What is the best radio ?

[Obioban]

I don’t understand why BMW hasn’t produced a modern unit like Porsche Classic. Expensive but you know it’s going to work as it should. So many classic BMWs on the road with plenty of enthusiasts and clubs out there.


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Porsche could cover 40 years with of 911s with one unit. BMW would need to develop a different one for every chassis.

Also, bmw gives zero fucks about their older cars.

[Phoenix///M3]

I totally get that. When i did my install, i was also hoping for the same thing and learned that no one made what i was looking for. After the install, i understood why. That said, if youve done a full stereo install before, you have all the tools to accomplish the task already, you just need the wiring diagram.

for the most part, its just splicing wires. The hard part is which wires. For some reason bmw chose a lot of brown, yellow and striped wires to denote speaker wires. Masking tape with a sharpie is your friend

I did a budget system with stock HU adding aux, Infinity refs front / rear, 5 channel amp and a compact Alpine sub I had from a previously vehicle that sounds great. The techniq harness is legit and makes things pretty easy.

My problem is that when I'm using the aux I get a crazy ground loop whenever the car is running and you turn the volume up past a certain level. Everything cuts out and will only "reset" if you cycle the ignition. You can sit with the car off and crank the volume all day. Ground loop isolator has no effect and I'm not charging the phone at the same time.

My amp has Bluetooth built in and I can run in that mode no problem whatsoever running or not however quality isn't as good and I loose the head unit volume control so it's annoying.

The amp is grounded to the body at the same point as the battery. I have to check the HU ground at the harness. Someone suggested running a wire between the two. Not sure if there are any other suggestions?

I get the same result using various aux cables from phone to aux input, Bluetooth adapter plugged into aux input or FM transmitter bypassing aux all together. Only thing that works 100% is phone to amp Bluetooth

Edit: Yes, amp is able to accept a differential balanced input off the HU.



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[Kcalhoun27]

I did a budget system with stock HU adding aux, Infinity refs front / rear, 5 channel amp and a compact Alpine sub I had from a previously vehicle that sounds great. The techniq harness is legit and makes things pretty easy.

My problem is that when I'm using the aux I get a crazy ground loop whenever the car is running and you turn the volume up past a certain level. Everything cuts out and will only "reset" if you cycle the ignition. You can sit with the car off and crank the volume all day. Ground loop isolator has no effect and I'm not charging the phone at the same time.

My amp has Bluetooth built in and I can run in that mode no problem whatsoever running or not however quality isn't as good and I loose the head unit volume control so it's annoying.

The amp is grounded to the body at the same point as the battery. I have to check the HU ground at the harness. Someone suggested running a wire between the two. Not sure if there are any other suggestions?

I get the same result using various aux cables from phone to aux input, Bluetooth adapter plugged into aux input or FM transmitter bypassing aux all together. Only thing that works 100% is phone to amp Bluetooth

Edit: Yes, amp is able to accept a differential balanced input off the HU.



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Well, your issue is beyond my level, so let me start there. But, when i was researching, the other place i found a ton of helpful info was DIYMA. There are some excellent people over there that absolutely love solving these issues. IME, ground loops start with ground issues. It sounds like youve addressed that pretty well, but for the sake of putting it out there, id give them one more peek to be sure. The aux cable solution is pretty good normally. That said, its a 3.5mm jack, so it has limits.

also, i agree the technic harness is great and i second completing the circuit between grounds. Electricity is weird. It follows the laws until it decides to act like water and thats just how it goes lol

[Phoenix///M3]

Well, your issue is beyond my level, so let me start there. But, when i was researching, the other place i found a ton of helpful info was DIYMA. There are some excellent people over there that absolutely love solving these issues. IME, ground loops start with ground issues. It sounds like youve addressed that pretty well, but for the sake of putting it out there, id give them one more peek to be sure. The aux cable solution is pretty good normally. That said, its a 3.5mm jack, so it has limits.

also, i agree the technic harness is great and i second completing the circuit between grounds. Electricity is weird. It follows the laws until it decides to act like water and thats just how it goes lol

Thanks for the heads up on DIYMA. I recall skimming past some info over there when I did my install. I'll dig in a little more. My setup is frustrating because it sounds really good on aux and less so on bluetooth.

[Kcalhoun27]

Thanks for the heads up on DIYMA. I recall skimming past some info over there when I did my install. I'll dig in a little more. My setup is frustrating because it sounds really good on aux and less so on bluetooth.

I totally understand that. DIYMA is a great resource and will certainly be able to answer your questions. I talked with a member Ultimatemj who was a huge help. I hope he is on this forum, but i know he is also on that forum. That dude was a huge help and yet another forum member that is a reminder of why forums are so great

[bmw]

Whatever you end up doing, keep all the original components and don't butcher the wiring harness.
Look at older Porsche owners, when their cars were cheap they replaced with aftermarket crap and threw away the stock components, now a period correct all original radio in good shape is $1-2K.

[Phoenix///M3]

I totally understand that. DIYMA is a great resource and will certainly be able to answer your questions. I talked with a member Ultimatemj who was a huge help. I hope he is on this forum, but i know he is also on that forum. That dude was a huge help and yet another forum member that is a reminder of why forums are so great

So to wrap this up for future generations, it was my amp ground. I moved it to the factory ground at the rear left up near the shock mount and all is good. I can go up to full volume indefinitely even while charging so no ground loops. My system did not like being grounded at the factory ground for the battery.

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[Tigerbimmer]

Is Dynavin worth the premium over Avin? I have the business radio. Consistent/error free operation is priority followed by CarPlay (wireless or wired is fine since I want the ability to charge my iPhone). Dynavin is doing $100 off for BF on the N7 pro and want to take advantage of it if it’ll mean a better user experience.

[Kcalhoun27]

Is Dynavin worth the premium over Avin? I have the business radio. Consistent/error free operation is priority followed by CarPlay (wireless or wired is fine since I want the ability to charge my iPhone). Dynavin is doing $100 off for BF on the N7 pro and want to take advantage of it if it’ll mean a better user experience.

I just installed an Avin unit and if i could start over i would have gone with enfigcarstereo.com and never looked back. The avin unit is the ok-ist stereo i have ever used. Its so middle of the road, the best thing about it is that it looks stock. The interface and platform is awful. I know some people enjoy the options it gives and to be fair, thats wasted on me. But as a stereo, it leaves a lot to be desired. So, choose carefully. If you want the best stereo option, dont bother with any option that has avin in the name. If you want the maximum options, the avin is a great compromise with an ok stereo.
to clarify, i am amped with aftermarket speakers in baffles attached to the doors, sound deadening, a sub in a box. An actual 2.1 setup. I like my music. I dont care about tpms or torque apps. Pick your poison

[Icecream]

I just installed an Avin unit and if i could start over i would have gone with enfigcarstereo.com and never looked back. The avin unit is the ok-ist stereo i have ever used. Its so middle of the road, the best thing about it is that it looks stock. The interface and platform is awful. I know some people enjoy the options it gives and to be fair, thats wasted on me. But as a stereo, it leaves a lot to be desired. So, choose carefully. If you want the best stereo option, dont bother with any option that has avin in the name. If you want the maximum options, the avin is a great compromise with an ok stereo.
to clarify, i am amped with aftermarket speakers in baffles attached to the doors, sound deadening, a sub in a box. An actual 2.1 setup. I like my music. I dont care about tpms or torque apps. Pick your poison

it leaves something to be desired sound wise, if I could only get the darn thing to output to a USB dac, I would be happy and the sound issues would be gone.

[DropTopKingM3]

Phoenix///M3 is there a ground loop isolator for an aux plug? I used them on some of the cameras at my rental property and it got rid of all the interference on the screen.

[Phoenix///M3]

Phoenix///M3 is there a ground loop isolator for an aux plug? I used them on some of the cameras at my rental property and it got rid of all the interference on the screen.

Yea I've used those in the past to good effect on other vehicles but made no difference on the E46, not sure why.

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[Kcalhoun27]

it leaves something to be desired sound wise, if I could only get the darn thing to output to a USB dac, I would be happy and the sound issues would be gone.

I agree completely. The bluetooth is pretty terrible, but the corded carplay is clean. But even with the “dsp”, im not super impressed by the sound. It reminds me of the old ipod equalizer options. It does look nice though

[maw1124]

Is Dynavin worth the premium over Avin? I have the business radio. Consistent/error free operation is priority followed by CarPlay (wireless or wired is fine since I want the ability to charge my iPhone). Dynavin is doing $100 off for BF on the N7 pro and want to take advantage of it if it’ll mean a better user experience.

Yes. End of story. Don't expect error free out of anything. But this is as close as it gets (if you want a stock look and no science project, which judging from your question you do), and the best if you care about sound. Call Jeff Bechtel and talk to him about it. Worth your time.

maw

[Tigerbimmer]

Yes. End of story. Don't expect error free out of anything. But this is as close as it gets (if you want a stock look and no science project, which judging from your question you do), and the best if you care about sound. Call Jeff Bechtel and talk to him about it. Worth your time.

maw

Thanks for the feedback. Just ordered. It's not a daily driver so I'm not looking to update speakers, amp etc... Just would be nice to have some creature comforts such as bluetooth, carplay and ability to charge my phone while driving while looking stock. Looking forward to installing.