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Thread: Best head unit on E36?

  1. #101
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    RRSperry is offline Senior Moment Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    The Alpine Bluetooth performance is way better than the Kenwood. The Kenwood always sounded like the other person was in a tin can. The Alpine is very clear on both ends. Edgar, as you know, I don't use the internal amp, but the Alpine has more voltage for the preouts, and I think a cleaner signal.

    I've been all over the Kenwood website. If there is a firmware update that would fix my units issues, I think I would have found it...

    Lastly, the Kenwood did look like it belonged, but the Alpine is close enough where it's not an issue for me.

    I keep a Ipod in the glovebox, or stream music from my phone. The Ipod gives you some info about the music, streaming BT doesn't. I don't think any single DIN HU is very good in that respect.

    I couldn't make either unit stream the nav guidance voice unless you were listening to streaming BT... Pretty annoying actually. Maybe I need to actually read the manuals...lol
    No matter where you go, there you are...

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    thanks Rich! Yeah I think every head unit has drawbacks. For example the BT version in the alpine is only 2.1 vs 3.1 for the Sony, but BT not high priority for me. But I really like having buttons to change radio stations and the HD radio capability. Eventually I'll replace the speakers and get a separate amp.

    Also, should I trust manufacturer's specs for speakers? For instance kicker (average brand?) has a 5.25" component pair with 38hz to 21khz rating, and the top of their 6x9 is rated 30hz to...I forget but it's above 20khz. Also, looking at Polks, Alpines, JL audio, JBLs. I know JBLs, Infinitys, and some other brands are owned by Harmon. Would the speakers made by Harmon be more value oriented (production economies of scale)?
    Last edited by scooper; 08-14-2016 at 09:54 AM.

  3. #103
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    RRSperry is offline Senior Moment Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    If it were me, I choose a set of components. I'd open the kick panel to fit a 6.5" speaker, a 1" tweet in the door. But I guess it depends on what you're going for.

    if you just want it to work, a 5.25" set will drop right in. Any brand that isn't dirt cheap would work. Morel are great, but you pay for it... Or a 3 way set...
    No matter where you go, there you are...

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    I had a notion that some people have installed 6.5s in the foot wells. I'll look into it later. 6.5s are for sure better than 5.25s.

  5. #105
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    Not necessarily true... (the 6.5 is better thing) It really depends on the speaker. If you are going to power them with the head unit or the stock amp, just use a 5.25" set.
    No matter where you go, there you are...

  6. #106
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    I put the KDCX998 in my car. Had the KDCX599 and an Alpine CDA105. This sounds and looks the best so far. Even the font on the display matches the e36 dash nicely.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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    thanks for posting. how do you like (dislike) changing radio stations with no individual buttons? I read some reviews about that unit being buggy and being hard to read during the day. But spec-wise it's pretty good and I do like the amber vs the alpine.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyp7718 View Post
    I put the KDCX998 in my car. Had the KDCX599 and an Alpine CDA105. This sounds and looks the best so far. Even the font on the display matches the e36 dash nicely. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    I've been eying this deck for a while. That looks great for aftermarket, thanks for posting the pic!
    CBlock


  9. #109
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    Quote Originally Posted by scooper View Post
    thanks for posting. how do you like (dislike) changing radio stations with no individual buttons? I read some reviews about that unit being buggy and being hard to read during the day. But spec-wise it's pretty good and I do like the amber vs the alpine.
    I have a cabrio so during the day, the display is unreadable unless you invert it or change the color (i attached a pic of what that looks like inverted) I only listen to one radio station (mostly on Pandora or Tidal) so no issue there but it is easy to program multiples and toggle through them. I've heard about some bugs that make you have to reset the unit but have not experienced any yet. BT is good, but placement on the mic has to be high. I had it hidden in the vent and it was useless there.






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  10. #110
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    Quote Originally Posted by scooper View Post
    I had a notion that some people have installed 6.5s in the foot wells. I'll look into it later. 6.5s are for sure better than 5.25s.
    I had it done about 18 years ago... Special panels fitted on top to fit a tweeter suspended above the driver. There are musical reasons for this but I'm not sure it matters too much in a car like an e36. The system used to sound amazing but it's showing it's age. Used to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up... "What did you say?"

  11. #111
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    Quote Originally Posted by neverman View Post
    I had it done about 18 years ago... Special panels fitted on top to fit a tweeter suspended above the driver. There are musical reasons for this but I'm not sure it matters too much in a car like an e36. The system used to sound amazing but it's showing it's age. Used to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up... "What did you say?"
    Ideally your tweeters should be equal distance from your ears and as close as possible to midrange. My guess is that they were put up high for more flexibility on direction. Factory speaker placement is mediocre in these cars due to the size of the interior.


    Bill

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    Here is my JVC Arsenal KD-AHD75BT:






    I made some modifications to it. I took off the glossy screen cover, and painted the outside with flat black paint. Also blocked off some of the extra lightning that it originally came with. See here how it normally would have looked in a BMW interior:

    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by earthwormjim; 09-26-2016 at 10:48 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by earthwormjim View Post
    Here is my JVC Arsenal KD-AHD75BT:






    I made some modifications to it. I took off the glossy screen cover, and painted the outside with flat black paint. Also blocked off some of the extra lightning that it originally came with. See here how it normally would have looked in a BMW interior:

    Very clean looking. I have a JVC unit too that color matches pretty well

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  14. #114
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    Since this has been brought back a few times...

    From a pure technical standpoint, the best factory headunit available for the E36 was the Becker made BMW Professional RDS, which is the succesor to the BMW Bavaria C Professional (RDS).

    Two versions were made, which look identical: BE2450 (mbus) and BE2455 (ibus). Apart from different bus protocol,
    the 2455 can display the full station name of the selected traffic program channel, instead of only "TP". Both versions have the dual fm tuner, which is cool as it will display all stations within reception range (from strongest to weakest
    signal), regardless of the selected station.
    This unit is the BMW branded version of the Becker Mexico Professional (BE2420/2430).

    It was by far the most expensive unit available at nearly DM2000,- ($1100 in 3/98).

    However this unit was not offered in the US.

    And all the other units except the CD43 were limited in output, making the rest of the system sound crappy. Even with H/K system.

    This unit is now extremely sought after here in EU and prices have become silly. Below €350 you can forget and non-damaged fronts and non-'chewed' volume knob ones, are listed €400-€800(!)
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  15. #115
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    Quote Originally Posted by MParallel View Post
    Since this has been brought back a few times...

    From a pure technical standpoint, the best factory headunit available for the E36 was the Becker made BMW Professional RDS, which is the succesor to the BMW Bavaria C Professional (RDS).

    Two versions were made, which look identical: BE2450 (mbus) and BE2455 (ibus). Apart from different bus protocol,
    the 2455 can display the full station name of the selected traffic program channel, instead of only "TP". Both versions have the dual fm tuner, which is cool as it will display all stations within reception range (from strongest to weakest
    signal), regardless of the selected station.
    This unit is the BMW branded version of the Becker Mexico Professional (BE2420/2430).

    It was by far the most expensive unit available at nearly DM2000,- ($1100 in 3/98).

    However this unit was not offered in the US.

    And all the other units except the CD43 were limited in output, making the rest of the system sound crappy. Even with H/K system.

    This unit is now extremely sought after here in EU and prices have become silly. Below €350 you can forget and non-damaged fronts and non-'chewed' volume knob ones, are listed €400-€800(!)
    I thought the reason the non CD43 head units sounded awful was the addition of a lossy filter to solve noise problems during design on earlier E36's, not necessarily limited output from the headunits. The C43 and CD43 systems don't have this filter.

  16. #116
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    Quote Originally Posted by earthwormjim View Post
    I thought the reason the non CD43 head units sounded awful was the addition of a lossy filter to solve noise problems during design on earlier E36's, not necessarily limited output from the headunits. The C43 and CD43 systems don't have this filter.
    It was voltage output, to solve a ground loop noise, they couldn't solve.

    I've quoted this piece a couple of time, which was posted on an old forum back around 1998/99 by the BMW Product Developer who helped design it. He explains it.


    Straight from the (then) horses mouth:

    "I am forwarding this I think the list can benefit from this information. I have been banging my head against the wall looking for the best solution in regards to a stereo upgrade to my 95 M3. This is the response I received from the horses mouth.
    Robert,
    Yes, I do know quite a bit about the E36 audio system, as I helped to design it while working as the Product Development Manager for BMW until recently. With regards to upgrading your audio system, the weakest link is currently (and unfortunately) the radio. In your 1995 E36, you have what is called the C33 platform, identifiable by having weather band feature.
    Since then, the unit has been upgraded 2 more times; the C43 and more recently the CD43. Although the C43 (still a cassette unit) is somewhat better than your C33, the CD43 is substantially better. The CD43, however, is an in-dash CD player. The major difference being the output voltage, which better drives the existing amplifier. All of these units will work in your vehicle with no modifications whatsoever; the power harness, everything, are direct p[lug-ins.
    What you currently experience is a low voltage output from the C33, which does not adequately drive (take advantage) of the on-board, external amplifier. Your unit also has a limiter on the upper frequency range in the FM mode, meaning that when you play FM, you never hear anything above 9 or 10K. This was because there was inherent noise from the engine that could not be attenuated, so the radio had to be attenuated. This hurt sound quality in the upper frequency range (sounds muffled).
    I eliminated the limiter altogether on both C43/CD43 platforms for US cars. Now the Radio drives the amp better and you can enjoy higher frequency output. These units will work w/o any noise problems in your car.
    So basically, what I am suggesting, since you want to retain cosmetic-integration and don't care for cassette, is to get your hands on the CD43. This will also control your CD Changer, if you have one.
    Now, of coarse, if you are planning a full blown system with amps, etc, then we need to reconsider my suggestion, since this unit still does not have RCA (line-level) audio outputs, necessary in driving aftermarket amps (properly)."

    Source: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/ste...ck_models.html
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  17. #117
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by MParallel View Post
    I've quoted this piece a couple of time, which was posted on an old forum back around 1998/99 by the BMW Product Developer who helped design it. He explains it.
    Straight from the (then) horses mouth:
    Thanks for that! Very interesting.

    I'm the happy owner of a CD43 that I bought used from someone a very long time ago, and it does indeed sound better than the original radio. At the time I got it the in-dash CD capability was the attraction, although it's years since I've used that — it's no contest between the car's track suspension and the CD player's anti-skip.

    I keep wanting to upgrade to a modern system that can be driven from my phone, but hate to give up the CD43, which both looks right in the car and works well within its design capabilities.

    Neil

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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    Thanks for that! Very interesting.

    I'm the happy owner of a CD43 that I bought used from someone a very long time ago, and it does indeed sound better than the original radio. At the time I got it the in-dash CD capability was the attraction, although it's years since I've used that — it's no contest between the car's track suspension and the CD player's anti-skip.

    I keep wanting to upgrade to a modern system that can be driven from my phone, but hate to give up the CD43, which both looks right in the car and works well within its design capabilities.

    Neil
    More like zero anti-skip I do have a CD in my CD43 in the 328i. I have never put a cassette tape into my Professional RDS unit in the M3.

    The CD43 (and BE2450/55) all have a CD Changer connector on the back, which makes it possible to connect modern USB/Aux/iPod/iPhone/BT/DAB interfaces to it, giving you all the modern options, with a 100% factory look. Bonus with the CD43 is that can display ID3tags and CD Text.

    If you combine it with MFL retrofit, you can even control everything from the steering wheel. Even better than phone control.
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  19. #119
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by MParallel View Post
    The CD43 (and BE2450/55) all have a CD Changer connector on the back, which makes it possible to connect modern USB/Aux/iPod/iPhone/BT/DAB interfaces to it, giving you all the modern options, with a 100% factory look. Bonus with the CD43 is that can display ID3tags and CD Text.
    That would be interesting — got any links to such options? I haven't checked into this stuff for some years, but now that my daily driver has full connectivity plus Sirius, I'm beginning to feel the lack in the M3.

    Neil

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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    That would be interesting — got any links to such options? I haven't checked into this stuff for some years, but now that my daily driver has full connectivity plus Sirius, I'm beginning to feel the lack in the M3.

    Neil
    Well if you Google or on Ebay look for "E36 MP3 interface" or bluetooth interface etc, you'll get a ton of hits.
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  21. #121
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by MParallel View Post
    Well if you Google or on Ebay look for "E36 MP3 interface" or bluetooth interface etc, you'll get a ton of hits.
    Yeah, and that's the problem: tons of products, many with tech specs apparently first machine translated from the original Chinese into Romulan, and then to English.

    I was more hoping for some BTDT experiences.

    Failing that, and since it was pretty cheap, I took a flyer and ordered one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-Mu...1Yqm0F&vxp=mtr

    Neil
    Last edited by NeilM; 09-05-2017 at 02:48 PM.

  22. #122
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    how about moving the AC controls down below the OBC and putting in a double din unit up top?

  23. #123
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    I have a pop out head unit that I'm looking to get rid of.....don't know why I went that route. In store mode, it sticks out a bit to allow the screen to flip up...I think I would prefer just a regular head unit that blocks the vents too
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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    Yeah, and that's the problem: tons of products, many with tech specs apparently first machine translated from the original Chinese into Romulan, and then to English.

    I was more hoping for some BTDT experiences.

    Failing that, and since it was pretty cheap, I took a flyer and ordered one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-Mu...1Yqm0F&vxp=mtr

    Neil
    Let us know how it works when you get it. I can't switch from the OEM look of the CD43.

  25. #125
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    I've been using a Dension GW (Gateway) 300 since 2007. It gives me 3.5mm jack, USB and iPod/iPhone connectivity.

    All nicely hidden behind the dash. Also charges the iPhone/iPad.
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