Re: audio upgrade (archive)

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In Reply to: Re: audio upgrade posted by Gwynne Spencer on January 21, 1999 at 10:37:03:

I took my E39 premium sound system apart last weekend, and poked around. I didn't decode all the wires, but generally the speaker wiring looked similar to the older E34 system described in the Bentley 5-series service manual. The yellow wires are for left speakers, the blue are right. There are three wiring harnesses to/from the amp. The one with the thick wires are bass speaker leads. A second connector on the same side of the amp connects to the mids and tweets.

From the head unit, pins 1/8 and 2/11 are left and right preamps out, respectively.

The head unit is Alpine, as well as the CD changer. The head unit feeds into a black box which is a combined DSP/EQ and amplifier. I have no idea, but it would make sense that this box is controlled by some digital control protocol, like the Alpine AiNET. If this turns out to be true, it seems possible that you could upgrade this box with some of the higher end Alpine stuff for more power.

: I would be very interested in a color code chart for the connections to the amp in the left rear fender well - especially the speaker leads. If you (or anyone else) comes up with this data, please post it.

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: : For people who have upgraded the sound system in the E39 to a/d/s stage 1, how much did you pay? I was quoted $501 for parts (P240, A10s, and the bass level controller) plus $80 for the installation, $60 for the box and $20 for wiring. ($661 total plus tax). Is this a good deal or should I keep shopping around?

: : PS- I am going to knock out the ski-bag metal plate (I didn't order that option) and install the components behind the rear seat. I hope that I don't create a rattle box in the process. Has anyone done this before?

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