Notes on a 2012 E92 M3 HiFi Audio Upgrade with mixed OEM and Aftermarket Parts

[Technic]

Back in 2008 I upgraded my old E90 M3 with the Enhanced Premium Audio System several times until I simply ended up decoding the EPS completely out of the car and coding it to HiFi: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183025

Therefore for my new 2012 E92 M3 I decided to avoid all that -and save $1900- and just upgrade from the standard HiFi, which it is a much, much better platform for upgrades than the EPS. However, I found out to my pleasure that the EPS OEM speakers -except the underseat woofers- are excellent when powered by aftermarket amps.

So in between selling the E90 and getting the E92 I collected from different sources the whole EPS OEM 4" mids, tweeters and coaxial speakers, harnesses and crossovers. Then I kept the amps, processor and underseat woofers from the E90 and transferred all those audio parts to the E92.

Full system:

- EPS OEM 4" component set with dedicated OEM crossover network = front
- EPS OEM 4" coaxial = center
- EPS OEM 4" coaxial = rear side
- EPS OEM 4" component set = rear deck
- Kicker SSMB8 8" midbass = underseat
- Musicar 12" ID12 subwoofer with custom enclosure
- Alpine PDX-5 amplifier
- Alpine PDX 4.150 amplifier
- JBL MS-8 processor

The result was just fantastic...

Stock trunk space:






Custom PDX rack made in plastic:




Front OEM EPS component set in custom painted piano black speaker grill:


Rear side OEM coaxial speaker:


SSMB8 with JTsherri custom spacer:


Rear deck panel replaced with the EPS rear panel with OEM speaker mounts and piano black grills:









Inserted the added center channel wires into the OEM amp connector with OEM pins so all the wiring is centralized:






Notes:

- this system is 100% reversible back to stock: all connections are done with OEM connectors/pins and the custom HiFi harness. The PDX amps can be unplugged from the OEM amp connector, and the OEM amp replugged and the sound system will sound better than stock -courtesy of the new speakers.

Idea: The E70 X5 uses the exact same HiFi OEM amp connector as the E9x. The difference is that the E70 HiFi OEM amp has 7-channel outputs (center channel) and the E9x has only 6-channel output (no center channel). If an E70 OEM amp is plugged in my system then the center channel will also sound as the center channel pins were inserted in the E70 center channel pin slots. And most probably it will sound quite decent with it and these speakers.

- the rear side and rear deck speakers were connected in parallel as the MS-8 has only 8-outputs. The EPS 4" speakers are 4ohms so the rear channels are 2ohms on each side after connection; the PDX amps are stable at 2ohms and provide the same power regardless or 4- or 2-ohms loads so this was not a problem.

A custom OEM harness was built and plugged in between the rear right and rear left speakers.

- the MS-8 is setup as follows:

• skip input setup (only required if the inputs are not full range and/or heavily EQ)
• Sub = one sub, 20Hz @ 24dB slope subsonic, 80Hz at 12dB low pass
• Front = 2-way, 200Hz @ 6dB slope Hi/Lo high pass
• Center = 1-way, 200Hz @ 24dB slope high pass
• Rear Side = 1-way, 200Hz @ 24dB slope high pass
• Calibration = -50dB

- the PDC beeps were kept by using "Y" RCA adapters and "summing" the font and the rear HiFi OEM outputs into CH1 and CH2 MS-8 inputs. The PDC beeps now are heard thru all speakers and are not intrusive -the volume still can be adjusted via iDrive.

- there is the dreaded Bluetooth echo, as the calibration is really low in volume. This is a tradeoff that so far have not crossed the unacceptable line.

In the E90 I calibrated at -35dB and somehow the BT echo was subdued enough to be imperceptible in most of the conversations. But in the E92 only -50dB seems to sound perfect, with great Stereo separation, extremelly focused frontstage and fantastic sub bass. And most important, all the sources -Pandora, iPod, Sat radio, USB, Web Radio, HD radio and regular radio- sound great regardless.

This was something that took several calibrations to get it right, as it seems that little external sounds while calibrating really change the final result. The best and last calibration was done at about midnight, just for the silence. Seriously.

- the ID12 and VP Electricity enclosure is outstanding- when the calibration is done right. This is not your typical boombox that rattles everything and at the end makes your audio irrelevant. This is some serious, SQ, sub bass impact that fills the car without overwhelming the other 16 speakers. The best part is that the level can be adjusted thru the MS-8 without messing with the amp gains. Which by the way both PDX amps output channel gains are all at minimum with the exception of the underseat woofers -more below.

- the mid bass issue of the MS-8 (or the lack thereof if a sub is part of the calibration) was solved in this particular system by using a combination of amplifier gain and the MS-8 31-band EQ. The PDX 4.150 amp woofer gains were set at nominal (exactly at the middle point) and the 100Hz ->250Hz bands were boosted accordingly to bring the midbass to par with the sub impact. The result is simply no holes in the frequency band. Both the ID12 and the SSMB8 hit solidly and deep; no plops, no clipping all the way to headache-inducing volume.

The result of all this is a system that simply leaps the EPS is all critical areas of audio: bass impact, frontstage, voices clarity, and overall audio quality and tuning capabilities -even for the rear passengers.

[THE TECH]

Nice work as usual!!

[SamS]

Wonderful write up, and pictures!

Gotta ask a dumb question, as your E70 story got me confused. I know you started with the non-EPS system, but doesn't the EPS in the E9x have the center speaker? I know mine has a grill up there! And when I select Surround from the EQ menu, I get a more focused center soundstage.

[THE TECH]

Is the driver's side trunk panel from an E90? Also, who's sub setup is that? Musicar?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SamS

Wonderful write up, and pictures!

Gotta ask a dumb question, as your E70 story got me confused. I know you started with the non-EPS system, but doesn't the EPS in the E9x have the center speaker? I know mine has a grill up there! And when I select Surround from the EQ menu, I get a more focused center soundstage.

Yes, the EPS have the center channel but the HiFi does not. I installed the EPS center channel (no photos, sorry) and the OEM grill in the existing mount.

The E70 story is for those that like to tinker with OEM parts.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Is the driver's side trunk panel from an E90? Also, who's sub setup is that? Musicar?

That's the E92 CD Changer trim, replacing the flat factory-installed trunk trim. And that's the same enclosure as yours (MusicarNW) but with an ID12.

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by Technic

That's the E92 CD Changer trim, replacing the flat factory-installed trunk trim. And that's the same enclosure as yours (MusicarNW) but with an ID12.

Gotcha. I kinda like that piece.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by Technic

Yes, the EPS have the center channel but the HiFi does not. I installed the EPS center channel (no photos, sorry) and the OEM grill in the existing mount.

The E70 story is for those that like to tinker with OEM parts.

Ah, very good. I wish I could hear your car!

For the time being, I'll have to stick with the stock EPS. Although I did make several EQ changes to get something half-way listenable. I'll need to post than in another thread after I write down the adjustments.

Again, great work and thanks for sharing.

[VP Electricity]

When removing EPS speakers I've noticed the build quality was very good, and the passive crossover is a real 2W 12dB/octave passive crossover. I personally wouldn't bet on them sounding the way I'd like without DSP of some sort - the MS-8 or something else - but I certainly believe they'd sound great with better amplification and tuned signal.

Glad you like the sub! And congratulations on getting so much done on the new car.

[808MGuy]

You really like that ID12 setup! I'm on the fence on whether I would regret getting the ID10 instead of the Morel SC10 setup. The IDQ10 would be a nice middle ground but based on what VP has mentioned in the past, the enclosure is just not optimal for the IDQ.

I finally got my CD changer trim yesterday so I can proceed with installing my Zapco DC500 and finally contacting VP for a sub enclosure.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

When removing EPS speakers I've noticed the build quality was very good, and the passive crossover is a real 2W 12dB/octave passive crossover. I personally wouldn't bet on them sounding the way I'd like without DSP of some sort - the MS-8 or something else - but I certainly believe they'd sound great with better amplification and tuned signal.

Glad you like the sub! And congratulations on getting so much done on the new car.

I would say that the EPS speakers and the SSMB8, when powered by the new HiFi OEM amp, sound much better than the OEM HiFi speakers. I was running that combo for about a week before installing the rest of the equipment and it was decently enjoyable.

I guess that anything will sound better than the OEM HIFi speakers, everything else being the same.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

You really like that ID12 setup! I'm on the fence on whether I would regret getting the ID10 instead of the Morel SC10 setup. The IDQ10 would be a nice middle ground but based on what VP has mentioned in the past, the enclosure is just not optimal for the IDQ.

I finally got my CD changer trim yesterday so I can proceed with installing my Zapco DC500 and finally contacting VP for a sub enclosure.

I'm not a basshead so I was adamant of a 12" sub in my car, but this big thing is perfection.

[kaigoss69]

T, nice work man. Way to hack up the new car! jk

Can you tell me the reasoning behind selecting a 6 and not 12 or 24 dB/oct crossover on the front hi/low?

[Frostbite]

How does the kicker 8" compare to the SWS8's?

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by Jrollsp

How does the kicker 8" compare to the SWS8's?

Apples and lemons. The Kickers are good for midbass (80-200Hz in Technic's setup), and the SWS are "good" only for bass and sub-bass (35 - 100Hz).

[Technic]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

T, nice work man. Way to hack up the new car! jk

Can you tell me the reasoning behind selecting a 6 and not 12 or 24 dB/oct crossover on the front hi/low?

Thanks...

I want the door mids to blend as much as possible into the underseat woofers band. It seems to work pretty well for me.

[taibanl]

Technic

Beautiful install job

1) did you ever consider the kaigoss mod? It seems to be a more "pure" way of getting ms-8 to hit its target curve

2) is there an aftermarket driver that you feel is on par with the eps drivers. Just for reference, comparison sake

Hope to hear your car some day,

[Technic]

Originally Posted by taibanl

Technic

Beautiful install job

1) did you ever consider the kaigoss mod? It seems to be a more "pure" way of getting ms-8 to hit its target curve

No need, this way works quite well for me.

2) is there an aftermarket driver that you feel is on par with the eps drivers. Just for reference, comparison sake

Hope to hear your car some day,

The only 4" components that I have heard that are really lacking in audio quality are the OEM HiFi components, and 90% of the problem are the OEM tweeters. These are the only components that I know that by replacing them the OEM amp sounds much better.

Other than those, any Rainbow, Morel or DLS component sets sound as good as the Individual Audio to me. They are, after all 4" components playing above 200Hz. You cannot ask too much from any of them other than a great tweeter/crossover network.

[Patrys@BimmerTech]

As always great work Elias!

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by Technic

Other than those, any Rainbow, Morel or DLS component sets sound as good as the Individual Audio to me. They are, after all 4" components playing above 200Hz. You cannot ask too much from any of them other than a great tweeter/crossover network.

Not too sure what you mean by that, but since the Rainbow, Morel, and DLS components don't fit the E92, I guess it's really a moot point

[Technic]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Not too sure what you mean by that, but since the Rainbow, Morel, and DLS components don't fit the E92, I guess it's really a moot point

I used to have an E90 M3 and Taibanl has an E90.

The DLS R4 is the only one that cannot be fitted in an E92 no matter how deep it is inserted into the OEM grills (they barely clear the E90 at 60mm deep); the other two can be done in the E92 by inserting them into the OEM grills.

[VP Electricity]

Adhering grills with dynamat doesn't count.