Bavarian Soundwerks
Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Is the HK Amp compatiable to Upgrade a Hifi Setup? E36 BavSound

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    158
    My Cars
    '13 328i / '95 325i Vert

    Is the HK Amp compatiable to Upgrade a Hifi Setup? E36 BavSound

    Looking to add some BavSound speakers soon to my E36 Convertible ( Has HiFi Setup ) and found an HK amp I can buy for dirt cheap.
    Had the following quesitons :

    1 - Can these amps be directly swapped
    2 - If possible is it any better than my current setup ( Alpine Head Unit + OEM Hifi amp )

    My Current Setup is -

    • Alpine CDE-HD149BT Head Unit
    • OEM HiFi ( 3 ways up front / 2 Way Components in rear )


    Im looking to get the BavSound setup to replace all my speakers and wont to give them as much power cleanly as I can withing the spec of the speakers.

    Thanks,
    Last edited by QUiKSR20; 04-22-2018 at 10:28 PM.
    13 F30 328i Sport 6MT
    95 E36 325i Vert 5MT
    92 Sentra SE-R SR20DET DET Build Thread
    08 E90 328i Sport [sold]
    89 E30 325is [sold & missed]

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    outta SoCal, now CO
    Posts
    1,212
    My Cars
    '98 M3 Alpine White
    Does it have an original 10 speaker amp in the trunk? If yes, then it should have two plugs, one 12 pin and one 26 pin. If it does, then all the wiring is in place but you may need to re-map the pins in the two plugs to make it work in the HK amp. Done it, it works. 1998 HK amp into a 10 speaker 1992 325i with Bavsound speakers. Post a couple of pics on the old amp and the HK amp side by side.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    158
    My Cars
    '13 328i / '95 325i Vert
    Quote Originally Posted by tjm3 View Post
    Does it have an original 10 speaker amp in the trunk? If yes, then it should have two plugs, one 12 pin and one 26 pin. If it does, then all the wiring is in place but you may need to re-map the pins in the two plugs to make it work in the HK amp. Done it, it works. 1998 HK amp into a 10 speaker 1992 325i with Bavsound speakers. Post a couple of pics on the old amp and the HK amp side by side.
    Hello Tony,

    Thanks for the response, My car is a 95 convertible with the 10 speaker setup.. I dont have the HK amp just wondering if its worth it to change ( maybe able to pick one up cheap ).
    Since I havent bought my Bavsound speakers yet and they sell them for Hifi or HK setup im looking to see if upgrading the amp will gain much of anything with an aftermarket headunit.
    Last edited by QUiKSR20; 04-23-2018 at 11:42 PM.
    13 F30 328i Sport 6MT
    95 E36 325i Vert 5MT
    92 Sentra SE-R SR20DET DET Build Thread
    08 E90 328i Sport [sold]
    89 E30 325is [sold & missed]

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    outta SoCal, now CO
    Posts
    1,212
    My Cars
    '98 M3 Alpine White
    Here's my take on the matter. Other than wiring diagrams, there really is no documentation on any of the amplifiers. The HK is better than the other stock HiFi units but not a good as most aftermarkets. You're pretty much stuck with the way HK setup the amplifier and because of this different head units will give different results. I have a Kenwood. Sounds OK but overall could be better. The outputs of the head units is F/R and L/R, 4 channels that get input to the amp and then split among the 10 speakers, and who knows how or what they do for that with splitting frequencies or internal crossovers. So, the HK amp with the Bavsound 10 speaker upgrade and almost any head unit will sound better than what you have but for ultimate, top end performance you would need to pull everything out, get a nice matched head unit/amp combo and lay in new wiring. The wiring is a weak point since they used what looks like 22 & 24 gauge wire for the speakers. Easy upgrade for the rears but new wiring for the fronts gets involved. The Kenwood, HK amp and Bavsound speakers makes driving my old Dinan modified 325i a lot more fun and tolerable.

    The plugs on the HK amp vs the others are wired differently and you will need to move wires to different positions in the plugs. Most are OK but there are some critical changes that need to be made.
    Last edited by tjm3; 04-24-2018 at 10:28 AM.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    158
    My Cars
    '13 328i / '95 325i Vert
    Quote Originally Posted by tjm3 View Post
    Here's my take on the matter. Other than wiring diagrams, there really is no documentation on any of the amplifiers. The HK is better than the other stock HiFi units but not a good as most aftermarkets. You're pretty much stuck with the way HK setup the amplifier and because of this different head units will give different results. I have a Kenwood. Sounds OK but overall could be better. The outputs of the head units is F/R and L/R, 4 channels that get input to the amp and then split among the 10 speakers, and who knows how or what they do for that with splitting frequencies or internal crossovers. So, the HK amp with the Bavsound 10 speaker upgrade and almost any head unit will sound better than what you have but for ultimate, top end performance you would need to pull everything out, get a nice matched head unit/amp combo and lay in new wiring. The wiring is a weak point since they used what looks like 22 & 24 gauge wire for the speakers. Easy upgrade for the rears but new wiring for the fronts gets involved. The Kenwood, HK amp and Bavsound speakers makes driving my old Dinan modified 325i a lot more fun and tolerable.

    The plugs on the HK amp vs the others are wired differently and you will need to move wires to different positions in the plugs. Most are OK but there are some critical changes that need to be made.
    Tony,

    Thanks for the update, Sounds like a PITA and this is coming from a guy whos installed stereos for 20 years or so ( myself ) the easiest thing maybe just
    following a post I found where they just seperate all the the wires to crossovers and then just run like a traditional audio setup. Its 28 wires all labeld etc.
    13 F30 328i Sport 6MT
    95 E36 325i Vert 5MT
    92 Sentra SE-R SR20DET DET Build Thread
    08 E90 328i Sport [sold]
    89 E30 325is [sold & missed]

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    158
    My Cars
    '13 328i / '95 325i Vert
    Thanks for all the info guys, Spoke with BavSound today who stated for use with their speakers the HiFi amp actually yields better sound.. For now ill be sticking with my Hifi Amp / Alpine deck and just add a Bav sound upggrade for the speakers...
    13 F30 328i Sport 6MT
    95 E36 325i Vert 5MT
    92 Sentra SE-R SR20DET DET Build Thread
    08 E90 328i Sport [sold]
    89 E30 325is [sold & missed]

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    outta SoCal, now CO
    Posts
    1,212
    My Cars
    '98 M3 Alpine White
    Quote Originally Posted by QUiKSR20 View Post
    Thanks for all the info guys, Spoke with BavSound today who stated for use with their speakers the HiFi amp actually yields better sound.. For now ill be sticking with my Hifi Amp / Alpine deck and just add a Bav sound upggrade for the speakers...
    I'd sure like them to explain this a little further. What, exactly, allows the lesser amp make better sound? Next question would be 'are they still providing speaker sets for the HK amp?'
    My HK conversion using the factory wiring sounds pretty good.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    158
    My Cars
    '13 328i / '95 325i Vert
    Quote Originally Posted by tjm3 View Post
    I'd sure like them to explain this a little further. What, exactly, allows the lesser amp make better sound? Next question would be 'are they still providing speaker sets for the HK amp?'
    My HK conversion using the factory wiring sounds pretty good.
    Im running an aftermarket radio ( Alpine CDE-HD149BT ) So I think in my case you have a radio that is powered thats piggy backed onto an amp ( in my case NON HK ) from what Bav was saying when using their speakers the HiFi amp has less equalization applied for a more natural sound vs the HK setup is almost like Bose in the repsect to the amp tuning is matched for their speakers best possibily. The HiFi setup is more natural but less powerfull, Adding an aftermarket head-unit though brings a little more ( not much ) amplification that should match that of the HK Amp without the equalization applied.

    That is my interpretation based on my convo with BavSound last week.
    Last edited by QUiKSR20; 05-14-2018 at 10:26 AM.
    13 F30 328i Sport 6MT
    95 E36 325i Vert 5MT
    92 Sentra SE-R SR20DET DET Build Thread
    08 E90 328i Sport [sold]
    89 E30 325is [sold & missed]

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    37
    My Cars
    1992 BMW 325is
    I glad I found this thread. I just bought for my kid 92 325is with blaupunkt amp. I would like to use factory wiring but replace amp with HK one. Is there a place that makes wiring harness converter so I could use amp input and have that converted to HK input? I guess it would be the same for the output. The car has 2x kicker panel speakers, 2x2 door panel and not sure if single or double 2x rear deck. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Btw my head unit is Alpine 163bt.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    outta SoCal, now CO
    Posts
    1,212
    My Cars
    '98 M3 Alpine White
    Quote Originally Posted by iceman2007 View Post
    I glad I found this thread. I just bought for my kid 92 325is with blaupunkt amp. I would like to use factory wiring but replace amp with HK one. Is there a place that makes wiring harness converter so I could use amp input and have that converted to HK input? I guess it would be the same for the output. The car has 2x kicker panel speakers, 2x2 door panel and not sure if single or double 2x rear deck. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Btw my head unit is Alpine 163bt.
    I converted my '92 325i from the HiFi amp to the HK amp. All the wiring was there but some of the connections to the speakers and to the two plugs on the HK amp needed to be rearranged. You'll need to know how to release the terminals from the connector without damage, then replug them in their new locations. I doubt very much that there is a ready made wiring harness for your purpose. Almost any decent head unit will be better that the stock radio/cassette and most all will be compatible with the HK or HiFi unit. If you get one of the BMW amps make sure you get one with the plugs and pigtails to make the connections. You will also need to be proficient at wire stripping, tying, soldering and heat shrinking to make some good connections in addition to the current radio wiring diagram for your car and for the new amp, HiFi or HK. The BMW wiring diagrams for the radio systems are pretty good for connections and color codes, but even so, you will also need to be proficient at reading and using a wiring diagram. This could make for a good learning experience or a very tedious electrical modification job.
    Last edited by tjm3; 04-20-2020 at 09:28 PM.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    37
    My Cars
    1992 BMW 325is
    Thank you!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Posts
    372
    My Cars
    '99 M3 vert, '07 X3
    I have done some extensive stereo upgrades in my e36... I offer this experience.

    I am running an AudioControl LC 1200.6 125x6 channel amp for the front 6 speakers (Morel Elate 503 but not using the passive crossover) and Rockford Fosgate P300x1 to a Pioneer flat piston 10" in a sealed box where the factory HK was. I have the Bavsound speakers in the rear running off the stock HK amp.

    Keep the head unit stock (or upgrade to the CD43 unit if you have a tape deck)

    Use the speaker outputs as your high level inputs to your amps... Don't worry, they don't put out more than 20W to any channel!

    This allows you to be totally stealth, retains the look of the cabin, and bonus... the speed volume still works.

Similar Threads

  1. E36 328i 'Vert, where is the HK amp?
    By E28Scott in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-26-2013, 09:48 AM
  2. Is the HK amp plug and play??
    By m3fosho in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-07-2005, 01:27 AM
  3. How much power is the HK amp putting to fronts in my 98 vert?
    By madsedan in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-29-2004, 08:51 PM
  4. Replies: 13
    Last Post: 02-24-2004, 12:03 AM
  5. Is the HK amp a direct bolt on replacing the factory non-HK amp?
    By archyx in forum Car Audio & Electronics sponsored by Bavsound
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-22-2004, 10:49 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •