[joeyc123]

Hey all,

I could have sworn of hearing of some great install shops from reputable members on this forum up in the Norcal, can anyone verify what I remember seeing and who works there? If Im crazy, does anyone know of any shops that are known for BMW audio installs up north between San Jose and SF? Thanks everyone.

[BeeeCeee]

Only one I can recommend is Kartunz in Pleasanton. Check their work out on FB and you'll be impressed. They've done my past 4 cars. Ask for Tommy or Chris. They do very high end cars and no job is too big or too small. I'm going there tomorrow to get a quote on work for my 335d.

Originally Posted by joeyc123

Hey all,

I could have sworn of hearing of some great install shops from reputable members on this forum up in the Norcal, can anyone verify what I remember seeing and who works there? If Im crazy, does anyone know of any shops that are known for BMW audio installs up north between San Jose and SF? Thanks everyone.

[ctuna]

The reason there is so much activity on this forum
and the reason it exists is a lot of us couldn't find a good
after market shop that knows these cars and wouldn't charge
and arm and leg to put some good stuff in.
VP Electricity(MusicarNW) use to have some shops that would install his kits
in the Bay Area.
(AND TO PUT the RIGHT STUFF IN)
You have to beware of stuff like in the following thread.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=550771

Best to get the specifics of what they are going to do and run it
by this forum before laying down your bucks.

Also read the following to get familiar with what you have.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641323

[jeffb335]

I send a lot of our Dynavin BMW installs to All Pro Audio, they are fairly familiar with german cars. They are on Stevens Creek blvd off the 280.

And to expand on what ctuna said above, do your homework, and check out http://musicarnw.com/ since they specialize in BMWs and have much more specific (and effective) upgrades than most standard local shops can offer. Even if you go another route, do yourself a favor and at least check out their website so you know what is possible.

[ctuna]

The MusicarNW website doesn't seem to be working
the way it used to .
They use to have all kinds of good submenu's that would get
you down to specifics and prices. I don't seem to be able to do
that anymore.
If I click on e90 for and example it just shows a big picture of
a e90 instead of all the options for the various systems and the various
levels offered.

[jeffb335]

Yeah, it looks like they took a lot of the specifics down, looks like they are doing a more custom approach, I get it....between the different stock systems and the various upgrade paths, the E9X audio world can be a bit convoluted....

From their end its probably easier to just find out what a customer has, and where they want to go, and just deal with that, on a one on one basis.

[ctuna]

I searched for shops around here before going with a MusicarNW system
and for a long time . I found most of the standard shops didn't have the knowledge of the BMW system's or the parts that would properly fit in
them. Then there are a lot of BASS HEAD shops whose Idea of a tweeter
is a 10 inch speaker . I found a few really high end places that did custom
work and catered to the Silicon Valley executives and everything was 5k and North. Then there were the horror story's, one guy ended up with 10k of electrical damage from well known place on Steavens Creek Boulevard.

[constantin_md]

A few years ago when i had e46 , i found some professional installers in the East Bay, could be Pleasanton, or Hayward, i don't remember, but i think i found them on e46 forum. From all the craigslist audio installers i bugged they were the only one to tell me that i need custom hvac in e46 for double din installation and that was indeed the only way to install which tells me they were the only ones who knew what they were talking about.
The cost of installation only(my own parts and installation accessories) was very reasonable at $500 (custom hvac, custom 6.5'' fitment speakers, radio, amp, backup cam, bluetooth mic)
I ended doing it all my self though.

[joeyc123]

Thanks guys, to be clear I've got a AESPB-15 mounted IB in the trunk and some morel hybrids up front and the stock woofers under the seats, all of which powered by a alpine pdx-v9. It was all done by an installer who I've known for a while - and he did it for free..Its not a bad job, I just wouldnt call it professional and would like to have someone help me out and do things correctly, also looking for a dealer for jehnerts - I sware I heard someone up north being a vendor for em

[ctuna]

Not replacing the stock under seats is a mistake.
And they should be amped in stereo.
Jehnerts xe-200's are the one of the best choices.
What other things would you not call professional about it?
Did he use a harness?(*preferably a Technic Harness).
There should be a separate channel wired to each front location.
Forget about the rear speakers unless you want to get a different
amp.
I hope he didn't wire the under seats and the front doors in parallel.
Or are the under seats not wired in at all?

sounds like a case of this

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=550771

You pretty much have to order the Jehnerts from Unexpected Creations or
MuscarNW in the US as far as I know.( I kind of recall a Pacific Stereo )

I think AllPro was one of the places VP was using to install his kits.
He has SoCal shops to.

[jeffb335]

yeah, jehnerts and a processor would give you a top notch setup.

[joeyc123]

I appreciate your concern ctuna I know you always look out for people on this forum when they get stuff installed so nothing but kudos to you.

1. a technic harness was used
2. the rears are deleted
3. the underseats are wired in stereo, and for them being stock they sound decent but dont keep up with the system when the volume gets louder
4. my amps channel 1 and 2 are to the front left and right morels
One issue im having is the right speaker cutting out at low volumes then coming back into play when i turn it up, with a little bit of static in between it cutting out and what not
channel 3 and 4 are to the underseats, and the mono channel to the IB sub obviously.

The install wasn't bad..dont get me wrong, when I say professional I just want someone to say - build me an amp rack, make my subwoofer baffle and connection to the cabin more "sturdy", someone to help me find all the rattles going on. I'd like someone that really knows what they are doing to help me with these things because I Don't feel comfortable doing certain things to my beamer ya know?

[ctuna]

subwoofer threads
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...2&postcount=66
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...t=Ultimate+Sub
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ight=subwoofer

The other thing with the doors going in an out sounds like a bad connection.
You could reverse the front channel assignment to see if it tracks at the
doors or at the amp.

The underseats provide and important part of the midrange.
As I recall when I just had the stock ones in and powered off the Jl 600/6
they produced some output but its pretty muddy.

[Jalisco]

You should check out simplicity in sound in Milpitas they do amazing work.

[ctuna]

Yes Bing at simplicity does beautiful work but you will have to get on the
6 month waiting list and this kind of work is not cheap. I went by and talked
to him and the modest upgrade I wanted wasn't to exiting for him.
He for sure could take care of your problems though.
May be things have changed he was working out of his house a few years ago
when I was searching.

[joeyc123]

Awesome! ill check em out, thanks guys.

And ctuna I agree, the output from the stock underseats isn't too bad, but when I turn it up it gets super muddy. I actually tried bringing the highpass down to 100 with my morels yesterday just to see what I was missing out, and it sounds amazing honestly, the morels do a good job down to about there. I just know it might not be too safe in the long run for em like having them crossed at 200 like before would.

[ctuna]

Simpicity in sound has a great website.
With example builds so you can see there work.
By the way Bing used to run Car Stereo magazine
when it existed. If you look at his builds you can see
the level of custom stuff he is capable off.
Also I think the Jehnert xe-200's are the best midbass I have
ever heard.

[Jalisco]

Oh that's awesome Bing is a good guy. He has a shop now they just did a M4 build. I was fairly happy with my gladen woofers, but next build I'm going to try Jehnert.