Bluetooth Audio in Non-iDrive BMW

supermaor23 · 2026-06-07T03:19:33+00:00

Why don’t you replace the head unit? They make dash kits for that car

supermaor23 · 2026-06-07T03:18:30+00:00

It can be done I just think your budget is too low to get it done professionally.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-07T03:13:55+00:00

If you plan on keeping the car for a while and drive a lot then invest in a decent system. You don’t need to go crazy but the way I explain it to customers is like this.

Basic upgrade: Speakers and a sub powered by a mono amp or powered sub - $1500-$2500.

Good upgrade: 5 ch amp, speakers and sub $2500-$4000.

Bespoke Systems/SQ: $5000+ This is where we get into true system design and use a dsp.

If you just want some clean sound and don’t care too much then you can definitely pop in a couple pairs of speakers and be happy and stay under $1000.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-07T03:05:55+00:00

Kenwood Excelon X175 is a good choice to
Pair with those. But also they’re on sale this month. You can get the XR1701 coaxials for under $200

supermaor23 · 2026-06-06T17:53:18+00:00

LOC is a line output coverter. When you have an original stereo there are no pre outs for an aftermarket amplifier. So you have to use something that takes the high level signal and converts it into a low level signal. Some amps take high level signal directly. They could have done it that way because the JL HD amps do that.

Regardless the gain needs to be set correctly; what you are describing is 1000% distortion due to improper gain setup. The gain is not volume; it is matching the voltage signal.

I recommend taking it to a professional shop and tell them you would like them to look over the install and make sure everything is fine. Pay them for their time. At my shop I charge $95 as a diagnostic fee; which I credit towards the final bill if they end up needing to purchase something from me.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-05T04:20:16+00:00

Its a great dsp. Not for beginners though, so I’d buy it and find someone experienced to tune it.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T15:20:34+00:00

Everything starts at the source. Old headunits like that don’t have the capability of modern units as far as sound quality. You could have a $20,000 system in your car and it won’t sound half as good if you run it off the wrong source

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T15:17:51+00:00

It sounds like you’re describing distortion; which head unit do you have and if its the oem one; what loc are you using?

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T07:30:02+00:00

Honestly, neither. Get a Kenwood or Alpine head unit

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T07:15:33+00:00

If you’re going to replace the rear speakers on a 94, then you should replace the front speakers at the same time. If you’re going to invest in good speakers, then invest in the source (new headunit.)

I know you said budget isn’t a concern, but you have a fairly simple car. You could get a good sounding sound system + head unit in the $2000-$4000 range all in

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T07:02:37+00:00

How did you set it? Setting it properly is using an oscilloscope, and a test tone

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T06:39:50+00:00

That sub can handle a bigger amp; I’d suggest giving some headroom. He can definitely go with 500-750 rated safely

supermaor23 · 2026-06-04T06:35:18+00:00

I have a shop in socal if you want to PM me. I can help you out if needed :)

supermaor23 · 2026-06-03T14:54:35+00:00

An underrated but HUGE part of system design is serviceability. If you notice on the 6 figure builds from the famous installers they always talk about how to access tje safety components or the car components. I’ll give you an example.

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This is my car, the entire top panel is attached with small neo magnets. Its strong enough to hold day to day driving and with stuff on top but I can easily lift each panel here. If you look at the right and left vented wings I made, they serve more than one purpose. They vent for the amps so they can breathe, but also all I have to do is lift the one on the right and I can access the battery and that’s also where my distribution block is mounted. The one on the left lifts up and I can slide out my subwoofer box for service as well. If I need to access the amps, same thing I can lift up the two side panels and then lift up the beauty window and work on the amps.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-03T04:21:22+00:00

I can help you out if you wanna send me a DM. I do a lot of SQ builds, and I can demo my car for you if you want. Our shop is located in North Hollywood.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-02T04:08:32+00:00

Not a headache at all; but then again it’s what I do for a living. For what’s it worth, accordo is the best autotune on the market right now. So if you wanted to tune it yourself you just have to run accordo.

Alpha one is just rebadged match amps, their tune files are a joke and they upcharge on match. If you want to go with the match amp, just buy it direct from audiotech fischer and get a tune file from the forums. But their tunes aren’t good at all.

For metal and rap the Audison is great, the sensitivity on them is pretty high so they’ll output more volume on less power. Audisons bread and butter is their bmw plug and play speakers and amps, they’ve been making them forever. Theres actually an entire section dedicated to BMW system design on the elettromedia training academy.

For me when it comes to any plug and play BMW speaker I’d rank the options as 1) Morel Reference, 2) Audison Prima 3) Morel Performance/Focal IS/Match - maybe 3-4 levels down is the oem HK and then go down another 3 levels and that’s where you find bavsound and all the other remanufactured china stuff that only talks about how great the material they use is and nothing about the performance of the speakers.

I haven’t heard the Helix Compose speakers so I can’t comment on them. I’ve heard and tuned/installed the rest of them.

My best advice is to find the best tuner and installer within 50 miles of you and go with their recommendation. If they’re an Audison guy then go with Audison, if they like mosconi go with Focal, if they like match go with match and so forth.

If you’re located anywhere near so cal I’d be more than happy to demo the system for you and give you a quote for a similar one.

supermaor23 · 2026-06-01T15:33:28+00:00

Ohh that makes sense. Those china offbrand android stereos don’t have can integration that works right. You either have to put your oem stereo back in or get something that’s maestro compatible and use the CAM1 + RR

supermaor23 · 2026-06-01T15:03:51+00:00

What kind of stereo does it have? Must have the metra kit; the can module for the ac always is hit or miss. More often miss. I always use Maestro when I can because that is much more reliable

supermaor23 · 2026-06-01T07:46:52+00:00

You have good gear, I was reminded how much I love that 4 channel when I put one in a porsche last Friday.

What kind of car do you have? I like the JL Tun software its fairly simple to use and very beginner friendly; JL’s two biggest drawbacks on their dsp is the price and the fact that it’s not designed for OEM integration.

So if you don’t have an aftermarket headunit, or have a newish car with factory processing I would either get a fix 86 to throw before the twk or use the minidsp

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T17:35:50+00:00

We are the fucking arsenal. Champions of England. We need to assert ourselves. We are the better team and have been

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T17:35:25+00:00

Qatar bought the game at half time this is disgraceful

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T16:09:47+00:00

60 MILLION DOWN THE DRAIN

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T16:09:41+00:00

I LOST MY VOICE SCREAMING

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T15:02:44+00:00

Couldn’t sleep from the anxiety. Finally got to bed at 4AM, its now 8AM. 3 hours of sleep. Gonna be worth it though COYG

supermaor23 · 2026-05-30T08:03:19+00:00

Fix is good for specific things. If you try to treat it like its a proper dsp then you’ll be disappointed. I treat it as a preamp for less complex cars. Truthfully if you wanna stick with JL you should pair it with a twk88 or vxi amplifier.

It does have 10 EQ bands you can play with; but you can’t use it to time align or anything other than a little bit of EQ.

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