E46 Stereo

[Daniel 36]

Hey guys,
Old audio posts shows there are some knowledgeable people here... this is good for me as I haven't really got the faintest. 

Situation:
My NZ new e46 sedan has the factory stereo - 2 speakers rear tray, 2 front door, 2 tweeters - tape head unit & stacker in boot.

Issue:
The head unit and left rear speaker are the only things that work.

What I want:
New speakers
I/Phone connectivity
Must retain steering wheel controls

I would prefer to keep the head unit or swap it for a factory CD one and get that Dice unit thing in place of the stacker. I know from other posts that this might be a restraint on quality of sound. I'd consider a reasonably priced aftermarket unit if it would make a night/day difference?

I plan to shop around for the components myself, and probably have it all installed professionally. I'm pretty sure I need 6.5 inch speakers for both front and rear and then two 1 inch tweeters. Unfortunately I'm having trouble making head or tail of forum postings and you-tube videos, so I still don't know whether I should be looking for coaxial, component, or 2/3 way setups?

I'm not looking to go all out or spend alot, I just want a good solid stereo with I/phone connectivity. Suggestions welcome, thanks 

Edited July 1, 2017 by Dsdv

[viskop 99]

Hi Dan,

I would highly recommend the team at Abtech, 49 Hutt Rd, Petone. I took my 2005 NZ New 330i to them about 2 to 3 years ago to have a proper sound system put in. Initially they quoted just more than $600, and I accepted their quote. Fast forward to the day of the appointment, my wife, our daugter and I were seated in their Audio Movie Lounge and watched a movie while they were getting the job done. I must add that it was like sitting in any movie theatre, with the additional comfort of soft leather seats and no other people around, it was just the 3 of us.

On completion of the job, they showed me how everything worked....and then came the final payment! "We had to make a few adjustments, fixed some wiring issues, etc" one of the chaps said, and I thought to myself...Here we go, they are going to take me to the bank, and empty my account!! What a lovely surprise it was when the amount due, was more than a $100 less than their original quote. In total I had to pay around $450, and I can only speak highly of their workmanship and their customer service.

 

We also had my son's then E36 328 BMW fitted through them with a new car radio, and again we got the same service.

You can check them out here: www.abtec.co.nz

 All the best.

Charl

[MD13 494]

I thought the speaker size for the doors at least was 5.25... 

I put an Alpine headunit in my e46. You can buy an adapter to retain the steering wheel controls.

[Daniel 36]

Cheers for the responses. Various forums have listed 5.25, 6, and 6.5 as possible replacements. I think I'll have to try pull them out and measure them myself at this point.

Does anyone know where I could buy an OE CD business Head Unit?
 

[zero 1162]

Installing 6.5 in the front requires a fair bit of modifying the door card.

I think 6 just fits straight in.

The weakness in the e46 system is the speaker attaches to the door card instead of the door itself.

The biggest improvement is cutting a hole in the door and building a door pod, but this is alot of work;

[Neal 544]

Factory mid bass is a shallow 6inch driver. 5.25 and 6.5s will need an adapter to fit with the existing mounts. Many won't fit depth wise without cutting a hole in the door as per Zeros post.

There are a few drop in speakers from bsw, focal , cdt audio and also Dayton audio sets via eBay. They tend to be pricey but make the install easier . There is a small company called technic that makes a wiring loom adapter which uses the factory speaker wired to aftermarket amp that's worth looking at.

 

[Olaf 3317]

13 hours ago, Dsdv said:

Does anyone know where I could buy an OE CD business Head Unit?

it's entirely possible that @BM WORLD has them available 

[zero 1162]

23 hours ago, Dsdv said:

Cheers for the responses. Various forums have listed 5.25, 6, and 6.5 as possible replacements. I think I'll have to try pull them out and measure them myself at this point.

Does anyone know where I could buy an OE CD business Head Unit?
 

I have one available for sale.

If you want it send me a pm.

[Daniel 36]

@zero I like the idea of having it secured to the actual door, although that's definitely well out of scope for me!
I'm curious what sound deadening material you used? 


 

[Daniel 36]

In regards to speakers, I'm thinking either this package 
https://www.hyperdrive.co.nz/product/car-audio-packages/149/prime-6-component-coax-package/1147517/detail  

or this one 
https://www.hyperdrive.co.nz/product/car-audio-packages/149/type-s-6-5-comp-coax-package/1198166/detail

 

seem like good, relatively cheap options. I like that the alpine set are a shallow design, but on the other hand I'm sure someone at Abtec or some such could make quick work of the RF set too.


 

[zero 1162]

10 minutes ago, Dsdv said:

@zero I like the idea of having it secured to the actual door, although that's definitely well out of scope for me!
I'm curious what sound deadening material you used? 


 

I used bitumen sill flashing tape from bunnings/mitre10.

Its essentially the same stuff as the dynamat type stuff but without the dynamat type price.

I covered the whole door with it after that photo was taken.

[Daniel 36]

Well, I was surprised to learn that buying an aftermarket headunit was a lot cheaper than installing an Ipod interface.

So I purchased a Pioneer DEH-X2950UI HU and shallow mounting Pioneer speakers.
Does anyone know if I would need a round or square pin wiring harness?
 

[Gabe79 410]

1 hour ago, Dsdv said:

Well, I was surprised to learn that buying an aftermarket headunit was a lot cheaper than installing an Ipod interface.

So I purchased a Pioneer DEH-X2950UI HU and shallow mounting Pioneer speakers.
Does anyone know if I would need a round or square pin wiring harness?
 

It doesn't have to be. You can do an ipod/aux cable on the cheap too:

 

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/m5-e39-e60-tips-tricks/168081-e39-very-affordable-bluetooth-retrofit.html

[Daniel 36]

My Pioneer unit was $135 shipped, so a pretty good price. Admittedly it does not have BT; after I had decided to buy an aftermarket stereo, the Pioneer brand and variable colour were my must haves.

The cost of items in the link above (granted 6/7 years ago) totalled 50 USD and 140 pounds. Today you can buy a good Pioneer BT Unit for less than $200 NZD. I couldn't seem to find any packages compatible for the OEM stereo for retrofit Iphone compatability for less than $200 (the cheaper ones required aux/usb input). 

In future I'll buy an amplifier for the speakers; then I'll reconsider re-installing the OE unit and a module for aux/usb/BT.

For now, I'll consider incoming phone-calls while driving an unnecessary interruption of my favorite past-time  

[allan 295]

Have you had a look at the speakers used in the e46 Compact these are about 45mm deep and connect to the metal of the door, Only 150mm in dia though

Edited July 10, 2017 by allan

[Neal 544]

3 minutes ago, allan said:

Have you had a look at the speakers used in the e46 Compact these are about 45mm deep and connect to the metal of the door, Only 150mm in dia though

The compact doors are unique in that they have speaker holes in the door. Ideal from an e46 pov.

[AzonicNick 0]

What is a recommended speaker to replace the 6" in the door without any modification etc?

When people say shallow what measurment are we looking at here? 

Keen to use existing wiring etc and upgrade speakers only.