[Burr001]

Originally Posted by Value

Where in NY do you live ? Would love to hear the difference over my hifi trash. I was going to do a full system. Focal offers speaker replacements that are plug and play for the X3. And I can then run a processor and any amp I want. But bimmer tech is much cheaper and more simple tbh

Im in Bayside. I found focal speakers too, but off ebay international, but considering it was about the same price i decide to stick with bimmertech alpha ones. my speakers shows it should arrive next week. Just debating on waiting till it gets warmer or wear my snow boarding gear to install.....

But the amp helped alot in sound quality to me, I wanted at first to do a full custom system but in the end deciding for something thats plug and play.

[jdhiro]

Not that a recording on your phone is probably the most accurate sound, but those blinkers sound very loud to my ears. I don't think I could handle that.

Does this amp have a gain setting that can be turned down or something? I can't imagine why the gain would be so different on the blinkers versus stock.

[Value]

Originally Posted by Burr001

Im in Bayside. I found focal speakers too, but off ebay international, but considering it was about the same price i decide to stick with bimmertech alpha ones. my speakers shows it should arrive next week. Just debating on waiting till it gets warmer or wear my snow boarding gear to install.....

But the amp helped alot in sound quality to me, I wanted at first to do a full custom system but in the end deciding for something thats plug and play.

Nice man,might have to meet up with you sometime. How much louder is it,as in overall volume ? At 100% volume from the factory it sounds extremely low to me. I’m on Long Island and there is a local shop near me that does bmws all day long. They sent me 6 different focal options etc

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

Not that a recording on your phone is probably the most accurate sound, but those blinkers sound very loud to my ears. I don't think I could handle that.

Does this amp have a gain setting that can be turned down or something? I can't imagine why the gain would be so different on the blinkers versus stock.

The amp does have a dsp, so you can adjust the sound levels that the amp will reproduce. But again any sound that the car as a whole makes will also increase in sound since the signal has to go through the amp and then through the speakers.

But I think your asking if the amp can isolate that one sound ie turn signal, then turning the "gain" down will lower it will not work. The gain adjust is used to adjust the overall sound reproduction level of the output signal the amp produces. Not fine tuning a single sound note.

The dsp or signal processor that comes with he amp will help fine tune certain frequencies. Unless there's a way to adjust the actual sound of the "turn signal " from the settings in idrive or code it like through bimmercode, any type of amplifier that you add to your system will always increase the sound of said turn signal.

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by Value

Nice man,might have to meet up with you sometime. How much louder is it,as in overall volume ? At 100% volume from the factory it sounds extremely low to me. I’m on Long Island and there is a local shop near me that does bmws all day long. They sent me 6 different focal options etc

Where in li I'll be near old Westbury or Roosevelt field mall tommorow in the early afternoon..pm me if you can meet up

[Value]

Originally Posted by Burr001

Where in li I'll be near old Westbury or Roosevelt field mall tommorow in the early afternoon..pm me if you can meet up

Nice,Pm sent 👍🏻

[Alias1431]

Originally Posted by Burr001

Ok my friend here you go. its cold outside btw
I coded ASD off and coded the bowers & wilkins eq
First video will be the sound from the turn signals
Again its not like sitting next to a loudspeaker at a stadium, its just louder than stock.
Next is a video of the parking sensors
Next is a song being played which to me sounds more full and crisp over the stock system

Great update, but I can't help but laugh at the music video.

Lossy, compressed satellite radio.
Unknown quality mic.
Probably recorded lossy.
Uploaded to YouTube and goes through their compression.
Played back on who knows what kind of speakers/video quality.

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by Alias1431

Great update, but I can't help but laugh at the music video.

Lossy, compressed satellite radio.
Unknown quality mic.
Probably recorded lossy.
Uploaded to YouTube and goes through their compression.
Played back on who knows what kind of speakers/video quality.

sry its the only way i could have done it for the time being, on my samsung phone

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by Value

Nice,Pm sent 👍🏻

pm sent you my cell #

[mikeym40]

Originally Posted by Burr001

pm sent you my cell #

Fellow Long Islanders. I don't trust myself with this install lol. Which place would you recommend? May consider purchasing b

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by mikeym40

Fellow Long Islanders. I don't trust myself with this install lol. Which place would you recommend? May consider purchasing b

The amp really took me 15 mins to install, its plug and play. and 2 10mm screws and a 10mm nut, to be honest I didnt unplug my ground or positive battery post either.

[Angelo_GraysonMiniBMW]

Thank you! It sounds like the blinker and parking sensors are pretty loud.i wonder if we could use a code reader to adjust the volume of the parking sensors and blinkers.

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by Angelo1

Thank you! It sounds like the blinker and parking sensors are pretty loud.i wonder if we could use a code reader to adjust the volume of the parking sensors and blinkers.

I looked and there isn't an adjustment in our x3...it was on older other bmw models where you can adjust sound.

At the end of the day I don't think you will be driving with the blinkers on all day or taking 2 hrs to park. So the sound created won't drive you mad, unless your using a hearing aid.

[jdhiro]

Originally Posted by Burr001

...
But again any sound that the car as a whole makes will also increase in sound since the signal has to go through the amp and then through the speakers.
...
But I think your asking if the amp can isolate that one sound ie turn signal, then turning the "gain" down will lower it will not work.

That's not quite what I'm asking. Also, for background, I'm a bit of an audiophile with some high-end gear at home and probably a bit more time nerding out on amps than your average Joe.

A quality amp makes loud music better, it doesn't make loud music louder.

At home, if I replace my $600 Denon receiver with a $20,000 McIntosh amp, music doesn't get any louder assuming the same gain on the amp (some of these amps have switchable gain). If I run at -20db I get the same SPL, but more accurate sound, clarity, dynamic headroom, etc. It's not louder - just better. I can also turn the music louder without the amp clipping and making square wave distortion.

In this case, everything is louder, indicating that the the amp has a higher gain profile and/or you're just more inclined to crank the volume knob up with the new amp. Either this or the stock amp has some built in feature to normalize "system sounds" that this new amp is missing. Bimmer-Tech is also talking up their DSP, so perhaps they are processing audio in a way that makes these sounds louder. Our ears tend to interpret "louder" sounds as better because it gives us more dynamic frequencies - ie, there is more data between "dead silent" and "the loudest sound I can make". Either way, it seems like there is something going on here other than this just being a more capable amplifier.

[Want the thrill]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

That's not quite what I'm asking. Also, for background, I'm a bit of an audiophile with some high-end gear at home and probably a bit more time nerding out on amps than your average Joe.

A quality amp makes loud music better, it doesn't make loud music louder.

At home, if I replace my $600 Denon receiver with a $20,000 McIntosh amp, music doesn't get any louder assuming the same gain on the amp (some of these amps have switchable gain). If I run at -20db I get the same SPL, but more accurate sound, clarity, dynamic headroom, etc. It's not louder - just better. I can also turn the music louder without the amp clipping and making square wave distortion.

In this case, everything is louder, indicating that the the amp has a higher gain profile and/or you're just more inclined to crank the volume knob up with the new amp. Either this or the stock amp has some built in feature to normalize "system sounds" that this new amp is missing. Bimmer-Tech is also talking up their DSP, so perhaps they are processing audio in a way that makes these sounds louder. Our ears tend to interpret "louder" sounds as better because it gives us more dynamic frequencies - ie, there is more data between "dead silent" and "the loudest sound I can make". Either way, it seems like there is something going on here other than this just being a more capable amplifier.

Go to the Bimmertech website and look at the specs for the amp on their website. It’s the Alpha1 amp. It definitely made everything louder. Used to have volume turned up to 80% of max before the Amp, now at 50% of max it’s plenty loud.

[jdhiro]

Originally Posted by Want the thrill

Go to the Bimmertech website and look at the specs for the amp on their website. It’s the Alpha1 amp. It definitely made everything louder. Used to have volume turned up to 80% of max before the Amp, now at 50% of max it’s plenty loud.

Got it, so it absolutely is running a higher gain than the stock amp.

I looked at the amp manual and there is an "input sensitivity" adjustment, which would be gain. It sounds like that needs to be turned down.

I'll call Bimmertech to discuss this as soon as I have a VIN for my build.

PS - Sorry, I'm not trying to challenge anyone on the amp. I'm interested in it very much, and trying to figure out how to make it a workable solution for me. Thank you for all the info!

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

That's not quite what I'm asking. Also, for background, I'm a bit of an audiophile with some high-end gear at home and probably a bit more time nerding out on amps than your average Joe.

A quality amp makes loud music better, it doesn't make loud music louder.

At home, if I replace my $600 Denon receiver with a $20,000 McIntosh amp, music doesn't get any louder assuming the same gain on the amp (some of these amps have switchable gain). If I run at -20db I get the same SPL, but more accurate sound, clarity, dynamic headroom, etc. It's not louder - just better. I can also turn the music louder without the amp clipping and making square wave distortion.

In this case, everything is louder, indicating that the the amp has a higher gain profile and/or you're just more inclined to crank the volume knob up with the new amp. Either this or the stock amp has some built in feature to normalize "system sounds" that this new amp is missing. Bimmer-Tech is also talking up their DSP, so perhaps they are processing audio in a way that makes these sounds louder. Our ears tend to interpret "louder" sounds as better because it gives us more dynamic frequencies - ie, there is more data between "dead silent" and "the loudest sound I can make". Either way, it seems like there is something going on here other than this just being a more capable amplifier.

Ok thats fine, but what you asked was that if you can lower the gain for the sound of the "blinker",
"Not that a recording on your phone is probably the most accurate sound, but those blinkers sound very loud to my ears. I don't think I could handle that.
Does this amp have a gain setting that can be turned down or something? I can't imagine why the gain would be so different on the blinkers versus stock."

To clairfy i dont think you can lower the "gain" on just the "blinkers", you would be adjusting the entire amps output. Unless there was an adjustment like in the idrive ,the DSP or be able to code it solely to adjust the sound level of the "blinkers", then problem solved?

[jdhiro]

Originally Posted by Burr001

Ok thats fine, but what you asked was that if you can lower the gain for the sound of the "blinker"...

That's not what I meant, but sorry that was my fail in the question. I just want to know if this amp is running a positive gain over the stock amp and if it can be turned down to the same level - and the evidence seems to indicate yes, if the manual is correct, you can turn-down the input sensitivity.

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

Got it, so it absolutely is running a higher gain than the stock amp.

I looked at the amp manual and there is an "input sensitivity" adjustment, which would be gain. It sounds like that needs to be turned down.

I'll call Bimmertech to discuss this as soon as I have a VIN for my build.

PS - Sorry, I'm not trying to challenge anyone on the amp. I'm interested in it very much, and trying to figure out how to make it a workable solution for me. Thank you for all the info!

I didn't think you were challenging anything, I really want to have a proper fix for this at the end of the day, so any input is welcome. And if I learn something new all the better.
Ill also contact Bimmertech when i have a chance tommorow to see if there is an adjustment within the factory radio or their amp to lower just factory "blinker" sounds. I dunno what would you say the input of the blinker or parking sound is called? Factory notifications signal?

[Burr001]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

That's not what I meant, but sorry that was my fail in the question. I just want to know if this amp is running a positive gain over the stock amp and if it can be turned down to the same level - and the evidence seems to indicate yes, if the manual is correct, you can turn-down the input sensitivity.

if you turn down input sensitivity wouldnt that also mean your turning down the signal for the music?

[Want the thrill]

Originally Posted by jdhiro

Got it, so it absolutely is running a higher gain than the stock amp.

I looked at the amp manual and there is an "input sensitivity" adjustment, which would be gain. It sounds like that needs to be turned down.

I'll call Bimmertech to discuss this as soon as I have a VIN for my build.

PS - Sorry, I'm not trying to challenge anyone on the amp. I'm interested in it very much, and trying to figure out how to make it a workable solution for me. Thank you for all the info!

As I have the Amp already up and running, any knowledge gained helps all of us so be sure to report back your findings. I have not coded the Asd off yet, but need to do so. Even if I had to live with the louder blinkers etc, it would be worth it to me for the improvement in the sound. Clarity, highs and lows and everything in between is so much better. The standard hifi is horrible and I couldn’t live with it.

[jdhiro]

Originally Posted by Burr001

if you turn down input sensitivity wouldnt that also mean your turning down the signal for the music?

Yes and no.

The source, the head unit, would have both a "pot" that adjusts the voltage for volume, and an op-amp which is a low-voltage amplifier that outputs the line-level signal.

The amplifier, in this case the Bimmer-Tech, has a gain structure that adds X decibels to the signal.

If you turn down the gain on the amplifier, than you have to crank the volume up more on the stereo, but it might not mess up the blinker sound.

It's possible, and seems likely, that Bimmer-Tech thought they got more "wow" results depending less on the op-amp and more on the amp. However, the sound quality should be improved either way, and I'd prefer to run more at the standard gain and not have unusually loud blinkers.

However, the reality is also that these car stereos are super integrated and do weird things I might not know about. For example, the HK system doesn't have the op-amp in the head-unit, because it moves the DAC and DSP into the trunk, which is actually pretty cool because it lets them get rid of the analog volume pot and move the volume control into the digital domain in the DAC by selectively dropping bits.