Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 10:46:56 -0400
From: "Ganess, Sean" <sg04537_at_imcnam.sbi.com>
Subject: E36 stereo noise

I have recently replaced the factory stereo and have no engine noise whatsoever. Here's what I installed:

Sony XR-C900 head unit
Sony CDX-805 CD changer
Sony MDX-61 MiniDisc changer
Sony XDP-U50D DSP/Preamplifier
Sony XA-C30 signal selector
Sony XA-U40D digital signal selector
McIntosh MC440M Power Amp
Polk Audio db3055 component speakers (front & rear) Polk Audio db8 subwoofer
Monster Cable TOSLink cables for digital hookups Factory supplied RCA cables for analog hookups (and a few 3 foot Radio Shack cables of similar quality)
Estoric Audio Streetwires power cables, distribution blocks, fuses and connectors

The UniLink cable and RCA cable from the head unit runs down the middle of my car to the trunk. Keep in mind that the power cable from the battery (in the trunk) runs down the passenger side of the car to the hood. Keep your signal cables away from there. You might also want to avoid the driver's side since all the wires that need to go from the front of the car to the back run down through a raceway on this side. Running the wires down the middle is alot easier too. You can tuck the cables inside the trim from the dash to the center console. The center console is easily loosened to run the cables underneath by removing the ashtray in the back, undoing two plastic screws, lifting out the black ashtray liner and removing one brass screw. Everything else clips into place. You don't need to remove the center console, just loosen it enough to run your cables through. Once you get your cables to the back of the console, you can fish the cables under the carpet, under the back seat (which just pulls right out) and into the trunk. Cars without fold down seats (like mine) have a grommet in the center where a few cables go through.

Power cabling is easy. Battery is in the trunk so it's easy to get power for you amp. Just be sure keep your power cables away from your signal cables. Two ideal grounding points in the trunk are on the left and right sides. Pull up the carpet and remove the plastic panel (on the driver side) or the plastic trim (on the passenger side, next to the jack). You'll see a structural beam which is secured to the body of the car with two bolts. On the passenger side, you'll find that the battery itself is grounded to the body at this point (I opted for the driver side since all my ground wires wound up there).

For the head unit, you can get a harness from Crutchfield that will plug into the factory wiring. You can use this to supply power (constant and switched), illumination, remote amp turn on and antenna (get the adapter from Crutchfield too).

You can tap the remote turn on and front speaker wires from the factory amp/wiring. It's located on the driver's side, behind the carpeted cardboard. Remove the driver's side taillight cover and the plastic floor panel and pull the carpet/cardboard back. You'll find the factory amp and wiring there. Pinouts for the harnesses can be found_at_http:/e36.html (specifically, http:/e36/stereo/e36_200w_stereo_pinouts.gif) along with some more stereo info. I disconnected the factory amp (leaving it physically there, however), tapped the wires I needed (front speakers, constant power, remote turn on and ground) and reinstalled the carpet/cardboard side panel.

On the carpeted side of that panel, right on the flat spot that has the profile of the factory amp, I mounted my Sony XDP-U50D DSP/Preamplifier. Power, remote turn on and ground was supplied from the factory amp wiring. The signal (just left/right, no front/rear/subwoofer) and UniLink cable from the head unit plugs into the DSP. The DSP has separate outputs for front, rear and subwoofer).

On the rear seat bulkhead, I removed the padded carpet held in place by four plastic screw-on caps. I secured a piece of plywood to the bulkhead using existing holes in the metal and resecured the carpet over the plywood using the factory hardware. I mounted the amp and signal selectors through this carpet into the plywood. The CD Changer is mounted from the rear deck. I took a 1/2 inch board which I carpeted to match the trunk and secured it to the rear deck through existing holes using nuts and bolts. The changer is mounted to the board. The MiniDisc changer is mounted on the passenger side to a sheet of carpeted plywood which is secured to the factory changer bolts. Front speakers are mounted in factory locations without any modifications. I had to make custom brackets out of wood (carpeted of course) to mount the rear speakers.

The CD Changers (I plan to add another one) is hooked up to the digital signal selector which is in hooked up to the DSP with TOSLink cables. The MiniDisc changer (may add two more) is hooked up to the analog signal selector which is hooked up to the DSP via RCA cables. The DSP is hooked up to the amp and from there, to the speaker crossovers and the speakers themselves.

Sean ('97 M3)