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

[bradnic]

Would there be a way to connect this board while keeping the tape deck functional? Perhapshave it think it's using the CD Changer? Even if it's a standalone box(if space is an issue).

not with a Cantaloupe board, since it’s basically a tape deck emulator. I bought one of these to test with a 5908 and a KE83. The designer isn’t sure if those USDM specific radios will work. Regardless the functionality is limited.

[MaCheFai]

not with a Cantaloupe board, since it’s basically a tape deck emulator. I bought one of these to test with a 5908 and a KE83. The designer isn’t sure if those USDM specific radios will work. Regardless the functionality is limited.

Oh wow, seems exactly what I was looking for. How'd it work with the 5908? And what limitations are you seeing? And thanks for the quick response.

[bradnic]

Oh wow, seems exactly what I was looking for. How'd it work with the 5908? And what limitations are you seeing? And thanks for the quick response.

I have to track down the CD changer connector plug so I can make a harness. I do have a BMW cd changer harness but I’m not going to chop it up for this :-)

I’ll post here once I test it, but tbh there are less expensive alternatives that work fine for most people. All have tradeoffs. The markbaas adapter is really aimed at E36 and E46 radios. There are 3 thing folks want in a BT adapter for an OEM radio setup

1) the audio stream itself
2) control the audio stream (play/pause, track forward/back)
3) track info (which was not available on BMW radios until MP3 was added to the E46 business CD late in the model run - ‘05 I think)

- you can wire an aux in and use a $20 BT adapter for (1), or a BT cassette adapter which isn’t much more and won’t need the aux in
- many people use their phone for nav anyway. So not a big deal to have playback controls in the phone instead of the radio, rather than using the radio buttons
- track info is not available with the $20 adapter or the markbaas.

there are other considerations
a) keep the tape deck or not
b) more, cleaner power

So I get it.. if you absolutely want to keep the factory tape deck then the cantaloupe products are not going to work for you. Strictly speaking though, you can play tapes with cantaloupe if you’re willing to use an old Walkman with an aux cable and the cantaloupe aux in.

[MaCheFai]

I have to track down the CD changer connector plug so I can make a harness. I do have a BMW cd changer harness but I’m not going to chop it up for this :-)

I’ll post here once I test it, but tbh there are less expensive alternatives that work fine for most people. All have tradeoffs. The markbaas adapter is really aimed at E36 and E46 radios. There are 3 thing folks want in a BT adapter for an OEM radio setup

1) the audio stream itself
2) control the audio stream (play/pause, track forward/back)
3) track info (which was not available on BMW radios until MP3 was added to the E46 business CD late in the model run - ‘05 I think)

- you can wire an aux in and use a $20 BT adapter for (1), or a BT cassette adapter which isn’t much more and won’t need the aux in
- many people use their phone for nav anyway. So not a big deal to have playback controls in the phone instead of the radio, rather than using the radio buttons
- track info is not available with the $20 adapter or the markbaas.

there are other considerations
a) keep the tape deck or not
b) more, cleaner power

So I get it.. if you absolutely want to keep the factory tape deck then the cantaloupe products are not going to work for you. Strictly speaking though, you can play tapes with cantaloupe if you’re willing to use an old Walkman with an aux cable and the cantaloupe aux in.

Thanks for the detailed write up and options. It got me wondering, would it be possible to convert the AM Band into the "aux" signal from a bluetooth adapter? That could potentially skip a step in having to tie onto the CD changer harness. Have yo ever given that a go?

[bradnic]

Thanks for the detailed write up and options. It got me wondering, would it be possible to convert the AM Band into the "aux" signal from a bluetooth adapter? That could potentially skip a step in having to tie onto the CD changer harness. Have yo ever given that a go?

There’s a set of tuner modules in the radio that handles all bands (AM FM WB). It shares the tape deck input, so you can’t just tap into it. This is why Jay designed a tape deck emulator function into the Cantaloupe board. He also added an aux in. The new design for the 5908 is significantly enhanced over the MDeck BA2, with multiple programmable microcontrollers across the 3 products.

There’s definitely a market for retaining the tape deck function, but engineering wise trying to do what Jay has done and retain the tape deck would most likely require both an internal and external module. You absolutely need an internal module to (1) tap into and upgrade the line level input signals from the various media sources and (2) tap intro the radio controls, display etc.

[leggomyelko]

This has quickly become one of my favorite threads. After the initial hiatus of the Cantaloupe products, I nearly turned to a Bremen SQR 46 or <gasps> a PCM Classic. Knowing that any non-factory, single-DIN head unit doesn't sit perfectly flush in the E30 would make me itch much more than resorting to a cassette adapter for my streaming music. SO EXCITED that Cantaloupe solutions are coming back, better than ever!

[bradnic]

Hi everyone - some more news.. I'm semi-retired now, working radios about 30-40% of my time. What this means is more time for radio refurb, bluetooth prototype testing and installs, and product development. Pretty excited about this and hope y'all are as well.

So to that end, I have two beautiful condition, fully refurbished radios (a 5907 and a 5908) as well as 3 refurbished blaupunkt trunk amps available for sale right now. Each comes with a 1 year no BS warranty. I'd prefer to sell direct to the r3v community and avoid eBay.

Drop me an email bradnic@oemhifi.com if you're interested.

• Price on these fully functional radios is $380
• Amps are $175
• I have 4 Cantaloupe MDeck BA2 kits available as well if you don't want to way for the new BA31 and BA32 offerings. Price is same as always, $220. Install charges are waived if you order them with a radio or trunk amp.
• I'll offer you core credit for your existing 5907, 5908 or trunk amp as well to offset costs.
• All prices are plus shipping and a $2.50-8.00 partial PayPal fee

[bradnic]

Thanks for the detailed write up and options. It got me wondering, would it be possible to convert the AM Band into the "aux" signal from a bluetooth adapter? That could potentially skip a step in having to tie onto the CD changer harness. Have yo ever given that a go?

There’s a tuner module in the radio that handles all bands (AM FM WB). It shares the tape deck input, so you can’t just tap into it. This is why Jay designed a tape deck emulator function into the Cantaloupe board. He also added an aux in. The new design for the 5908 is significantly enhanced over the MDeck BA2, with multiple programmable microcontrollers across the 3 products.

There’s definitely a market for retaining the tape deck function, but engineering wise trying to do what Jay has done and retain the tape deck would most likely require both an internal and external module. You absolutely need an internal module to (1) tap into and upgrade the line level input signals from the various media sources and (2) tap intro the radio controls, display etc.

UPDATE:
1) I noticed there's a seller on Instagram offering E36 RDS radios with BT retrofits that do exactly what MaCheFai was asking. The seller has replaced the AM module out of that radio and retrofitted BT music+phone. Very cool job I must say, though I have not seen any video of the modded radio functioning myself. If someone has bought one please record a vid and post a link.

2) If you really want to hack an RDS radio, there's been some hacking in Europe. (Radio Data System, basically the same radio info functionality we have in the US). Disabling the AM on a CD RDS radio is very simple, and with a couple of bucks in parts you can do a VERY basic BT audio input circuit. Good YouTube vid on this here - turn captions on, and add auto-translate. The @bmwradios people in Estonia are a bit more sophisticated in their approach.

3) I have made a cd changer input adapter cable for the markbaas adapter. Will post back

[dadsbmw]

UPDATE:
1) I noticed there's a seller on Instagram offering E36 RDS radios with BT retrofits that do exactly what MaCheFai was asking. The seller has replaced the AM module out of that radio and retrofitted BT music+phone. Very cool job I must say, though I have not seen any video of the modded radio functioning myself. If someone has bought one please record a vid and post a link.

2) I have made a cd changer input adapter cable for the markbaas adapter. Will post back

Been watching those on Instagram as well and the main issue I see with them is that since they're for e36 they stick out about 1/2" further than they should. May not be a big deal but would probably bother the shit out of me!

Sorry if this question has been asked a bunch, but does this have preamp outputs? I need front/rear/sub

[bradnic]

Been watching those on Instagram as well and the main issue I see with them is that since they're for e36 they stick out about 1/2" further than they should. May not be a big deal but would probably bother the shit out of me!

Yeah it would bother me too. Only way to fix it is to modify the hvac panel with some ABS on the back side of the radio opening

Sorry if this question has been asked a bunch, but does this have preamp outputs? I need front/rear/sub

The new Cantaloupe BA31 product family for the 5908 includes a new. friggin amazing power amp board that DOES include pre-outs. It won't be available until later this year though. See earlier post.

[bradnic]

I have two beautiful condition, fully refurbished radios (a 5907 and a 5908) as well as 3 refurbished blaupunkt trunk amps available for sale right now. Each comes with a 1 year no BS warranty. I'd prefer to sell direct to the r3v community and avoid eBay.

• Price on these fully functional radios is $380
• Amps are $175
• I have 4 Cantaloupe MDeck BA2 kits available as well if you don't want to way for the new BA31 and BA32 offerings. Price is same as always, $220. Install charges are waived if you order them with a radio or trunk amp.
• I'll offer you core credit for your existing 5907, 5908 or trunk amp as well to offset costs.
• All prices are plus shipping and a $2.50-8.00 partial PayPal fee

5908 sold
5907 still available, ready to ship with tape or Cantaloupe MDeck BA2 bluetooth kit (the current one, not the brand new one being released in a few weeks)
I'll have more 5907s and 5908s available next week

Drop me an email bradnic@oemhifi.com if you're interested.

[bradnic]

5908 sold
5907 still available, ready to ship with tape or Cantaloupe MDeck BA2 bluetooth kit (the current one, not the brand new one being released in a few weeks)
I'll have more 5907s and 5908s available next week

Drop me an email bradnic@oemhifi.com if you're interested.

5907 sold as well!

I will have more radios available in a couple of days. Drop me an email bradnic@oemhifi.com to reserve a unit.

[bradnic]

If you’re looking for a PERFECT, fully documented NOS 5907, and you’re prepared to pay what it’s worth
(not my listing)

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-classified-forums/for-sale-wanted/parts-for-sale/10098633-fs-nos-bmw-alpine-cm-5907-am-fm-cassette-unit-with-code-and-all-literate

This is basically collector-grade, but keep in mind the unit is more than 30 years old and will most likely require service.

[bradnic]

CANTALOUPE UPDATE

Getting close!! I've been testing the BA31 and Display+ for quite some time now. Can't begin to tell you how clean it sounds. Jay @ Cantaloupe has had folks testing the BA32f board too (5907). So we're very close now.
A lot of you have been wondering about Amp+ too. As posted previously, this is still planned for fall.

I thought it would be helpful for folks to get a feel for the new range of OEM+ premium audio options now with Cantaloupe's new product portfolio. For folks with a 5908, how would Amp+ compare to someone with a stock audio system? What options are there for folks that stick with the 5907?

OEM+ AUDIO SYSTEM OPTIONS FOR E30 (new post coming)
For the options below, the higher the option number, the better the system

OPTION 1A (5907 or 5908) - UPGRADE TO BMW SOUND SYSTEM IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE IT
This involves retrofitting the premium sound harness to your car, as well as the premium speakers which include crossovers and tweeters
This gives you the baseline premium audio configuration, 5907 or 5908 with a Blaupunkt trunk amp, higher quality speakers and tweeters
Most all verts already came with BMW SOUND SYSTEM in USDM (not sure about the late model 3i8ic). Even with premium audio, the stock rear speakers on convertibles don't have tweeters. So consider adding coaxial speakers to the rear quarters.

OPTION 1B (5908) - IF YOU HAVE STANDARD AUDIO AND ABSOLUTELY PLAN TO BUY AMP+ LEAVE WIRING STOCK AND UPGRADE SPEAKERS
If you have the standard audio system and will be running a 5908 and Amp+ you have the option of leaving your stereo wiring unmodified. The one exception - if you have 2 channel standard wiring and your car came with the round pin fader, you will need a BMW 2-to-4 wire adapter to run the 5908

OPTIONS BEYOND STEP 1 USING AN AfTERMARKET TRUNK AMP (5907 or 5908)
Nothing new here, but they are the baseline option for adding more power to E30 audio systems.
Amplifier tech has improved dramatically in recent years though, and you're still using speaker level inputs from a 30+ year old radio, which has much higher "THD" total harmonic distortion at power than a modern amplifier. Folks have also added "line converters" to their speaker level input wiring which helps a bit, but you can't get rid of the THD generated by the radio amp.

OPTION 2 (5907 or 5908) AFTERMARKET TRUNK AMP
start with the stock premium setup in option 1. Do a trunk amp bypass and use the speaker level outputs from your radio as inputs to an aftermarket 4 channel trunk amp

OPTION 3 (5907 or 5908) 5 CHANNEL AMPLIFICATION AND TRUNK SUB
upgrades option 2 with 5 channels of amplification and a trunk subwoofer. You are still using speaker level inputs though, or speaker level radio outputs with line converters to get you a line level input to the amp. There are several ways to do this
- use a 5 channel trunk amp and a passive sub
- use a 4 channel amp with a powered sub
- use a 4 channel amp and mono block sub amp with a passive sub

OPTIONS BEYOND STEP 1 USING AMP+ (5908 only)
Amp+ is a game changer, no other way to describe it. AVAILABLE LATE 2023
- a fully digital signal path for your BT and AUX input sources to a new high power amp built into the radio itself
- tuner outputs go through the digital signal path to the amp as well (but the tuners themselves are still analog)
- ridiculously low THD - think 100x less distortion at power vs the stock trunk amp and radio amp. SUPER CLEAN HIGH POWER AUDIO.
- pre-out and sub-out
- custom EQ controlled directly from the radio itself, when paired with Display+

There are multiple ways to deploy it, listed below. Again, the higher the option number, the better the OEM+ audio capability.

OPTION 4 (5908 only) ADD AMP+ AND IF YOU HAVE BMW SOUND SYSTEM DO A TRUNK AMP BYPASS
Standard sound system: Retrofit Amp+ to a BA31 equipped 5908. Enjoy
BMW SOUND SYSTEM: Retrofit Amp+ to a BA31 equipped 5908. Pull your OEM trunk amp and perform a trunk amp bypass. Enjoy

OPTION 5 (5908 only) ADD TRUNK AMP AND SUB, USE AMP+ SUB-OUT
Start with option 4. add a line level sub-out from Amp+ to either a mono block amp and passive trunk sub, or a powered sub

OPTION 6 (5908 only) AMP+ WITH AFTERMARKET AMPS AND SUB
Start with option 4. Add preouts to 5 channels of aftermarket amps
- 4 channel aftermarket trunk amp, powered sub
- or 4 channel aftermarket trunk amp, sub amp with passive sub
- or 5 channel trunk amp with passive sub

The difference between OPTIONS 5 and 6 will be pretty subjective depending on the amplifiers used. I suspect Amp+ high power audio is cleaner than most mainstream aftermarket trunk amps out there.

[bradnic]

3 5908s, 1 5907 and 4 blaupunkt trunk amps available 7/31
Refurbished with a 1 year no BS warranty

• 5907 or 5908 price is $380
• Amps are $175
• I have 2 Cantaloupe MDeck BA2 kits available as well if you don't want to wait for the new BA31 and BA32 offerings. Price is same as always, $220. Install charges are waived if you order them with a radio or trunk amp.
• I'll offer you core credit for your existing 5907, 5908 or trunk amp as well to offset costs.
• All prices are plus shipping and a $2.50-8.00 partial PayPal fee

So.. is $380 expensive? Can't you get a 5907 or 5908 radio on eBay for less?

eBay 5907 or 5908 radios come in two categories:
- untested radios pulled from a car, requiring service
- super high dollar radios costing anywhere from $450-$700, usually with some sort of BT upgrade.

servicing a 5907 or 5908 costs money - anywhere from $200-350 depending on who you talk to (don’t believe me? Contact doctordons.com or radioman in San Diego). You can try to fix it yourself, but very few folks have the right kind of tools to do that. It's not just grabbing a soldering iron and going to town. you also can't just swap the caps out. that works 2-3 times out of 10 and you run a huge risk of damaging the circuit board.

$380 gets you a fully functional rebuilt radio with a 1 year no BS warranty and my personalized support for your car install. That's a STEAL.