Navigation & Audio How to: Upgrade sound system
#51
01-20-2010, 08:25 PM
I took the door panels off and noticed i have to hard wire speakers, definantly dont want to hard wire them. anybody know where to find harnesses to install pioneer 6.5" speakers into factory harness? or how difficult is it to hardwire it? also, where do i find adapters to install door speakers? i have never done a stereo upgrade, hence all the stupid questions. thanks
#54
04-07-2010, 01:03 PM
4th Gear
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nd-system.html
This is for 1st Gen BMW/MINI. I would imagine it would be very similar. Good Luck
This is for 1st Gen BMW/MINI. I would imagine it would be very similar. Good Luck
Anyway, is there any concensus on which aftermarket speakers are preferred for direct stock (non-HK) replacements? I saw mention of Pioneers. What about Alpines, Polks, Focals, etc? Has anyone tried several and can recommend one as a clear winner? Also, is it better to completely eliminate the stock tweets, and their separate locations, and go with coaxials in the doors, leaving the stock tweets for dead? (...Under the logic that two functioning sets of tweeters in the doors, on nearly the same plane, is bad karma...)
#55
04-08-2010, 07:56 AM
4th Gear
Just to follow up, for the benefit of anyone else curious about this, I spoke with a Crutchfield sales guy, and he reccommended Polk dbs front and rear. I was really more interested in the Alpine SPSs, but he insisted that they'd be too inefficient to work well with the stock radio's power, not using an outboard amp. He said the Polks have nearly identical sound quality and durability of construction, but are noticeably more efficient. I've never actually owned a set of Polks before, but I've always heard good things about them. Also: Normally, I wouldn't be interested in Crutchfield's prices (and I've been around long enough to remember when Crutchfield had the best prices out there), but they do supply the wiring harnesses and the required adapter rings for the fronts, along with decent instructions, all inclusive. It's still worth it for the convenience...it's not a purchase you make every day. Also, their return policy and phone support can prove priceless, if you're unfortunate enough to need them, not to mention the cheerful free advice you get as a returning customer, as evidenced above.
#56
04-15-2010, 12:28 PM
I would absolutely recommend Crutchfield for car stereo purchases due to the detailed install instructions, free adapters, and excellent support if you get in a jam. I haven't found their car audio prices that much higher than retail stores anyway, so any extra "price of admission" is worth it here.
Not so much for TVs or home theater stuff that you're just stacking on shelves since their prices tend to be near list on that stuff.
Not so much for TVs or home theater stuff that you're just stacking on shelves since their prices tend to be near list on that stuff.
#57
05-14-2010, 09:13 PM
4th Gear
Does anybody know what exactly the "power antenna", and the "accessory" leads do? Can one of these be used to switch on an amp...only when the stereo is turned on (which is basically what I'm getting at...)? Some power antenna leads I've seen do not provide power, rather they "establish" a ground whenever raising the power antenna is called for. And to complicate matters more, some of them only work when the AM or FM radio is used (not working in any other mode, like CD). If any of this is true, would the "accessory" lead be a better choice? (I have no idea what this does...)
#58
06-29-2010, 10:18 AM
Does anybody know what exactly the "power antenna", and the "accessory" leads do? Can one of these be used to switch on an amp...only when the stereo is turned on (which is basically what I'm getting at...)? Some power antenna leads I've seen do not provide power, rather they "establish" a ground whenever raising the power antenna is called for. And to complicate matters more, some of them only work when the AM or FM radio is used (not working in any other mode, like CD). If any of this is true, would the "accessory" lead be a better choice? (I have no idea what this does...)
#59
08-28-2010, 04:33 PM
I got my system installed and two other shops who also looked at it can't get rid of the engine noise from the rear 6x9's. Both say it's the design of the vehicle with the battery in the back and alternator in the front. Every possible scenario was worked and reworked (including all grounds checked and regrounded and power wires run separate and the pioneer head unit was correctly grounded also) . The only thing i haven't done is changed the battery and alternator which they said won't help. The amps are close to the battery in the boot but when they connected another amp and moved it, that didn't help. Other people have had this problem. Any other solutions?
#60
08-29-2010, 01:17 PM
I got my system installed and two other shops who also looked at it can't get rid of the engine noise from the rear 6x9's. Both say it's the design of the vehicle with the battery in the back and alternator in the front. Every possible scenario was worked and reworked (including all grounds checked and regrounded and power wires run separate and the pioneer head unit was correctly grounded also) . The only thing i haven't done is changed the battery and alternator which they said won't help. The amps are close to the battery in the boot but when they connected another amp and moved it, that didn't help. Other people have had this problem. Any other solutions?
Only other thing it could be is your signal wire to your 6x9's is running too close to your power wire, but I bet you checked that.
Good luck bud.
#63
08-29-2010, 08:15 PM
#64
08-30-2010, 12:19 AM
mini cooper radio noise
I will try your method with the cap between the alternator and battery. Everytime I accelerate I can hear the "alternator whine" we even turned down the gains. You can still hear it faintly even when the rca's are disconnected and only power is going to the amps.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks for the suggestions.
#65
08-30-2010, 07:41 PM
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#66
09-19-2010, 08:46 AM
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I will try your method with the cap between the alternator and battery. Everytime I accelerate I can hear the "alternator whine" we even turned down the gains. You can still hear it faintly even when the rca's are disconnected and only power is going to the amps.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks for the suggestions.
I've also seen stereo shops wrap the RCA's in aluminum foil to shield them from electrical interference caused by the power cable being too close to the 'sound' wires.
I thought the capacitor was to keep the power levels even and prevent that subwoofer thump that happens sometimes when you turn the car on or off...
#68
09-29-2010, 02:57 AM
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Ordered a pioneer deck today for the car, but this thread got me thinking about adding a small powered sub; with the battery in the back, I'd only have to run the remote wire and RCA's from the back of the deck to the amp...
and if I didn't use the pre-outs on the deck and instead used the rear channels and a line-out adaptor, I could snag that behind the panel in the boot right?
That should make for a clean, easy install that could go back to factory real easy if I were to trade or sell the mini in the future.
and if I didn't use the pre-outs on the deck and instead used the rear channels and a line-out adaptor, I could snag that behind the panel in the boot right?
That should make for a clean, easy install that could go back to factory real easy if I were to trade or sell the mini in the future.
#69
10-05-2010, 12:11 AM
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So I bought these MB quart speakers and I'm trying to mount them in the door.
The magnet hits the window frame thing, so I went to a stereo shop to buy spacers and foam baffles to protect from water. The shop said they don't carry spacers, they use the speaker grilles as spacers if they are needed for an install.
I went to another shop and bought some 1" spacers (but they didn't fit the door or the speakers). Then I tried to make a spacer out of 3/4 mdf like a lot of guys have said, but an hour and one big huge mess later, the magnet still hits that window frame thing (but barely).
Then I thought maybe if I removed the factory speaker grill from the door panel, I could cut the tabs from the door panel that hold the speaker grill and slide the speaker in, and screw it to the panel. It seems the new speaker's edges would just barely fit inside the recess from the old grille.
My question:
Is the panel going to provide enough support for the speaker, or is it going to squeak and rattle (or break)? I'm hesitant to do this because I'm not really sure I want to permanently alter the car by cutting off those tabs. The MB speaker grills do fit the interior motif a lot better though...Any ideas?
The magnet hits the window frame thing, so I went to a stereo shop to buy spacers and foam baffles to protect from water. The shop said they don't carry spacers, they use the speaker grilles as spacers if they are needed for an install.
I went to another shop and bought some 1" spacers (but they didn't fit the door or the speakers). Then I tried to make a spacer out of 3/4 mdf like a lot of guys have said, but an hour and one big huge mess later, the magnet still hits that window frame thing (but barely).
Then I thought maybe if I removed the factory speaker grill from the door panel, I could cut the tabs from the door panel that hold the speaker grill and slide the speaker in, and screw it to the panel. It seems the new speaker's edges would just barely fit inside the recess from the old grille.
My question:
Is the panel going to provide enough support for the speaker, or is it going to squeak and rattle (or break)? I'm hesitant to do this because I'm not really sure I want to permanently alter the car by cutting off those tabs. The MB speaker grills do fit the interior motif a lot better though...Any ideas?
#70
10-05-2010, 08:26 AM
Please Don't Do That
There is not a lot of support on the door panel, especially when your installing something that will be moving constantly. Additionally, I think it will be a nightmare to make it look good after you cut the door panels. I have done that on a project car, and after about a month of fab work I wished I hadn't.
Have you tried contacting Crutchfield to get a spacer for a mini? I think they make them.
Good luck!
Have you tried contacting Crutchfield to get a spacer for a mini? I think they make them.
Good luck!
#71
11-27-2010, 09:06 PM
sounds
hello everyone, im sorry i dont know how to use this but my name is jeremy im from los angeles and well im new to the mini cooper world.... i own a 2009 mini cooper and well ive been having trouble on upgrading the sound system .. i really want my sound system to be just liek the one in this picture.... at the moment i only have a amp and a bass speaker but i would love for it to look like this... i was curious about how much it would cost to make it look like this and where i can go get it done... im a 20 year old ... so can you please mail me or make a new threat and fwd it to me or feel free to email me ... thank you...sage1990jm@gmail.com
Ok, so your stock sound system is not good anymore... You'd like to upgrade it to something better... I upgraded mine 2 weeks ago and had to search on a few threads in order to gather all the info I needed to get it done. It is failry easy to get the whole job done, but make sure you have some time ahead! The whole process should take about 2-3 hours!
I thought it might be a good idea to make a thread about upgrading the MINI sound system. So here it goes! Please note that my MINI is a 2003 Cooper S and 2005 & onward can be different, especially for the front door panels & center console downtubes...
Let's start with the headunit:
1- Remove the 4 screws holding the downtubes (2 on each side). Those are Torx screws.
2- You can remove them by pushing the downtube down and pulling them toward the rear of the car. They should come off fairly easily.
3- There are 4 screws holding the headunit. Remove them and the headunit should come off. Pull it and remove the antenna plug and the wiring plug. The wiring plug has a lock system that you need to pull down in order to get it off. It will be obvious once you get the headunit pulled off.
Here is a picture to help you:
Here is the MINI headunit wiring diagram... If you want to cut the stock wires and plug them into the aftermarket headunit, you will need it! I did cut the stock wires...
Now, for the front speakers:
1- Remove the 3 screws you can see in the door panel.
2- There is a 4th screw hidden behind the door's reflector. Remove the reflector using a flat screwdriver (pull if from the bottom of the reflector, this is the only place the reflector has not tab)
3- Unscrew that bolt behind the reflector.
4- Pull the door panel and make sure that once you reach the top of the panel, you pull gently enough to only clear the door lock. Then, move it upward and you can remove the door panel.
5- Remove the speaker and install you new one. The wire with a brown stripe is the negative!
Here is a picture to assist you:
The "involving" rear speakers install:
1- Open the trunk (Doh lol)
2- Fold both rear seats.
3- Unscrewthe bolt between the seats. (see pictures below)
4- Begin by removing the rearseat behind the driver's side. It is very important to begin with this one! To remove it, pull it to a 45degree angle and pull it up from the center. Then pull it to the right and it will come off.
5- Do the same thing for the passenger seat.
6- Remove the bottom part of the rearseat but pulling it from its edge. Them pull it toward the front and it will come off.
7- Remove the center panel of the trunk. It is held by 3 clips. See pictures for location. Use some priers to remove the center part of the clip and then remove the surrounding part.
8- Gently pull that panel upward to remove it. It is held by 4 clips and should come off fairly easy.
9- Unscrew the 4 bolts (2 on each side) of the side panels. (see picture)
10- Pull gently on the side moldings and they will come off. They are held with clips and require a bit of elbow grease!
** remove the trunk's light... **
11- Make sure that every clip are still on the panels. You can remove the remaining clips from the car and install them back on the panel. It is not necessary to unscrew the rear's seatbelts. Just move them out of the way as you are pulling the panels off.
12- You can now access the rear speakers. The brown striped wires are the negative.
** If you are planning on installing a subwoofer and amplifier, this is the time to run the necessary wires!! **
13- Reinstall the panels. The rearseats should be installed backward. Start with the passenger-side seat and then the driver's one... Fold them to a 45 degree angle to get them into the side brackets!
Here is a picture:
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask it on this thread!
I thought it might be a good idea to make a thread about upgrading the MINI sound system. So here it goes! Please note that my MINI is a 2003 Cooper S and 2005 & onward can be different, especially for the front door panels & center console downtubes...
Let's start with the headunit:
1- Remove the 4 screws holding the downtubes (2 on each side). Those are Torx screws.
2- You can remove them by pushing the downtube down and pulling them toward the rear of the car. They should come off fairly easily.
3- There are 4 screws holding the headunit. Remove them and the headunit should come off. Pull it and remove the antenna plug and the wiring plug. The wiring plug has a lock system that you need to pull down in order to get it off. It will be obvious once you get the headunit pulled off.
Here is a picture to help you:
Here is the MINI headunit wiring diagram... If you want to cut the stock wires and plug them into the aftermarket headunit, you will need it! I did cut the stock wires...
Now, for the front speakers:
1- Remove the 3 screws you can see in the door panel.
2- There is a 4th screw hidden behind the door's reflector. Remove the reflector using a flat screwdriver (pull if from the bottom of the reflector, this is the only place the reflector has not tab)
3- Unscrew that bolt behind the reflector.
4- Pull the door panel and make sure that once you reach the top of the panel, you pull gently enough to only clear the door lock. Then, move it upward and you can remove the door panel.
5- Remove the speaker and install you new one. The wire with a brown stripe is the negative!
Here is a picture to assist you:
The "involving" rear speakers install:
1- Open the trunk (Doh lol)
2- Fold both rear seats.
3- Unscrewthe bolt between the seats. (see pictures below)
4- Begin by removing the rearseat behind the driver's side. It is very important to begin with this one! To remove it, pull it to a 45degree angle and pull it up from the center. Then pull it to the right and it will come off.
5- Do the same thing for the passenger seat.
6- Remove the bottom part of the rearseat but pulling it from its edge. Them pull it toward the front and it will come off.
7- Remove the center panel of the trunk. It is held by 3 clips. See pictures for location. Use some priers to remove the center part of the clip and then remove the surrounding part.
8- Gently pull that panel upward to remove it. It is held by 4 clips and should come off fairly easy.
9- Unscrew the 4 bolts (2 on each side) of the side panels. (see picture)
10- Pull gently on the side moldings and they will come off. They are held with clips and require a bit of elbow grease!
** remove the trunk's light... **
11- Make sure that every clip are still on the panels. You can remove the remaining clips from the car and install them back on the panel. It is not necessary to unscrew the rear's seatbelts. Just move them out of the way as you are pulling the panels off.
12- You can now access the rear speakers. The brown striped wires are the negative.
** If you are planning on installing a subwoofer and amplifier, this is the time to run the necessary wires!! **
13- Reinstall the panels. The rearseats should be installed backward. Start with the passenger-side seat and then the driver's one... Fold them to a 45 degree angle to get them into the side brackets!
Here is a picture:
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask it on this thread!
#72
11-28-2010, 01:07 PM
4th Gear
#73
12-02-2010, 04:06 PM
4th Gear
Just finished installing new front components as part of phase 1 of my R53 audio upgrade project. The components are Polk db6501 6-1/2s. I bought them from Crutchfield with their Polk special (buy one set, get the other set half price...I also got a pair of Polk db691 6x9s for the rear, that I haven't installed yet).
Okay. Crutchfield, as we all know, includes vehicle-specific illustrated instructions, wire connectors and mounting rings, as necessary, with their speakers (it's what you get for their somewhat higher prices). In this case, the Polks' woofer frames (or baskets) had 4 screw holes that did not line up with any of the existing holes on the inner diameter of the mounting rings they included. What's more, even 1 of the 3 mounting tabs' holes didn't line up with the holes in the door's sheetmetal. (they advise to drill a new hole
.)
Polk also includes their own mounting rings with their speakers. I ended up using these rings instead. These rings have 4 small "inner" holes on top to mount the woofers to them. This works out perfectly with the included small screws and rubber gasket (for between the woofer frames and the top of the rings). They also have many break-away long and short "outer" mounting tabs. Of these, 4 of the shorter ones match perfectly to the mounting holes in the doors. (No drilling...No treating bare metal...Four mounting points, instead of 3 .) I also made gaskets for between the rings and the doors' sheetmetal, from foam tape. The Polk rings are considerably thinner/shallower than the Crutchfield rings, however, and I was concerned about depth clearance (the forward window track and slider is close by). There was no issue. As it turns out, the depth inside the door is only slightly deeper than the stock speakers. The bigger difference is that the top of the woofers are farther from the door panel speaker grilles than before. But obviously, you don't see them through the grilles, and there is no significance to sound quality.
People here say that aftermarket tweeters must be mounted through the stock tweeter grilles, requiring drilling/cutting out the plastic grill area in the door handle/tweeter bezels (effectively destroying them, with reguard to reverseability). I found a better way. I removed the stock tweeters, lined the inside of their mounting cups with ~half-inch wide strips of foam tape (same stuff I used above), and friction-fitted the new tweeters into place. They're tight enough that they'll never move on their own, they're aimed about the same as the stockers were, and they do not interfere with the stock (unbutchered) grilles/bezels
.
The crossovers I mounted inside bottom of the doors with tiewraps, and routed the wiring so as to spiral around the existing wiring (which is secured in many places, and designed to not interfere with moving parts) nice, neat, and safe.
I guess they'll need some break-in time, but they already sound great, even with the rest of the system totally stock-"Boost". Much clearer and crisper highs and mids, less bass...exactly what I expected. (The bass issue will be dealt with later.)
Okay. Crutchfield, as we all know, includes vehicle-specific illustrated instructions, wire connectors and mounting rings, as necessary, with their speakers (it's what you get for their somewhat higher prices). In this case, the Polks' woofer frames (or baskets) had 4 screw holes that did not line up with any of the existing holes on the inner diameter of the mounting rings they included. What's more, even 1 of the 3 mounting tabs' holes didn't line up with the holes in the door's sheetmetal. (they advise to drill a new hole
.)Polk also includes their own mounting rings with their speakers. I ended up using these rings instead. These rings have 4 small "inner" holes on top to mount the woofers to them. This works out perfectly with the included small screws and rubber gasket (for between the woofer frames and the top of the rings). They also have many break-away long and short "outer" mounting tabs. Of these, 4 of the shorter ones match perfectly to the mounting holes in the doors. (No drilling...No treating bare metal...Four mounting points, instead of 3
.) I also made gaskets for between the rings and the doors' sheetmetal, from foam tape. The Polk rings are considerably thinner/shallower than the Crutchfield rings, however, and I was concerned about depth clearance (the forward window track and slider is close by). There was no issue. As it turns out, the depth inside the door is only slightly deeper than the stock speakers. The bigger difference is that the top of the woofers are farther from the door panel speaker grilles than before. But obviously, you don't see them through the grilles, and there is no significance to sound quality.People here say that aftermarket tweeters must be mounted through the stock tweeter grilles, requiring drilling/cutting out the plastic grill area in the door handle/tweeter bezels (effectively destroying them, with reguard to reverseability). I found a better way. I removed the stock tweeters, lined the inside of their mounting cups with ~half-inch wide strips of foam tape (same stuff I used above), and friction-fitted the new tweeters into place. They're tight enough that they'll never move on their own, they're aimed about the same as the stockers were, and they do not interfere with the stock (unbutchered) grilles/bezels
.The crossovers I mounted inside bottom of the doors with tiewraps, and routed the wiring so as to spiral around the existing wiring (which is secured in many places, and designed to not interfere with moving parts) nice, neat, and safe.
I guess they'll need some break-in time, but they already sound great, even with the rest of the system totally stock-"Boost". Much clearer and crisper highs and mids, less bass...exactly what I expected. (The bass issue will be dealt with later.)
#75
01-18-2011, 02:40 PM
4th Gear
I bought an Alpine CDA-105 head unit with the KTP-445 Power Pack amp. Crutchfield supplies the necessary antenna adapter and the wire connector pigtail to plug into the stock wiring.
I've noticed a couple of things, on which I'm gonna need some advice:
First, the red switched-power "Ignition" wire is included separately from the pigtail. Crutchfield's instructions have you running that wire directly to the "radio" fuse in the fuse panel, bypassing the stock harness connector entirely. WHY? ...Especially when the purple/blue "Accessory" wire in the stock harness (PIN-16) seems to serve the same purpose...??
Second, there is no "Illumination" wire included with the pigtail...even though there is a perfectly good "Illumination" wire right there in the stock harness (grey/red, PIN-14). Again, WHY? Do I run the risk of some kind of malfunction if I use these connections?
I've noticed a couple of things, on which I'm gonna need some advice:
First, the red switched-power "Ignition" wire is included separately from the pigtail. Crutchfield's instructions have you running that wire directly to the "radio" fuse in the fuse panel, bypassing the stock harness connector entirely. WHY? ...Especially when the purple/blue "Accessory" wire in the stock harness (PIN-16) seems to serve the same purpose...??
Second, there is no "Illumination" wire included with the pigtail...even though there is a perfectly good "Illumination" wire right there in the stock harness (grey/red, PIN-14). Again, WHY? Do I run the risk of some kind of malfunction if I use these connections?