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      10-02-2009, 04:11 AM   #1
jeremyp
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Alpine PXE-H650

I know there have been a few threads about the base stereo. Unfortunately, I also didn't pay the £815 to upgrade.
But, the base stereo, as most recognise, it not loud enough.

Has anyone had experience of the Alpine PXE-H650? They say:

"Want your stock radio to sound like an Alpine? The PXE-H650 can do this for you – make factory radio sound like a high-quality Alpine unit. This audio processor lets you upgrade from your mediocre factory sound system. The PXE-H650 allows advanced sound tuning of factory equipment by correcting the acoustical problems in any vehicle. It’s equipped with AntEQ™, to remove the factory equalization, and Audyssey SoundEQ XT™, to optimize the sound quality of the system.

Once sound levels are balanced, and the system is tuned for optimum performance, Alpine amplifiers, speakers, and subwoofers can be added for a simple upgrade of your factory system, or go that extra mile and upgrade to a more complex system with complete multi-channel set-up! It's easy to upgrade from factory to Alpine!"


I don't want to lose my headunit, PDC tones, MFSW, bluetooth phone. I just want to increase the power to the speakers. I know that the front and rears are heavily equalised out of the head unit and it's not necessarily an easy task.

Could this be a solution?
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      10-02-2009, 07:32 AM   #2
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What amps/subwoofers are you going to use and where will you locate them?
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      10-02-2009, 07:39 AM   #3
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Actually, I think the PXE-H650 may be bigger than I want. On further investigation, I am looking at the Blaupunkt THA-555.
This is a "plug and play" amp and simply boots the current signals to the speakers.
What I would really like is a simple device that removes all the filtering/equalisation from the speaker feeds.

I also saw this thread:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157820

Where the owner simply got the tweeters from the upgraded stereo and plugged them into the midrange. Anyone got any thoughts on that?
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      10-02-2009, 10:55 AM   #4
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Hi,

I'm not familiar with this kind of sound enhancing devices like the Alpine PXE-H650, but according the product description it tries to fix the standard audio signal by doing some complex digital sound processing. I guess the PXE can fix some issues and improve maximum the sound level of the basic stereo unit. Off course only when you use good amplifiers and speakers. But clean sound reproduction will still be an issue.

So spending a lot of money will not return the quality you should expect of it.

I would suggest starting with a subwoofer system to get a nice bass sound. But that isn't easy. A separate subwoofer and amplifier (<80 Hz) is required. This amplifier should accept hi-level input signals and have a low pass filter. This amp should be connected on the front speaker signal. This is a must because the rear speaker signal is seriously high pass filtered, not something you want to do on your sub woofer signal. This will give the feeling the system already sounds louder. But top down will still be an issue.

About the basic stereo's equalizing; the sort experience I had with the unit was that the front output was not that heavy equalized. So it could be used as source signal to feed some amplifiers. So you could skip the PXE and try this setup. I would NOT use the rear output signal to feed mid and high range amplifiers.

Than we have the speaker story. I have replaced the rear speakers with full rangers.

I personally think that the foot well speakers are good enough for the job. Just use an extra amplifier and high pass (100 Hz) the signal, than they can play much louder than before.

I'm still busy with my audio system, I guess you can get some info from this threads:
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewto...p?f=23&t=11335

Success, EdP
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      10-02-2009, 11:05 AM   #5
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Thanks EdP. I've looked at your install a lot and it has been useful in establishing what can and can't be done.
I had come to the realisation that the front feed was as unfiltered as it was going to get but I also have PDC so I was thinking I would have to leave one or two speakers linked to the rear feed and maybe put them the centre (behind a grill between the seats) where the 14 speaker system has a centre channel.
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      10-03-2009, 10:07 PM   #6
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Hey jeremyp ... you opened the eyes ...
I haven't heard anything about plug n play amplifiers.
I also checked e90forum and had a look at the E93 installation. Great and clean work.
I also have the basic audio, and I was looking for an easy upgrade solution keeping untouched the factory head unit.

IMO we should try the Blaupunkt pnp solution and stay away from dirty wire cutting. Later we can change speakers or add a sub. The sound quality will be much much better from that of the basic audio system.
But Im not sure whether there's an adapter for the new E89. I checked the product's pdf (http://www.blaupunkt.com/de/download...ste_250407.pdf)
and says Z4 from 01/01 and on. Not sure what it means. Did U check for compatibility with the new E89 ?
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      10-03-2009, 11:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpapg View Post
......But Im not sure whether there's an adapter for the new E89. I checked the product's pdf (http://www.blaupunkt.com/de/download...ste_250407.pdf)
and says Z4 from 01/01 and on. Not sure what it means. Did U check for compatibility with the new E89 ?
From looking through the file, I see no occurences of "2008", "2009", "xx/08", or "xx/09".

I suspect the 250407 at the end of the file name means April 25, 2007 - so a pretty dated doc.
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      10-04-2009, 02:59 AM   #8
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I checked with BlueSpot and they couldn't tell me which cable the E89 would use but looking at the list, most of the new BMWs use the same lead (7 607 622 016 001) and I am going to assume that the stereo in the E89 is pretty much the same as the one in the 1 series or 3 series.

So my plan would be to get that amp and fit it, probably in the boot behind the "ski hatch" (can someone tell me where the OEM amp is fitted?) and see how that sounds.
Then depending on how the front speakers cope I will see if I can get a BMW tweeter to just plug in to the mid range at the front. If the standard speakers can't cope with the power then a new component set will be required up front.
At the back, I may just upgrade the single speaker on each side for some Focal full range speakers and see how that sounds.
Then one or two subs, feeding off the 5th channel of the amp - don't know where to put those yet, one option would be to get the OEM subs and housings and grills and put them in the stock locations and maybe upgrade the subs themselves but that feels like an expensive option. Another option would be to put a sub in the centre where the storage bin is in the partition but then I don't really want to lose the storage and it won't look stock.
If the rear speakers need more range (which I doubt they do). Then I will take the rear feed from the head unit and feed it to two little mid range speakers behind a grill in the centre of the rear partition (where the professional setup has a centre speaker) so I can keep the PDC tones and then feed the front channel from the head unit to front and rear.
After that I am sure the sound will be much better and i can stop!
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      10-04-2009, 09:41 AM   #9
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If you want to know what fits on our E89 system, just look if it is 1 series (E87) compatible. That is what I did and it worked.

EdP
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      10-04-2009, 05:09 PM   #10
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Thanks EdP, that's the basis I was going to go on.
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      10-05-2009, 12:52 PM   #11
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Great ... Keep us updated jeremyp !!!
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