Replacing Factory Stereo - BMW Forum

poetry4all · 02-18-2005, 07:59 AM

BEST BUY says they'll install a new stereo with an extra 80 dollar fee because they have to bypass the amp. What does that mean? Why can't I use the BMW amp?

Should I just do what they say and bypass the amp? Or can I re-use the BMW amp with a new stereo. The old stereo's LCD is shot and it won't turn on anymore.

Thanks!!!!!

brien4787 · 02-18-2005, 12:57 PM

What do you mean by new stereo? Is it just a head unit, or are you getting new speakers, ect? Tell us what you are getting to be exact...

Bypassing the amp really isn't hard, you can do it yourself.

Tell us more, we will help.

jshearer · 02-18-2005, 07:15 PM

I put in a new headunit and had never done anything like that before. It took me around 2 hours. You need a wire harness and a power converter oh yeah and a antenna converter(european to american). When i bought from crutchfield they made sure i got all the right parts that i needed. I would suggest crutchfield. They have a great selection, make sure you get what you need, give you an install manual for your specific car, and have great customer service that will walk you through any throubles with install. You can also pay online through them to have it installed locally. I had a great experience with them.

By the way I got the Clarion DXZ645. It is very nice and has custom colors to match the amber color of your car. Plus it is all black and looks fairly factory.

KVG · 02-19-2005, 12:05 AM

So yeah I have a diploma in audio and I put a new deck in my 328IS and alpine with pre outs it was ok but the sound sucks. So to make it better I re wired the car and put in new speakers (boston acoustics) the re-wire sucked but hey I have high gauge wire in my care how many people can say that. I have a custom filter and great sound like I did with my old deck. I spent $300 have a 7 disc capability. Oh yeah DO NOT HAVE BEST BUY DO IT!!!!! That's like having a Grill guy from Mcdonalds fix you a steak dinner, bad news.

Cruzin 323is · 02-19-2005, 12:22 AM

thats a load of crap!! i put in every piece of stereo equipment in my car...
i never by-passed anything!
puting in a head unit is sooo easy! u just need a bmw harness!! then connect some wires(which are color coded)...
changing speakes, take old ones out,... put new 1's in!!(plug and play)
sub and aftermarket amp!!( battery in trunk) and all u have to do is get the the headunit, and run the rca's!!

LivinFast67 · 02-19-2005, 03:37 AM

cruzin323is, where did u get the bmw harness. I got a new clarion headunit i need to install and it came with it's own harness, the colors on it don't match the colors on the facory bmw wires

k2c69n · 02-19-2005, 09:37 AM

ok, so i really want a new head unit and one of the main reasons is to hook up my ipod.
now, I know alpine has the adapter you can buy that is made for an alpine head unit. The unit charges the ipod and setup is nice and easy. Now my question is ;

Does it really matter what head unit you buy (obviously not a crappy one) to hook up the ipod too.. that was thr only reason i bought it. I've been looking at other decks beside alpines... etc.. Do i just have to buy the wires to hook into the aux? Thanks for all your help.

Cruzin 323is · 02-19-2005, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LivinFast67@Feb 19 2005, 04:37 AM
cruzin323is, where did u get the bmw harness. I got a new clarion headunit i need to install and it came with it's own harness, the colors on it don't match the colors on the facory bmw wires

[snapback]294768[/snapback]

bought my headunit from crutchfield! they give u free harness for your car!!

go on ebay and type, bmw wiring harness

volsome · 02-19-2005, 09:46 PM

I purchased a nice Sony head unit from Circuit City and got two very different stories. One guy in the sound shop said that it was no problem to replace the factory unit, basically a remove and replace (with correct harness). He spoke to the shop lead and he said "oh no

, this system (HK) has a factory amp and that a new head unit would have too much output and the sound would distorted." I told them to just replace it with the Sony unit and see what happens (I thought the guy was an idiot

). Well, the swap took about 5 minutes and it sounds great.

1997 328i with HK factory system (now with Sony head unit-7color display to chose from). B)

jshearer · 02-20-2005, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LivinFast67@Feb 19 2005, 03:37 AM
cruzin323is, where did u get the bmw harness. I got a new clarion headunit i need to install and it came with it's own harness, the colors on it don't match the colors on the facory bmw wires

[snapback]294768[/snapback]

When i bought my cd player from crutchfield they gave me an instruction sheet that said what each wire did, you look at the harness instructions and match up by function. Most of the wires are the sme color for mine, but not all of them.