[Lancelot]

Are you actually cutting into the center dash to add the center channel? I did not dare do that, but i'm interested in your experience on this matter. I know some don't like the center channel but i do, i liked it when i had the HK on my former car.

[GeertB]

Yes I'm going to cut into the dash.
It has been done before:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...php?p=18802135
But that was with the old cover. The cutout is much easier now. Just one big hole and 4 small identical holes. I will post the cutout pdf here once it's finished. I do the scanning and drawing at my office and the testing at home, so it's a slow proces

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by GeertB

Yes I'm going to cut into the dash.
It has been done before:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...php?p=18802135
But that was with the old cover. The cutout is much easier now. Just one big hole and 4 small identical holes. I will post the cutout pdf here once it's finished. I do the scanning and drawing at my office and the testing at home, so it's a slow proces

Interesting... so you confirm there's all needed to host a set of mid/tweeter speakers, a place to screw in etc?

Do you think you could post some photos ? I'd love to do that too

[GeertB]

When ready, I will certainly post some pics and the template

[LittleBlackHawk]

Originally Posted by GeertB

I looked at the F30 bavsound afp file (soundtune file for bimmertech amp), and channel E seems to be the center channel, F and G the underseat subs and H is for an additional trunk sub.

Ya, i see the same channel configuration and got confused.
i think both HIFI and Base don't have center speaker, and not sure why they got the Channel E mapping to R Center.

Mine is base with Bimmertech Amp with Focal IFBMW-S for front, IFBMW-C for rear and IFBMW-Sub for underseats. So far was not quite satisfied with the sound especially the bass and mid to bass range. I would like to play around with the EQ but got confused with the channel mapping before starting.

Anyone know why Channel E is mapped to R Center?
Also if i choose to install a physical center speaker, how can i utilize this channel and how to wire the center speaker to it? Thanks.

[GeertB]

Normally cars with Hifi have a center channel.
What do you mean with: channel E is mapped to R Center?
Can you show a printscreen from the AFP-DSP software?

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by GeertB

Normally cars with Hifi have a center channel.
What do you mean with: channel E is mapped to R Center?
Can you show a printscreen from the AFP-DSP software?

I don't have one but i fiddled with the dsp last weekend and the E channel is a 25% mix of FL, FR, RL, RR.

That's how it's setup so basically you can do anything you like with it: trunk sub, center speaker, etc etc, with the proper EQ and High/Lowpass it's up to you, they have wired the amp with naked ends to be used in any kind of speaker setup.

[beanbaguk]

I'd just like to point out so there is zero confusion, this thread should focus only on base stereo systems.

HiFi is not base stereo.

If you have an amp, or a centre speaker, then you have HiFi and not base stereo.

Base stereo - Four mid-range speakers and under-seat woofers.
HiFi - Mid range in doors, tweeters up front, centre speaker and amplifier.
Harmon Kardon (HK) - A ton of speakers everywhere.

I just want to make sure the topic of conversation remains focused so other members don't get confused.

I like many others however are however interested in retrofitting a centre to a base stereo system, but if you already have a HiFi set-up, please post your questions in this thread to avoid confusing members.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...mmer-tech+-amp

Thanks!

[LittleBlackHawk]

Originally Posted by GeertB

Normally cars with Hifi have a center channel.
What do you mean with: channel E is mapped to R Center?
Can you show a printscreen from the AFP-DSP software?

Here is what i meant Channel E mapping to "R Center" in the AFP-DSP software. Not sure what the "R" means though. Bimmertech never disclose their pin assignment or wiring diagram for the base stereo system harness cable. If they already have the center channel pre-wired to the front dash and I could utilize it and just cut the dash panel to install the center speaker with easy hook up to the DSP/AMP.

Also Bimmertech doesn't seem to have a specific profile for us with the base stereo system, any one has a tuned profile to share? my guess is that since we don't have the center speaker, the setup profile should be quite different from the HiFi folks?

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by beanbaguk

I'd just like to point out so there is zero confusion, this thread should focus only on base stereo systems.

HiFi is not base stereo.

If you have an amp, or a centre speaker, then you have HiFi and not base stereo.

Base stereo - Four mid-range speakers and under-seat woofers.
HiFi - Mid range in doors, tweeters up front, centre speaker and amplifier.
Harmon Kardon (HK) - A ton of speakers everywhere.

I just want to make sure the topic of conversation remains focused so other members don't get confused.

I like many others however are however interested in retrofitting a centre to a base stereo system, but if you already have a HiFi set-up, please post your questions in this thread to avoid confusing members.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...mmer-tech+-amp

Thanks!

You're right, *but*, you *can* add a center speaker with base audio, someone in this thread is doing that, cutting into the dash; or add a trunk sub, so still makes sense, and

[beanbaguk]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

You're right, *but*, you *can* add a center speaker with base audio, someone in this thread is doing that, cutting into the dash; or add a trunk sub, so still makes sense, and

That's what I said, but anyway

I too am potentially interesting in retrofitting a centre....only cutting the dash is quite nerve-wracking!!!

[LittleBlackHawk]

Originally Posted by Lancelot

You're right, *but*, you *can* add a center speaker with base audio, someone in this thread is doing that, cutting into the dash; or add a trunk sub, so still makes sense, and

Yap, I got several shops here whom are quite experienced in cutting the front dash and retrofitting the center speakers as the standard dealer pre-imported cars here only have base stereo and many people added the center speaker afterwards. But the problem is that none of the shops are familiar with the Bimmertech amp, and without further Bimmertech wiring harness information, I can't make sure if they are connecting the center right or not. I am afraid the might hook it up in the wrong way and not utilizing the famous Bimmertech amp.

Has any one figured out how to connect the center speaker to the wiring harness?

[GeertB]

I ordered the bimmertech base to hifi harness together with the amp:
The big harness runs front speakers (and inline tweeters) and rear speakers.
It plugs in between you existing harness and your head unit and runs all the way to the back of the car where the amp sits.
Then there is a separate harness that goes from the amp to the subs. This harness also has an extra cable for the center channel:



As mentioned above, you still need to add the connector. But its better to add it after you fiddled the cable through

[beanbaguk]

Originally Posted by GeertB

I ordered the bimmertech base to hifi harness together with the amp:
The big harness runs front speakers (and inline tweeters) and rear speakers.
It plugs in between you existing harness and your head unit and runs all the way to the back of the car where the amp sits.
Then there is a separate harness that goes from the amp to the subs. This harness also has an extra cable for the center channel:



As mentioned above, you still need to add the connector. But its better to add it after you fiddled the cable through

I'm glad you highlighted this. I was wondering what it was for on my cable!

Once I get my amp installed this weekend, I'll make sure I get the cabling in place so when I finally get around to adding the centre channel, I can add it to my set-up easily.

It would be great if somebody could share the correct cut out template and list of parts required to add the speaker channel.

[GeertB]

I'm still working on the cut-out template.
Part numbers are all visible in the pictures of one of my previous posts normally.

[beanbaguk]

Evening all. Some help needed. I've started my Bimmertech audio installation and I'm working on removing the trim within the trunk area.

No word of a lie, it's bloody difficult!!

I'm making my way through it steadily however I can't find a good negative contact area to screw my negative power lead to. Can anyone suggest a good location? The cable I have from Bimmertech is quite short so I'm a bit limited with regards to where it can go.

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by beanbaguk

Evening all. Some help needed. I've started my Bimmertech audio installation and I'm working on removing the trim within the trunk area.

No word of a lie, it's bloody difficult!!

I'm making my way through it steadily however I can't find a good negative contact area to screw my negative power lead to. Can anyone suggest a good location? The cable I have from Bimmertech is quite short so I'm a bit limited with regards to where it can go.

Hi i used one that worked well on the left wheel arch, there is a bolt where a couple of other negative wires end as well

And yes those trims are bloody difficult.

[LittleBlackHawk]

I paid like USD200 for the shop to install the speakers and amp for me to save me all the troubles as i am not an expert of this. But then the cons is that i don't know where they had left the center channel wiring at... the shop installed the speakers and the amp doesn't cut the dash for the center speakers and if i want to install the center speakers, I need to go to another shop who has many experience on cutting the dash.

Nevertheless, i have a problem need to solve before i move on to the center speakers. I have Focal IFBMW-S, IFBMW-C and IFBMW-Sub for the front, rear and underseat speakers. The front and rear speakers run awesome but the bimmertech amp (PP82DSP) doesn't seem to be powerful enough to drive the Focal IFBMW-Subs. These subs are rated 90W RMS / 180W MAX @ 4ohms, where the amp can only provide 55W RMS / 110W MAX @ 4ohms. My underseat subs sounds very little and barely notice their existence. Now i don't know if i should add a separate AMP after the bimmertech amp to drive these subs or buy another set of subs which the bimmertech can handle. Any suggestion?

[beanbaguk]

Well, after 7 hours of filming, photographing and a lot of effort in 28C heat, I finally completed my base stereo Bimmer-tech installation.

In fairness, I took my time as I had to document the whole process but everything is neatly in place and working.

I do have some questions however and hoping somebody might be able to answer.

(Please keep in mind I have a Bavsound Stage 1 upgrade from the base stereo speakers so with all the relevant filters and cross-overs to the tweeters, etc, that came with the kit.

1) The power save feature was switched off which I thought was a bit odd. If this is disabled, wouldn't it be draining my battery quite rapidly?

2) Loud high frequencies seem to clip my speakers somewhat which is a bit worrying. I've reduced my volume but still hear it slightly. I am at a bit of a loss with regards to where to start with the DSP software to try and fix this! Any ideas?



3) It's not as loud as I expected. Probably a good thing to protect my ears but I had a little play with the channel gain and output level. It's currently at 0dB but I can adjust it up to 5dB. What is the default setting here? Should I even touch it?

4) The front left speaker has a slightly different timing to everything else in the car. How does this work exactly and what does this mean?



5) What does the EQ and Channel gain resolution mean in the PC Tool Configuration. I've reduced this playing with it but Bimmer-Tech originally set it at 1dB.



Getting there!

The main thing I want to reduce is this clipping. Once I get that resolved I'll be very happy.

[Lancelot]

1) Not sure about this one, and can't check how mine is set up as my PC laptop is a loan from family (only running Macs at home)

2) Did you do the recoding to Hifi with the bimmertech guys?
If not you're currently feeding your amp with speaker level signal which is louder.

3) 0dB is the norm, use this to adjust your channels relative to each other.
E.g. my subs were quiet, I had to push them up by 5dB and lower the front and rear by -2dB

4) They will probably adjust for the distance from the speakers to the driver seat. The 0ms delay is the front right which looks like an RHD car rather than a LHD.

5) These are just the size of the steps when you adjust the EQ (per band) or the entire channel gain. I found the 1dB steps to be good enough for the precision I was capable of.

[Lancelot]

Originally Posted by LittleBlackHawk

I paid like USD200 for the shop to install the speakers and amp for me to save me all the troubles as i am not an expert of this. But then the cons is that i don't know where they had left the center channel wiring at... the shop installed the speakers and the amp doesn't cut the dash for the center speakers and if i want to install the center speakers, I need to go to another shop who has many experience on cutting the dash.

Nevertheless, i have a problem need to solve before i move on to the center speakers. I have Focal IFBMW-S, IFBMW-C and IFBMW-Sub for the front, rear and underseat speakers. The front and rear speakers run awesome but the bimmertech amp (PP82DSP) doesn't seem to be powerful enough to drive the Focal IFBMW-Subs. These subs are rated 90W RMS / 180W MAX @ 4ohms, where the amp can only provide 55W RMS / 110W MAX @ 4ohms. My underseat subs sounds very little and barely notice their existence. Now i don't know if i should add a separate AMP after the bimmertech amp to drive these subs or buy another set of subs which the bimmertech can handle. Any suggestion?

USD 200 is rather cheap compared to what I was quoted.

Regarding the subs, same here, I found the IFBMW-Sub to be rather quiet; so I boosted the gain on the EQ on the subs channels by +5dB, and activated switch #4 on the amp which gives an added 2dB boost to the sub channels, and now the overall sound level is consistent across the frequency spectrum, perhaps a bit too loud even on the bass, I may need to correct a bit.

[LittleBlackHawk]

i emailed Bimmertech Nelson regarding the power save mode deactivated in the new profiles. He said it is okay. Maybe they found out that BMW do cut off the power to the amp after the car shuts down.

Regarding the amp and speaker installation, I was expecting somewhere around $500, but on the phone they didn't actually quoted the price, and told me to bring the stuff over and see how hard is it to have the stuff installed. I guess it was a easy task for them since everything is pretty much plug and play for a experienced shop, and quoted $200 then. They spent like two hours to get everything installed. So $100 per hour seems reasonable.

As for the IFBMW-Sub, maybe I have a heavier taste of bass. I have switch 2 and 4 set to on as Bimmertech suggested, and set the channel gain and output level to max +5db and further more set all the gain of each frequency in the subwoofer range to max +6db and the bass setting in idrive to almost max to get a noticeable bass. But then I am afraid I am beating up the amp to hard and worried about overload and overheat the amp this way.