You MUST re-wire

[FergU]

So I wanted to make the first ICE post...

But still, you HAVE to rewire the common ground speakers before installing a new headunit (from OEM).

[UNHCLL]

Is this required even if I can match the colors on the new stereo to the existing factory wires?????

[backlife]

yes!!!


-adam

[MattM20]

what gauge should you go with if your gonna put a new amp in later on?

[Jordan]

16-14 is ideal for most any interior speakers. Much more then that is overkill.

[BMW BMXER]

I wonder if my cars rewired. I only put in the second aftermarket deck and speakers...

hmmm


When I get a new amp I am rewiring anyway so I guess it does not matter.

[Inspar8r]

My car never had a common ground setup. Did other e30s not have this setup?

[franz]

Pretty sure my car didn't have common ground either. It has 8 speaker wires coming off the stock cassette player, wired those right into my Nak, works fine.

[UNHCLL]

My car never had a common ground setup. Did other e30s not have this setup?

All E30's came with common ground setup for speakers in the car with the exception of the very late models. The ones with the electronic slide control for fade, treble, bass, balance had individual wires.

Your car was most likely re-wired prior to your ownership.


Franz- if you just wired directly to the wires coming out of the dash, you are running your signal through the factory amp. This essentially negates any benefit of an aftermarket HU I think.

[franz]

I have a 1991 and no factory amp, I guess you answered my question in your post.

[UNHCLL]

hmmm, i was pretty sure all cars came with factory amps.. but I could easily be mistaken!
BTW, your Nak is awesome. I'd love to get one to replace my Alpine, but its less than a year old, so its hard to justify. ;)

[franz]

no factory amp, no check control, no sunroof, no tar in trunk, lighter diff, lighter transmission.

The nak sounds so sweet. No MP-3 but it has aux RCA inputs and a sub out & sub balance control if I choose to add sometime.

[UNHCLL]

no factory amp, no check control, no sunroof, no tar in trunk, lighter diff, lighter transmission.

The nak sounds so sweet. No MP-3 but it has aux RCA inputs and a sub out & sub balance control if I choose to add sometime.

:evil: DAMN IT. that has 99% of what I wanted for my car!!!! Are you running an external ampliphier or is there an internal amp?
I do enjoy the MP-3 of my Alpine however....
Do you mind if I inquire as to how much the Nak was? Ballpark range perhaps?

[franz]

Internal amp is 0.1% THD, clean and enough power to match a sub, I'm sure. It cost me $289 + 20 to my door.

[UNHCLL]

no factory amp, no check control, no sunroof, no tar in trunk, lighter diff, lighter transmission.

The nak sounds so sweet. No MP-3 but it has aux RCA inputs and a sub out & sub balance control if I choose to add sometime.

Are you sure about the sub level control? I realized this was the reason I think I passed on this CD player.... I thought it didnt have a subwoofer level control seperate from the Bass/Mid/Treble?

If it has an actual sub level control, I will seriously consider pulling my apline and buying one of these in its place!