For me, the most difficult part of doing the rears was getting all the snap connectors on the back panels lined up so that none were smashed when snapping them back in.

Upgrading the MINI audio is a slippery slope. It is difficult to know when to stop.

Once you have the back panels out, you might as well do some sound insulation.



After I did the speaker swap with Infinity Kappas, I lived with it for awhile, but was still not happy. I added a Bass600 sub but was still not happy.

I ended up pulling out the Kappas and putting in:
Q 450.4 - Image Dynamics 4-Channel 450 Watt Amplifier
CXS64 V.2 - Image Dynamics 6.5" 4 ohm Component System
CTX69 - Image Dynamics 6 x 9" 2 Way Speaker w/ Silk Tweeters

Now my only complaint is the locations of the front speakers. It would be nice to have a mid-range driver higher in the door. The location of the 6.5" is not ideal for mid-range.

That is the problem you encounter when swapping out the fronts. If you go with a 2-way component set, and put the tweeter in the 4" speaker location, most of your mid-range is at your feet. That is an OK location for a subwoofer (although 6.5" is too small), but not great for mids.

The Focal 3-way component set is probably a better solution for the doors, but you should really have an amp to drive them.

If you are not going to add an amp, one solution would be to get a 4" coaxial speaker, and 6.5 component, but not use the tweeter.

 

cheers for the tips. I'll keep you posted. I like your suggestion of the 4" coaxial and the 6.5 component woofer. I would like to eventually add an amp, subwoofer, and box from urbanmini, but that won't be for a while.

 

Ordered the parts for EBC and got the chance to put together the cable with the swapped wires today. Thanks to everybody who posted about this. I hope to get it installed tomorrow...

 

Looks like a nice clean job. I assume this is just for the channel swap. If/when you add an amp, you can pull the audio wires and send them to an amp.

 

Yes, just a channel swap. I may label the wires before I install the cable (haven't had time yet) and then, if I ever add an amp (or powered sub), it will be easier...

Robin - Thanks for the help and the link to EBC.

If anybody else is going down that road, you could request "bulk packaging" from EBC. Somebody had to break all the connectors apart and individually package them. The first thing I did was to open all the individual packages and combine them together.....

Also, I ordered 14 of each of them just in case I goofed one of them up...I only got 13 of one side (14 of the other). I didn't need the extra ones, but probably good to order a few extras, just in case.

 

This is a great post, but I am a little nervious about doing this without adult supervision.

Does anyone have experience with a good Audio store in the Houston Texas area that would be willing to make this kind of alteration?

Thanks
Dennis

 

KewlBreeze,

Before going to an "Audio" store - who also may not know what they are doing, and will charge you many $$ - why not put a message here looking for other nearby NAM members who have done this. I'll *bet* that there is a close-by member who would help you out for the cost of a pizza and some good beer...It's worth a try, huh?

 

I will do that very thing!!! Good idea

Thanks
Dennis

 

Responding to rlw's excellant idea - is there anyone in the Houston area would be willing to guide me in this attempt to improve the tunes??

Dennis

 

Has anyone performed this swap in a Cabrio and is it worth it? It looks to me like the rear 6.5" speaker is the same as the front lower in the R57, so I'm wondering if anything is gained. I've compensated by setting fader to +3 front and that actually improves base response significantly.

 

I am super intrigued by this idea! I got an 09' MCS in October and have basically cried every time I turn on the radio. When I finish crying, I then kick myself for buying a car from the shmucks that told me there were no new upgrade options in '10. Ummm, Harman Kardon... for the same price and only a months wait... @#$%^!!! Sorry, I can't control it. I have explored so many upgrade options and am, quite frankly, exhausted and overwhelmed. I buy a new car so that I can have warranties and the thought of tearing into a brand new car and risking rattles and voided warranty's makes me very uncomfortable. I love quality sound but I also need peace of mind. Think this may be a suitable fix? Would love to hear more from those who have done it. Also, anyone in Ohio willing to lend a hand?

 

If you're handy with small tools, doing the front/rear channel swap does not alter the cosmetics of the car in any way. Until you start fiddling with the radio, it's impossible to detect sort of pulling out the x9331 connector and looking at the wire colours. I'd call that pretty low risk!

It makes a substantial improvement in sound quality, mostly in the low end. Not as big an improvement as doing the swap and swapping speakers, but it helps.

If I was going for low risk improvements, I'd probably do the swap, and swap out the rear speakers -- you can put in something like the polk 691 which use the same exact mounting holes -- you can use the same exact mounting hardware. You have to make a jumper from the speaker to the OEM connector, but that's it. Again, pretty low risk, and an improvement in sound.

Replacing the front 6.5 inch speakers is next.

Figure out what your tolerance is, and go for it --

And if you get out to Silicon Valley on the Left Coast, I'll be happy to help!

 

Thanks K6rtm!
With the winter we are having here, I would love to motor on out west but I can't get out of my driveway . I definitely think this may be a good first step for me. I am trying to get the alpine upgrade available in Europe but it is proving quite difficult to get it/get it installed. I was hoping MINI USA would support it but it is not working out that way. Again, maybe swapping some wires will have to do the trick for the time being...

 

You should have bought a cabrio and you wouldn't have to worry about it. They roll off the line with rattles built in.

 

Performed the swap yesterday in my Cabrio. I am sort of ambivalent about the effects this swap has for Cabrio owners and whether it is worth it. The 6.5" rear speakers are the largest and likely the most capable of reproducing good sound under 100 Hz, but the effects are negligible. I am convinced the smaller front 5.25" speakers produce better bass than the rears. I may swap back next time in, doing more testing to see what sounds better.

As far as performing the work goes, the many contributions of members in this thread made it easy work. Found the connector easily and at first was worried that I could not separate it from the black connector piggy backed on top, but after disconnecting realized it didn't matter. The female end is the one that pulls free. Used toothpicks and small slotted screwdriver to pull out the inner sleeve that guides and holds the pin sockets in. Having that pulled up made it simple to push out the sockets with the torx, pull it through the sleeve, and place in correct hole for the swap.

The hardest part of the job was getting the plastic side panel snapped on again. I haven't completed this because I realize I need to remove the panel completely to gain enough room to slide the retaining clips back in their slots and I didn't have a T50 driver. I know the original post stated removing the panel is optional, but I cannot see how you can properly refasten this panel without removing it.

One of the reasons I needed to do this was to tap the speaker lines for a subwoofer and that also went well. I'm using a small sub, the JVC CS-BB2, and it definitely improves bass response with a noticeable oomph that wasn't there even after doing the front/rear swap. I can see where a replacement of all speakers is warranted, though with as crummy as the rear speakers appear to be, I made just install components up front, use a 6.5 in the lower and keep fader on full front. With a sub and good front speakers I'm not sure the rears are necessary and the current speakers will degrade the overall sound if left in.

 

One of the things I started wondering about lately is whether or not the audio swap withstands the bass and treble "boost" the speed sensitive volume trick pulls on the speakers. Over about 20mph and my stereo is reasonable, but under 20 and yech. I checked the manual, but neither the car manual or the stereo manual makes any mention of disabling that feature. I wonder how many people are comparing the sound quality while the car is idling and not while the car is at speed. I don't remember seeing anyone mention that in any of the threads, but I might have missed it.

 

In the audio set up, you can turn down the response rate of that feature and the lowest setting may actually turn the feature off. I did the channel swap a couple of months ago and so far, my experience has been that the speed related audio shifting (mine is set at "3") hasn't detracted from the sound at all. I'll try to remember to turn it off or change the settings for my commute to work though.

 

Ah yeah, that's what S-VOL stands for again. Set mine to neutral (3? it's neither + nor -), and the cutout below 20 mph went away. Yay! My city commute was driving me a little up the wall.

 

Did the swap today and wow did it make a difference. I put some new front speakers in as well and all in all it was well worth it. Its nice to finally have some bass!! Next up is the rear speaker upgrade!!

 

finally got around to doing the front/rear swap today, went pretty quickly once I got the technique down (T-20, twist slightly while pushing). Seemed to make a noticeable difference, will give it a good road test later today. Thanks for everyone's work on this.

 

Wow!!! Just carried out this mod!!! My god what a difference it makes. Thanks Gos to the NAM bod who figured this out. Definatley worth 45 mins to do this. I suspect most people wont even feel the need to upgrade speakers after this little beaut!! ATorx T25 was reccomended i removed the female pins and found a smaller Torx bit which was tapered was better as the larger T25 seemed to damage the edge of the connectors. All round a million percent worth doing!!!

 

Hi

I was so pleased with the results I have collated all the relevant diagrams provided by all the previous posters so it is easy to print off and use for the mod.

Thanks Again

Craig

 

Hey all, just want to say thanks for the great amount of research and effort into figuring this out. Got my new Cooper and did the swap today, definitely sounds much better! I used a T25 to pop out the female side. Took me a few hours since I've never done this type of thing before, but it was a fun experience for sure.

Next: worming my way to a free iPod y-cable perhaps? Hmm....

Update: Talked to the salesman and he gave me the y-cable for free! Super nice dude. For anyone wondering, I'm in Canada and the cable is around $100.

 

I'm having trouble removing the pins. Some pop out really easily, but others, the locking sleeve slips and the pin slides back before it, preventing pulling the pin out the back. Did this happen to anyone else, and is there an easy fix?
thanks

 

What guage wire did you use in the making of your pass through connector?