My Experience with Bimmer-Tech Amp on F15 X5

[bavautosport]

Hi All,

I'm John and today I'm writing to report to you my experience with the Bimmer-Tech Premium Sound System amplifier, from the purchase, communication, to support and installation. I hope you will find this somewhat helpful if you are also looking into acquiring one, or looking for a solution to upgrade our car's stock audio system. I would also like to thank everyone for the tremendous knowledge base, both in the E90 and F15 forums, and your willingness to share and help fellow members, which has helped me greatly during my ownership.

***Full Disclosure*** Since this is my first introductory post to the community, I wanted to be absolutely honest about what I am writing here, including my personal experience dealing with Bimmer-Tech' staff, their audio products, as well as the 5% cashback that Bimmer-Tech offered to buyers should they choose to write a review and/or share their experience.

- Background: I've always been a BMW fanatic for as long as I could remember. My dream of driving my own BMW realized when I bought a pre-owned 2011 E90 328i (Deep Sea Blue/Saddle Brown). I had a lot of fun with the car, which I kept mostly stock due to other financial priority, i.e. buying a house and starting a family. Fast forward a few years, the family has grown in size and I am now driving a CPO 2015 F15 X5 xDrive35i (Jet Black/Terra), which we all love for its space, amenities, and driving dynamics. As much as I love my BMW's, I've always felt something was missing in the audio department - granted I couldn't find the premium audio options - the stock base system sometimes felt inferior to other luxury marques, just my honestly personal experience. On the other hand, my wife's 2014 Acura RDX with the ELS sound system was very good (again, my personal experience) but of course, I wouldn't want to trade the F15 for it just because of the sound system. I thought if somehow I could improve the sound quality of the F15 daily driver, then the car would be perfect!

- Purchase: After much research done on BP and around the internet, I've decided that I would tackle the amp first, then the speakers and other stuff will follow later. Given the time and budget constraints, I was desperately looking for something IAW these criteria: 1/ Affordable; 2/ Easy to install; 3/ Great improvement over stock system; 4/ Build quality and customer support. More research followed and I finally narrowed my options to Bimmer-Tech amp, which has received generally good feedback all around. I started to communicate with Nelson and Patryk via emails asking preliminary technical questions since I was a total noob when it comes to car audio, much less complicated system like one in the F15. Communication was fast and easy as both Nelson and Patryk promptly replied and tried to answer every single question that I had, which made me feel a lot more comfortable tinkling with the car. I went ahead and placed the order with free shipping, and Bimmer-Tech also requested my VIN to really make sure that all the setup tailored to my X5, i.e. pre-loaded tune for stock speaker, connector, etc. A tracking number was also provided, which showed the progress from UAE -> Germany -> USA ->my location in the DMV. All in all, the item arrived within 4 days.




- Open Box and Installation: I was so excited so I opened immediately, then I realized I needed to take photos to share the process, so please excuse the torn bag in the above photo. The item really arrived undamaged and well packaged. Anyway, I opened the box and saw the amp, its wire, USB cable, and instruction with a link to online install directions. Upon close inspection, the amp is brand new and has great build quality. It felt solid and heavy, with all the wires carefully tied together. I was somewhat concerned about all the wire connections, but after seeing how it was already partly wired, the rest was extremely easy with clear label of where the two white plastic ends go.






The next part was installation. I do apologize but I didn't have my camera phone with me during the process until the end, but I followed the instructions sent to me by Patryk (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n9...thvnBrQZz9r8qL). I started with removing the floor panel to access both batteries. After removing the earth leads, I started to open the left wall panel to gain access to the amp. I'm glad to see how the amp was so easy to locate in the F15 X5. It took less than five minutes to open all three screws and one bolt holding the amp housing. I then started to remove the stock amp, which btw was a lot lighter and smaller than the Bimmer-Tech one. Installation was extremely easy: just slide the amp in and secure the screw on top. Reverse the process to reinstall everything. Below is where the amp is located after installation. It sits right where the stock amp was:



After reconnecting the batteries, I went ahead and turn the car on. However, there was no sound, dong, chime, nothing...I was worried for a moment that I had messed it up somehow. I went back to the amp and inspect everything, then I found out that the black connector that was supposed to be connected to the car's existing harness was not fully "clicked in." It's a little tricky to get click in, but that's the BMW's design to make sure no vibration will cause separation down the road, which I appreciated. After that, I went back to start the car and immediately heard the usual noise nagging at me...but I didn't complain this time as I knew now that the amp has worked.



- Sound Quality: I am going to say the obvious truth here that sound perception is very subjective - and I am no audiophile or audio engineer by any means - but I could immediately hear the difference in volume, clarity, and the overall "sound stage." First, the amp must be way more powerful than stock, that the same volume setting is now a little too loud and I had to turn down. The clarify was vastly improved, especially higher frequency delivery from the front tweeters. I could easily pick up on higher notes or very fainted guitar sounds from my favorite songs. Next is the bass, which is now more powerful that I had to tune the setting down quite a bit; however, it was not muddy or in-your-face rumbling, but rather a tight and warm tone that I could now feel. Overall, the sound stage feels more present and less, much less, muddy than the stock system. I read online somewhere that I could further improve the amp output to my own taste via software, so that's what I am planning to do next...

- Summary:
Pros: Plug 'n Play, very easy to install, great customer and technical support, ability to adjust the amp to personal settings.

Cons: A little expensive ($899) but then again, I am trying to look at this from the perspective of a long-term investment. And since this is my my daily driver, I feel that this initial upfront cost will pay off now that I am satisfied with the car's audio.

Again, I hope this is helpful. Sorry I was not fully prepared to do pictures and/or video during the process, but I am glad how it turns out. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions that I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to contact.

[bmwx1sq]

Originally Posted by bavautosport

Hi All,

I'm John and today I'm writing to report to you my experience with the Bimmer-Tech Premium Sound System amplifier, from the purchase, communication, to support and installation. I hope you will find this somewhat helpful if you are also looking into acquiring one, or looking for a solution to upgrade our car's stock audio system. I would also like to thank everyone for the tremendous knowledge base, both in the E90 and F15 forums, and your willingness to share and help fellow members, which has helped me greatly during my ownership.

***Full Disclosure*** Since this is my first introductory post to the community, I wanted to be absolutely honest about what I am writing here, including my personal experience dealing with Bimmer-Tech' staff, their audio products, as well as the 5% cashback that Bimmer-Tech offered to buyers should they choose to write a review and/or share their experience.

- Background: I've always been a BMW fanatic for as long as I could remember. My dream of driving my own BMW realized when I bought a pre-owned 2011 E90 328i (Deep Sea Blue/Saddle Brown). I had a lot of fun with the car, which I kept mostly stock due to other financial priority, i.e. buying a house and starting a family. Fast forward a few years, the family has grown in size and I am now driving a CPO 2015 F15 X5 xDrive35i (Jet Black/Terra), which we all love for its space, amenities, and driving dynamics. As much as I love my BMW's, I've always felt something was missing in the audio department - granted I couldn't find the premium audio options - the stock base system sometimes felt inferior to other luxury marques, just my honestly personal experience. On the other hand, my wife's 2014 Acura RDX with the ELS sound system was very good (again, my personal experience) but of course, I wouldn't want to trade the F15 for it just because of the sound system. I thought if somehow I could improve the sound quality of the F15 daily driver, then the car would be perfect!

- Purchase: After much research done on BP and around the internet, I've decided that I would tackle the amp first, then the speakers and other stuff will follow later. Given the time and budget constraints, I was desperately looking for something IAW these criteria: 1/ Affordable; 2/ Easy to install; 3/ Great improvement over stock system; 4/ Build quality and customer support. More research followed and I finally narrowed my options to Bimmer-Tech amp, which has received generally good feedback all around. I started to communicate with Nelson and Patryk via emails asking preliminary technical questions since I was a total noob when it comes to car audio, much less complicated system like one in the F15. Communication was fast and easy as both Nelson and Patryk promptly replied and tried to answer every single question that I had, which made me feel a lot more comfortable tinkling with the car. I went ahead and placed the order with free shipping, and Bimmer-Tech also requested my VIN to really make sure that all the setup tailored to my X5, i.e. pre-loaded tune for stock speaker, connector, etc. A tracking number was also provided, which showed the progress from UAE -> Germany -> USA ->my location in the DMV. All in all, the item arrived within 4 days.

Attachment 1913931
Attachment 1913932

- Open Box and Installation: I was so excited so I opened immediately, then I realized I needed to take photos to share the process, so please excuse the torn bag in the above photo. The item really arrived undamaged and well packaged. Anyway, I opened the box and saw the amp, its wire, USB cable, and instruction with a link to online install directions. Upon close inspection, the amp is brand new and has great build quality. It felt solid and heavy, with all the wires carefully tied together. I was somewhat concerned about all the wire connections, but after seeing how it was already partly wired, the rest was extremely easy with clear label of where the two white plastic ends go.

Attachment 1913938
Attachment 1913939
Attachment 1913940
Attachment 1913941

The next part was installation. I do apologize but I didn't have my camera phone with me during the process until the end, but I followed the instructions sent to me by Patryk (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n9...thvnBrQZz9r8qL). I started with removing the floor panel to access both batteries. After removing the earth leads, I started to open the left wall panel to gain access to the amp. I'm glad to see how the amp was so easy to locate in the F15 X5. It took less than five minutes to open all three screws and one bolt holding the amp housing. I then started to remove the stock amp, which btw was a lot lighter and smaller than the Bimmer-Tech one. Installation was extremely easy: just slide the amp in and secure the screw on top. Reverse the process to reinstall everything. Below is where the amp is located after installation. It sits right where the stock amp was:

Attachment 1914003

After reconnecting the batteries, I went ahead and turn the car on. However, there was no sound, dong, chime, nothing...I was worried for a moment that I had messed it up somehow. I went back to the amp and inspect everything, then I found out that the black connector that was supposed to be connected to the car's existing harness was not fully "clicked in." It's a little tricky to get click in, but that's the BMW's design to make sure no vibration will cause separation down the road, which I appreciated. After that, I went back to start the car and immediately heard the usual noise nagging at me...but I didn't complain this time as I knew now that the amp has worked.



- Sound Quality: I am going to say the obvious truth here that sound perception is very subjective - and I am no audiophile or audio engineer by any means - but I could immediately hear the difference in volume, clarity, and the overall "sound stage." First, the amp must be way more powerful than stock, that the same volume setting is now a little too loud and I had to turn down. The clarify was vastly improved, especially higher frequency delivery from the front tweeters. I could easily pick up on higher notes or very fainted guitar sounds from my favorite songs. Next is the bass, which is now more powerful that I had to tune the setting down quite a bit; however, it was not muddy or in-your-face rumbling, but rather a tight and warm tone that I could now feel. Overall, the sound stage feels more present and less, much less, muddy than the stock system. I read online somewhere that I could further improve the amp output to my own taste via software, so that's what I am planning to do next...

- Summary:
Pros: Plug 'n Play, very easy to install, great customer and technical support, ability to adjust the amp to personal settings.

Cons: A little expensive ($899) but then again, I am trying to look at this from the perspective of a long-term investment. And since this is my my daily driver, I feel that this initial upfront cost will pay off now that I am satisfied with the car's audio.

Again, I hope this is helpful. Sorry I was not fully prepared to do pictures and/or video during the process, but I am glad how it turns out. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions that I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to contact.

Two things the amp is about if not double the power of the oem one. Second there is a lot more adjustability to that amp/dsp. I would take it to a sound quality car audio shop and have them tune it. You will be even more surprised after that.

I am so glad you wrote a review as I recommend it to everyone who wants an easy plug and play upgrade to their sound system.

I "went full retard" and replaced everything.

[bavautosport]

Originally Posted by bmwx1sq

Two things the amp is about if not double the power of the own one. Second there is a lot more adjustment the that amp/dsp. I would take it to a sound quality car audio shop and have them tune it. You will be even more surprised after that.

I am so glad you wrote a review as I recommend it to everyone who wants an easy plug and play upgrade to their sound system.

I "went full retard" and replaced everything.

Thanks for the feedback, bmwx1sq! I didn't think about having it tuned at an audio shop and it's a very good idea. For future reference, I am thinking about starting a standalone tunes sharing thread if enough people start using the amp. Looks like there's only one or two tunes available for our truck out there, whereas F30, F22, etc. all have several ones for all configurations you could think of. Btw, fantastic system you have right there. I bet it's comparable to any high end systems out there with that investment and setup!

[bmwx1sq]

Well the thing with tuning is every speaker acts and sounds differently. Tuning also helps with to adjust it to your liking. Not everyone can hear all the frequencies. I would enjoy have a section for audio.

[spierce]

Originally Posted by bmwx1sq

Well the thing with tuning is every speaker acts and sounds differently. Tuning also helps with to adjust it to your liking. Not everyone can hear all the frequencies. I would enjoy have a section for audio.

Do they make one of these for the hk system? Their vehicle selection system says they don't but I doubt that

[bmwx1sq]

Originally Posted by spierce

Do they make one of these for the hk system? Their vehicle selection system says they don't but I doubt that

Unfortunately you will need an adapter

[turboawd]

Does this amp get the base stereo sound on par with the Harmon kardon?

[duercos]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Does this amp get the base stereo sound on par with the Harmon kardon?

Can only tell from personal experience-full bavsound upgrade on my f36 has slightly cleaner and louder highs over my f16 HK,but the bass is a bit better with HK.
Bimmertech amp without tuning-trash. Didn't appreciate subwoofer upgrade from bavsound.. would skip getting underseats and rather go for an old fashion trunk sub.

[duercos]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Does this amp get the base stereo sound on par with the Harmon kardon?

PS just with the amp-don't think so..

[bmwx1sq]

Originally Posted by duercos

Can only tell from personal experience-full bavsound upgrade on my f36 has slightly cleaner and louder highs over my f16 HK,but the bass is a bit better with HK.
Bimmertech amp without tuning-trash. Didn't appreciate subwoofer upgrade from bavsound.. would skip getting underseats and rather go for an old fashion trunk sub.

I would also recommend a sub for lower frequencies. The under the seat subs are more of a mid bass. They suck with lower frequencies.