Ok, so we wheeled into the dealer.. just to look, and ended up with the mini.. I told the wife that we would order one and get what we wanted but she wasnt happy until we had this one.. Now we both agree that the MINI BOOST stereo is aweful.. I drive a work truck GMC sierra that has the cheapest stereo GM makes and it sounds great compared to the mini..

Question one.. What is the boost stereo.. I presume it is the cheapest one..

Question two.. would the install of this be something that a novice can do?
( i have done several stereos, and i have had the mini apart before so i could see the speakers, but what all is involved in say.. An amplifier install in an R56)

This factory stereo has absolutely no bass.. The highs suck.. just aweful.. And we both love music so this isnt going to work.. That is the only complaint i have with the car at all.. stereo sucks..

Please point me in the correct direction..

PS.. i planned to delete the rear seat and seatbelts and add in a flat panel back there, so that i could mount a sub..

Also.. I am a huge fan of Memphis components so if anyone has any insight as to what would be a good package.. that would be good.. Not wanting to win competitions but want some bass and still be able to haul groceries..


Thanks

 

First off...all mini coopers come with the "boost" head unit...some also have the "hi-fi" amp package and tweeters in the sail panels.

Determine if you have the regular or the Hi-fi and then do some reading..this topic has been discussed hundreds of times here.

 

first off, is that there is a 100 hz roll off to the large speakers. So the front/rear channel swap helps a lot. Second is that there is another 100 hz rolloff in the aux input, so things like iPods really sound like tin. One guy opened up the head and modded the input filters, and that helps as well. This and some nice speakers are the easy levels of help. Other than that, it's time to go aftermarket, and that's a pain cause the Boost in the new cars is on the MOST bus as well.

Time to do some reading in the 2nd gen Audio forums. That will keep you busy for a while...

Matt

 

There are three levels of audio systems available in current MINIs. The easiest way to tell which you have is look at the A-pillars (windshield). If they have tweeter grilles molded in them, and an H/K logo, you have the top-end Harmon Kardon system. If they have the tweeter grills, but no logo, you have the HIFI system. If the A-pillars are pain, no speaker grille, you have the basic system.

I started with the HIFI and first swapped speakers. That wasn't good enough, so I put in an Image Dynamics amp and speakers. I also installed a powered sub.

There are many threads you will want to read here. A good starting place is the Sticky thread on R56 speaker replacement. Also look for threads on the X9331 connector. This is a connector under the dash by the driver's left leg. It is the best place to access audio signals to feed an amp. It is also where you do the channel swap to give the rear 6x9 speakers bass.

If you have the standard system, the rear channels will have the 100-150 Hz roll-off at the X9331 connector. If you have the HIFI or H/K the X9331 connector will have full range on all channels. This is something to consider when adding an amp. Some people use a processor with the standard system.

This post was very useful in running speaker wires to the doors, and power through the firewall to the battery.

I'm not sure about reports on there being a 100 Hz roll-off at the AUX. I haven't noticed it. I've played bass test signals from my iPhone.

 

Well judging by that, i have the plain system.. so that sucks.. And that is why it sounds so terrible.. i will read up on the channel swap and on the component set swap.. Thanks.. I was puzzled on the amps.. I will start simple and go from there until i get something i like..

Thanks

 

The HIFI doesn't sound very good either. Very muddy. The H/K system is supposed to be better.

 

I have the H/K system in my MINI and I think its one of the best in car systems I have had. I was annoyed that it didnt have a decent equalizer or any kind of presets till I read an article about how it was designed. Apparently the shape of and sizing of the mini presented some challenges in getting a good tuning out of the sound system. They basically decided to just do the tune to rock/pop/hip hop so for some music styles its not as great a system. I dont play alot of non rock anyway so its not as huge a deal but for some listeners there might be issues with their song choices. Also according to the same article there was some extra sound dampening added as well so that there was less cabin/engine noise to contend with... All that means it will/should be substantially different than the other system offerings....

I am really glad I went ahead and got the H/K system... I am so scared of some idiot at a Best Buy tearing into my car or its wiring to do an aftermarket stereo so I wanted the best I could get from the start. Well worth it to me when I see all the complaints about the lesser systems available.

 

Robin Casady's first post in this thread is your KEEPER ... see the links there, and start easy with a swap-out of the crappy paper-cone speakers -- which can all be done in one Saturday with a little pre-planning for $300 or so. (Spend more if you wanna, but it won't be necessary unless you want to add an amp for ear-bleed volume ... you'll be shocked at how improved it'll all be just by putting in better speakers.) Then do the front/rear wire-swap at connector X9331 (FREE, for 15 minutes work), and you'll be MILES ahead of the OEM setup.

Many, MANY satisfied 2ndGEN owners here have already done the hard exploratory-work ... good luck!

POSTSCRIPT: if you have an iPodTouch 2G that you want to connect in through the AUX input, go get this gizmo (or the compatible version for your model of iPod) -- $30, reduced hum, and MUCH better sound than using the headphone connection

 

Only on the Base System. HiFi and HK do not have such a roll off.

Completely untrue. I have tested this with some very expensive equipment and there is no roll off on the AUX input. But with that said if you use a headphone out cable from an iPod you will see a roll off and this is due to improper loading of the headphone output buy the AUX input. The headphone output is not meant to be used for this type of connection. if the doc connector is used for the audio output of an iPod then there is NO roll off. Some other types of MP3 players will also show a degradation of the low end frequencies for the same reason the iPod does (becuase you have to use the headphone output).

and he never really finished this mod due to the fact that the audio out roll off is caused by a DSP (digital) filter and not a parts filter such as Caps and Inductors.

This will very much help.

Having the MOST Bus (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is not really a problem to upgrading the stereo in your car. If you were to what to change the head unit it would be a problem because of the space requirements and the fact that the CCC (central car computer) is part of the head unit and it MUST stay in the car. But what most people do is to use the OEM head unit and add aftermarket speakers and amps. There are a number different cable made by New Mini Stuff (www.newministuff.com) that will assist you in taping the audio signal out of the head unit for use with an aftermarket amp.

A few people have put a aftermarket head unit in the secret compartment and use that for music and leave the OEM head unit inplace only for the car computer functions that are needed from it for display purposes. This is another option, but the actual OEM head unit is rather good is fused properly to drive an aftermarket amp and speakers.

Very true it will take a while to get thru all of it.

Robin has given you some good links to start reading. I would agree that those are the best places to start.

BTW thanks Robin for linking to my post about the wiring for the doors and the amp to battery wiring. I had misplaced my link to that.

 

ok so in about 5 minutes with a universal connector remover in the driveway i did the channel swap.. Holy crap what a difference..

I plan to now just swap out the crappy paper cone speakers with some good speakers, i prefer Memphis so i will likely do that.. then see where i want to go from there..

Thanks for the help

 

does anyone know if any diffrences by using the speaker wire of the 4" and 6" to connnect to the new speaker?

Also any diff if wire directly from a new Amp or using the x9331 speaker terminal there?

I have installed an AMP and use the x9331 to feed back to the front speake(JBL P660c)r, however, it seems treble is not being well produced.

any idea?

 

Some more details on what has been done and how it is wired would be helpful and also what is the OEM system Base or HiFi?

 

This is a little of subject but I have the Hi Fi in my '08 R56. I am planning the HK retrofit for the door speakers. I am not sure if I have the guts [or cash to have someone do them] to replace the rear 6x9. I am however going to do a partial dynamat in the rear of the car under the seats and under boot to eliminiate some of the exhaust note at higher speeds. this should also help with sound quality since the sstem won't have to compete against the car's exhaust note.

 

from x9331 front left\right speaker output from base headunit to AMP front input, from AMP speaker output connect back to x9331, go thru the stock speaker cable into the front door. At the door, i am using the 6inch speaker original speaker terminal connect to the JBL crossover input and then output to the tweeter and the base. wondering if the speaker cable from x9331 to the front door, if there is anything in between and which cable should be used at the door side...

thanks....