recommend a specific set, my further recommendation is to sample as many speakers as you can, research each product you are considering and don't compromise here. If something about the speaker set doesn't please you, take it off the list. Now my recommendation is to install the Hybrid Audio Clarus C51 component speakers. These fit into the OEM locations with little to no modification, and are a great performing speaker. They are also affordable on a leaner budget, but better sounding than anything else in the same price range. It is the speaker package I selected for my E36.
- Sub-woofer (Sub): A sub-woofer is a low-frequency transducer designed to play deep low notes. Subs are generally larger than the rest of the speakers in the system, and require an enclosure to optimize the sound production.
- SQ: A large and heavy sub for most circumstances can produce deeper, tighter bass, but that doesn't always add up to better sound quality. For the best use of deep bass, and accurate sound reproduction you want to select something like the IDQ line of subs from Image Dynamics
- OEM: there is no factory installed sub, and you probably know this because the bass sounds like it is being filtered though mud in your stock system.
- POP: The 2 most common choices people make to bring some bass into their system is to remove the rear-speakers and place a sub in the trunk, or to replace the rear-speakers with mid-level drivers that produce better bass than the stock speakers.
My recommendation is to remove the rear speakers and run a sub-woofer in the trunk I further recommend that you install the sub-woofer to fire though the ski-pass, and that you select the Image Dynamics IDQ sub-woofer. This configuration and subwoofer simply sounds the best of any sub I've ever heard.
Design
You will see and receive many suggestions on how to design the sound system. People may tell you that you need to replace the wiring, or that you con convert this signal to this signal with xy adapter. Other elements of design include location of speakers in the cabin and their relation to eachother, the amount of speakers, sub woofer enclosure(s), and cross-over points.
- Sound Stage: The sound stage is the location where you perceive the music to be coming from. Similar to a performance stage, the sound stage can be wide or narrow, far or near.
- SQ: To recreate music the way it was recorded, and the way it is played live, you will want to place the sound stage in front of you. This usually means removing the rear-speakers, and running only speakers up front, often building new mounting locations for optimizing the sound stage. This is often supplemented with a sub-woofer to fill in the bass.
- OEM: The E36 has either 8 or 10 speakers; 6 up front, and 2 or 4 in the rear. This does not put any directionality to the sound stage, but offers better listening for your passengers in the back seat.
- POP: People often recognize that they don't have rear passengers very much and select a set-up similar to the SQ design, but use the factory installation locations. Still others want to keep the rear-fill, and replace the rear speakers with 6x9's while choosing a component set of speakers to run up-front.
My Personal recommendation is to run Hybrid Audio's 5.25" 2-way component speakers up front since they fit easily in the factory locations. Place the tweeter in the location where the mid-range was and angle it toward the opposite seat. For the rear, I recommend removing the rear speakers entirely and installing a subwoofer in the ski-pass to deliver the bass.
- Pre-amp signal: The audio signal that comes from the HU to the amplifier is the pre-amp signal. There are many factors, mythos and phenomena to preamp audio signal that I don't fully understand, but for our purposes all we need to know is that the wires will either be unshielded twisted pair (UTP), or RCA cables. RCA cables can connect directly to your amp, but twisted pair wires in most cases will need to go through a line out converter (LOC) to deliver a low-level signal on RCA for your amp. Other times the UTP wires can be used to deliver a balanced signal to an amp that supports input of a balanced signal. It will depend on your selection of HU and amp to determine what type of pre-amp signal is supported.
- Wiring: Wire is an electrically conductive strand which is used to deliver the audio signal to the devices in your vehicle. The E36 has twisted pair (UTP) copper wiring that is perfectly suitable to re-use (where applicable) for any new components you are adding or replacing. Use a wiring diagram to assist you. If your HU delivers a low-level RCA pre-amp signal, you will need to run RCA cables to your amp, do not try to use the existing UTP wiring to deliver an unbalanced low-level signal, it is not shielded and will pick-up interference as it travels through the vehicle.
- Converters & Adapters: You may need to add items like line out converters or wiring adapters to connect everything. If you add a new HU you will want to purchase a wiring harness so that you don't have to cut away the factory wiring harness. This makes it easy to add the original stereo back into the car should you ever want to. If you keep the factory HU, but add an after-market amp you will most likley need a line out converter (LOC). A LOC converts the high-level signal into a low-level signal that most amps require. If you selected an amp with balanced inputs, and are using the OEM HU, then you may not need an adapter at all as the BMW HU is a fully balanced signal. If you selected a Zapco amp, I would recommend using their symbilink converter sldin.btl-f to connect the HU's balanced signal. The other possibility is that you are replacing both the amplifier and the HU, in which case your selection of those components and the features they support will determine how you connect them together. I would still suggest that you use a wiring harness to keep the OEM harnass behind the dash in tact. I believe that Tom at 12v electronics has all of these adapters and converters.
- NOTE: There is discrepancy about which harnass to use for which application. These discrepancies are actually the result of inaccurate information from posters here on BF.C, and even a case of a professional installer using the incorrect device. It is easy to misread the description of the harness on the website, so use this information for reference instead: Adapter 8590 is the one you need if you are keeping the factory amp. 8591, the one with RCA plugs, is for connecting a HU with RCA outputs, to an amp with RCA inputs. In no case should RCA connections be used with the factory amplifier.
- Auxiliary Devices: While upgrading a stereo system in an E36, the addition of an auxiliary audio source is frequently desired. MP3 players, CD changers and satellite radio are the most common. Adding these to your your vehicle will depend on the HU you select, and the equipment you intend to integrate. If you are going to replace the OEM HU, then you might wish to select a stereo that has the integration features you desire, such as satellite radio ready, has a USB port, or can control an ipod. If you insist on using an OEM HU (as do I) then you must add integration devices like these from BSW. Many of these integration devices replace your CD changer, so you may have to find a compromise that uses your preferred music listening medium over another.
One option to add satellite radio without replacing the CD changer is to use an in-line FM modulator and a portable satellite receiver. The in-line FM modulator connects to the antenna connection on the stereo, and then to a cradle inside your car where you would place the satellite receiver. The radio would need to be set to the proper FM station, and then you would be listening to the satellite signal which would have to be controlled it through the cradled receiver. This is suitable for some people, but there are few receivers that match the color of the interior illumination and the devices themselves are not aesthetically pleasing against the E36 interior, making it unacceptable to others.
Installation
Installing the components is beyond the scope of this document for now. But I want to comment on common questions and issues that concern installation. At a later time this document will be updated with further details of the installation process so just keep checking for updates.
- Where the %&*#$ do I put everything?: I suspect you have already determined that everything besides the cabin speakers and HU are going in the trunk. BMW didn't create mounting points for our aftermarket amplifiers and subwoofers, so we have to build them ourselves. Not a problem for anyone with the woodworking capabilities to build a bookshelf, but for those of us who took lapidary instead of woodshop it can be a trial and error affair.
- Amplifer Rack: The best place for your amplifer is at the roof of the trunk to permit the most use of the storage area still. Placing it on the trunk floor is not advisable. This makes it prone for items to fall on it, or spills to reach it. If you look at the roof in the trunk, you will see several holes that you could mount a sheet of wood to. Attaching an amplifer to said sheet of wood would be a start to building an amp rack.
- Subwoofer: You can install a suboofer in any size box, ported or sealed, professionally built or home-brewed, but when you sit in the cabin, you are not going to attain the sound from it that you want to hear. The trunk is sealed very well in the E36, and removing the rear speakers and kncking out the metal plate between the trunk and seats is not enough to let the bass into the cabin. The only installation I advise any E36 owner for their subwoofer is to mount it against the ski-pass and fire it right into the cabin. While I cut a few rectangles to mount my amps to, I don't have the ability to cut a circle, so I had Tom at 12v build me a panel to mount my sub to for this purpose. The point though is that your subwoofer will perform better if you can bring it directly into the cabin.
Please post any corrections to this guide, or additional contributions.
Document
v1.3 Added Installation Section
v1.2 Added Notes to Adapters (12/13/2009)
v1.1 Auxillery Section Added (12/10/2009)
v1.0a Added Links (12/08/2009)
v1.0: Initial Release (12/05/2009)
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Originally Posted by hamlet
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