Retrofit Individual Audio ?

[KenH]

Does anyone know if it is possible to retrofit the DIRAC Individual Audio components into a US-spec April 2012 X6 that currently has the Premium Sound Package?
These are my observations so far:
1. The amplifier in the rear of the X6 is identical externally to the Individual amplifier. The connection sockets are all the same although some of the 18 audio wires in the audio connector harness have different colors. They appear to map to the same places though.
2. Both amps use the MOST bus.
3. The iDrive options in this X6 with the Premium Sound Package are identical to those in a 2011 M3 that has Individual Audio.
4. The Individual Audio option is available in Canada and for M models.
5. The wiring changes appear to be relatively minor, e.g. hooking up crossovers in the front doors.

I have no interest in a non-BMW upgrade.
Would recoding be required?

Thanks !

[1230vani]

I do understand why you want to do it. Have indiv audio now and can compare it to the Pro logic 7, it is better, but not sure if it is worth the effort and if it would sound as it was meant to be. Good luck though!

[KenH]

Thanks. However the "premium sound package" in a US 2012 X6 is not Logic 7.
As far as I can tell it has much the same components as the Individual system but with a cheaper Lear amplfier and inferior speKers without crossovers in the front doors.

[KenH]

I have located, and purchased an Individual amplifier, albeit not the latest version.
So when it arrives I will be able to see if it it works at all.
Does anybody have any idea what the changes are in the amplifier ? It seems that there are at least five different part numbers.
I will let you know what happens when the amp arrives. If it works I imagine that I can then change the speakers without too many problems.
But these things are never as straightforward as one hopes ....

[solidgold]

The effort not worth the while. That's why I have swapped for aftermarket speakers, SP, added 2-way and a 4-way channel amp. I doubt Pro logic 7 or indv can beat my current SQ setup.

[KenH]

Hopefully I will soon find out. I am quite happy with the Individual Audio in my M3 and if I get something similar in the X6 that will be ok.
The current X6 does not have Logic 7 of any variety so that is not especially relevant. Indeed, did the X6 ever have Logic 7 ?

[KenH]

Update:

The Individual amplifier arrived. Externally it is identical to the "Premium" amp except that at the end opposite the connectors a fan is fitted. Both are made by Lear.
I was pleased to find that it is "plug and play", a two-minute job. Next steps will be to change the speakers and fit the Individual crossovers in the front doors.

[KenH]

I have ordered the rest of the parts I need, or at least all of them that are available in the US.
Much to my surprise some of the parts, such as the D pillar speaker housings are not available as parts in the US, even though some cars have these fitted ex-factory. However, they are available in Europe. What is happening here?
Despite the fact that the X6 is built in the US most of the bits are coming from Germany as BMW NA has no stock.
One interesting conundrum is that many of the different connector plugs have the same part number even though they are obviously not the same.
But I always knew this was going to be a challenge.

[KenH]

I now have Individual (aka Enhanced Premium or "M") Audio in my X6 in place of the Premium Audio that was fitted as standard and I am very happy with the results. Only genuine BMW Parts were used. Here are some notes that might be useful to anyone else mad enough to attempt this interesting exercise:

1. I was lucky enough to buy a slightly used Individual Amplifier on eBay that was already coded for an X6 and had been bought only for testing a suspect system. A brand-new part may need coding. It is plug and play apart from the possibility of coding.
2. The instrument panel speakers are an easy replacement but the parts catalog is misleading. If you buy the correct "frame" it comes complete with the necessary co-axial speaker, you do not have to buy the speaker as well. Or you can just buy the speaker, replace the original and disconnect the original tweeter that is no longer used. But the difference in price between the Individual speaker alone and the frame with speaker included is only a couple of dollars. The Individual frame just has a blanking plate where the tweeter is fitted on Premium (= Top Hi-Fi) audio.
3. The rear door speakers and tweeters are plug and play. No external crossover is used. Unless you want to mess with wiring they have to be used as a pair as the tweeter connector is 3 pin instead in 2.
4. Although I bought the Individual door speaker grilles I did not fit them. The originals are installed by the supplier by plastic welding the pins inside to hold them in place and I did not want to try that in case I damaged the leather on the door panels.
5. The D panel speaker frames are not available in the USA as spare parts for some strange reason and I had to order them from a German dealer. They arrived quicker than the other special order parts ordered in the US! But the special order parts also came from Germany, despite the fact that the X6 is built in the US.
6. The front doors were the biggest and only real challenge. The connecting cable from mid-range to the new crossover is also not available as a spare in the US but I found that the same part from an E60 (or E64) works fine. The Individual tweeters are a snap fit in the housings and the mid-range a direct replacement. The big problem is the crossover - or rather where to put it. The new tweeters had much shorter cables than the originals and there was nowhere in range of the connector on the door panels that I thought suitable. There is a rectangular pattern of the right shape and size marked on the panel but that was 2 inches beyond the end of the cable, also the surface in that area was far from flat, not ideal for glueing. Eventually I glued the crossovers onto the horizontal flat surface below the door pulls (which is empty) and used E90 Individual cables to extend the tweeter cable to the crossover (which was by then way out of range). You could use these E90 cables (which are in two parts) instead of the E60 cables mentioned above but they are much longer than necessary for crossover to mid-range if you mount the crossovers where I did.
7. The subs are plug and play but are under the front seats and are quite expensive. The biggest challenge was to remove the plastic covers that hide the front seat bolts but once you know that you pull the back legs out to remove them it is quite easy. There is no need to remove the seats completely, just remove the four TORX bolts and tilt the seat backwards. I did not want to disconnect the seat cables in case I generated an error code so found a box about 12" high to rest the front of the seat on while I worked underneath.

I think it probably took 4 hours for the installation but much more than that for the logistics/research (plus a day waiting for the glue to dry on the crossovers, just-in-case).
If anyone would like part numbers or advice let me know. I did take a few photographs on the way.
All speakers, both Premium and Individual are 4 ohm, apart from the subs which are 8 ohm. I imagine that the upgrade process would be very similar on the E70. And in case anyone asks.
Logic7 is not available on the E71 or E70, despite some opinions and the above does not necessarily apply to a car with standard audio, "Hi-Fi" in BMW parlance. The Individual and Premium speakers on the E70 appear to be the same as the E71 with the exception of the subs.

Below is a picture of the driver's door panel with crossover attached. Note that it is upside down (waiting for the glue to dry). If you look to the right of the mid-range speaker you can see a date stamp (April 2012) at an angle, surrounded by a rectangular outline. I believe that is the factory position for the crossover but there is no way that the cable of the supplied tweeter would reach to there.
The second photo is of the Premium and the Individual amps. The only way that you can tell the difference without dismantling is by part number and the fact that the Individual has a built-in fan, the Premium (on top) just has a space for one. Both amps are made by Lear.
The third photo is the instrument panel speaker frame. This is the original Premium setup with separate tweeter, the Individual is co-axial so does not have a separate tweeter but the frame itself is the same.
The fourth photo is a Premium sub and the fifth is the Individual sub, both 8 ohms.
Sixth is the co-axial Individual speaker used in the instrument panel. It is used on some other BMWs as well and is possibly the biggest single improvement in sound quality and positioning.
The last picture (not mine) shows how the speaker grilles are retained in the door panels by "welding" the plastic pins.

For what it is worth I would suggest that the most economical route to enhancing the Premium sound quality without the high cost of all these new parts is:

1. Replace the instrument panel speaker and tweeter with the Individual coaxial unit.
2. Replace the front door tweeter and mid-range speakers with the Individual parts including the crossovers.
3. Keep the rest of the speakers/tweeters and the amplifier from the Premium setup.

This is based on the fact that most of one's audio experience in a car comes from the front.

[1230vani]

Impressive work!

[suspensio]

Hi There,
I'm just as obsessive as you are. I have a 2012 with premium audio and after hearing the "M" audio, mine just falls flat. The funny part is I have an M3 with "enhanced" and I don't like it compared to the 335 I had with Logic 7.

Can you send me your parts list? Approximately what did this cost you?
Darren

[memota]

So how does it sound?!

[1230vani]

Difference between premium and individual?

[memota]

The retrofit.

But yeah I guess the difference between premium and individual

[XBMW6]

Hi KenH...Impressive work. I have a few questions, how's the difference in terms of quality? How much the whole retrofit job cost you? Also, I have 2010 X6 with HiFi 12 speaker systems and I was wondering if it's possible to apply your individual retrofit setup to my system? Thanks

[philooo]

I wish we have had some feedback on this retrofit, interesting, even though I think aftermarket is the way to go considering the efforts necessary to replace all these components.

[lightba6]

I have a 2008 M3 with the Individual Audio Package. My amp died. The part number on it is 65.12 7842019 (Lear). It's called "Top HIFI M Verst."

I've been looking everywhere for a replacement. I found one (and only one) on ebay, and it turns out its sold. But I'm seeing other very similar amps that say they are for the individual audio system. Might anyone be able to recommend a compatible amp? (such as http://www.ebay.com/itm/65-12-9-143-.../161150656166? It looks identical on the outside, but I realize that may not mean anything. I've already purchased another one on ebay that the seller told me was compatible, but turns out it wasn't, so I'm hoping to get it right this time around.

Thanks!

[Kerrazy]

Do you guys have any info on connecting after market amp to individual audio?

I have 2011 X6M, looking to add a JL Audio 500/1 to factory system for a JL Audio stealth box.

Thanks for any help!