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Thanks. so out of the box (factory i guess..lol) 7 speakers are active. Why is sound still so shitty compared to a 2011 BMW and poor compared to a 2007 Camry?

The biggest issue is not so much how many speakers there are, but where. Almost every single car on the market has rear shelf speakers, which helps give a nice surround sound experience. For some reason the SR/SR+ disabled these, and went for rear door speakers instead. These are much harder to hear clearly, and makes for a very front-heavy listening experience.

Before the mod my fader was set way back, after the mod it's about center now.
 
That is encouraging. If it is better than a 2015 5 series, then it will be definitely better than a 2011, 3 series.
Did you also install the sound installation around the glass roof?
Yes, someone in another thread compared it to like only listening to music with one headphone. Once you put the other headphone in you get a much richer and fuller sound. It’s kind of like that.

So far I only connected the rear deck speakers and subwoofer. I think there is already enough treble frequencies so not sure if I will connect the front tweeters.
 
Yes, someone in another thread compared it to like only listening to music with one headphone. Once you put the other headphone in you get a much richer and fuller sound. It’s kind of like that.

So far I only connected the rear deck speakers and subwoofer. I think there is already enough treble frequencies so not sure if I will connect the front tweeters.

So, no plans to connect the 4 in the front?
 
I bought the same Soundstream PN5.640D amplifier but am getting some noise on my rear speakers. I'm not sure if it's something with my amplifier or my connections. I connected the 3 GND wires from the input wire harness together and connected it to the car chassis GND where the amplifier GND is also connected (at a bolt behind the rear tail light). Did you have any noise issues? Also in "Step 10", did you connect your GND near the Penthouse 12V?

Yo! Just saw your post I hope you didn't return your amp yet. I had the same issue as you. How are you gaining your signals? I found that the front door speaker line I was using was causing the issue. The line was going into my amp and there was no high pass filter, so it was essentially taking an 80w line into a low pass filter causing horrible hissing. I purchased a PAC line converter and now it's crystal clear with zero distortion.
 
Yo! Just saw your post I hope you didn't return your amp yet. I had the same issue as you. How are you gaining your signals? I found that the front door speaker line I was using was causing the issue. The line was going into my amp and there was no high pass filter, so it was essentially taking an 80w line into a low pass filter causing horrible hissing. I purchased a PAC line converter and now it's crystal clear with zero distortion.
I tried playing around with the gain but the hiss is always there. Also I tried removing the front door woofer speaker input connection to the amp and the hiss is still there. I haven’t tried using a hi lo converter though. Did you use a PAC line converter for the rear door speaker connections as well? Seems @Wampa doesn’t have this issue though...
 
I tried playing around with the gain but the hiss is always there. Also I tried removing the front door woofer speaker input connection to the amp and the hiss is still there. I haven’t tried using a hi lo converter though. Did you use a PAC line converter for the rear door speaker connections as well? Seems @Wampa doesn’t have this issue though...

Interesting, yes I am using a PAC line converter. I red all your posts sounds like you did everything. If you pulled all your input lines and still had a hiss, it could be ground issue, but my ground is in the same spot as yours. Sounds like you need to get a replacement amp.
 
I would omit the subwoofer because the fronts do a decent job. Plus this would allow me to use a much smaller amplifier that could be tucked away under the seats.
sorry for double post. I meant what amp would you suggest if you skipped the subwoofer? I honestly think that is the route I will go so looking for a amp that will support the new speakers hooked up and is small enough to be hidden easily.
 
Think im going to try and tackle this project tomorrow. I purchased the smaller Alpine amp. Just want to clarify a couple things. If I dont have a sub woofer, do I skip step 6 then? Is that 2 less wires now? Sorry for the dumb questions, I have installed a few aftermarket head-units but never an amp.
 
So, if you had it to do all over again, would you just connect the speakers already in the car and omit adding the subwoofer, or would you still add the subwoofer?
I think this depends on the type of music you listen to and how you like it to sound. I personally feel there is a lack of bass in the default SR+ and you have to crank up the EQ on the lower frequencies. So I personally would add the subwoofer. Not sure yet if I will connect the front tweeters though since I think there is already enough high frequencies. For the subwoofer I am using the Pioneer 8” Shallow Mount.
 
Never had a car with thw sub in the trunk. All mh cars had them below the seat(s). Is it better to have subs in the trunk compared to below the seats?
It is a trade-off either way.

The lower the frequency, they more dependent on the volume of air for quality reproduction. Also, lower frequencies can pass through objects a little more readily whereas higher frequencies do not and require a more line-of site application. Think about a situation where a neighbor or the next car's stereo is too loud: you are more likely to be hearing the thump of the bass than the sizzle of the highs.

While under the seats (or other locations in the passenger compartment) are more direct, they have limited air volume capacity both in the size of the driver and in that cabinet behind it (both important factors in bass reproduction). Also, but putting them in the doors, it requires more sound dampening of moving/loose part (such as the window mechanisms).

By putting them in the trunk, you have more flexibility of space and can easily overcome the need to get the signal through line-of-sight obstacles (such as the rear seat back). This will mean the bass is a little stronger for your back-seat passengers, but generally one typically plays the music at lower volumes when others are in the car than when you are by yourself.
 
Think im going to try and tackle this project tomorrow. I purchased the smaller Alpine amp. Just want to clarify a couple things. If I dont have a sub woofer, do I skip step 6 then? Is that 2 less wires now? Sorry for the dumb questions, I have installed a few aftermarket head-units but never an amp.

Correct, all you need to do is tap for switched 12v power. You will still need to remove the plastic panels on both sides to add speaker wire for the front tweeters (which I still have been unable to do, sorry).