The install is crystal clear.

In my last install, in my former Integra, also using JL Audio amps, I made my own line-level wiring using CAT-5e ethernet cable. It worked very well and cost only the price of the RCA plugs. A number of better car audio cables are now UTP. Most of them aren't cheap.

Previously, in other experiments I have installed (and removed) Scosche, Rockford Fosgate and a few other misc. wiring brands. They all claimed some special/unique shielding and single-ended grounding to "drain" the noise, etc. They were all noise antennas. Crap.

The BMW factory amp (and head unit) are connected using the car's UTP, however the signals are speaker-level, not line-level. I could have used the JL amp with the rest of the stock configuration as it supports higher voltage input too. But the point was to get the empeg in there.

The BMW stock stereo system is only poor when compared to a decent aftermarket setup (IMO). All things considered, it's a lot better than most stock systems I've heard. The system can be upgraded and improved in a number of ways without swapping out the whole thing (according to posts by quite a number of people, including one of the original designers of the system).

One caveat I forgot to mention is that even though the battery is in the trunk, making running an amp power wire relatively easy, the stock power wire for the car is either 0 or 1 gauge (meaning you'll need a big aftermarket positive terminal) and it's also VERY short. After cutting off the factory terminal and trimming off some of the solder at the end of the wire, it was just barely long enough to reach into its socket in my aftermarket terminal. Another 1/4" shorter and I would have been screwed. I also didn't have an aftermarket terminal that could accept anything larger than 4ga, so I had to drill it out to accept the larger BMW stock wire. That wasn't fun.

Bruno

Keywords: BMW E36 stereo head unit installation