From a.barber_at_pobox.com Sun Mar 9 19:21:18 1997
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 1997 21:15:03 -0600
To: dale_at_unofficialbmw.com
From: Andrew Barber <a.barber_at_pobox.com>
Subject: <E36> Stereo Comments
Cc: dean.schreier_at_pscmail.ps.net

I recently traded in a 1993 325is for a 1997 M3 and have to agree with Dean Schreier's comments (7/5/96) regarding the poor performance of factory sound systems on the 1996 and 1997 3 series.

The factory sound system on my '93 was good enough not warrant an upgrade. While not capable of providing deep bass, this system had very good midrange and high frequency performance by OEM standards.

In contrast, factory sound system that comes on the '97 3 series is one of the worst sounding systems I've heard in a premium automobile in a long time. While the '93 system was musical and provided a fairly high degree of detail, the '97 system sounds dull and lifeless. There literally is a night and day difference between the two. Unfortunately, the Harmon/Kardon factory upgrade is not much better. I originally attributed the difference in sound quality to use of different speakers. As a result, I opted not to purchase the H/K upgrade, and instead do an aftermarket upgrade of the base system's speakers and amplifier.

Well, despite using premium aftermarket amplifier and speaker components (see system detail at end of this email), my "improved" system still sounded worse than the one on my '93. CD's didn't sound that bad, but the radio was plain awful. The people who did the installation agreed and attributed the problem to the factory head unit. I took their advice and replaced the head unit and the improvement in sound quality was INCREDIBLE! I now have system that blows the doors off both the '97 and '93 factory systems.

Thus, it appears that the head unit BMW has been using on 3 series since the '96 model year is the primary cause for poor sound quality. What's really funny though is that the aftermarket head unit I purchased that improved things so dramatically is an Alpine, the same company manufactured the factory head unit that came with my '97 M3. Go figure.

SYSTEM DETAIL:

The goal was produce an excellent, well balanced sounding system looks not different from a factory set-up. The only deviation from stock appearance was the mounting of tweeters on the rear deck. No trunk space was compromised - the only difference from stock is that you see a slightly larger CD changer with Alpine markings rather than one with BMW markings on it. If I ever decide to part with this car, the factory components can be easily re-installed.

Installer:
Earmark Car Audio (Dallas, TX)
These guys do a top-notch job. I highly recommend them.

Head Unit:
Alpine TDA-7558 ($600)
This unit is a perfect match for any E36 as it is Alpine's only cassette/tuner with amber illumination and dot-matrix display.

CD Changer:
Alpine CHA-1204 (12-Disc) ($400)

Amplifier:
Phoenix Gold Sapphire SA1.4x (35w x 4 RMS at 12.5 volts) ($370) The amplifier is mounted in the factory location. The only difference is the inclusion of a fan. By the way, this amp would be rated at 480 watts using BMW's methodology.

Front Speakers:
(1) ADS AL4 (4" midrange, 1" tweeter) ($300) These are mounted in the factory door locations with factory speaker grills intact. Note that the ADS tweeters are a tight fit. (2) ADS AL5 (5.25" woofer-only w/ custom passive x-over) ($180) These were a special order item from ADS and were mounted in the factory kick panel location.

Rear Speakers:
ADS AL6 (6.5" woofer, 1" tweeter) ($400) The woofers were mounted in the factory location, while the tweeters were mounted on the angled portion of the rear deck.

Andrew Barber
A.Barber_at_pobox.com