Just got it done. I thought it was VERY easy. T20 torx fits in there perfectly.

It is now VERY VERY acceptable in my ear. Yes, it isnt so clear cuz of the paper speaker cones but i think my next step is to swap my BA 6.5 components in there (laying around my house). Hope the connectors are simple to manage...

 

As this thread is also about how to avoid disassembling the center console with the speedometer, I just wondered if this connector also contains the telemute or 'mute' cable? In that case it would become much easier to install an aftermarket handsfree carkit like Parrot.

So, is position 1, position 9, or position 11 a "telemute" which mutes the radio when a phone call comes in?

 

I know some people are having trouble popping the panel off but how much force do you need to expose the wiring? It feels like i'm going to break the plastic panel.

 

I don't recall having to use excesive force to pop off the panel. It was tougher for me to get the connector detached from the wall once it was exposed. With that said, I definitely had to use force and pull towards the pedals as I recall (i.e., away from the wall as opposed to towards the back).

Good luck!

 

I had trouble getting the cover off as well, it's difficult to tell which way it pops off. As Jimatvs mentions, push away from you, the cover is held on by a big tab.

 

Are you following the instructions in this post?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...3-post281.html

 

I downloaded the test tone CD (posted earlier in this thread) and played it today in my 2009 non-hifi MCS. I've recently replaced the front speakers with Polk MM6501 component speakers, but I still have the stock rear speakers.

I have not done the front / rear speaker swap -- though I have thought about doing it.

But based on playing this test tone CD and moving the fade from full front to full rear, I don't think there is the cutoff of the bass going to the rear speakers below 100 Hz as described in this thread. Sure there are differences in volume of the tones front vs rear, but I would have anticipated no test tones played in the rear speakers based on reading this thread.

However, I likely will replace the rear speakers with Polk MM691 speakers when the weather gets nicer. After I have new rear speakers it will be interesting to play the test tone CD again.

 

its not a dead cutoff, it starts to roll it off

 

I am going to assume this applies to my R50 as well? I have definitely noticed a severe lack of bass response from those rear 6x9 speakers.

 

No, only applies to 2nd gen (R55/R56) non-HiFi.

 

I thought it applied to both the non-HiFi and HiFi on the R-55/56?

 

Has it just never been tried on an earlier model? I would say a majority of the bass in my 04MC comes from the door panel speakers, and hardly any sound from the rears.

 

I did my tests on my R56 non-hi-fi system. With access to simple test equipment (simple for some of us!), you could do the same kind of testing on other models.

What part of the planet are you on? I'm in Silicon Valley, and there's at least one audio/electronics geek (and I say that as praise!) on the East Coast.

 

If you have upgraded your front speakers in a non Hi-Fi Mini or Clubman (R56 or R55) then, in my view (NOTE this disclaimer), don't bother with the channel swap - you're better off with the bass coming out of your smaller, higher-quality front speakers than your larger, crappy-quality OEM rear speakers.

Last week, I had a pair of Hertz Hi-Energy HXC 165.3 speakers installed in the front doors of my 2009 Clubman with the standard Boost stereo (not Hi-fi). These 6.5" speakers replaced the larger 5.25" OEM speakers, and I simply had the smaller front OEM speakers (3" or something) disconnected.

I just had the channel swap done because the general view on NAM was that, even with upgraded front speakers and stock rear speakers, it would still be a good idea to do the channel swap. In my case, the sound (i.e. bass) was better BEFORE the channel swap than after the swap.

Of course, if you have NOT upgraded your front speakers, then I'm sure the channel swap is worthwhile. Similarly, if you have upgraded ALL your speakers, then I'm sure the channel swap is worthwhile. but if you have ONLY upgraded your fronts ANF don't have plans to upgrade the rears, don't bother with the channel swap.

I'm going to eventually do the rears once the weather improves and I remove the rear seat on the driver's side.

 

That is not my experience, but I can't speak for your particular car. FWIW, people have been modding the 1st gen stereo for years, and I haven't seen anyone mention a low end rolloff in the rear channels. When the R56 came out, the rolloff was noticed and measured fairly quickly, by multiple people. So I doubt it is something about R50's in general but there may be some issue with your particular car. If you set the fade all the way to the rear, do you only hear highs and mids? Is it the base system or Harman Kardon?

 

After some further testing (close listening, nothing fancy, but I'm a guitar player and have a pretty good ear) of the stereo in my 2009 Clubman with the regular boost stereo, my conclusion is that the difference between the front and rear channels goes way beyond just low frequencies (i.e. bass). When Mini sells you the car, the front channel is just more powerful - considerably more powerful! At least in my 2009 Clubman, that's the deal.

After I swapped my 6.5's in the front, the front speakers made the rear speakers sound like absolute pieces of garbage. The fronts sounded amazing! I was very pleased with my new Hertz co-axial front speakers. They pumped out really nice, tight bass, their built-in tweeters danced along to high-hats, and the mids were just awesome. Vocals were beautiful. All was good...except it really bugged me how crappy the rears sounded...

So I did the channel swap.

The results were not satisfying. Yes, the rears now pumped out more bass and, arguably, the overall sound was more, um, "balanced" between front and rear, but without question the overall sound quality went down. The front's only sound mediocre now! In fact, when I fade from full-front to full-rear, the piece of crap OEM rear 6x9's sound almost (sorta...) as good as the awesome upgraded 6.5's (except on really high-highs, as the 6x9's have no built-in tweeter). Before the swap, the 6.5's kicked the crap out of the 6x9's on absolutely every level. Now, the 6x9's actually sound better on mids, not just on bass! There's just got to be more power going to the 6x9's now - there's no other explanation.

Furthermore, rather than thinking of the channels as front/rear or 'with bass' / 'no bass', I think the better analysis is to think of them as the "STRONG" channel and the "WEAK" channel. Where do you want your strong channel? Presumably, where you have upgraded your speakers.

Also, if you upgrade all your speakers, where do you want your strong channel? Perhaps in the larger rear 6x9s...perhaps. But then consider this: most the sound will be behind you rather than in front of you, and then you're pumping more sound to bigger speakers and less sound to smaller front speakers. I think an argument can be made that if you forego the channel swap, thereby having less power go to the larger rears and more power to the smaller fronts, you get a more balanced sound. Not everyone will agree, but I think it's a reasonable proposition. What do the car audio experts thing about this line of reasoning re: balancing the sound? Does it make any sense?

In my view, the most efficient Mini stereo upgrade seems to be to replace the stock 5.25" speakers in the front with nice 6.5' co-axials, disconnect the smaller front speakers, and forego the channel swap. Sorry if I'm raining on anyone's parade but this was my experience. Maybe something has changed for the 2009 models or for the Clubmans?

 

Good write up.

Maybe the best solution is to replace all the speakers, as you have done...don't do a channel swap, but just add the powered sub-woofer.

I definitely appreciate the extra bass produced by the swap, but the rears do overwhelm the fronts a bit now. I'd love to recapture more mid-range in the mix.

At least the channel swap is easily reversible.

et

 

Why not just use the fade to balance more power to the fronts? That is what I wound up doing and it seems to work ok (with all stock speakers).

My 2 cents...

 

Well, of course, this is what I do. But I still have an excess of highs and not quite enough sweet mid-range to balance everything. To get the full bass, i tend to move the fader balance more to the rear, but that also pumps the rear tweeters in the 6x9 co-axials.

At some point I likely get a powered 8' sub in the way back, and then decide whether to keep the swap (likely) while adjusting the fader forward, or reversing the swap. I just wish I could tone down the rear treble a scosh.

 

Just did the swap. I just used a pair of needlenose pliers to push the pins out of the connector. The biggest pain I found was those little securing collars that hold the pins in the plug. Every time I pushed a pin in, it would push a collar out. I lost a couple of them somewhere down in the bowels of the unibody, but a wrap of a small strip of electrical tape did the trick to hold them in place. Snapped it back together and all was well.

I should note that I've got the base system and I had already replaced all 6 speakers with Polk DB series last year. The swap definitely makes a difference, especially with good speakers all around. Not bone-shattering bass, but a generally fuller sound in back, and a cleaner sound in front. After fiddling with the fader, the best sound seems to be right smack in the middle. I still want more thump though, so a powered sub is still on the radar screen for some point down the road.

Many thanks to k6rtm for that awesome research and write-up.

 

I like the little boss audio bass600, tucked away in the boot.

For those of you in the U.S., Amazon has some free MP3s, including

this little ditty

which has a LOT of bass. Free. Pick it up, and the other free tracks from that album, and see what your sub can do.

 

This is the one I'm considering. I believe it is just like yours (same manufacturer), 'cept with a different nameplate, and it is blacker (= better for me.)

http://www.wirelesshut.com/306882/12326065.html

 

Yup, looks like the same beastie!

That website shows out of stock -- a bunch of folks are still flogging the bass600 on eBay for around the same price.

Easy to install, runs off existing power wiring, and sounds reasonable.

Yeah, I'm biased...

 

I am getting closer to picking up the boss audio, i have a question about power. I really like the way you tap into the cig lighter in the back, but what is the best way to do that? Just buy a cell phone cig lighter thingy at radio shack? Also, I saw someone put the boss in the boot where the wrench and stuff goes for a clubman. Would anyone know if the cooper and clubman have the same size opening?

 

You can use the cig lighter thing temporarily, but it isn't reliable enough for long-term use -- it gets knocked around too easily, or works loose. Use the crimp-on splices on the wiring to the aux connector. I also used Anderson Power Pole connectors, which are pretty common in ham radio.

The Clubman has more room, from what I know. Look at the pics from some of the Clubman owners.

Have fun!