I recently did a lot to my system but have been having a number of problems. I got it professionally installed mostly so that if speakers blow or theres any problems I have somewhere to turn to. Here is what I have:

02 325xi

Factory head unit with built in nav (want to replace it but dont want to lose the nav, it was a rare option at the time)

Four Kenwood componet speakers (one set in my front doors, the other two are behind the headrests in the back seat) I can't remember the exact model number off the top of my head.

1200 Watt Kenwood 5 channel amp

one 12" Kicker competition sub with ported box

DICE iPod integration


The component speakers would always blow but have since stopped blowing. I know the sub is capable of a lot of power but I can't really feel it. If I turn the volume up to a decent level it sounds very distorted and crackling. The bass and treble on my head unit are kept at the middle, if I turn those up I also get distortion. Is it the iPod integration? Or amp settings? My volume control is also not very good..when I turn the volume up from nothing to the first level, its a big jump. Basically, I can either have no music playing for a lot of music playing. I'm not sure what to do. I've gone back to the place I had it installed several times but I still have these problems. They were rated #1 in my county and I'm not sure what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tim

Tim, crawl down to your amp and see where the gains are set. Sounds like they are cracked up to max.

Personally what I would do is take it back to them and ask why it is doing these things and let them know at the current time you are unhappy.

The DICE kit does not introduce distortion just because it is there. That has no real bearing on the issues you are having.

As mentioned above if you know where the amp is see if you can check the settings on it or just take it back to them.

Thanks for the quick replies. I looked at the settings on the amp and it sounds a little better but I'm still going to take it back to them to deal with since I did pay them. My brother is master tech at a BMW dealer and basically said they need to take a good look at it. He listened to it briefly and told me its definitely not right at all and needs to be looked at more thoroughly and in depth.

If you're using the iPod for your testing - make sure all EQ levels are set to OFF, this can cause the distortion you are describing. Also compare with the in-dash CD as reference to minimize possibilities.

...If I turn the volume up to a decent level it sounds very distorted and crackling. ...My volume control is also not very good..when I turn the volume up from nothing to the first level, its a big jump.

Based on those quotes I would guess you either have a bad amp or your gain is set way too high.

In either case, you should take it back to the installer and tell them to fix it. Don't let them give you any guff about it - you paid good money and they should do the job right.

More importantly, don't mess around with any wiring or anything else that would give them an excuse to blame you for it.

d-

Consistant problems with custom system professionally installedIt doesn't sound very "professional" ...what makes this "custom"?

>^..^<