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  #11  
Old 08-21-2014, 09:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redwoods22 View Post
that does make sense.... i've done a fair bit of research and did not realize that was the timing of everything. indeed i am 99% sure i do have the true "base" (not hifi) system. my x5 is a 2011 35i 10/10 build lci, with no tweeters. pretty sure that makes it the base system. btw one of the lamest moves yet i've seen bmw make to have tweeter pods in car with a $63k sticker (premium package, technology, and some other stuff) and no tweeters in there. haha at least they fixed that soon after by at least giving hifi as the entry level.
Yes - timing (build date) is everything - combox, LED coronas, paddles, etc.

To confirm you could run your VIN through a decoder but given your vehicle year/model and the empty tweeter mounts it sounds like you already know what you have. It's too bad it's so expensive to properly upgrade the sound in these X5's.
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  #12  
Old 08-21-2014, 06:51 PM
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If you're interested in getting a clean signal (no DSP, fully balanced) from the head unit to start with instead of the amplified signal w/ DSP you have now, you can add the HiFi option $676 to the vehicle options and default code the affected modules (CIC, PDC, etc.). This switches the outputs coming out of the HU and makes it a much better and clean signal to start with. No more having to "undo" the DSP added to the base system. This is the route I took and it worked perfectly.
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  #13  
Old 08-22-2014, 04:41 AM
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Originally Posted by rpoitras View Post
If you're interested in getting a clean signal (no DSP, fully balanced) from the head unit to start with instead of the amplified signal w/ DSP you have now, you can add the HiFi option $676 to the vehicle options and default code the affected modules (CIC, PDC, etc.). This switches the outputs coming out of the HU and makes it a much better and clean signal to start with. No more having to "undo" the DSP added to the base system. This is the route I took and it worked perfectly.
does this affect the power going to the speakers at all, or just the signal processing?
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  #14  
Old 08-22-2014, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by redwoods22 View Post
does this affect the power going to the speakers at all, or just the signal processing?
Both. Just to give a better explanation:

The base audio system contains six speakers: a mid-range in each of the four doors along with two 6.5" subwoofers under the front seats. The speakers are driven directly by the head unit (no external amp) and the front channel is shared between the front door mids and the subwoofers so that's one of the reasons for the added DSP. Also, since there are no tweeters in the sails they use DSP to drive the highs way up there. For this reason if you don't either remove or undo the DSP, and you drive an external amp directly from the OEM base audio signal, it will sound like crap. For more info read the first post here by VP Electricity/el duderino, who detailed a build he did on a 2010 X5: http://www.xoutpost.com/electronics/...intensive.html

The HiFi audio system (option $676) has more speakers but more importantly it uses an external amp to drive them so that's why the signal coming out of the HU is 'clean'. Any DSP added in the HiFi system is done by the amp, not the HU.

There is one drawback with recoding, though. You are telling the vehicle that you have the BMW OEM amp installed so if you need to have it serviced and BMW hooks up the diagnostic equipment it will fail when it tries to query the amp because it doesn't exist. From what I've heard they cannot continue with the diagnostics because the software doesn't let them. I find that a little hard to believe and think there must be a way to skip that module and continue, but for me I would probably just remove $676 from the VO before getting service. BTW, for regular service it won't be a problem, it's only when they need to read fault codes from the entire car where it fails because it ends up querying all modules.

Also, if you search around you will find that some people have complained that the chimes/gongs and PDC beeps were either too loud or soft (I can't remember which) after adding $676. This is true even for the official Alpine upgrade that BMW supports. The issue is that when you add an option to the vehicle it may affect more than one module. For example, with the HiFi system with external amp, it obviously affects the head unit (CIC module) but it also affects the module(s) that control other sounds like the gongs and park distance control beeps. When you add $676 to the VO you have to "default code" all affected modules so that they can reconfigure themselves based on the updated information in the VO. e.g. HU: I now have an external amp so let me switch my outputs to the fully balanced signal with DSP disabled. What many people forget to do is default code the other modules. I can't remember what additional modules I default coded but initially I had that problem until I found it. I definitely did the CIC and PDC modules, and may have also done the footwell module, but whatever it was it fixed the issue for me immediately.

I know it's a lot of info to take in and sounds like a bit of a pain to manage but if you are familiar with coding it's really, really easy to do and also really easy to restore if you need have service.

Quote:
Originally Posted by redwoods22 View Post
btw one of the lamest moves yet i've seen bmw make to have tweeter pods in car with a $63k sticker (premium package, technology, and some other stuff) and no tweeters in there.
This x 1000000!! I bought my '10 as a CPO and to be honest, I was so focused on the other options that I never even thought about checking out the sound system. It never crossed my mind that BMW would put such a lackluster system in a $60k+ vehicle so I stupidly never even tried it out before buying (duh). Boy, was I wrong about that. My wife has a 3 series with the Logic7 system which sounds great compared to the base system I had. But seriously, BMW?

Last edited by rpoitras; 08-22-2014 at 09:23 AM.
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  #15  
Old 08-22-2014, 11:07 AM
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^ Good info above.

So what does the Premium Sound Package (S677A) add over the 'Hi-Fi' system (S676A)? I originally passed on my X5 as I wanted Premium Sound but the Hi-Fi sounded good enough for us. Really just wanted to avoid S645A as that one was noticeably weak.
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  #16  
Old 08-22-2014, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by jiggz View Post
So what does the Premium Sound Package (S677A) add over the 'Hi-Fi' system (S676A)?
I'm no expert on this but from what I understand even more speakers and the raw signal is sent through fiber optics instead of copper. Also there's a graphic equalizer where you can tweak the sound a bit better. I think if you add this option to the VO then the outputs of the HU basically shut off since the signal is going through fiber, but I'm not positive about that either.
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  #17  
Old 08-22-2014, 11:59 AM
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Thanks for the detailed info above. What's so funny is this is the first car ever where I have found the best audio results by turning treble and bass both almost all the way down.. guess I know why now.

Only other advice I have for op is to check out musicarnw if not already mentioned. That guy seems to know what he's doing and he deals in high end stuff that apparently is bolt in replacement.

As for my lame system.. does anyone know where I might find some used hifi or top hifi underseat woofers to replace the crappy base stereo 6.5" ones? Thought maybe that would give a slight improvement over the stock ones without going the amp route..
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  #18  
Old 08-23-2014, 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted by redwoods22 View Post
Thanks for the detailed info above. What's so funny is this is the first car ever where I have found the best audio results by turning treble and bass both almost all the way down.. guess I know why now.

Only other advice I have for op is to check out musicarnw if not already mentioned. That guy seems to know what he's doing and he deals in high end stuff that apparently is bolt in replacement.

As for my lame system.. does anyone know where I might find some used hifi or top hifi underseat woofers to replace the crappy base stereo 6.5" ones? Thought maybe that would give a slight improvement over the stock ones without going the amp route..
You should check if the resistance is the same. The base system runs the woofer and door speaker in parallel so that the resistance is 2 ohms I believe (4 + 4). Also if you use the 8" premium woofer (providing resistance isn't an issue) you would have to make you own connector as the 6 1/2" woofer has a 4 pin plug and the 8" woofer has a 2 pin plug.
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  #19  
Old 08-23-2014, 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by on6mt View Post
You should check if the resistance is the same. The base system runs the woofer and door speaker in parallel so that the resistance is 2 ohms I believe (4 + 4). Also if you use the 8" premium woofer (providing resistance isn't an issue) you would have to make you own connector as the 6 1/2" woofer has a 4 pin plug and the 8" woofer has a 2 pin plug.

ugh, really? curse you bmw.

hey can anyone tell me what this is? it looks like an amp but i thought the base system does not have an amp..
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  #20  
Old 08-24-2014, 08:09 AM
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Looks like a Combox module. Base audio definitely does not have an external amp.
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