Fully refurbished OEM BMW Alpine CM5907 and CM5908 slider radios, Trunk Amps

[bradnic]

Are the Focal ACX130 coax's a good speaker option for convertibles?

Absolutely - 130AS components for the front, ACX130 coaxials for the rear. Check out Kevin Basdeo's vert on FB for a great example.
One caveat - you'll need to rebalance the fader control at the radio, because the speaker sensitivities of the 130AS and ACX130 drivers are close but different.

From there running a trunk sub can be done one of two ways

A) using Amp+ and a monoblock if you have the 5908 / BA31 / Display+ bundle. you can do fader control, crossover freq and EQ right from the radio. Try it with the factory premium speaker setup first, then go the Focal speaker upgrade route if you want.

Note: An amp bypass is required to use Amp+. I will have a simpler version of the amp bypass harness available for Amp+ users shortly to complete the setup.

B) using the amp bypass harness you can either (1) keep the OEM trunk amp and add a sub or (2) add amp and sub as follows:

• an LC2i+monoblock+sub - the AudioControl LC2i Line Output Converter (LOC) has two precuts and a sub-out
• add an LC1i to the setup above, or use an 1 LC5i. then add a 4 channel amp, monoblock+sub
• LC2i + LC1i or 1 LC5i with a 5 channel and and sub.

In any of these scenarios you can adjust the LOC line levels to rebalance the front and rear instead of the radio's fader controls.

This is a single LC2i 'budget' install (the 1st bullet above) using the no-cut amp bypass harness. It has line level front outs, sub out, and speaker level rear outs, 4 channel main amp and monoblock with passive tube sub. Swapping the factory amp and 4 channel in and out for A/B testing was pretty cool. In fact the BA31 audio is so clean the factory amp sounded great with the trunk sub. Oh and don't let anyone tell you that cutting sheet metal is required. it's complete BS.

Thought you were scaling back?

Thanks for asking. Expanding actually. More products, more radio models, continue to work closely with Cantaloupe Radio.
The biz won't pay the bills yet, so still a hobby right now whether I like it or not.

[bradnic]

Just got a new shipment of BA31s and Display+ LCDs..
get ready for Amp+

[ghrays]

I went backward, ripping out aftermarket amps, speakers, wiring and head unit. I had Brad refurbish a CM5908 and Blaupunkt Quadroboost trunk amp I got on eBay as well as install the new BA31 and Display+. I installed a premium (2 channel) wiring harness with the premium BMW speakers (used in the rear and new in the front). All that was required to convert the 2 channel harness to use the CM5908's four channel outputs was the 2 to 4 channel adapter for BMW SOUND SYSTEM / premium cars, part number 61-10-1-388-934, which substitutes for the in-dash fader control used on the 2 channel radios, such as the CM5907
and before. I think the sound quality is excellent.

[mbuse]

Meant to post this long ago, but just wanted to share another extremely positive experience purchasing a CM5908 from OEM Hifi!

Brad was super helpful with the install as I had a not so normal set-up in my 93 Touring. Brad and I shared some helpful info over on the wiring thread (https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...p-wiring/page4).

Radio looks awesome and functions as if new! Wouldn't hesitate to make the purchase again.

[Aleman]

noted. for those looking for a radio repair shop whose work I have seen, try

Doctor Dons
Huntsville, Texas
(936) 435-1811.
doctordons.com

He charged one of my customers $350.
I inspected the work and it is OEM quality.

I receive absolutely nothing in return for this recommendation.
In fact he hates the BT board with a passion and is a bit of a ______ over the phone.
But the dude knows what he is doing.

So, I just got my CM5908 back from Dr Don's. Turnaround time was 2 weeks, and the radio & tape deck work great. Still $350 +$25 return shipping. Very happy with the results. I don't have the BT board in mine, so no prickly phone calls. LOL

I'm pairing this HU with one of Brad's refurbed amps, which is also working great.

[bradnic]

So, I just got my CM5908 back from Dr Don's. Turnaround time was 2 weeks, and the radio & tape deck work great. Still $350 +$25 return shipping. Very happy with the results. I don't have the BT board in mine, so no prickly phone calls. LOL

I'm pairing this HU with one of Brad's refurbed amps, which is also working great.

Yeah Don's the real deal. So am I lol.

[AWDBOB]

Brad- did you ever figure out a good solution for a better trunk amp in factory premium amp location setup?

[bradnic]

Brad- did you ever figure out a good solution for a better trunk amp in factory premium amp location setup?

Absolutely Bobbie. Multiple solutions available to basically “no cut bypass’ the trunk amp or leave the trunk amp in place and tap in to the various radio outputs, trunk amp outputs to speakers, remote turn on, 10A amp circuit and chassis ground.

also expect an announcement in the next week or so :-)

[Staszek]

Just wanted to share an update here. I have a preproduction version of AMP+ and in one word its awesome! It's a Cantaloupe Radio product I purchased through Bradnic (OEM Hifi). To give context I have a CM5908 that had the original BT Board and a refurbed OEM amp in the trunk. I am running brand new stock premium speakers.

I wanted to add a sub, I wanted to have a better display and more functionality, but I wanted to keep the CM5908 I love the OEM look. So the AMP + with the new BT board as well the updated display fit the bill.

First off, good, it sounds AMAZING! Same exact speakers running off this head unit almost made me forget that I needed a sub, now I am exaggerating a bit, but I had zero bass before, which running the stock 5.25 speakers.

Well its not like running a sub, but the music is actually warm now, it sounds much more full with just the Amp change. The cool bonus is all the controls on the display directly, eq, sub level etc. And all the connectivity in the back, sub out, mic connection, aux if you need it, preamp outs etc. Oh and the Bluetooth runs flawlessly, it connects immediately and silently each time.

Here are the challenges, and I wouldn't say they were bad just have to work through it, also mine is preproduction so not sure if any of this will change. First this thing draws more power, so you need to run a tap to the cigarette lighter. Really easy and they give you a plug and play wire to do it that still maintains the lighter functionality.

Second is you need to run wires directly to the front speakers, the rears hook up directly to the harness so no issues other. They give you some nice direct connection harness, so its easy to do, but you have to remove the kick panel covers as run the wires to the back of the radio harness.

The last thing is the harness due to having so many options and connection points its a lot of wires that you need to carefully tuck behind the radio to make sure it still fits and doesn't interfere with the HVAC panel. I was able to do it by tucking it mostly toward the console, and to my surprise it sat flush on the first push back.

Overall is this expensive, yea probably, would it be cheaper to just get an aftermarket radio, or something else sure, but there is nothing that looks as OEM as this and preforms this well. So if you are looking for a period correct look, with knock out performance that has a ton of modern options and expandability nothing can touch it.

It reminds me of a grass routes version of all Porche Classic radios that are out there that cost a ton more.

Anyway I am happy, and super excited to hear it once I do add my sub.

[bradnic]

Thanks for the post Stan! Glad you're enjoying the setup. The CM5908 with a Cantaloupe Radio BA31 / Display+ / Amp+ is absolutely the best OEM+ solution out there for our cars now.

As you can tell from Stan's video, the Sound System speaker setup sounds great with a Cantaloupe Radio BA31 or BA32 kit. I always recommend actually trying the OEM speaker setup with the BA31 (and Amp+) or a BA32 (CM5907) before deciding to upgrade them.

One of the key requirements for installation was absolutely no OEM wire cutting, regardless of whether a customer chooses to use the Amp+ internal amplifier or run an aftermarket amp setup. So why does the sound system wiring need to be modded? It's more than "just" an amp bypass.

Cars with Sound System setups have common signal ground wiring on the radio output side of their OEM harness, which is basically 5 wires from the radio, 4 for the channel positives plus a single shared common signal ground wire. If you have a "single-ended" setup like this and want to use the Amp+ internal amplifier, then we basically need to modify the factory wiring without cutting anything, because the factory premium system wiring grounds the radio inputs. Audio wiring that grounds the amp inputs restricts the 'voltage swing' available for the amplifier. This affects Amp+ and some aftermarket radios too - you will see alot less power output than the radio and amp are capable of.

Long story short, here is what needs to be done with an Amp+ 5908 beyond installing the Amp+ radio harness:

1. Standard radio only setup with Amp+: you don't need to do anything else. You can even add coaxials as well as speaker upgrades, again with no wiring mods. Personally I would absolutely retrofit the premium speakers and door tweeters though, and that can be done by adding some no-cut wiring adapters for the tweeters.
2. Sound System wiring, use the Amp+ amplifier: you will also need an Amp+ adapter kit
3. Sound System wiring, use Amp+ preouts with an external amplifier: all you need is a Speaker access harness. There is absolutely ZERO benefit to rewiring your factory speakers.

With any of these 3 options it's simple to add a sub, either behind the rear seats on the floor, or in the trunk. You'll need an RCA cable from the radio to the sub location, access to the amp remote turn on wire and power to the sub.

[amarino]

Good to hear all the good reviews. Any ETA of when the Amp+ will be out? I am open to testing as well, I already have the new BA31 and Display+

With any of these 3 options it's simple to add a sub, either behind the rear seats on the floor, or in the trunk. You'll need an RCA cable from the radio to the sub location, access to the amp remote turn on wire and power to the sub.

Another sub option for E30 Coupes is john_e_a (@e30dreamin) on Instagram which makes sub boxes that go behind the rear seat side panels.

[bradnic]

Another sub option for E30 Coupes is john_e_a (@e30dreamin) on Instagram which makes sub boxes that go behind the rear seat side panels.

Yup, though I can't vouch for their tuning. I've spoken to John and while the enclosures are well designed, it's not clear to me they are acoustically matched to the driver. You can't just build a random small box, drop a driver in it and expect the enclosure volume to be correct. Enclosure volume and port design are critical factors in sub performance.

[bradnic]

Good to hear all the good reviews. Any ETA of when the Amp+ will be out? I am open to testing as well, I already have the new BA31 and Display+

Amp+ design has been completed for some time now, and production has been in process for quite a while. Cantaloupe Radio will have good news for us very soon I'm sure. Make sure to check their website, https://cantalouperadio.com