rogan

I dug the manuals out of the sony site http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/select-sy...amp;PRODTYPE=10

Your headunit has rca input on the rear but I can't figure out if you can use them as an aux in or whether you need the xA-C30 as well. If you can just use the rca inputs then all you'll need is a 3.5mm jack to male rcas,say about 1 metre long and feed that through to your glove box or wherever you want to put the ipod. These take a while to load up: install manual owners manual

Fair enough. I struggle to find space for my gate remote (must hardwire it one of these days), so can imagine the space saving from being fully integrated.

I was in at Eds Autos (3B, 155 Stoddard Rd, Mt Roskill) today and priced the loom. Can't remember exact amount but $30 give or take a bit. That's the square plug with round connectors. Someone's fleecing you at $299 !!! Eds are a Parrot dealer so might pay to give them a ring and price it through them.

I think the HK amp is set up for the HK speakers so not much point in buying an aftermarket amp if you're going to put in the HK fronts. Either put in HK speakers and HK amp, or aftermarket speakers and aftermarket amp.

I have to ask but wouldn't something like a Parrot MKi9100 be a better solution. RRP $499, pretty much plug and play into factory loom. Will give you more functionality and probably better sounding connection.

This should help a fair bit: http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product-...9_-_Non-DSP.pdf

If the speakers are still running through the separate fader then you could have the headunit seeing 2 ohm speakers which it won't like. If that's the case the headunit will play with moderate sounds level and then shut off as you increase the power (at least that's what's happened when I've run amps below their stable resistance - presume same would happen to the headunit). Swapping to another headunit won't fix the problem. Bypass the fader and then see what happens

Does your e30 have the separate fader control in the dash. If it does and you haven't bypassed it then you might have the wrong ohms for the headunit.

As per frantiC, sounds like poor grounding to me

Couple of options: 1. Get Parrot BT system which can stream music and hook up to headunit. 2. Get a simple sunvisor type bluetooth clip on thingy. 3. Get an integrated headunit that does the lot. My pick would be to import a JVC R800 from ebay which has USB, ipod, BT built in. The BT works pretty well but it's probably not as good as a dedicated Parrot system. Should be under NZ$300 landed and will do everything you want except Nav. It's a risk buying off ebay but I've done it with my headie and am very happy with the serice and delivery. Stay with a vendor who has good feedback and you minimise the risk. IMO go with a separate NAV system. They scream steal me and I don't know how good a single din Nav would be. We run a Navman and I like being able to shove it away out of sight since we don't need it that often, and then only hook it up when needed.

Ring Eds (09) 550 7256. If anyone will have one, they will. They supply adapters to shops all over NZ (including DeeCee) See if they have an ISO to Nakamichi adapter. If they do it'll be about $8-$10. You'll also need the BMW to ISO harness (might be part number PC2-05-4 )which might be a bit more. Then it's plug together and off you go. They don't have eftpos or take c/c, so cash or cheque only. If you can't find a Naka harness, I think Kenwwod had a 14pin harness simliar to your one PC2-05-4 looks like this Headunit owners manual is here http://www.nakremotes.com/Geo/Nak%20CD-45z.pdf Pin-out as follows (found this on the net, may or maynot be correct) TOP /-------------------------\ [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ] [ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ] 1.Blue = Remote on 2.Yellow = Battery 3.Red = ACC 4.Grey/blk = Frt R Spkr (-) 5.Grey = Frt R Spkr (+) 6.Purple/blk = Rear R Spkr (-) 7.Purple = Rear R Spkr (+) 8.Black = Ground (neg) 9.blank (not assigned) 10.Blue = Power Attenna 11.White/blk = Frt L Spkr (-) 12.White = Frt L Spkr (+) 13.Green/blk = Rear L Spkr (-) 14.Green = Rear L Spkr (+) If you can't find a harness anywhere then look into the connectors used in computers. Have a look at this site http://stereophonik.com/gutterslide/IP-BUS_Hack/ which shows you the connectors I'm talking about.

For adaptors, go to edsauto.co.nz http://www.edsauto.co.nz/index.html Their products part of the site seems to be down at the moment. They'll have evertything you need.

1. Budget? 2. What type of music do you listen to? 3. Bluetooth for phone?

Depending on budget, also think about bluetooth since this new law's coming in. One option would be to get a BT integrated headunit. Guessing you'd be looking over $300 for a bt capable unit

Why bother with a tape deck or a stacker. Get something that can play MP3 and it's 10 times better than a stacker. Consider USB or ipod inputs too. Once you get it, have a talk to these guys and see what harnesses you'll need to hook it up. Much simpler than solder and a very easy DIY www.edsauto.co.nz BMW stuff is on page5 of their catalog http://www.edsauto.co.nz/images/PDF_Catalogue/Pages1-9.pdf You'd need a BMW to ISO, then ISO to whatever unit you end up buying. Might need an aerial interface too. Here's some cheapies that would probably do the trick: JVC G465, has wma/mp3, plain black face and says multicolor illumination. Looks like the cage is included (that's the bent tabs you can see in the pic). Presume it's NZ radio but worth asking the question. Can't make it out in the pic but might be missing the plastic surround (new one wouldn't cost more than $10 I guess). *edit - have put questions on TM re FM and surround* http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-245172793.htm Basic Panasonic. Presume it's all there. Think the W in the model number means NZ radio http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-244964821.htm Another basic JVC unit http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-246041917.htm A tape deck unit is not worth anything now cos 99.99% of people don't want them. If you're happy with no CD then ring up your local car audio shop and see if they've got one lying around that they've pulled out of car. Might cost you a dozen beer.

Does your e30 have the fader control above where the stereo was. If so you can get your speaker wires from that and save your having to run new wires.

What you tend to pick up are rattles from panels that localise where the bass is coming from. Generally you can pick the direction of frequencies above about 160hz. The lower you play your sub, the harder it is to pick where it's coming from. The problem is that it's very hard to stop rattles and that's what you'll be able to identify. The constructive and destructive interference is somtimes called combing. Some point subs into a corner (corner loading) with the aim being the amplify the wave by combining the primary wave with the reflected wave. I've never noticed muddiness being a result, but positioning of the sub has a big effect on amplitude of the signal in the cabin. What tends to happen with alot of car is that subs are played too high and even crossed over at 80hz there's still going to be higher frequencies going through it as a result of the crossover slope (usually -12db/octave). In a nutshell, the better midbass you have upfront, the better your sub will blend into your cabin

Re RCAs, depends on your amps. If one of the amps has input and output RCAs terminals then you can just have one pair from headie to amp and then another short pair from that amp to the other. RCA output from the headunit must be full range and you use the crossovers on the amps to split the frequencies. No problem running more than 1 amp off a single power cable. For the power you have a single run of 4awg wire should be plenty. For a 5 metre length 4awg should handle up to about 1000rms. You'll need a distribution block (just a cheap one) to split the power wire for two amps. As said above, just daisy chain the remote-on wire. Welding cable is much cheaper than car audio specific cable and probably better too (more flexible and double insulated)

Freeair and Infinite Baffle (IB) are pretty much the same thing. I have a pair of 12s in my e39 boot and have enough space for a 3 wheeler pram.From a e36 M3 in the US: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt...1946&page=8 Excuse ignorance, what's the difference?

Yep, bolted to the wall. All you're doing is sealing off the front of the sub from the back. Don't understand what you're saying.Having the magnet side of the sub facing forward or backward doesn't make any tangible sound quality difference.

AFAIK you can't just use any sub for IB, you need one that's been designed so it can run that way. IB will generally tend to give you much more low end (say 20-50hz) with about a slight drop in higher end (say 50-100hz). I've only tried one IB set up and the sub sounded better than when it was in a sealed enclosure. Downside is you can't put as much power into the sub - say you have a 500rms sub then in IB you wouldn't want to give it more than about 350rms.

If you're looking for space saving then get an Infinite Baffle sub and mount it on a board over the ski hole. Like this: Most BMWs are perfect for IB as the boots are so well sealed from the cabin.

That CP600BMW looks like a fantastic system.

I wasn't sure if I was going to need a blocking diode but was going to whack one in just in case. Woud I need a 5v relay like this one http://www.dse.co.nz/dse.shop/4a9dac82008e...duct/View/P8005 or can I use a normal 12v relay (guessing 12v won't work)? Just re-read your post, so the wires from the LCM to bulbs are 12v and this is the place to tap into them. Thanks heaps Next question, is it the same sort of set up in an e46 cos I'll probably do the wife's car too