Musicar NW Stage 1 for e92 m3 w Hi-Fi Review

[jdub486]

After a six month search for the perfect color combo e92 m3 dct zcp, I found the one. And then I realized it had the inferior hifi s676 audio. After a year of terrible sound, I recently bought the Musicar NW stage 1 kit. Nick was very helpful and talked me through all the various stages. I have a lot of experience with car audio but wanted to keep this system simple and not remove tons of panels, etc. The stage 1 kit is a custom tuned Helix Match 82 DSP/ Amp combo. The DSP is very robust, custom tuned for the e92 with the OEM speakers. It is a vast improvement in power, clarity, definition, and stereo separation. The amp board they provide is the perfect size. They provide ample wiring length and high quality cables and fusing. The OEM style harness is a breeze. It took me about 45 mins to install. Plug and play. Many folks choose the Bimmertech option which is also based on the Match dsp. My understanding is they use the stock power and ground cables which may not allow the amp to work at 100% power. Musicar is a top notch group. A must have for any hi-fi equipped e9x.

[Patrys@BimmerTech]

Originally Posted by jdub486

After a six month search for the perfect color combo e92 m3 dct zcp, I found the one. And then I realized it had the inferior hifi s676 audio. After a year of terrible sound, I recently bought the Musicar NW stage 1 kit. Nick was very helpful and talked me through all the various stages. I have a lot of experience with car audio but wanted to keep this system simple and not remove tons of panels, etc. The stage 1 kit is a custom tuned Helix Match 82 DSP/ Amp combo. The DSP is very robust, custom tuned for the e92 with the OEM speakers. It is a vast improvement in power, clarity, definition, and stereo separation. The amp board they provide is the perfect size. They provide ample wiring length and high quality cables and fusing. The OEM style harness is a breeze. It took me about 45 mins to install. Plug and play. Many folks choose the Bimmertech option which is also based on the Match dsp. My understanding is they use the stock power and ground cables which may not allow the amp to work at 100% power. Musicar is a top notch group. A must have for any hi-fi equipped e9x.

Congrats on your new audio system!
I am sure it sounds great, but you are wrong about the difference between BimmerTech Premium Audio System and a regular PP82DSP.

We use a special version of PP82DSP which has been hardware modified by the manufacturer (Audiotec Fischer) exclusively for BimmerTech. As you probably know PP82DSP was not designed specifically for BMW vehicles. It's a great product designed to cover as many car brands as possible. It means that you can't use the full power of this amp/DSP in BMW cars equipped with the HiFi system (option 676) because the signal level provided by the head unit is different than the amp was designed for.
This is why we use a special version of PP82DSP to make sure you can get the most of it. BimmerTech is the only company offering a solution based on a hardware modified PP82DSP.

As for the power/ground cables we use the factory wiring which can handle the power of this amp and at the same time it makes our kit 100% plug and play.

Anyway, I am glad you like the upgrade!

[jdub486]

Interesting info, and good for the forums to get more detail. What is wrong with the oem bmw signal? I was under the impression that the hi-fi cars send a flat 5v differential balanced signal. Is the issue that it's balanced? Can you elaborate on the modifications made with the bimmertech amp and the problems with the oem signal? And how do those limitations manifest themselves? What does one lose out on with a generic match dsp?

I'm sure musicar can get access to the same harness to use factory power and ground wiring. Given that the match dsp is around 4X more powerful than stock, it made some sense to me to run 8g gauge power and ground.

Feel free to PM if preferred.

[Patrys@BimmerTech]

Originally Posted by jdub486

Interesting info, and good for the forums to get more detail. What is wrong with the oem bmw signal? I was under the impression that the hi-fi cars send a flat 5v differential balanced signal. Is the issue that it's balanced? Can you elaborate on the modifications made with the bimmertech amp and the problems with the oem signal? And how do those limitations manifest themselves? What does one lose out on with a generic match dsp?

I'm sure musicar can get access to the same harness to use factory power and ground wiring. Given that the match dsp is around 4X more powerful than stock, it made some sense to me to run 8g gauge power and ground.

Feel free to PM if preferred.

I do not want to start a discussion about BimmerTech Premium Audio System vs Musicar system. We work with Musicar in a different area and although I have never heard their audio upgrades personally I am sure they do great audio systems.
What you posted was not true and I just wanted to clarify it.

In BMW cars with the HiFi system you are not getting the full power out of the regular PP82DSP. It means that our version is simply louder with the same tune.

As for the wiring, the stock wires are thick enough to handle the PP82DSP. It's been confirmed with Audiotec Fischer first and then by thousands of our customers worldwide over the last 2 years or so. You can't be just looking at the power spec of this amp/DSP to assume it requires separate wiring. Let me quote the Audiotec Fischer website: "a dynamically-controlled switched-mode power supply reduces heat generation and power consumption to an absolute minimum.".

Enjoy your system as I am sure it sounds great

[SteveEvans]

Originally Posted by jdub486

After a six month search for the perfect color combo e92 m3 dct zcp, I found the one. And then I realized it had the inferior hifi s676 audio. After a year of terrible sound, I recently bought the Musicar NW stage 1 kit. Nick was very helpful and talked me through all the various stages. I have a lot of experience with car audio but wanted to keep this system simple and not remove tons of panels, etc. The stage 1 kit is a custom tuned Helix Match 82 DSP/ Amp combo. The DSP is very robust, custom tuned for the e92 with the OEM speakers. It is a vast improvement in power, clarity, definition, and stereo separation. The amp board they provide is the perfect size. They provide ample wiring length and high quality cables and fusing. The OEM style harness is a breeze. It took me about 45 mins to install. Plug and play. Many folks choose the Bimmertech option which is also based on the Match dsp. My understanding is they use the stock power and ground cables which may not allow the amp to work at 100% power. Musicar is a top notch group. A must have for any hi-fi equipped e9x.

The standard harness is designed for the smaller 52DSP and 62DSP amps too. They take power through the system connector, but on the 82DSP the power/grounds pins on this are no connects. You MUST connect power to the dedicated power inputs.

Steve