We all know that the sound system in the MINI is awful. So I have suffered for the past 2 years with the horrible sounding hi-fi stereo. Why?? I am a huge music fan. I have over 1500 CDs, 65000 songs in itunes, numerous iPods and I have been to over 100 concerts. So most of the time I have the music off in my car or I listen to AM news.

Why did I wait so long to make a change? Well quite simply I did not want anyone ripping my car apart. But after hearing about Integral Audio from other NAM members like Albiecrazy and Gothmdoc, I decided to look into the product. I was not going to buy it at first as I do not trust stereo installers to work on my car. Then I asked the owner Kevin Bennett about doing the install and lucky for me he has a small shop in Brooklyn and would do the install for a reasonable price.

So fast forward to today...

I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Bennett as he was doing the install of his product in my car. Its a well done, well thought out product and Kevin is a great guy. He did a very nice install and answered all of my questions before and after the install. I dropped of my car in the morning at his shop in Brooklyn and took the subway to my office in Manhattan but he had a loaner car ready for me in case I needed it. Now that is service.

Its really an incredible difference with this sub. I am glad I waited 2+ years to change the audio in my car as this was worth the wait. I had a huge grin on my face as I drove home from Brooklyn.

I highly recommend this product to my fellow NAM members that are suffering with the OE stereo whether it be the base system, hi-fi or HK.

I am eagerly awaiting his next product which will address the speakers in the front doors.

Thank you Kevin for building a great product and doing the install for me.

 

Thanks for the write-up. Congrats on the upgrade.

Just wondering, do you have the Hi-Fi setup and added this sub (only) to the back? If so, doesn't this just improve the low frequency? Just wondering if you could give a better description of how it sounds.

 

I do have the Hi-Fi system in my MINI. The sub is in a low profile enclosure that fits in the recessed area of the boot. There is a carpeted cover that goes over the sub enclosure making it a stealth install. The cover is flush with the folded down rear seats.

How does it sound? Well that is very subjective. It fixed most of the issues that I had with this "Hi-Fi" sound system from MINI. Meaning lack of bass and muddying up the mids. The sub is able to produce the lows and now the other speakers can do their job of producing the sound they were meant to make.

Read this for a better explanation:
http://www.integralaudio.com/mini/mi...er-system.html

The front speakers still need to be upgraded for more dynamic range but this will do for now.

 

at the x9331 connector per the Integral install instructions at step 24 if you read them through.

 

onefish2, thanks for sharing your thoughts. When you say you have the Hi-Fi system do you actually mean the Harman Kardon (HK)? I installed the Integral sub in my JCW w/ HK stereo last Sunday. I ran into some hiccups along the way, and Kevin has been assisting via email on a regular basis. I think our back and forth count is close to 40 messages. He's asked me to call him a couple of times so he can elaborate on some things, but I realize that he's a busy guy, and my schedule is also hectic, so I've just been resorting to email when I have the spare time.

Overall the sub has filled a huge void in the HK system, which I thought sounded pretty darn good without a sub. Without a doubt it was money well spent. I am going to post a thread in the next day or two regarding my installation experiences and list some of the things that have not made it into the revised installation guide. I'll also post some pics.

If you do in fact have the HK system did Kevin talk to you about the "gain" settings on the Arc amp? Are both L & R gains all the way on max?

 

I have a 2009 JCW. There was no HK setup for that year and prior for the Gen 2 MINIs. The HK upgrade was added back into the line starting in 2010.

Kevin did the install himself. He also ran into some problems. The main one being that I do not have a little compartment on the right hand side of the boot in which to install the ARC amp. So he had to install it under the drivers seat making it almost impossible to adjust anything as I am never going to take the seat out.

But I can adjust the volume or gain of the sub as he mounted a volume **** under the dash below and to the right of the steering wheel. Its something new he has cooked up to add to the install as an option. I believe that is the case. I will take a picture and post it here tomorrow.

If you are reading this and you live in the NYC area come on by in April while Lyle is at my house working his magic. You can check out the Integral Audio sub install yourself and see my car totally de-chromed and blacked out. PM me for more info.

-Steve

 

Interesting that he has a shop in brooklyn. I am in hoboken and maybe he could install the sub and upgrade my fronts in one visit. Hmmm

 

Just went on their website and the installation instructions cannot be accessed. New instructions coming, or availability issues of the subwoofer? I e mailed them but still havent received a reply.

 

I've attached the installation manual from 2-10-2011. Kevin is probably updating the current guide to reflect the changes for the 2010+ w/ Harman/Kardon system.

 

Thanks for the post- it seems that you had some issues with the install? I hesitate to take this on if it is more difficult with the 2010 HK system.

 

Yes, I did the install on a Sunday a few weeks ago. My OCD kicks into high gear on projects such as this, so the install took a lot longer than it should have. I'm sure the included copper-clad aluminum power cable and basic bananas included would have been sufficient. Instead I opted to use Monster 8ga. solid copper power cable ($12 shipped at the time) and Monster bananas ($18) for the sub terminal jacks. In regards to wiring the main difference for the 2010 HK is the wiring color for the right rear channels on the HK amp harness.

Rear Right ++: Pin 8, Grey w/ Purple
Rear Right -- : Pin 16, Grey w/ Yellow

My settings:

Gain 100%
Fade +1
Bass +2
Crossover 80 Hz (estimated)

In regards to the gain on the amp here's what Kevin had to say.

This week has been hectic, so I'll try to make time tomorrow to post some pics and more details on the installation.

 

Thanks! I played around with my HK system yesterday and lowered the bass to -3, the system itself sounded much cleaner, with the midrange tight for once. Im thinking that this subwoofer would make a hugh difference, not having to use what are essentially midrange speakers to produce bass.
Looking forward to your pictures and info!

 

Nice write up Steve. I couldn't agree more, the IA sub has transformed the way I listen to music. When I first purchased my MINI, I was coming from an Infiniti G35 with a Bose 10 speaker system. It was very good. I didn't ever feel the need for a sub and I used to blast my music all the time. When I got the MINI I was ecstatic about everything but the stock 6-speaker basic system. I could have waited for one with an HK Hi-fi system but decided I couldn't!

Now that I have the IA sub, I am no longer embarrassed to roll down the windows and let beat drop. It really thumps and I just as you said, the speakers do their "job" better now by limiting their low frequency output and letting the sub do all the driving.

Great product Kevin, the stealth appeal cannot be beat. Now on to that soundstage upgrade perhaps!

--Oh and Onefish2, that BBQ run in the city has been moved to April 2nd instead of today, so hopefully see you there!

 

Now Im getting worried. When I tried to access the Integral Audio website just now it said ACCOUNT SUSPENDED. That cant be good.

 

Lol, not to worry white3... I'm sure he is just doing maintenance or forgot to pay his dues. Spoke to him yesterday, he is super busy.

 

I apologize for the graininess of the pics. They were taken with my cell phone indoors and under fluorescent lights.

 

Devicemanager- it looks fantastic. Should be available from the factory that way! What kind of "hiccups" did you have that required so many emails to Kevin? Just a little concerned before I take the plunge.

 

As noted in post #11 you need to make note of the color changes for the 2010+ HK X10266 connector. The pin locations per the instruction manual were spot on even though the right rear wires were a different color. The instruction manual I linked to in post #9 will still allow you to install everything correctly.

A lot of our discussion was over the gain settings and Kevin taking the time to address some of my concerns regarding line drivers. The Arc amp accepts high level inputs (eg. speaker wires) and the line driver would take the high level and convert to low level and give you additional gain capabilities. Overall it's of no benefit and could introduce additional noise into the system.

I put a layer of Dynamat Extreme on the boot floor to help dampen the area. The styrofoam insert with the car jack and other tools still sits under the sub enclosure. I placed my Slime kit on the right side of the false floor to keep the bass from rattling the false floor against the rubber standoffs.

Per step 41 I opted to use a single rubber standoffs at all 6 locations so that the false floor sits flush. You put the washer on top and tighten the screw down until the washer is below the rubber edges. See image below.

If you enjoy the factory HK sound then adding the Integral Sub kit will fill the void from <100Hz.

 

Great-looking system! Here's another way to go - not nearly as well-integrated - but cheaper and the subwoofer can be easily removed when the space is needed: http://www.lacar.com/?p=4583

 

The IA sub can be removed in 30 seconds. A big selling point for me was the stealth install and the false floor that now makes the entire boot area level when the seats are down.

While that other set up is nice, it takes up valuable space that we already do not have in a MINI.

 

I just took the plunge and ordered the IA subwoofer- Kevin said he was including the most up to date instructions for installation with my version (HK) any helpful hints from those that have gone before me to make the install easier? Any extra parts I need to buy? Thanks!

 

The lack of a remote gain control for the amp was the one thing that has made me pause before taking the plunge. Any chance you can shoot some pictures of what he's worked out for you?

 

No, we're not deadbeats

We have been performing a number of upgrades to the site, one of which involved moving to new servers. Unfortunately, a couple of boneheaded mistakes during the process resulted in a number of errors, one of which was the "suspended" error you saw displaying for a couple hours.

Rest assured, we're here and working HARD....if you happen to run into any other issues, shoot me a PM and we'll make sure you get taken care of.

 

Never meant you were a deadbeat- just wondered at the time if you were still in business I ordered the sub, and spoke to you several times yesterday and with your advice the rest of the install went smoothly. I am almost done but I discovered that I have every drill bit size BUT the 7/16 required to finish mounting the sub. Lesson learned- read through the required tools part first!
The kit is very complete and the parts are of high quality. Today I get to finish and test!!!

 

My install is finished and after tweaking the amp controls, I am very happy with the results. Now that the cars front speakers are operating as tweeters and midrange speakers primarily, the IA sub fills in the rest and the muddiness that bugged me with the HK system is completely gone!
The install had its moments- a few hints that I might pass on to others.

-make sure to get plastic trim removal tools-very useful!
-get a good crimping, stripping tool- you will use it a lot.
-when putting back the interior trim pieces, the white snap fittings need to be placed in the trim piece before reinstalling, they snap into the metal of the car, not the other way around.
-the cowling near the windshield is a bear to reinstall if you dont position the top part first (it has a flange that fits in a slot attached to the bottom of the window glass)
-the Arc amp settings are a little hard to dial in because of the large gaps in the numbers. The crossover adjustment goes from 55hz to 110hz with nothing in between, so to get to 80 you have to just guess. I found that if you err on the low side, you will know right away because you will get very little from the sub.

That being said, my install turned out great. When you see and hear the system, and the quality of the parts- its worth every penny.