E60/61 Bluetooth audio and phone

[Gad-Westy]

I realise this topic is well and truly covered elsewhere but not found quite the answer I need. I think I have a plan, I just want to see if others think it's a goer.

I've taken ownership of my dad's old E61. It's gearbox is knackered but once fixed, I'm intending to use it daily for a year or two. Should make a good commuter/child/dalmation transporter.

It's a 57 LCI 525 SE touring. It has no nav or blue tooth but does have aux in by the rear air vents.

In simple terms I want the following functionality:

Bluetooth phone calls using built in existing steering wheel controls
iPhone audio for podcasts, internet radio, music etc
iPhone charging
Cheap (car is free and gearbox is costing a million pounds)

I detest cables dangling around the cockpit and I don't really want another device/screen in there either other than my phone itself.

So rough plan is this:

Parrot CK3000 for BT phone stuff with adaptor to integrate to controls. I like these systems as, although they're basic, there is no need to have anything at all on display so it's quite 'OEM'

But since that Parrot won't do bluetooth audio streaming, I was thinking of buying a lighting cable that splits for power and audio output, Audio output would replace existing aux in and I'd tap the power into the one of the 12v supplies. Then just get a little cradle that keeps phone somewhere appropriate so it can be used for nav with just the a single lightning cable routed to the same area.

Does that sound viable? It seems a nice cheap, subtle way of getting a little functionality but I fear I'm overlooking something.

[d_a_n1979]

Do you have the phone controls on the steering wheel; if so, have you checked to see if your car has phone preparation (it'll say in the spec if you decode the VIN using an online BMW decoder).

Might be worth checking to see what Grom Audio cater for the E60 series too; their stuff is plug n play and works great from my very recently experience

[Gad-Westy]

d_a_n1979 said:

Do you have the phone controls on the steering wheel; if so, have you checked to see if your car has phone preparation (it'll say in the spec if you decode the VIN using an online BMW decoder).

Might be worth checking to see what Grom Audio cater for the E60 series too; their stuff is plug n play and works great from my very recently experience

Thanks. Just looked up the kit. It looks good. Price is about £310 though. Worth considering but quite a bit more than I had in mind.

[d_a_n1979]

Gad-Westy said:

Thanks. Just looked up the kit. It looks good. Price is about £310 though. Worth considering but quite a bit more than I had in mind.

Ah hadn't realised theyre that much for the E60 set-up; they're £130 new for the E39 (my car). I was lucky enough to find a new one on eBay that was a gift to someone, but no longer had that car, it saved me £50! Worth having a look

They are in my opinion, very good indeed. Very much plug n play, easy enough to hide the necessary wires (you can always use your cigarette lighter connection to sort charging out etc) and it's all the latest Bluetooth, so great for hands-free and music streaming

A much simpler and probably cheaper way than faffing with OEM retrofits or aftermarket head units/installations, more so if you're useless with car electrics like moi...!

[here_we_go]

I remember seeing someone on a forum taking the trim off the armrest and wiring a fairly cheap Bluetooth module into the aux/12v cabling in there. It seemed to work well for them.

Might be a bit DIY for your tastes!

Found it: https://5series.net/forums/bluetooth-cell-phone-fo...

[Gad-Westy]

here_we_go said:

I remember seeing someone on a forum taking the trim off the armrest and wiring a fairly cheap Bluetooth module into the aux/12v cabling in there. It seemed to work well for them.

Might be a bit DIY for your tastes!

Found it: https://5series.net/forums/bluetooth-cell-phone-fo...

Cheers. That's actually quite neat but probably not quite what I'm after.

This isn't fully concluded yet (as the car is still not back from its gearbox rebuild and I want to check some stuff first) but I think I'm going to go for a Denison 500s BT. It's not cheap but seems like a very well tried and tested solution.

[mike9009]

The Parrot mki9000 does audio streaming. Not sure if that helps??

[clockworks]

I fitted a Dension to my E61 LCI, but just the basic non-Bluetooth version, as the car came with nav and phone prep.

Great units, adds USB /iPod music playback and control by emulating a CD changer. Just one thing to be aware of - it'll only work for USB music playback if the original car audio is coded for MP3 playback. You can check this by trying to play an MP3 CD in the dash slot. Note that the CD changer will not play MP3 CDs, even if the car is coded for MP3.

[gizlaroc]

For music streaming I use these...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M6Q83B4/ref...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NEKAJCC/ref...


I pulled off the rear panel on the E61 and fitted it behind, using a ciggy lighter extension.


That usb charger doesn't interfere with FM/AM like so many do.

The bluetooth dongle is really good sound quality, always connected as soon as I got in the car and is loud, unlike many. Plus it is seen as headphones so you can hook up to a bluetooth phone system at the same time.

[gizlaroc]

mike9009 said:

The Parrot mki9000 does audio streaming. Not sure if that helps??

It is awful sound quality though.

It uses a cheap 5w amp and overrides the BMW system.


It has aux out, but it is incredibly noisy.

[gizlaroc]

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. That's actually quite neat but probably not quite what I'm after.

This isn't fully concluded yet (as the car is still not back from its gearbox rebuild and I want to check some stuff first) but I think I'm going to go for a Denison 500s BT. It's not cheap but seems like a very well tried and tested solution.

I wouldn't bother, think the system is pretty crap to be honest, it was crap 15 years ago, it hasn't got any better.


For that sort of money buy a later BMW CIC nav system off eBay and an emulator.
Or even the NBT system.

Take you the same amount of time to fit as the Dension and you will have a nice up to date system that will add value to the car when you sell.

[mike9009]

gizlaroc said:

mike9009 said:

The Parrot mki9000 does audio streaming. Not sure if that helps??

It is awful sound quality though.

It uses a cheap 5w amp and overrides the BMW system.


It has aux out, but it is incredibly noisy.

Not in my experience - but the stereos I have upgraded with the Parrot kit were pretty awful in the first place (2007 MINI Cooper S and 2007 BMW 330i Coupe). I think BMW make the basic stereo crap so they can up sell an upgrade - truly dire. (even compared to the Parrot Kit)

There is an article on NAM about the MINI stereos purposefully clipping some of the frequency range - hence the Parrot kit was so much clearer through the same speakers.....

[Gad-Westy]

gizlaroc said:

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. That's actually quite neat but probably not quite what I'm after.

This isn't fully concluded yet (as the car is still not back from its gearbox rebuild and I want to check some stuff first) but I think I'm going to go for a Denison 500s BT. It's not cheap but seems like a very well tried and tested solution.

I wouldn't bother, think the system is pretty crap to be honest, it was crap 15 years ago, it hasn't got any better.


For that sort of money buy a later BMW CIC nav system off eBay and an emulator.
Or even the NBT system.

Take you the same amount of time to fit as the Dension and you will have a nice up to date system that will add value to the car when you sell.

The denison would be about £320. Not sure whT cic or nbt mean but assuming this is factory stuff, would I not then need to also install the Bluetooth hardware and gps aerials etc? That was my assumption.

[gizlaroc]

Yeah, on the cic, nbt built in, but the stuff is cheap enough.

I bought cic with combox for around £450 from Lithuanian eBay seller.

I had to buy a couple of cables and a mic from BMW, cost me around £60.

[here_we_go]

Gad-Westy said:

The denison would be about £320. Not sure whT cic or nbt mean but assuming this is factory stuff, would I not then need to also install the Bluetooth hardware and gps aerials etc? That was my assumption.

CCC/CIC/NBT denote different versions of the iDrive system ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDrive).

I remember reading about this when I had an E61 with CCC a few years ago, it seemed a lot of work/expense compared to the value of the car.

Prices mentioned here would be way beyond what I'd consider spending, perhaps it can be done more cheaply now. https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/127163-upgrade-to-c.... As you mention, you might also need additional hardware.

[gizlaroc]

As I said, I swapped the old CCC system for CIC and it cost me around £500.

It does seem that not many about at the moment though and NBT systems seem be quite expensive, I guess it makes the E60 far more up to date.

To be fair, as much as I like my LCI F11, I would rather have a late E61 530i with a nice system installed.

I think I would put in an Alpine Style unit though, screen in stock location.



The NBT system in my F11 is good, really good, but the nav is next to useless. Really is awful.

[Gad-Westy]

Ahh, to be honest £500 is starting to push too far into the 'too much to spend on inexpensive car' territory. In all honest the £300 for the Denison doesn't sit quite right either but it seemed to tick the boxes and be straight forward.

Interested in why the Denison is pretty crap though. Don't want to waste my money. Thought it was quite well regarded?