ICE upgrade retaining orig HeadUnit

[bimmerbum]

Hi,
Have an E46 with the stock sound system and am looking to do an upgrade without spending too much or doing too much as I'll prob keep the car for another year. Also i want to retain the steering controls for the HU.
I was told that its poss to retain the orig HU and get good sound by installing a Hi-Lo converter like the Audio Control LC6 or Cleansweep by JL Audio. Anyone done this before with good results?
How much is the LC6 avail locally for?

Also any recommendations on:
(a) good 6.5 inch front component speakers that dont cost a bomb. I want warmth and clarity for vocals but its gotta have reasonable punch too. Preferably between $500-$700 a pair new.
(b) amp to drive front speakers
(c) subwoofer that doesnt take up much boot space (i need to retain boot for luggage..like full sized Samsonite)
(d) amp to drive sub.

Also i was told the soundproofing on the BMW is pretty good and its only an incremental improvement to dynamat the doors. Any advice there?

Look fwd to hearing yr feedback.

PS. Dont want to spend more than $2,000 installed.

 

[richlee7]

Re: ICE upgrade retaining orig HeadUnit

hi. just wondering if u r the kind who'll like to remove ur ICE components fm ur ride into ur next ride.

reason is coz, if u do so, it doesn't reali matter if u get good components now, since u can bring this to ur next ride. imho, spending 2k for a fire-n-forget is too wasteful... especially for ICE, where it's better to buildup the system slowly with as gd components as u can afford at the time of install.

of coz the law of diminishing returns (improvements) will definitely kick-in with each 'additional' upgrade...

I understand you wanting to keep the OEM headunit, since it looks probably the best (just my own opinion, since custom looks and steering control etc.) ... i kept mine stock too. but instead using a mid-end processor (31band EQ, TA, etc. n it's hidden when u dun nid it!) that is really enhancing my stock HU's performance. i.e. stock HU->processor->amps->speakers. of coz i changed my stock speakers as well... heheh... but impt thing is: u nid a tuner...

It will exceed ur 2K budget, but i think since it is a 'removable' piece of equipment, u might be able to bring it into ur next ride. so why not consider this option?

 

[bimmerbum]

Re: ICE upgrade retaining orig HeadUnit

In the past I havent bothered to removed any modifications from my cars before selling them but maybe i'll do it this time. Trouble is the time and trouble having to revert it back to stock. I'm the original owner of my E46 and judging by the pathetic 2nd hand value of my car (just turned 3yrs old) i may be keeping it for a few more years. So i guess I'll spend a bit more than my originally envisaged $2k...maybe between $3.5-$4k.
Any recommendations on front speakers, amp. How about the hi-lo converter if i want to retain my original HU? Unless i heard wrongly i was was quoted $580 for the Audio Control LC6 but i noticed its avail in the USA for around US$150 (about S$250). Any advice is appreciated.
PS. richlee7 - maybe i can have a quick listen to yr setup?

 

[richlee7]

Re: ICE upgrade retaining orig HeadUnit

hi. you're right on our resale value... In any case, my setup at this moment: mostly Alpines, actually. Stock HU+Stock changer->Processor(Alpine PXA-H701+RUX-C701) ->F-R Amps (AlpineMRV-F540 4channel)->F-Speaks(AlpineSPX17-7R)->R-Speaks(MB-Quart Q-Line RCE216 Co-ax) -> Sub-Amp(MRD M-500 Mono)->Sub(Lightning Audio Strike12")

Alpines highly recommended, although catch is:
1. Not exactly cheap
2. Not the best sound for money spent
3. Paper specifications not impressive

But the upside is:
1. Actual performance better than paper specifications
2. Built to last i.e. sound quality maintains even after several years of hitting.
This is one o the best reason to buy for those who are not always 'renewing' with new components, as performance of many other brands deteriorates after approx 1.5years of constant hard hitting. it's almost like buy-install-n-forget type... good for lazy ppl like me, but not good for those always going for changes every year or so...
3. Reliability. Seldom (over the past years, no prob at all)

Among my components, the one that'll go off pretty soon (good when i bought, but now 1 year later... already far fm original sound) is my Lightning Audio Sub... n i dun even whack high SPL... just our weather and humidity, i guess. Planning to buy back to another Alpine.

As for rears... anything that doesn't realy distort is good enuf for me... so didn go for anything fancy nor expensive.

As for the sound-processor, it's a mid-end thing... this one is quite a handful. you need a good tuner. you can go as high as a full 5.1 with every individual channel control for T/A & EQ... only one little care on using this. it's designed for low quality, low level input (e.g. stock head units), so if u add a DavidNavone before feeding this signal to this processor, so far, many ppl have had hissing/humming problem... but if u feed a standard signal (normal quality Hi-Lo) it seems to work much better! No known hissing problems (fm personal experience, tho some ppl may disagree w me on this)

dun get me wrong, the DavidNavones are as good as they claim, but just doesn't seem to match this Alpine processor. So if u're feeding direct into amps fm stock, i think the DNs will do wonders, no doubt.

price-wise, unfortunately i can't quote, as i bought and hand carried most fm Japan a little at a time... very heavy. Anyway, i believe most of them are a littel dated, but still working veri well.

i believe many may choose to differ fm my opinion/choice, but i guess abv is just my 2cents worth.

quick listen to my setup... hmmm... nothin to shout about la... i hardly drive my car, as i use another car for work... but shud be possible sometimes. mayb if thers a meetup or smth like dat. but to be honest, my car is stk standard looking... u can't see anything at all. just maybe sounds different, that's all. keep in touch then.

happy icing!