Will stock amplifiers from other BMW's work?

[Robin-535im]

My car's PO ripped out the amp and wired a "high-output" head unit directly to the speakers. I've got a new cd43 waiting to go in but now need an amplifier.

I'd like to put in a BMW amplifier as I've read that the speakers are designed to be driven by a somewhat non-traditional crossover setup, i.e., the speakers were chosen to work with the BMW amp.

For cost and time reasons I'm not keen on re-speakering or going full bore to revamp the audio... Stock is fine with me but I need a stock amp at least!

So my question is: can I use the stock amp from any BMW that used the CD43?

Thanks in advance,

[slupregime]

My car's PO ripped out the amp and wired a "high-output" head unit directly to the speakers. I've got a new cd43 waiting to go in but now need an amplifier.

I'd like to put in a BMW amplifier as I've read that the speakers are designed to be driven by a somewhat non-traditional crossover setup, i.e., the speakers were chosen to work with the BMW amp.

For cost and time reasons I'm not keen on re-speakering or going full bore to revamp the audio... Stock is fine with me but I need a stock amp at least!

So my question is: can I use the stock amp from any BMW that used the CD43?

Thanks in advance,

well if you have a 90 535 i just upgraded everything on mine and have an amp for sale if you7 need one ..as for the cd43..which head unit is that ? cassette with cd changer controls?

[Robin-535im]

well if you have a 90 535 i just upgraded everything on mine and have an amp for sale if you7 need one ..as for the cd43..which head unit is that ? cassette with cd changer controls?
Definitely interested - what are you asking? There are a few on ebay at any given time, look like they go for quite a range, $40 - $140 ish.

The CD43 is a newer generation of the same radios that come in the e34, supposedly better in noise reduction and power output, plus it visually matches the dash perfectly. C33 is what's in the e34, C43 is a cassette head unit, and the CD43 has a 1-disk CD player. All drive a changer, but the later units use a different cable.

Let me know what you want for it with shipping to 87112.

- Robin

[slupregime]

$50 plus shipping and i would suggest insurance my zip is 54304 it is 6lbs to be on the safe side

nick

[ryan roopnarine]

some of them don't, ask me how i know. at very least, you need to visually confirm that the connector block in the donor amp at least looks like yours.

[attack eagle]

x2

And considering there were 3 generations of audio in the e34 (with 3 different amps, wiring and connectors, and at least two different connectored heads), and you have the earliest common ground system... might I suggest the PO did you a favor and you should run with it?

If your cd43 has the standard BMW "big black connector", your car doesn't so it won't be plug n play. Sell it and get an aftermarket head more to your tastes..
The only OEM head that would be PnP would be from that same era... which means cassette,without the big black plug, after you reconstructed the oem harness and connectors (if possible).

the only factory amp that would work after that would be one from an 89-90 (maybe 91) and you need to verify that the speakers haven't been changed and all the wiring is still in place.


my suggestion would be to:
a: find a later model connector to go into the cd43, and connect rcas to the speaker outputs instead of wiring them to the speaker wiring. Then use an external amp to power the speakers thru your own xovers.
down side: cost & complexity, upside OEM look and still easily upgraded.

B: find an aftermarket head you like, and upgrade the front speakers to aftermarket 2way components wired to the head, leaving the rears with just the mid and a bassblocker on the tweeter
downside: not oem looking head, upside: easier and less complex, easily upgraded later (sub amps etc)

[Robin-535im]

x2

And considering there were 3 generations of audio in the e34 (with 3 different amps, wiring and connectors, and at least two different connectored heads), and you have the earliest common ground system... might I suggest the PO did you a favor and you should run with it?

If your cd43 has the standard BMW "big black connector", your car doesn't so it won't be plug n play. Sell it and get an aftermarket head more to your tastes..
The only OEM head that would be PnP would be from that same era... which means cassette,without the big black plug, after you reconstructed the oem harness and connectors (if possible).

the only factory amp that would work after that would be one from an 89-90 (maybe 91) and you need to verify that the speakers haven't been changed and all the wiring is still in place.


my suggestion would be to:
a: find a later model connector to go into the cd43, and connect rcas to the speaker outputs instead of wiring them to the speaker wiring. Then use an external amp to power the speakers thru your own xovers.

B: find an aftermarket head you like, and upgrade the front speakers to aftermarket 2way components, leaving the rears with just the mid and a bassblocker on the tweeter

Something to think about for sure... I'm not afraid of connector hacking, as all the existing connectors are either gone or have half the wires cut! PO did put two more wires to the back so now I have +/- for all four outputs. I *think* that at least any of the e34 setups should work if I hack the connectors, and since the CD43 came in newer models (e36/7), I'm wondering if any of the newer amps would offer any benefits over a stock e34 amp.

[attack eagle]

That is a big problem... you can't back date to a common ground head that will work PNP with your existing wiring then. No connectors to do so. You will have to find a 92+ BMW car side harness to plug into your cd43.

92-93 share a common negative at the 92 - 93 amp, though you wouldn't know it at the black headunit plug since it does have seperate wiring there.
IF you can find one that works, and the connectors are the same as the earlier amp (equal size, one white & one black with large pins) that might be a viable option. I hacked mine to amp the stock nokias at 40w RMS instead of 15w peak, so i know that one well.

I would suggest that you run a shared negative for L & another for R from head to the amp itself and connect to the amp only (don't let if backfeed on either end) as I don't know WHERE the common ground wiring goes to ground on the negative side... only that it does, and that is why it is such a problem.
92-93 input pinout and connector pic
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/AttackEagle/audio%20gear/Blaupunktampinputpinout.jpg



No, a later amp will definately not plug in, and will create even more problems in wiring IMO.
94+ e34 have different connectors and use actively xovered multichannel amplification, instead of the large passive xover array with a small 4ch amp used on common ground and 92-93 e34s. E36's I am pretty sure ALL use the later amps.

[Robin-535im]

...You will have to find a 92+ BMW car side harness to plug into your cd43.

92-93 share a common negative at the 92 - 93 amp, though you wouldn't know it at the black headunit plug since it does have seperate wiring there.
IF you can find one that works, and the connectors are the same as the earlier amp (equal size, one white & one black with large pins) that might be a viable option. I hacked mine to amp the stock nokias at 40w RMS instead of 15w peak, so i know that one well.

I would suggest that you run a shared negative for L & another for R from head to the amp itself and connect to the amp only (don't let if backfeed on either end) as I don't know WHERE the common ground wiring goes to ground on the negative side... only that it does, and that is why it is such a problem.
92-93 input pinout and connector pic

No, a later amp will definately not plug in, and will create even more problems in wiring IMO.
94+ e34 have different connectors and use actively xovered multichannel amplification, instead of the large passive xover array with a small 4ch amp used on common ground and 92-93 e34s. E36's I am pretty sure ALL use the later amps.

Thanks again for the info. Currently I have the connectors (+ all the heat shrink and solder I need) to bring all 8 (4 w/individual grounds) signal wires from the CD43 back to the amp, so that part is not an issue... If I want to regress I can always common the grounds as you mention.

Plugs / connectors don't worry me as you can fab that stuff pretty easy. From what you wrote I'm wondering if I shouldn't go with the E36 amp as it's made to work with the CD43... question is, are the speakers a direct fit? I imagine the amp output power only went UP over the years, so in general they should work, right?

Do you (or anyone) have a listing of the various amps used, power per channel, # outputs (always 10 speakers?) etc. for e34's and e36's? Surely there is a web page somewhere with all that info.. if only I could find it...

[attack eagle]

e36 have different speakers. power on amps was alway piss poor. 5 chip amp or 4 chip, they never had more than 20w peak.

that is why I gutted my 92 amp to loop after market head power to the speakers... it was about double what the amp had.

then I amped the speakers with an 80wx4 amp. :) MUCH better

both are things you can ONLY do with the 92-93 amp.

[genphreak]

I gutted my 92 amp to loop after market head power to the speakers... it was about double what the amp had. then I amped the speakers with an 80wx4 amp. :) MUCH better both are things you can ONLY do with the 92-93 amp.x2 I did that with my 88 535 amp. Just power the crossover now with a monster 75Wx4 chinese chunky POS amp.

It also has a 150W for the 12" sub, and the combo of all these is awesome. I run it completelty nuetral and the SPL in the car is incredible with very low distortion right up to ear-drum splitting intensity.

It's not flat and its a little coloured, but this is a car interior not a sound room. However it's the best sounding car interior I care to afford, and if I'd spent 10x as much I'd be happy. My ears are not bad; I know enough to have forked out for a pair of B&W 802s for home and before that had Dalis. These cost as much as an e34 and just sit still and make noise in my living room so if I like the sound of a gutted setup run by a chinese amp driving the stock system (albeit with my famous $20 sub in a $50 sealed box) its a little better than your average ricer's opinion...

Always buy more amp than you can fit and use what someone else has spent time thinking about. If you ask me they commissioned someone very good to do the speakers in the e32/4- and they must have insisted on a big, quality crossover arrangement. However I guess by that time finance were seeing the bills and started balking so they ended up executing this work of art with some dumb-ass electronics from the booster amp section back up to the headunit in the dash. That booster module was almost the best 1lb of metal I ever removed from the car... beaten only by dumping that damned AFM out of the engine bay.

The only thing you need is low level wiring to the amp and a decent tuner else the rear window aerial will cause the FM front end (as fitted to most head units) to get it all wrong; wind up the RF gain and hit you with so much multipath noise you'll be cursing the whole setup or only listening toi MP3s.

I bought one of the new JVCs from China and its pretty good. It's the third headunit I've put in the car, and the only one with FM I consider passable on that aerial. Cost; in the US under $150 with remote and USB but I'm getting the Ipod adapter for convenience anyhow..

FWIW: I reckon any 535 amp will work for you, but check the connections JIC.

[dennyg]

I have a stock amp from a 1990 535 if you are interested. I don't think there is a big demand for this so my price is pretty cheap.

[TomG]

[QUOTE=attack eagle]x2

And considering there were 3 generations of audio in the e34 (with 3 different amps, wiring and connectors, and at least two different connectored heads), and you have the earliest common ground system... might I suggest the PO did you a favor and you should run with it?

If your cd43 has the standard BMW "big black connector", your car doesn't so it won't be plug n play. Sell it and get an aftermarket head more to your tastes..
The only OEM head that would be PnP would be from that same era... which means cassette,without the big black plug, after you reconstructed the oem harness and connectors (if possible).

the only factory amp that would work after that would be one from an 89-90 (maybe 91) and you need to verify that the speakers haven't been changed and all the wiring is still in place.


I had a defective amp in my '89 535i. According to Bentley, the circuit is the same for early and late amps... I grabbed an amplifier from a '93 or so E32 at the local boneyard, which happens to be the same as the one in my '92 525iT. I plugged it right in to the '89, worked perfectly, and is still going strong.

Also, there is info in the TIS showing an adapter harness to fit early radios to late cars that came with the large plug. The separate ground leads appear to be in my early car, but they terminate at a common point on the radio itself at the rear support post. I believe you could wire the late connector to your car, and plug the CD43 in, using a stock amp, based on the fact that the amplifiers interchange between early and late E34 models. By the way, C33's were not fitted to E34 cars AFAIK, but to '96 and newer E36 models, other than some '99 E36 cars (like my '99 M3). Some early E36 cars used the same Pioneer/Alpine twin lookalikes as 1991 and newer E34's.

[attack eagle]

good to know.