E30 Audio Overhaul - My Project Details

[rooster]

fix my broken amp!!!!!




wow interesting so lost though

[bmwman91]

Well, I am done, sort of. I will post pics another day, I am hot, tired & annoyed.

The system sounds great, on-par with my home one...when the car is off. The biggest problem with the setup now is alternator/ignition whine. This is most likely because I am running single-ended outputs all the way across the car to the 6XS. I am optimistic that buying a level converter that takes both outputs (signal & inverted signal) will reject this crap.

The other issue has to do with the CD player, but that is a separate thread.

Shit. I was hoping to be done with this lol. I think I want to sell the car & buy a nice new one with a warranty that I will never touch. I think I am officially over projects.

[george graves]

Sell the car you just put that much work into? Are you kidding me? Wow. Well - can't wait to see the end results. Looking forward to some pics!

[bmwman91]

OK I have regained some of my composure lol. Getting in & out of my trunk 100 times in the hot hot weather made me a bit cranky.

I have verified that the alternator/ignition whine is coming from the HU/signal lines running to the trunk, not the 6XS or amp. This was done by simply unplugging the inputs to the 6XS & powering it all on...no more whine (although there is a faint high pitched buzzing that is likely from speaker lines running right next to the amp power line...gotta move that!).

I have an LC6i on the way. This will enable me to use the pair of balanced signal lines for each channel, rather than just one. Using the signal+inverted signal allows for common signal rejection (since the lines are physically close together, the same noise is induced in each, and the LC6i will reject any common signal between the 2 lines, basic opamp stuff really).

As for the skipping CD43...that makes me mad lol. I will pull it & do a thorough physical inspection as well as asking around for others' experiences. I will either buy another one & replace this one (that did fall off of the roof of my car once so it is reasonable to assume I broke it), or go aftermarket with something VERY conservative.

Oh and the system sounds f'ing amazing with the car turned off lol. It brings a smile to my face...sounds better than any factory premium sound package I have ever heard in a car!

[StereoInstaller1]

Getting in & out of my trunk 100 times in the hot hot weather made me a bit cranky.

thus I have been cranky for many many years.

You should have seen my burly self shoved between the hull and passageway in a big ass MasterCraft the past 2 days, wiring 3 amps while laying on my back, reaching over my head, in record breaking heat.

BIG fun there...thank god the damn boat sounds good.

[bmwman91]

thus I have been cranky for many many years.

You should have seen my burly self shoved between the hull and passageway in a big ass MasterCraft the past 2 days, wiring 3 amps while laying on my back, reaching over my head, in record breaking heat.

BIG fun there...thank god the damn boat sounds good.

Wow, that sounds FUN....hopefully you aren't claustrophobic! I suppose that people of that sort aren't attracted to this line of work though.

[StereoInstaller1]

Wow, that sounds FUN....hopefully you aren't claustrophobic! I suppose that people of that sort aren't attracted to this line of work though.

Generally, installers are smaller than me. I am about 270, 6', 52" chest, 19 1/2" neck...I don't fit well.

[alwaysinabimmer]

;)any updates? please?

[bmwman91]

The LC6i should come tomorrow, and it had damn well better alleviate my alternator whine problem. I pulled the inputs to the 6XS & it all went away, so I know that the noise is from the HU or the signal line. The signals are running with the main chassis harness under the door sill, and they are unshielded, so I am 99.9% sure that the problem lies there. Once I get some common-mode noise rejection on the amp side, things should be sorted out.

One funny thing was when I was listening to it in the parking spot. I almost didn't like it. Something about having a super good sounding system in a car just feels totally foreign to me. Like, "a car isn't supposed to sound this good." lol

[bmwman91]

Well, it looks like I am good to go now. After installing the LC6i the ugly alternator whine disappeared. I want to say that I knew it would work, but I was only 90% sure that it would (and that 10% uncertainty had me sweating!). Yay for differential signals & inputs.

I have been spending some time trying to get the bass/mid/treble gains set well on the 6XS. Due to the crappy placement of the mids in the stock locations, I have the gain for them cranked up considerably higher than the other bits. I need to get out there with an oscilloscope again & re-adjust the gains now that the LC6i is in place, so I will tune around having the mids maxed out with the HU on the verge of clipping. Then from there I can tune the bass & treble by ear since their gains just need to be less than the mids' to avoid clipping.

Oh and my CD43 still skips when I hit medium/large bumps. That's annoying. I need to pull it & check the CD carrier. This seems to be the project that will never end.

I also have a cargo net that I need to install in my trunk to keep things from sliding into the sub/LC6i/6XS.

[Schniddy]

kewl. awaiting mor pictchas

[bmwman91]

Bumpity bump...

I updated the (completely unnecessary) installation diagrams in the original post. Since I first made them, I have had a lot more time to get comfy with Inkscape, so I made them pretty.

Anyway, I will try to get out tomorrow afternoon to take some pictures of the finished product. I still need a new passenger side kick panel. The one that is in there is fugly thanks to some "creative" ideas I had with it a while back. Eew.

Also, does anyone happen to be parting out an E36 that has the diversity antenna & related electronic bits? The CD43 gets terrible reception with the E30's stock, unamplified single antenna. At the very least I would be interested in trying a stock E36 antenna signal amplifier box to see if it helps things at all.

And once again...I love this system. Time to find a used RTA to see just how technically good it really is!

[Jean]

I like everything about this build other than using the fancy mounting feet IN A FRICKING CAR.... and using RTA lol.

Good job though!

[StereoInstaller1]

Those flow chart diagrams kick ass too

[M42Power]

This thread is spewing with awesome.