I need some advice on High End Car Audio...

I had two 3 Series before and I installed Focal speakers in the cars. Go for their top models. And I am using Brax power amps for years. Have yet to find anything better. McIintosh do have car power amps. I only like their head units. The problem is the source. It is going to be hard to replace the head unit unless you want to forgo all the functions in your steering wheel. But there are adapters available whereby you can install a better quality head unit and still have the functions on the steering wheel intact. Funny thing is most of the good head-units are Japanese. Most of the better sounding amps are American. Go figure?!

Went through this stage about six years ago. I quit a few years ago and haven't looked back--tradeoffs just weren't worth it.

JMO

It is a pain. I did find a rogue installer who was able to tap the 1V output right in the circuit board of the head unit, so I was able to keep my head unit. My car is a 2005 Acrua TL.

I have 3-way DLS Iridium speakers up front.

Left the rear speakers as is.

ADS old-school 12" sub (much nicer than new stuff)

5 Zapco studio series old-school amps

Tru Trechnology 4-way active crossover (no longer made)

Zapco SX-Sl line driver/crossover/equalizer

I went all-in because I did not have good situation for a home system when I did this four years ago. I would not go as extravagant now.

The mids are 6.5's on the DLS's and I could almost get away without a sub. If we worked on the getting the set with 8's in the door - then for sure. They do come with a very nice passive crossover - so one could do a pretty simple one-amp/passive 3-way set up and be very happy.

Focals were out for me. I would never put metal tweets so close to my ears.

The class D amps are definitely worth a look for auto systems these days due their efficiency. A second (sealed) battery in series is also nice as it adds some oomph and acts like big capacitor.

Elitecaraudio used to be a hot forum, but seems to have died down. YOu may need to search for the best current fourm.

I chased the car audio ghost for years. I gave up after installing a $5,000 upgrade to my Mercedes and it sounded worst than the stock system. In my 2007 BMW 530i I had the store install a nice Sub/amp for about $800. Filled in the bottom enough to be ok. Once my home systems started getting to a level that gave me goose bumps I knew the car no matter how much I spent could get me there. If interested I have boxes and boxes of stuff I have put in and taken out over the years ,amps,speakers,head units,subs,ect, I would sell very reasonably

My advice is to have your car 'sound-proofed'. For about $500 you can buy all the materials to fit your car's floor, doors, trunk, hood, and for a little more, your dash and roof. Another $500 and a good auto upholsterer will install it. Just as a good listening room makes all the difference in home audio, a quiet cabin is the best investment you can make in car audio. Not only will it probably double the improvement of any system you install, it will also make your car rides more pleasant in general.

Another piece of advice is to be savvy about hiding any high end amps under seats or in the trunk, using generic speaker grills (or at least removing high end manufacturer labels) and if possible install a new head unit in the glove compartment. If thieves see a high end stereo your car will at some point getting broken into.