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      02-04-2010, 01:33 AM   #23
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basically the same length as the zapco, but twice the width

what kind of tru amps did you have before and what was your opinion of them? i had a mcintosh amp in my last car and decided to change to tru amps and the motus lab agw+ (might be the first person in the US to use the motus - not sure if that is good or bad).
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      02-04-2010, 01:40 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCtud View Post
basically the same length as the zapco, but twice the width

what kind of tru amps did you have before and what was your opinion of them? i had a mcintosh amp in my last car and decided to change to tru amps and the motus lab agw+ (might be the first person in the US to use the motus - not sure if that is good or bad).
Easily the best amps I've had but the only other really good amp I had was a Phoenix Gold ZX450 v2 (the white one). I also had a Soundstream Granite back in the day which was built like a tank but not quite in the same league as the other two I mentioned. For some reason no matter how hard I pushed them they always seem to have more juice to give. I had a T03-4.150 and a Hammer H-1. The T03 was running an active front stage and the Hammer was powering a DD 9510f.
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      02-10-2010, 12:26 AM   #25
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More progress...or maybe not.

I was doing some tuning today and now have my tweeters HP at 6300 Hz, mids bandpassed between 90 and 6300 Hz, and SWS lowpassed at 100 Hz. It sounded really good right up until the point where the amp went into protect mode

I've been running the SWS at 2 ohms mono bridged on channels 5/6 of the Zapco in high voltage mode. It was fine for 2 weeks but I guess I was pushing it a bit hard while tuning and the amp finally overheated. The fact that there is hardly any air under that trunk tray doesn't help either. So I switched the amp into low impedence mode and it seems to run a bit cooler. I'll see how it does from there. Overall, I don't feel that I've lost too much output so it should be fine. I'm contemplating on switching the SWS back to 4 ohm stereo and see how it sounds that way.

BTW, 90 Hz at full volume on the a/d/s 344is was no problem. I did try to bump it down to 80 Hz but I started to hear a little compression and not much more output on the low end so I think 90 Hz is probably where it will stay. Crossover slope was 24 db/oct which made a big difference in the sound. On the upper end, the crossover between the mid and tweeter is sloped at 12 db/oct which helped it blend a little better.
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      02-10-2010, 02:06 AM   #26
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You can't do 2 Ohms mono on any of the DC amps Billy.

I still haven't figured out whar drivers I'm going to use but I've been looking at some Profi Vanadiums with an X-Plain 8 of of maybe a Leviathan, 900/5 or the new Zuki 6-channel. Decisons, decisions.
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      02-10-2010, 03:15 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by quality_sound View Post
You can't do 2 Ohms mono on any of the DC amps Billy.

I still haven't figured out whar drivers I'm going to use but I've been looking at some Profi Vanadiums with an X-Plain 8 of of maybe a Leviathan, 900/5 or the new Zuki 6-channel. Decisons, decisions.
Really? Its says 1 ohm mono stable on channels 5/6 in the manual. I assume that's why the low Z switch is there.

I was just looking at the specs on the Leviathan today. I'm not sure where you would mount either the Leviathan or the Zuki since both of those are huge in comparison to the DC. It would probably have to be under the rear deck or on the back of the seat. I guess you could always build up your own floor for it too. 900/5 is a nice option.

Honestly, I'm really liking the 344is right now. For the price I paid, I would probably have to spend 5x as much to get any significant improvement.
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      02-10-2010, 04:55 AM   #28
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Interesting. When I asked Rob about it he told me flat out, it was a bad idea. I'm thinking if it IS stable that low then you're clipping the piss out of it or you blew a driver.
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      02-10-2010, 09:46 AM   #29
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Quote:
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Interesting. When I asked Rob about it he told me flat out, it was a bad idea. I'm thinking if it IS stable that low then you're clipping the piss out of it or you blew a driver.
None of the clipping lights on the outputs are on or even flickering. Drivers all seem to be okay. Right now I have the low Z switch on and we'll see how it does. Should cut down on the heat since the voltage rail will be lowered. Right now, I think its a combination of the low impedance load and lack of moving air that caused it to go into protect. I'm also leaving the trunk tray cover propped up to give it more air to see if that helps the heat issue too.
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      02-10-2010, 02:04 PM   #30
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I forgot about the switch. Yes, you need to have the switch in the low Z (impedence) mode. High Voltage is for 4 ohms mono or higher mono or 2 ohms or higher stereo.
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      02-27-2010, 01:56 PM   #31
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Still fooling around with this setup. It seems like the amp could benefit from a good boost in input signal. I attempted to utilize the SLDIN.T modules that were provided with the amp which boost the input signal up to 12dB. They have a RCA input and symbilink output. I made a new molex connector with female RCA connection so I could plug in the SLDIN.T to the factory iDrive output. I had received several recommendations from people saying this would not work and I couldn't understand why so I had to try it for myself. Turns out they were right. Using the SLDIN.T results in noise and odd clicks and pops in the signal. No matter how low the gain was adjusted the clicks and pops were still there. It probably has something to do with the SLDIN.T modules utilizing a common ground input as opposed to BMWs balanced line signal coming from the iDrive. It also didn't do much in allowing me to reduce the gains on the outputs which is really what I was looking for. So I'm back to the hacked symbilink cable as that seems to work well.

The other thing I noticed recently is that the volume level is not as low as I thought. All this time I've only been listening to tracks off my USB flash drive. I finally tried a CD (after about 2 weeks of having this thing installed) and the overall volume is much higher.

I'm still trying to tune the EQ as I feel there is something missing in the lower treble but I can't seem to pinpoint it. Other than that, I'm still satisfied which what I ended up with.
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      02-27-2010, 03:03 PM   #32
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Lower treble issues are usually phase related. Have you tried reversing the polarity on the mids or tweeters?
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      02-27-2010, 03:09 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by quality_sound View Post
Lower treble issues are usually phase related. Have you tried reversing the polarity on the mids or tweeters?
Not individually. I tried reversing them in pairs. I'll try doing it individually when I get the chance. Right now, I'm just sitting tight and waiting to see what happens with this tsunami. Supposed to be here in about 20 minutes.
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      02-27-2010, 03:36 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 808MGuy View Post
Not individually. I tried reversing them in pairs. I'll try doing it individually when I get the chance. Right now, I'm just sitting tight and waiting to see what happens with this tsunami. Supposed to be here in about 20 minutes.
You talk about a Tsunami like it is a Domino's pizza delivery...
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      02-27-2010, 04:04 PM   #35
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808mguy
hope you're alright
was the tsunami on time?
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      02-27-2010, 04:12 PM   #36
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Quote:
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808mguy
hope you're alright
was the tsunami on time?
Looks like the waves are just starting to hit. Nothing big but you can see the ocean rising and falling. Still gotta wait it out to see if we get bigger ones. I live at higher elevation so I'm about 20 miles inland and 700 ft up from the action.
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      02-27-2010, 04:15 PM   #37
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Quote:
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You talk about a Tsunami like it is a Domino's pizza delivery...
I wonder if they would deliver a pizza right now Everything is pretty much shut down right now near the shores but it should be business as usual around my area. Pizza actually sounds good right now!
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      02-27-2010, 09:20 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by 808MGuy View Post
I wonder if they would deliver a pizza right now Everything is pretty much shut down right now near the shores but it should be business as usual around my area. Pizza actually sounds good right now!

just had their new and improved pizza
damn good
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      03-05-2010, 09:10 AM   #39
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One question: is your OEM system HiFi or Enhanced Premium?
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      03-05-2010, 09:48 AM   #40
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Quote:
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One question: is your OEM system HiFi or Enhanced Premium?
Dude! Title of the thread "...hi-fi system upgrade"
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      03-05-2010, 10:05 AM   #41
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Yes, I saw that but some people just use "HiFi" in the generic sense. I just wanted to make sure.
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      03-05-2010, 11:28 AM   #42
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Dude! Title of the thread "...hi-fi system upgrade"
so are you upgrading it?
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      03-05-2010, 01:21 PM   #43
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I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on an '08 M3 coupe. It has the hi-fi system, no nav, but interestingly, the premium pkg with extended leather. I've auditioned both the hi-fi and enhanced premium audio. I think enhanced might be good enough (although it's still could use improvement) but I would definitely upgrade the hi-fi system.

I spend a lot of time in the car (50 miles one-way to work) so I put a lot of stock in the audio system. I don't need an audiophile grade system (whatever that would mean). But the OEM parts will have to go. I take it that the general consensus is that the OEM HU is good enough and that replacing the amp(s) and speakers should be the way to go?

I'm currently following these threads with great interest. Thanks, guys.
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      03-05-2010, 01:33 PM   #44
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enhanced premium sound is a joke. you're better off getting the hi-fi and upgrading it with the cost savings. you do get the benefit of a digital signal output using MOST on the enhanced premium sound however. i think the signal is pretty clean on the analog hi-fi output
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