[andrew.webber]

Originally Posted by pwaf13

Thanks Andrew, I’ve heard of them before but totally forgotten about them as an option. What would you say the sound profile is like, are they crisp/harsh at all?

Found these, not sure if the same as you have? https://www.raysmith.co.uk/products/...onent-speakers

Already have the covers, but thanks for the heads up

Yes they are the same as I have - I am not an audiofile or totally knowledgeable on audio but for me they made enough of a difference to not progress with installing an amplifier (mainly because the car is not used a lot nowadays).

I would say that the sound profile is quite crisp actually, I am told that applying some sound deadening to the doors would have helped even more and I did buy it but never got around to installing it!

If I am honest I think that if you are really into your music and knowledgeable about it you will need to install an amplifier and maybe run new cabling for the speakers - something that I was not confident doing!

I also looked at solutions available from audiofile-incar and integralaudio (in the states) but I could just not justify the cost for a car that I use 2-3 times a week!

[wataroo]

Daveyvtec
Thank you for the thread. Upon reading this I'm thinking of buying Vibe Powerbox 65.4. When you say you installed the unit under the glovebox, is it under the armrest?

[Jimmert]

The glovebox is the space in front of the passenger.

[wataroo]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

The glovebox is the space in front of the passenger.

Ah, ok thank you!

[Jimmert]

I bought my Vibe 65.4 + cabling as well now! Exited to install it!

[pwaf13]

Originally Posted by andrew.webber

Yes they are the same as I have - I am not an audiofile or totally knowledgeable on audio but for me they made enough of a difference to not progress with installing an amplifier (mainly because the car is not used a lot nowadays).

I would say that the sound profile is quite crisp actually, I am told that applying some sound deadening to the doors would have helped even more and I did buy it but never got around to installing it!

If I am honest I think that if you are really into your music and knowledgeable about it you will need to install an amplifier and maybe run new cabling for the speakers - something that I was not confident doing!

I also looked at solutions available from audiofile-incar and integralaudio (in the states) but I could just not justify the cost for a car that I use 2-3 times a week!

Thanks for sharing Andrew!

[wataroo]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

I bought my Vibe 65.4 + cabling as well now! Exited to install it!

Originally Posted by Jimmert

I bought my Vibe 65.4 + cabling as well now! Exited to install it!

Do post some pictures on how you install it under the glovebox, if you could. Thank you!

[inigoale]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

I bought my Vibe 65.4 + cabling as well now! Exited to install it!

Hello, I also have the amplifier and the cable ordered, if you can put photos of the assembly steps, I would appreciate it. When I assemble it, I will take photos of the steps

[Phil @ Integral Audio]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

Why would you need a crossover?

If you're curious to learn a bit more about crossovers, why you might want them (some would say you absolutely must have them) we made a short video about this very thing that will give you a nice intro if you're curious...

[Jimmert]

So this weekend, attempt 1, what a nightmare. At the start, I had everything quite quickly up and running. Used this video to see how to remove the HU unit:

The manual is really vage, but in the end with the supplied BMW cable, everything connected without cutting any cables, always nice.

But no way Jose, that I was able to place back the HU unit again. With all new cabling and adapters, there ISN’T enough space behind the HU unit. Spend almost three hours, maybe I’m stupid, but it doesn’t fit. Even if I try to route the cabling as much as possible to the sides. And also running the cables directly to the glovebox. I really wonder how TS did it… Besides that, also ripped my hands open, working in that tight space with sharp plastic / screws

About the sound itself, I’m not so impressed yet, but I still have listen a bit better. Anyway the difference of replacing the front speakers with Focals seemed to have a much bigger effect.

Later this week, attempt 2…

[pwaf13]

Thanks for the update Jimmert.

Ordered mine today as decided to ditch the MMI unit and eventually go for a full NBT6 retrofit but opt for better sound in the interim.

I know what you mean with space, it took ages to get my NBT back in with its T harness. There’s a little pocket down and too the right which took the quad lock eventually, hope this helps.

I’m still stock speakers, so hoping for something positive sound wise ahead of 2 way and subs

[inigoale]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

So this weekend, attempt 1, what a nightmare. At the start, I had everything quite quickly up and running. Used this video to see how to remove the HU unit:

The manual is really vage, but in the end with the supplied BMW cable, everything connected without cutting any cables, always nice.

But no way Jose, that I was able to place back the HU unit again. With all new cabling and adapters, there ISN’T enough space behind the HU unit. Spend almost three hours, maybe I’m stupid, but it doesn’t fit. Even if I try to route the cabling as much as possible to the sides. And also running the cables directly to the glovebox. I really wonder how TS did it… Besides that, also ripped my hands open, working in that tight space with sharp plastic / screws

About the sound itself, I’m not so impressed yet, but I still have listen a bit better. Anyway the difference of replacing the front speakers with Focals seemed to have a much bigger effect.

Later this week, attempt 2…

Thank you very much for your opinion. Tomorrow I will try to install it on mine, it arrived today. When I released the radio I saw that there was little room, I will see where I can put it. long red cable, which I think is the positive under key, when connecting it by iso, is it necessary to use it or not?

[pwaf13]

Originally Posted by inigoale

Thank you very much for your opinion. Tomorrow I will try to install it on mine, it arrived today. When I released the radio I saw that there was little room, I will see where I can put it. long red cable, which I think is the positive under key, when connecting it by iso, is it necessary to use it or not?

Keen to see how you get on too.

When fitting the MMI, I dropped the glovebox to give more access so was going to approach this in the same way. UK cars don’t have knee airbags so there is a decent amount of space between glovebox and the lower cover, hoping it will fit in there, just like OP🤞 As you say, v little space behind or below the head unit with the larger style NBTs

[Daveyvtec]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

So this weekend, attempt 1, what a nightmare. At the start, I had everything quite quickly up and running. Used this video to see how to remove the HU unit:

The manual is really vage, but in the end with the supplied BMW cable, everything connected without cutting any cables, always nice.

But no way Jose, that I was able to place back the HU unit again. With all new cabling and adapters, there ISN’T enough space behind the HU unit. Spend almost three hours, maybe I’m stupid, but it doesn’t fit. Even if I try to route the cabling as much as possible to the sides. And also running the cables directly to the glovebox. I really wonder how TS did it… Besides that, also ripped my hands open, working in that tight space with sharp plastic / screws

About the sound itself, I’m not so impressed yet, but I still have listen a bit better. Anyway the difference of replacing the front speakers with Focals seemed to have a much bigger effect.

Later this week, attempt 2…

Sorry for the late reply. I didn’t take any pics at the time but hopefully I can explain what I did.

So basically I plugged in the T Harness and got everything working. I tried at first to cram it all in but it wouldn’t fit and as I was struggling to find somewhere to locate the actual amp, I started to play around a bit. So there’s a panel directly under the glove box that can be removed. Basically above your shins when seated. I removed that panel, cable tied the wiring loom for the amp to make it tidy and fed the loom through the gaps in the internal panelling behind the head unit. When the head unit is out you basically have like an empty space and if you look along the left wall of that cavity there are some gaps you can feed the loom through and it does fit. Then I positioned the amp on top of that panel and and just tidied the loom around the place. Keep it away from the vents for the foot heater! Honestly apart from that, there wasn’t much bother. The panel under the glove box sat straight back in and screwed in to place like I’d never removed it.

In terms of the sound, I went in to BimmerCode and the head unit settings and told the car I had the HiFi set up. On the amp, I played with the gain switches and dials until I was happy. I did this before tidying everything away. I think my gain on front and rear channels is up to about 85%. I’ve been using it a while with the stock speakers and the only real issue I have so far is that if you leave the bass up too high and whack the volume up full, the speakers start to pop so on some songs I just turn the bass down in order to get more volume. When I’ve got the HU volume around half, I whack the bass up and it works beautifully.

I’ll do my best to answer any other questions anyone has but I’m not overly knowledgeable on crossovers and that kind of stuff.

[pwaf13]

Very good write up thank you, mine turned up today so hoping to take out the MMI and fit this at the weekend.
What did you use to fix the amp to the panel please? Zip ties?
Also, as you have written, the best thing to do is code the HU to HiFI, but oddly I spoke with Vibe and they were against that saying this is pure PnP and no coding needed. Found that a little odd to say the least!
Thanks again

[Daveyvtec]

Originally Posted by pwaf13

Very good write up thank you, mine turned up today so hoping to take out the MMI and fit this at the weekend.
What did you use to fix the amp to the panel please? Zip ties?
Also, as you have written, the best thing to do is code the HU to HiFI, but oddly I spoke with Vibe and they were against that saying this is pure PnP and no coding needed. Found that a little odd to say the least!
Thanks again

So I used strong two sided tape to fix the amp in place because I don’t like unnecessary drilling.

In terms of the coding aspect, I just did it for the sake of it. You don’t actually have to do it so they’re correct in saying that it is PnP. In all fairness, I did find it better after I did it. It brought a nice bit of the mid range in to the sound. I’d recommend doing it but it’s not required to make it work.

[pwaf13]

Originally Posted by Daveyvtec

So I used strong two sided tape to fix the amp in place because I don’t like unnecessary drilling.

In terms of the coding aspect, I just did it for the sake of it. You don’t actually have to do it so they’re correct in saying that it is PnP. In all fairness, I did find it better after I did it. It brought a nice bit of the mid range in to the sound. I’d recommend doing it but it’s not required to make it work.

Originally Posted by Daveyvtec

So I used strong two sided tape to fix the amp in place because I don't like unnecessary drilling.

In terms of the coding aspect, I just did it for the sake of it. You don't actually have to do it so they're correct in saying that it is PnP. In all fairness, I did find it better after I did it. It brought a nice bit of the mid range in to the sound. I'd recommend doing it but it's not required to make it work.

Ah cool, I was going to use Velcro strips to stick in place, good to know tape works as well.

100% plan to code, thanks again for your feedback

[Jimmert]

Originally Posted by Daveyvtec

Sorry for the late reply. I didn’t take any pics at the time but hopefully I can explain what I did.

Thanks for your reply. Do you have a CIC unit or an NBT? I’m wondering if the NBT isn’t larger than the CIC unit, and therefore doesn’t fit.

Regarding coding, you don’t need to indeed, I tried both. But in the Hifi mode, the CIC/NBT unit output a lower signal and the amplification has to be done by the external amp. This is what you want if you have an external amp (if the quality is better than the internal one).

[Daveyvtec]

Originally Posted by Jimmert

Thanks for your reply. Do you have a CIC unit or an NBT? I’m wondering if the NBT isn’t larger than the CIC unit, and therefore doesn’t fit.

Regarding coding, you don’t need to indeed, I tried both. But in the Hifi mode, the CIC/NBT unit output a lower signal and the amplification has to be done by the external amp. This is what you want if you have an external amp (if the qualitity is better than the internal one).

My car is a 2015 Pre LCI F30. It’s on iDrive 5, I believe, with NBT.

Regarding the coding aspect, again, I tried both. But the HiFi option just gave a more complete sound. I found that running it stock was just too thin and the treble was overwhelming. While there was more volume, the overall quality of mid range and low end was higher running it on HiFi. That being said, it’ll definitely be a personal preference thing. For me, I just adjust the settings in the iDrive to compensate when I want the volume all the way up. I do plan to upgrade the speakers but I’m in a bit of a body modification phase at the moment. I’ve just got a CSL style V spoiler and my front lip and side skirt extensions are on the way so it’ll have to wait til after that.

[pwaf13]

Managed to find time to remove the MMI and install this today, still have to get the glovebox back in but run out of light.

As per MMI fitting, finding space for the quadlock is a challenge if you have a large NBT, but I think if you have a later slimmer one then you could daisy chain if wanting both as there is space to hide two quad locks.

When I first started it up I was very underwhelmed, followed setup and still not really noticing much but it’s certainly louder. EDIT: Gain adjusted and it’s doing what it should, OEM sound but louder. Left the crossover on full, coded HU to HiFi

Noticed the RCAs on the loom could be plugged in like this. Not sure if they should. I’ve unplugged these for now as I’m not 100% sure if it should be like this, instructions are rubbish!

So for now it’s certainly louder



Also I seem to have this plug free, same for others? Wondering if I’ve been sent the wrong loom. Vibe said I should have the BMW3 kit for my 2015 M3 EDIT: Vibe got back to me and this is a spare plug for aftermarket HU. So all good.

[Jimmert]

So finally, I managed as well. The only option I saw was to remove the complete glovebox to improve access to the rear of the NBT unit and help with the cabling. That worked, still very tight space!





pwaf13 RCA cables are not to be connected. I think that’s for ex-external amp.

Well, I had even one failing unit that was suddenly dead, I had to order a second one which is working fine (and hopefully will stay working). Anyway, definitely more ‘umpf’, but don’t expect a H/K-experience.

[wataroo]

The amp finally arrived and I installed it today. Took some pictures so sharing them for future references. As I was told that the space behind the HU was tight, I decided to detach the glove box to allow more space. Some points and a question related to the installation.

As my car is a right hand drive, I shoved the quadlock and wiring to the left bottom side as much as possible by pulling them from the glovebox side. Shoving the HU back in place took some time but having the glovebox removed enabled a view to the HU helping the process (1st pic)

I didn't have the free unused plug like pwaf13 wrote earlier, but an orange (2nd pic) and a red cable (3rd pic) that didn't attach to anything. It's kind of strange because I think I bought the same kit. Vibe's manual is very simple and doesn't explain what goes where. I hope I've wired everything right.

I placed the amp between the glovebox and the panel underneath like everyone here. I used double sided tape for now (4th pic). I initially didn't get any sound and had to unplug and replug everything. I don't think the loom is of high quality.

Like others I was initially underwhelmed by the sound. After adjusting the gain, I played an uncompressed music through Quobuz app and the base was more apparent and tighter than before.

I was not able to code from base to Hifi using Bimmercode as I have a retrofitted ID6 HU. I will need to download E-sys and try again. Here's a question to others. Did you code anything besides Audio_system from base to HIFI? I saw a post before who changed AMPLIFIRE_VARIANT from Internal to External. Has anyone else done that? Also did you had to increase the gain after doing the hifi coding?

I am not finished yet, but do want to thank Daveyvtec, pwaf13 and Jimmert for their very informative write ups.