Hey guys, just went through the first 3 pages and didn't quite fight what I'm looking for. My wife is ready to order her 2011 Cooper S convertible but are wondering about the Premium Package which is Stereo upgrade to the Harman 10 speaker with 480 amp, alarm system and some chrome on the outside which she hates. So here are my questions and I'm no stereo guru at all. Our style of music ranges from Segovia (classical guitar) to Praga Khan (aggressive techno with pretty good bass).

The stock stereo which doesn't get very many reviews is a basic 6 speaker system. For 750, Mini offers the Harman Kardon package which I believe is the same head unit but adds 4 speakers for a total of 10. I don't know if they replace the previous 6 speakers with better speakers or if it's just a nice little Harman sticker over their lowest grade speaker. It does also add a 480 amp which is quite promising. Knowing this, I went to Car Toys to see what 700ish would get us from them in regards to replacing the stock speakers. In that price range, they would install a nice set of Focals which did sound really nice. But no amp.

So, which is the better way to go? Get the mini Harman system or go with an aftermarket? What will give us the most bang for our buck.

Thanks guys.

 

If limiting yourself to the package price of $700 = $750 then the HK is the way to go IMHO if you are not going to to the upgrade your self.

If doing the work yourself then that cuts a lot of the cost and for $700 you could get a VERY nice amp and speakers.

So if you want to go aftermarket get the car with the BASE system. It is a lot easier to deal with when upgrading. Other wise go with the HK.

HK has upgraded speaker, amp and wiring and yes little stickers that say HK on them. Head unit is the same for both BASE and HK systems.

 

Your best option is to listen to both at the dealership and then make a decision.

 

Yeah, I can compare the stock 6 to the Harmon 10, I guess what I'm asking is putting 750 towards the Harmon 10 better than going aftermarket.

 

Thank you buddy and no, I won't be doing the work myself, if it was my car, yeah I would. But it's the girls so she would expect "perfection" which is above my pay grade :D Thanks for the input.

 

HK. The HK in the new Minis are much, much better than the HK in BMWs from 10 years ago. If you like music with bass, you will especially like the HK upgrade. Check the threads here and on Bimmer forums. You will read about many people wishing they had gotten the HK, but I have yet to read about anyone wishing they had not gotten it.

 

Only you can make that decision.

 

Excellent guys. That's what I wanted to hear. I'm sure she will be happy to hear that, she wasn't all that excited about going aftermarket.

Again, thanks for the input, this seems like a very good forum.

 

The best options on my car are xenons and HK. Its much better then the stock. The stock is very muddy in is bass and mids where the HK is better defined.

I took a CD and listened to both in the showroom. Its worth the extra cost.

 

I'm tremendously impressed with the HK in my 2011. It's head and shoulders better than the $2,000 system I put in my Mazdaspeed MX-5. shucks

 

The H&K just like everything else made by Harmon International is total crap. The speakers are about $12 in parts total, the amp, 480 PEAK, not RMS and into ridiculous loads. It's a total rip. Now, can you do better for $750 on your own? no. Period. Is it better than stock, yes. Will it handle your techno? hell NO. Classical guitar, sure thing.

The bottom end on this thing is nonexistent. With all due respect to asindc - there is no bass. If you overdrive the speakers by plussing the EQ with bass, you will get nothing but distortion.

I've been installing ICE gear for years. The only decent stereo I've ever had was in my last car, the Mercedes premium sound. Which ironically is an H&K product. Though in that case it was well designed.

So all that aside, listen to it. Like it? go buy it. If you don't like it, for any reason, it won't get better with time, bail on it and plan on spending around $1500 to have an installer juice up the stocker - which, as stated above, will be easier to deal with than retrofitting to H&K.

 

I'm driving a 2010 loaned with base radio. My 2011 MCS is having some work done on it but it has the HK upgrade. The difference is HUGE......The HK is 10 times better

 

I agree with some of this. I haven't heard the HK system but I have never heard a stock stereo, even a "premium" one that is worth a crap, at least not if you're an audiophile or enjoy loud music with a full frequency range including deep bass.

What I don't think I agree with is that you'll have to spend 1500 to put in a decent aftermarket system.

If you leave the stock head unit in place you can easily find an excellent set of component speakers to replace the ones in the front doors for under 150.00. A 400 watt RMS rockford fosgate or comparable amp can be found for under 250.00. A sub + enclosure is dirt cheap, under 100 bucks. You can even find a powered sub for 100 bucks. So far we're at 500 for the hardware. Installation will depend on where you live. Here in Miami the installation for stuff like this is usually pretty inexpensive. I'm thinking under 200 for everything. So for 700 installed give or take you can have a system that will blow away pretty much any stock system you can find.

I have the base system and will be doing exactly that. I already have the RF amp so all I need is a 6.5" component set for the front doors and either one or two shallow mount subs+enclosures. I'm actually thinking about trying out a pair of Kicker 6.5" subs and replacing the back speakers with those to save even more space although I don't know that I'll be happy with the bass that some 6.5" subs can provide compared to a nice 12".

Anyway, this is just for a convertible. In a hardtop you have even more room to mess around with. I think for 700 or under you can put together a great system that will definitely smoke the base system and even though I haven't heard the HK, I think it will probably smoke the HK too.

 

There is a noticeable improvement in sound quality with the HK system. I hear much more bass, BUT it is not sharp and even muddy, imo. There is also a lack of midrange control with the HK 'EQ', which is sorely needed... again imo. What I have done is fade to the front speakers (to lessen the overwhelming character of the rear bass) and up the treble. makes for a better listening experience, but I've heard much better setups stock (the Bose system in my '99 camaro comes to mind).

As for aftermarket options - the little research I've done led me to the conclusion that there are very limited options to replace the head unit that do not dramatically change the look of your controls / speedo and/or are pretty darn expensive.

As for speakers, starting with some solid rear 6x9s would likely be your best bang for minimal bucks (recommend you search for 'speaker replacement' threads - there are quite a few.

Hope this helps.

 

I wouldn't think you'd need to replace the head unit. First, you'd end up losing a lot of the computer functions that are built into it. Second, in most stock sound systems I've seen the weakest link by far is the speakers. I'm sure that adding an amp and some component speakers with separate tweeters would make a huge difference in getting rid of the muddiness. As it is, on my base system I have the treble at 10, the bass at 3, and it's still muddy. Can't wait to do the upgrade!!!

 

Thanks guys for the input, we did go drive and listen to the HK system and we thought it was ok. Played Praga Kkan on it which isn't a whole lot of base but pushed the range of sound really good IMO. I thought it sounded great to be honest.

 

Let us know what speakers you end up with and how it worked out, please.

 

I think among the many factors to consider is the type of music you will most likely be listening to and how much money you are willing to put into an aftermarket system in your car. I love music and I have spent thousands on my home music system, but as long as my car system is demonstrably better than the average stock system (which I think the Mini's current HK system is), then I'm good with it.

 

Add a good subwoofer and amp to the HK system and it is VERY good. The HK system has good tweeter and midrange speakers, but to get much bass, you muddy up the midrange. A sub is essential to good sound. This is a small car you dont need a huge sub to make a big difference.
I also have a Volvo with a high end sound system. After the addition of my subwoofer to the Mini, I actually like the sound of the Minis stereo better.
Point being- the base stereo is crap, the HK is better, but it really needs a proper subwoofer thats balanced with the rest of the system to shine.

 

Where do you guys place the sub in the mini, there is such little room in these cars, I would hate to give up a quarter of it for the sub but I do like my base also. :D

 

Check out Integral Audio Subwoofers. They are custom designed for the Mini and only take a few inches out of the depth of the boot area. Looks completely stock when installed.

 

Looks like they have a good setup for hardtops but didn't see anything for the convertible and 900, wow, expensive.

 

I'm still on the same debate holding up my order of my build on a 2011 MCS. Either Connected with stock (upgrade to Focals up front and sub in the back) or H/K $750 upgrade which means I will be giving the extra and getting the Auto AC also since I'm already getting the sunroof.

 

We were pretty happy with the H/K during the drive, the car is on the boat right now so we haven't heard it in person on our ride yet. Is such a small area, I'm hoping the H/K is enough. Plus, I'm not 20 anymore, don't need to make my ears bleed now.

 

I just purchased a 2008 Cooper S with the HK system a few days ago. After driving a few hundred miles today, speaking as someone who makes a living mixing on and tuning concert and broadway audio systems. I can say with confidence the HK is one of the worst sounding systems i have ever heard. A fairly wide eq cut at around 350hz would greatly clean it up and give the lows and highs some breathing room. Unfortunatley there is no graphic eq just a bass treble setting. The best option i can come up with is a new Head Unit as well as a new set of front component speakers. I'm hoping to come up with a way to do this without breaking the bank but it seems pretty complicated.