I am so dissatisfied with the Audio Package that came on my 07 MCS. The so-called Hi-Fi sound system just plain sucks, while the satellite radio stations I listen to play the same songs over and over all the time. I have pretty much memorized all the songs they play on the stations I listen to. I can't believe I wasted $1400 of my hard-earned money on this crap! Definitely no more Sirius satellite radio on my future cars.

So all of you future MCS owners out there, I hope you will not make the same mistake I did!

 

so your beef is with content, not the gear?

 

Seems both.

 

I don't know what that means. English is not my native language.

 

What he means is if you are unhappy with Sirius Satellite radio programming, and/or the stereo system itself?

(Where are you from?)

 

This is a common Sirius complaint and why I have XM but this isn't the forum to debate such things.

I think you summed up the main reason the Audio package is gone. I was amazed at the price of the Audio Package and then realized why it was so much when I saw the HD Radio and Sirius a-la-carte pricing. Most of your $1400 went towards that Sirius lifetime service. The HIFI upgrade itself I think was only $500 and I feel it's a good upgrade for $500 but I'm still evaluating if the HIFI itself is any good as I just got my car.

At least Sirius has BBC 1 so you can maybe feel like you are in London?

 

PGT means that you are complaining that the MINI radio is terrible because the stations you listen to are terrible.

I have the standard am/fm/cd-mp3 player, and the quality of audio is fine for me. The engine and road noise would make a higher quality set of speakers wasteful.

My radio stations suck too, but that's not MINI's fault.

 

sound reproduction is only as good as the source material. I'm not an ABBA fan, so if someone demo'ed a killer sound system with it for me, I wouldn't be impressed

 

Thanks for the clarification. I am unhappy with both the stereo system and the satellite programming quality.

(I am from an island called Cyprus by the way.)

 

Cyprus, never been there but have seen many travel reports about it. Looks like a place I would love to visit in Europe!

 

Too each his own but I think it does an admirable job

Now the stereo in my wifes jeep sucks.

I think a stereo that has the ability to make you feel bass in the seat should not be labeled as it sucks.

 

A good stereo should have good, clean and powerful sound. Heavy bass does not equal a good stereo. If the HIFI was the standard system, I would agree it is good. As an upgrade, it is weak and inconsistent. I think Mini's big mistake was making the upgrade a $500 one. Those who truly want great sound are willing to pay for it and those who aren't will find the stock radio suitable. Personally, I'd rather have paid $1000+ to get a decent upgrade. My intended fix will be about $2400.

 

The Harmon Kardon offered in the R53 (And currently R52 cabrios) is much better than the HI-FI in the R56.

Interestingly, that the HI-FI speakers are made by Harmon Kardon.

 

The content of the HIFI package is nice. sirius,HD etc. My complaints are the speakers in the front door not having enough capability to carry bass and the satellite stations having very dull sound. It's like they have it broadcast in MONO instead of stereo or digital. Plus the playlist of Sirius is pretty pathetic. The same songs over and over! If i had to do it over, i would not have bought the package.

 

I have Sirius and happen to really like it but I already have a lifetime subscription and MINI's pricing for the Sirius unit is ridiculous when most cars today are coming equipped with Sirius or XM already installed.

With that said I had HK on my 05 MINI and really liked the system but wasn't really blown away with the Hi-Fi upgrade, I'll be skipping that option box
Mike

 

Replacing the speakers on the HIFI system will greatly improve the sound quality. I switched mine to Infinity Kappas and am happy with it. I was not at all happy with the OEM speakers. There are some good threads in the Navigation/Audio forum about swapping speakers.

 

My '07 MCS has the audio package but I bought it off the lot. In my first MINI, which I ordered, I opted only for the HiFi upgrade and was happy with it for the most part.

Yes, it's less impressive than what I expected given the term 'HiFi', but IMO it sounds significantly better than the base system. Also it seems to have good potential in that many users have gotten amazing results just by switching out the speakers. The main problem seems to be that the speakers are not up to handling the power being put out. So they distort like crazy above anything but moderate volume.

Now should one have to upgrade the components of a stereo system which is an upgrade in itself? Of course not, but that's just how it is. I personally feel MINI should make the HiFi system standard, then offer a true high fidelity upgrade. Highly doubt that's going to happen.

 

I did not get the Hi Fi upgrade. I have Sirius in my Subaru Outback, and I only find it good for the talk portion of the programming like CBC, BBC, NPR and sports. I did discover that my mini has an aux in port located below the toggle switches that allows me to plug my MP3 player into it. I now have all the content that I need. The stock stereo to me is pretty good for a stock stereo.

 

I'm pleased w/ the stock system but I'm also half-deaf in one ear.

 

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...i got the HK in my 330i....wish that i got it in the mini....like you, my hearing sucks (left most of it in SE Asia).....but the plain vanilla system in the mini sounds MUCH cheaper to me ....hopeful that a sub will correct at least some of the problem....changing all the speakers is a bit too industrious for me....

 

For me the Hi-Fi is fine. I don't listen to ear splitting volume anyway. At moderate to loud volume levels the sound is good.

As far as Sirius goes, I hope the FCC kills the merger, I'm definitely a fan of XM. Their use of DJs and non-repeating playlists is great. No Sirius for me, an XM roady plugged into the aux port.

 

I accept responsibility about the fact that I did not research Sirius in depth before I decided to get the audio package. There is only few rock stations on Sirius that play the kind of music I like and hearing the same songs over and over on these stations makes me really annoyed. Had I known it would be like this and the Hi-Fi sound system is nothing like it was advertised to be, I would have definitely skipped the whole audio package. I could have very well used my $1400 towards the JCW Engine Kit!!

 

I have always got the upgraded system in all my new cars. None of them have been very good though. The Mini's system is the best of all the upgrades I've bought for the money. My last vehicle I paid $600 for the upgrade and all six speakers were paper. I also bought a new A4 and that system was terrible. Even though I had sirius in my last vehicle I couldn't see spending the amount they were charging on the Mini though, lifetime or not.

 

I think I want to do this too. The factory speakers just plain suck. I mean come on, i have had the car for about 5 months and there is already 2 blown speakers. (i blame my i pod mostly) I live in Houston is there any shops some on can recommend that i WONT end up spending out the a$$ on the install???

 

i'd send an email to the radio station you listen to and let them have it. If you paid for it and need the music to get better i'd give them hell til they change the que for songs played, keep doing it until you get what u want.. give advice. obviosly the station doesn't have anybody manning it, so the only listener willing to say somthing about it should be heard