Z4 stereo options

[steeevvvooo]

What were the options available? I know there were a few: business, Carver etc (with Carver being the best?), but what were the others?

My new car apparently has “professional hi-fi system”, but I’ve not idea what that means?!

[AB]

Entry level was business, which was standard. I'm pretty sure professional, which was the next level, had 10 speakers (but dont confuse it with the carver) and also a slightly uprated amp. Carver was the top and quite frankly damned good - I'm extremely impressed with mine and would not buy another car without something comparable - reason being if you plan on driving on the motorway with roof down etc - you need a decent system.

I remember the business one in my E46 being pitiful.

[steeevvvooo]

AB said:

Entry level was business, which was standard. I'm pretty sure professional, which was the next level, had 10 speakers (but dont confuse it with the carver) and also a slightly uprated amp. Carver was the top and quite frankly damned good - I'm extremely impressed with mine and would not buy another car without something comparable - reason being if you plan on driving on the motorway with roof down etc - you need a decent system.

I remember the business one in my E46 being pitiful.

You’ve burst my bubble now, I though it might have been the Carver

[AB]

Its definitely not Carver but dont let it burst your bubble as professional (from what I am told) is far superior to the standard business system!

It may still be the case that they have made a mistake and it is Carver - you will be able to tell when you take delivery. If you have DSP settings on the headunit then it is Carver.

[Mattt]

I was really impressed with how the Carver sounds - especially with the roof down!

[AB]

Mattt said:

I was really impressed with how the Carver sounds - especially with the roof down!

Yeah, it really is a must have option IMO - when you have the roof up and a particularly bassy tunes comes on (tends to happen after 7pm on a fri/sat night) it can take you by surprise. It goes pretty loud and the bass is pretty punchy. Best of the aftermarket systems I have heard to be honest. Better than the Bose system in an RS6 i used to drive!

[tomTVR]

How can you tell if you have the professional HiFi? Mine says business on it but i have the original order sheet from BMW which has loudspeaker system selected at £404 + VAT.

[mike325112]

If it is the same as my 1 then it says it on the head unit.

Sorry.

[AB]

Mine doesnt say carver on the headunit, i dont think it says anything.

[honest_delboy]

If you don't have the carver system as standard are there any Z4 specific aftermarket upgrades ?

[bras0782]

AB said:

It may still be the case that they have made a mistake and it is Carver - you will be able to tell when you take delivery. If you have DSP settings on the headunit then it is Carver.

I think the DSP settings are based on the DSP amp, but that is part of the professional stereo, no?

The standard system doesn't have 10 speakers, but 6 (or was it 4?). If you have mesh covering some boxes behind your seats rtaher than empty bays then you have the 10 speaker setup.

But whether you have Carver or the Professional kit I do not know.

I've seen a very good link about the Z4 stereo setup and options which I'll post if I can find it.

[bras0782]

Here you go. All you need to know plus some:

http://users.telenet.be/AcousticSolution/z4infoweb...
(go to the hi-fi section)

[steeevvvooo]

Thanks, I've not read it properly (will do later), but I might have the "Carver" if BMW told me it has "Professional Hi-fi system" based on the below:


"Top Hifi (also called Premium Audio or Carver): "

[tomTVR]

Hurray, mine has the Professional HiFi after going out to check!

[steeevvvooo]

tomTVR said:

Hurray, mine has the Professional HiFi after going out to check!

From having a quick read, it seems like the easy way to tell is:

Business: no subs behind the seat
Middle (not sure of the name): 2 ohm subs behind the seat
Carver / premium: 10 ohm subs behind the seat

So, and correct me if I’m wrong, if you’ve got 10 ohms written on your subs, you have the Carver?

Can someone who definitely has the carver system confirm that, or have I just made it up!?

[Mattt]

Do you mean pull the covers off the subs to see?

[steeevvvooo]

Mattt said:

Do you mean pull the covers off the subs to see?

From the link above, it looks like it's on the magnet (second photo on the hi-fi page). Not sure how the subs are accessed, but if you can see the magnet, can you check yours says 10 ohms?

[ian in lancs]

two ways to see if you have a carver system. There's an amp under the boot carpet next to the battery and you'll have speakers in the bulkhead behind the seats. No carver and these speaker compartments are open storage compartments.

ETA you'll also have a graphic equaliser for the system on the sat nav screen or several different acoustic effects selectable on the radio display if you don't have sat nav.

My first Z4 had carver, the M doesn't. I can't get excited either way. There is too much road / wind noise in the roadster to make the most of the extra fidelity. Not worth it IMO.

Edited by ian in lancs on Tuesday 13th January 22:11

[Mattt]

I can't, and I can't be arsed to pull panels apart

Z4 forum had something on about how to tell for sure.

[steeevvvooo]

ian in lancs said:

two ways to see if you have a carver system. There's an amp under the boot carpet next to the battery and you'll have speakers in the bulkhead behind the seats. No carver and these speaker compartments are open storage compartments.

The link Bras posted above suggests there are 2 different 10 speaked set-ups (i.e. ones with subs behind the seats). The carver has 10 ohm subs, the slightly lower spec 10 speaker system has 2 ohm subs (should say on the magnet), while the base system has 6 speakers.

matt - completely understand!! I'll just have to wait until Saturday and pull mine apart!