E46 Audio

Hate

Hate

Hate

Soldato
Joined
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Sussex
Might be getting a 330Ci sport in the next couple of weeks and have been browsing my options for car audio...

My audio options are currently

1) buy one of those Dynavin units at roughly £6-700 so I have nav, bluetooth and all that jazz
2) Retrofit the BMW nav
3) Spend a couple of hundred on an iPod and aftermarket bluetooth kit or
4) Get an aftermarket stereo and fascia


Now, I prefer the stock look in a car but is it actually possible to get a single DIN fascia that doesn't look completely out of place on an E46?
 
1) There was a big thread here on these a while back, lots of info but I believe the general consensus was that they weren't worth the money?

2) Best option looks wise but you still have the terrible sound quality to put up with (though I suppose that depends whether you are an audiophile or not!)

3) You'll still have the poor OEM sound quality but you get handsfree and much more choice of music I guess.

4) Can look awkward but by far the best option for audio quality. Can use single or double DIN (more effort required) and side mount or central mount adapters available.

I went for option 4, changed the speakers in the front and amped up the whole lot. Sounds 100x better and though it doesn't look OEM doesn't look too bad and doesn't bother me in the slightest.
 
I'm not an audiophile as I am partially deaf, but my Audi currently has a full BOSE system with a little subwoofer so I'm expecting it to be worse than that...

Must admit am leaning towards the dynavin or an aftermarket unit. I guess a double din unit wouldn't look so out of place?
 
Hate said:
I'm not an audiophile as I am partially deaf, but my Audi currently has a full BOSE system with a little subwoofer so I'm expecting it to be worse than that...

Must admit am leaning towards the dynavin or an aftermarket unit. I guess a double din unit wouldn't look so out of place?
Click to expand...

The Audi BOSE system is pretty good compared to the standard speaker setup in the E46. Its the amp in the headunit in the E46 that lets it down so much - the speakers are passable.... Even the Harman Kardon upgrade doesn't really do much in the way of sound quality so I hear and not worth the hassle of retro fitting if you don't have it already.

Double DIN can look fine (better than some Single DIN aftermarket ones) but if the car doesn't have Nav already fitted, you need to do some modding and move the climate control module down to accommodate it. There are guides on the owners clubs to do this.
 
Hate said:
Might be getting a 330Ci sport in the next couple of weeks and have been browsing my options for car audio...

My audio options are currently

1) buy one of those Dynavin units at roughly £6-700 so I have nav, bluetooth and all that jazz
2) Retrofit the BMW nav
3) Spend a couple of hundred on an iPod and aftermarket bluetooth kit or
4) Get an aftermarket stereo and fascia


Now, I prefer the stock look in a car but is it actually possible to get a single DIN fascia that doesn't look completely out of place on an E46?
Click to expand...

Does the car you're looking at have the Harman Kardon upgrade? If so, it can restrict what you can do with aftermarket add on's without starting from scratch.

The MKIV BMW Nav isn't that great and is pretty dated by modern standards. It's made better by some aftermarket mods that you can make to the firmware but it's just not that good. I could certainly live without it.

I think the Dynavin is on it's 3rd revision now or something and seems to have improved. At that price point, it's probably the best double-din solution.

There's a huge thread on M3 Cutters on the Dynavin which would be worth checking out to get up to date info. HTH.
 
I'd get one with the HK upgrade & double DIN widescreen display in from the start, it'll be cheaper in the long run (imho) and always look better
 
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