After owning a Clio 1.8 16v for 8.5 years over that time I kitted it out with the following:

Denon DCT-1000R HU
Denon DCA660BL and DCA760BL Amps
MB Quart QM 218.61 Components Speakers, PSC316 Component Speakers and replaced the 6.5 inch from the PSC 316 with Kef Midbass when they went faulty.

I have now bought a Mini Cooper S and it seems to have horrible built in HU etc but looks like I will have to live with that.

So it may be time to sell on the Denon stuff as the amps use the balanced connectors to get the best from the HU. I could use RCA connections but maybe I could get smaller amps to replace the Denon's with and sell the HU and amps to fund this.

Has anyone any experience with getting better sound in the Mini. I am thinking getting a Denison or Mini aftermarket Ipod connection so that negates the need for my Denon 12 disk changer.

I could possibly use the MB Quart or Kef speakers in the door. Think rears are 6x9 so it seems CDT, DLS or Morel are favoured or the Gensis P69 Subs.

Think you can mount amps under seats, get new a frame pillars with tweeters in, and hopefully get better sound from just the amps and speakers being better than OE fed from an Ipod or the original HU.

Any advice would be welcome. I hope some peop may have stripped their Minis already so would no of amp sizlimitations. I was hoping to use my Denon amps as I believe they are very good. 300mm width and 397mm length may restrict where they can go though. It seems some use under the seat space which I am thinking is too small for the Denons and maybe only something like a Genesis ST100. I saw the mini install on here and that seems to mount the amps under the rear trim by the wheel arches. Again unsure as to what space there is to play with.....

Thanks in advance for any help,

Matty

 

My advise to you is to read this section of the forums. There is lots of information here.

There are threads that cover what can be done with the head unit and what can not be done with it.

There are threads that cover where equipment fits and where it does not. I.E. you stated about amps under the seats. It all depends on the equipment level of your car as to what is under those seats.

There are many threads on what speaker will fit and what sound good.

Other have listed their entire setup here and how it was installed.

As for what you have that was some high end product in its day.

Again read, read, read.

 

Yeah I did read several threads and searched for speaker and amp information on here and other forums. I have found lots of information and even know the size of the amp one outfit uses under the seat.

My problems are, buying the car secondhand I do not know the full spec so am unsure what space I have under the front seats which will mean I don't know until I remove them.

I hoped someone may know the available space there so I would know if it is likely my current amps fit. Same with space available at the rear like where the amp went on this install.

I would love to keep my Denon amps but would have to sell them and get something smaller like Genesis ST100 amps if they are too big for ideal placement. False floor is the only other alternative.

 

what is the size of your amps, and where are the terminals? It is unlikely that older deonon amps will fit easily. The alpines are tiny....

 

Again as it stated above depending on what options you have in the car as to what size space is available under the passenger seat. The only real way to know is to take the seat out. Just be ware you MUST disconnect the battery before doing so or you WILL have an airbag light show up and have to take it to the dealer to be reset.

I am not trying to be mean or rude here but again it depends on options as to what the available space is. You will need to remove the side covers of the rear to tell.

If you do not have a spare tire and do not plan on getting one then you could also use that area for your amps.

Also I am not sure what country you are from as you stated the amp size in millimeters but I can tell you that in some countries other than the USA there are other modules and options that we do not have available to us so that will also make a difference is what space you have available.