Hi gang!

I have to say this is one of the most friendly forums I have ever seen!

Not one bit of flaming or bickering I have found yet.

On to my question.

I am wondering if there are any huge differences in audio quality between the stock and upgraded hifi.

Looking at a Clubman.

 

Yer not from these part, are ya?

Seriously though... I'm not a huge Audiofile but I thought the Hi-Fi was significantly better than standard. I listened to them side by side with the same iPod and the same song and it sold me. That said, some would say that on a scale of 1 - 10 the standard is a 3 and the HI-FI a 5. What I mean is that neither is satisfactory for someone who is really picky about their sound system.

There are many opinions about this all over NAM.

EDIT: If you are considering upgrading later, the HI-FI might be a good choice simply because you will have all the wiring etc in place.

 

I'm probably a bit biased because I work for a company that supplies to the manufacturers that make these premium sound systems, but I definitely think that they're worth it. You get a few more speakers that are better-placed in your listening environment, and are probably a bit better-tuned by the manufacturer (Harman Kardon, in this case). For most of us, the premium system will be plenty loud and sound darn good so we don't need to think aftermarket, but of course there's a huge crowd who will need to have something a bit more than MINI can offer from the factory. The best suggestion is to go to a dealership with your favorite CD and ask to drive around in a couple of MINIs - one with the standard system and one with the premium system - and decide for yourself if you can hear the difference. Good luck!