Ya'll all missed the OP's conundrum.
He (we believe) test drove a F56.
He either ordered or purchased an already on the lot unit.
Paid for, financed, or stole (just kidding), his NEW F56.
And after 2 full weeks, has discovered that there is NO CD player.
Kinda like finding out later that there is NO spare.
Oh, and NO dipstick.

It's just amazing how many folks here @ NAM buy a MINI, any generation, not find out stuff till AFTER they have paid for it and drove away.
Without me browsing every make auto in the world and the attached forums, do people really buy what is considered as the second most expensive purchase in your lives, and NOT even know what they are getting? Or even if it's available?

Just one man's amazement and mystification!
Thanks for putting another smile on another human face!

 

Heck, it's far worse with home buyers!

 

In Belgium the original radio from Mini has a CD player.Greetings from poor little Belgium

 

It's funny how we forget how long things have been around. My '89 BMW had a CD player in the trunk.
Now I just have to get blue teeth and get on-the-line. And get off my lawn!

 

In fairness to the OP, there are things which are so common that you don't even look for to see if they exist. I didn't know my MCS didn't have a spare before I ordered. Every car I've ever owned and every car all my friends and family ever owned had a spare, why would I even ask about it? "Does this car have spark plugs?" - seems like a stupid question.

How does one search for things a MINI doesn't have? "OK Google, what doesn't a 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop have?" Answer: an air horn, a time machine, chocolate pudding, a dip stick, 5 wheels, the ability to think for itself and feel shame, etc.....

Assuming a car has a CD player is NOT a dumb assumption. In 10 years it may be but not yet.

 

You have to realize that some of us had a 8 track players in our cars. LOL

 

I wouldn't rather use CD's, I just like having the option. I'm one of the few that still buys physical CDs. I usually convert them to MP3 eventually and have my iPod, but I like having the 'hard copy'. I'm also sort of a collector. My main reason for liking to have a CD player is for when I'm out and about and decide to buy a CD. I can just pop it in the car and listen to it right away.

I may not use it as much as I used to, but I don't like them making the decision for me to only have the option of digital music.

I would never pay $500 extra to gain the same ability to do something that is standard everywhere else!

 

I just tested a samsung external USB CD player. It did not work. I'm going to try a few others and see if I can get it working.

 

Wow, lots of responses! I actually did test drive the F56 prior to purchase and did buy one off the lot. I thought about ordering one, but I got a deal(4th MINI form same dealership/salesman) on Finn so I went for it.....I do not take offense to any comments..hahaha
I just never thought about it when I turned the radio(with Harmann Kardon system)on......


I appreciate the suggestion about the ipod player, but when I hook it up using the USB input slot, I have to crank it up to hear......gotta find another solution........


Still love the brand and the people that love their MINIs..

 

Just adjust the volume level in settings for the aux and usb. Each "mode" has separate min/max volume settings. That should solve that issue for you.

 

[QUOTE="hammerhands;3973617"In October I will have a Pono Music Player to plug into the auxillary port and test the HK.[/QUOTE]

Nice! You'll have to let us know how that turns out. Ponos are supposedly life changing.

 

Can I suggest something that I do to any person of any age in any similar case?

TRY IT! In this case, try using flash media. It's simple, it worlds more comfortable and flexible to use. It's very easy to figure out. The only reason why people stick to their CDs is that they're afraid and reluctant TO TRY something new. There's no benefit to CDs, none, zilch, just people being afraid of a change.

Your Mini is giving you an opportunity to learn something new that you'll greatly appreciate later. So why not use it?

 

I'd be disappointed if the car did have a CD player. Sometimes people have to be dragged into the future kicking and screaming, and this is a good step in that direction.

 

I, too, was disappointed to find there was no disc player, which I didn't notice until well after having my Hardtop for a day or two. Especially since the MINIUSA.COM web site had stated (still does) that "our standard 6-speaker CD system rocks, and rocks hard." No CD player, and only 4 speakers . BTW - my wife bought her Clubman a week after I got my Hardtop, and she did get the CD player AND the 6 speakers. Go figure........

And being an IT guy for over 25 years, it has absolutely nothing to do with learning something new, or being dragged kicking and screaming into the future. Disc technology is far from being obsolete: cars offered tape players for a LOT longer than CD players have been standard in most vehicles. I have a large library of MP3s for sure, but I also have a large library of CDs, both retail and, more importantly, many custom / mix CDs. For Mini to include a CD player with MP3/MWA/OGG support for backward-compatibility should have been a no-brainer.

For Tacoman03 and any others trying to use their iPod / iPhone: I have an iPod nano (16 GB 5th gen) that I tried controlling via my Mini's USB interface, but in addition to the audio levels being lower, it took way too long for the views to update when navigating via the steering wheel controls. To remedy that, I switched over to using my Griffin TuneFlex that I had been using in my previous ride (Scion XB). I've mastered the iPod click-wheel so well over time, that it was WAY easier and faster, and the sound quality through the aux jack seemed better to me.

More recently, I purchased a die cast model of the 1967 Morris Mini Cooper Rally Monte Carlo winner (picture attached) off of eBay, which is also 4 GB flash drive with wheels that rotate, a retractable USB connector that comes out of the boot, and headlights that light up (!). In another forum, I found a great utility, doubleTwist (https://www.doubletwist.com/), that helped me transfer a custom mix (playlist) from iTunes (other music players are supported) directly onto the flash drive while maintaining the folder/file structures, allowing for easy navigation through the steering wheel controls. Not as much storage as my iPod, but plenty of space to fill with my favorite drive time tunes. And, I figured it all out on my own with a minimum of kicking and screaming

It's pretty cool, but I still say I shouldn't have had to forfeit the convenience of a disc player.

 

Your F56 DOES have 6 speakers (If it is a Cooper S). For standard audio, 2 are located in the front doors, 2 are located in the rear quarter panels and 2 are located under the front seats.

For H/K Audio, there are 2 in the A-pillars, 2 in the center upper dash pod, 2 in the front doors, 4 in the rear quarter panels and 2 under the front seats for a total of 12

For some odd reason, the Cooper model with the standard audio only receives the 2 door speakers and the 2 speakers under the seats. It appears that there is an error on the website, however I am trying to confirm all this with a corporate person.

 

The AUX has level control but the USB does not. I wish it did.

 

I have the base four speaker radio and it's fine on digital FM but with the USB and a ipod the volume is not as powerful compared to the FM radio. Windows down freeway speed it's not loud enough. It's little louder with a USB stick. It's the most powerful with using the AUX setting and turning the level up. But doing this you do not have the control of the playlists artists ect. On the radio. You have to control it with the iPod and that's ok. But there is not as much dynamic range with the AUX setting and it there is distortion if you use the highest setting. But it's louder. I want to test an external USB CD player for the music fidelity and loudness. I could care less if CD's are dying tech I'm looking best sound I can get out of the cheap base radio. Maybe there will be speaker amp upgrade for the base radio. The R56 had one for the base radio.

 

I also have the base stereo, and this is the most "disappointing" thing about my car, but it isn't horrible for a car stereo. Yes, I regret not having the HK, but a three month wait wasn't in the cards for me. I was too eager to get behind the wheel.

What you say is right, though, the audio is soft, and generally my volume level is above half, and windows down at speed, it has to be really cranked up.

I am definitely going to be looking at aftermarket options for upgrading the audio system on this car when they become available. Especially if I can add speakers in the A piller aftermarket (buying the HK enabled A pillars from MINI), and adding aftermarket speakers to them.

I think having some speakers in the A pillar would generally help with the volume.

 

Just the base Cooper, not an S. But, so is my wife's Clubman, which has the disc player and extra set of speakers.

Like sal1k, I didn't care to place a custom order and wait 3 months just for the HK upgrade. But when I made that decision, I was led to believe by the sales staff that an aftermarket upgrade would be easy to do. After having the car a few weeks, I then checked in with the parts manager, and he gave me a different answer. He said the HK 10- or 12-speaker systems would be very difficult, if not impossible, to retrofit into the F56, due to drastically different trim requirements, wiring, etc. I'm hoping he proves to be wrong, but so far even places like Crutchfield aren't offering any compatible upgrades. The sound quality of the base system just isn't cutting it, not just because of the disc player / speaker issues, but the lower power and lower sound quality (no EQ, only bass & treble) make it very hard to hear with road and wind noise.

 

I have an ipod with all of my cds (gathering dust) that never leaves my car. I leave it on shuffle and never have to touch it. Once in a blue moon I'll use the cd player in my car...I think there's a cd full of sea chanties that's been there for a year or so. My last car had a six cd player and I'd leave the same six in for months until I could not take them anymore. New is sometimes (usually) better.