Hey all,

This isn't a "how to" but I can answer questions if need be, taking pics while trying to tear everything out, install, and put back together is not a patience I have. This was a 2 day install but it was needed because the Countryman offered us some surprises.

My Countryman S came with a basic stereo which means the speakers were stock, the volume would only go so high, and with CD's and satellite radio the sound sucked. For those out there that love music and love it loud you know what I'm talking about.

I have a couple buddies who live and breath this stuff so I called them up and below is the result, after install and tuning it sounds like there's a concert on my dash when listening to MP3's.

So anyways David built a custom box to conform to JL Audio standards for Cubic Ft for a 10" JL W3 to fit the boot and allow me to drop the flat floor. We needed the the amp rack that Chad built so I could fit 2 amps in back, one for the front speakers and one for the sub.

Front speakers are - CL-6E42 - CDT Audio 3-Way 6/4/1" Component System with 2 crossovers, pretty good clear sound.

Sub is JL Audio 10W3 4Ω.


Pics!



All seats out...







There are speakers under the front seats

They are 6.5" and are built into a sort of molded box that had to be cut out. We made a custom box quick like and installed that with the CDT 6.5" under the front seats.





Custom box David built






That's my Line Out converter for the AMP next to the speaker under the drivers seat.


We found the 1" speakers fit best in the A pillar with no "gap" between the plastic and the mount. Also the A pillar is much cheaper than the door panel if you mess up or want to go back to stock. Front 1" speaker location (Doors will not sound as good, I highly recommend a location in front of you)





Nope



Amp rack that Chad built so I could run 1 amp for fronts and 1 for sub. Now I'm just using the lower portion because I have 1 amp running everything. The cover is nice, you cant see the amp if looking into the boot.



Boot. Floor still drops flat and NO audible vibrations, but you can feel it.

The Countryman is solid!



Thanks to David and Chad, both buddies of mine who were willing to tackle this project with me. If you're in SoCal and need help with a car sound system PM me and I'll pass on their contact info, good guys.

 

Wow! That's a rolling concert hall you have there. I did similar in the boot but just added the JL10w0 to the HK system...

 

Nice! Wife has the HK in her 2011 MCS and it sounds nice. What amp you running

 

A pioneer 300w check out pics in the gallery https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...y.php/cat/3864

 

 

Looks great and I am sure, sounds even better!! I bet the Sound staging is much better with the Tweets in the pilars. Did you replace the Door speakers? Just curios about the sizes and Deoth clearances. Also what was the outer dimension of the Sub box? also Vs the sub depth? I have not gotten around to measuring everything yet but plan to at least put the sub in, but was ntosure if i have to go with a Slim line. looks like you got a normal sub in w/o issue.

Have you heard the HK system? just wondering what the difference in sound is compared? I have the HK and i think there are tweeters in the door but will have toi double check when i get EggMINI back from my wife..haha

Thanks for the picks. Now trying to decide how far I want to go. Used to do car audio awhile back, so I know what you went through! Fun but alot of time! Congrats.

 

Wow, learned something new, that there two speakers underneath the seat. I always thought the brochures were B.S. when they said it was a 6-speaker system (for the non-HK system)

 

how does it sound? did you do any sound deadening? anything rattle?

 

Sorry for late response, I've been super busy with work. My wife has a MCS with HK so I've heard it quite a bit, there are 1" tweeters on the lower part of the pillar, similar to the way I did it. Mine sounds better then HK just because of the amount of power I'm running to them.

I'd have to give my buddy David a call for the measurements but basically if you are building a box for the 10W3 per JL specs you need at least 1 - 1.25 cu ft to get the right sound and not a "thumpy" sound from the sub. So get your measurements right with the box and you'll be good. I did replace the door speakers in from with CDT Audio 3", they sound great and with the locations of the 1" the sound stage is great! The only speaker I didn't touch was the rear door speakers, sound comes from the front so I didn't really do it. There is plenty of room in the door speakers but when you do the speakers under the seats you'll need to build the 6.5" into a box to fit in the enclosure, (see pics), you're basically removing a stock speaker box and replacing it with a custom one.

Either way, it sounds absolutely awesome! I've got a 900w precision power amp being delivered today and I'm going to use that in place of both the amps I'm using now. Will give me more power to the fronts 150w/speaker and 400w to the JL sub.

 

The only place sound matting was used was under the 6.5" box under the seat. It probably wasn't needed but we did it anyways. There are NO RATTLES! The Countryman is built very well, even with the volume waaaay up if all of the windows are closed you can hear it but it's not offensive and there's no bumping rattle from the bass. I was really surprised and so were my buddies at how great the Countryman is sealed. Even if I have the rear cargo down flat on top of the sub there's no noticeable difference in sound what-so-ever and again, no rattles!!

 

So the false floor doesn't go up and down with the base when it's down? Nice.

 

where did you tap into get signal input for the amps? behind the radio?

 

nope, doesn't move at all!

 

There's a line converter under the front drivers seat, you can see it in one of the photos...

 

i need to do some cheap upgrade, i have a non HK r60 and want something better every time i sit in my brothers 02 a6 with bose system. if i put on old school rap it sounds fine but Pink floyd and some metal then it does not sound well. maybe just replace all the stock speakers.

 

If you upgrade and replace the stock speakers you'll want to install an amp to power those speakers. The factory head unit does not put out enough to run upgraded speakers and get the best sound.

 

ok, do you mind saying how much your set up cost? i have to have it done eventually.

 

The speakers were 3 way CL-6E42 - CDT Audio 3-Way 6/4/1" Component System I ordered off of Amazon for $300. The amp I am running now is a Precision Power P900.4: 1 @ $189.95, which is an Amazing deal a buddy found for me. Sub is JL 10W3, that and the custom box ran $280. Plus misc things like distribution box, wiring kit $65, oh and my Line Converter which ran ~ $100.

Installation was done by myself and a couple friends, I gave them 2 bills each for their help. Having this done at a shop would have been triple that easy...

All in all I'm into it about $1445 or maybe a bit more. However the sound is absolutely amazing.

 

big pea,

I'm curious how much volume you think there is under the seats for a sub. I know there is some vertical distance above the sub humps too just by sticking my head down there.

is that space just carpet or is there structure below the carpet too? I am guessing not since your box is behind the carpet layer...

 

It looks like a 8" sub but it's not. Not much room for a sub at all, you wouldn't have enough air movement for a box. Just getting a 6.5" in there required a new box and that barely fit.








I'm not sure what you're asking in the 2nd question...

 

in this pic:



your new 6.5 looks like it's sitting behind a piece of formed carpet. I was curious what the sheet metal behind that looks like. Could you theoretically remove all the carpet from that well and put a larger box?

 

Hey. No, there's no way to fit a larger box or enclosure in that area. That box was built to fit in the available space with sound dampener below them. Mini really utilized a small area for a 6.5" speaker. There was enough room under each seat to fit the crossovers in addition to the speaker box.

Were you thinking of trying something larger under the seats?

 

Honestly I'm just kicking tires at this point. My CM is only a few weeks old and supposed to be the reliable car that I don't hack on.

I was wondering what the potential for, say, an 8" sub in a small box that took up the whole space under the seat (no crossovers assuming I did some other processor mounted somewhere else).

I'm a big fan of tiny subs in tiny cars.. it's really the best way to go to take advantage of cabin gain. You should see the dinky 10" sub box in my miata's trunk. plays very low because of the trunk space cabin gain without rattling everything.

 

Ahhh...got ya. Yeah there just isn't enough room, even if you utilized the space from the floor up to the bottom of the seat.

Good luck with the Mod bug for you're new CM. I thought the same thing and already have done or about to do more than I ever expected.

 

you answered alot of ???? about the install in this car!