I hope some of you can take a few minutes to look this over and give me some feedback.

I've spent a few evenings pouring over the forums here and elsewhere and have gleaned some good information about the stereo in my 2011 MCS R56 with the standard base Standard 6 Speaker Stereo... (NON Hi-Fi/HK).

First, let me say THANK YOU to all those on this forum for the great threads and posts that you've shared with all of us here... and a big thanks to Kevin at Integral Audio for sharing his MINI-specific hands-on research and expertise with us, even when he knows we may not buy his products !

I come from a solid engineering and installation background... but NOT anywhere near the level of expertise that some have on NAM here for stereos ...
Which is WHY I'd really like some feedback on this below.... So, thank you in advance for any replies !

Though I understand the advantages and benefits of a large sub under the floor in the trunk….To keep things simple FOR ME... and keep my limited cargo space maximized... I do not want to run a rear base under a false floor in the trunk, nor compact amped-subs under the seats, nor have a base box in the car somewhere else taking up space. I want to keep the car interior as undisturbed as possible.

Right now... in place of the factory speakers, from the PO, there are JL audio coaxial speakers, of the proper sizes in both positions of both doors, no pillar speakers up front... Rear, JL Coaxial 6x9's in in the rear side panel factory locations.

Performance of the EXISTING door speakers: With both speakers driven with the same outputs from the stock HU (the front speaker)... don't sound optimal...AND... when I disconnected just the upper full range coaxial speakers in the doors... It actually sounded better and gave similar volume with less distortion.

I did try the 'flip flop" of the pins for front/rear connector in the left footwell panel... both with the upper-door-speakers connected and also disconnected ... really not much of a difference for me.

Disconnecting those upper speakers.... I think I got the idea from you in one of the long informative threads from Kevin/Integral .... I was very surprised at the improvement in sound quality that removing a pair of speakers from the mix had.

For me... I'm wanting a 'decent' sounding stereo in the car. That is is my goal.

These cars, the 2011 MCS with the Base 6 speaker stereo, even when they are new from the dealer.... the stock head unit (HU) had issues in terms of sound quality and upgradeability.... No RCA output... strange filtering to the rear speakers... no true preamp input other than the AUX in the console.

I am probably going to have front stage and Subs only. I'll use the front channels ONLY as speaker level inputs to processors/amps...
Fade the factory head unit (HU) fully to the front, and put load resistors on the unused speaker outputs IF needed.

These are products that I ALREADY have (except for the LC2i and sub-drivers) and plan on using.

Got a smoking deal on a new set of Focal 165AS3 3-way components for the front. (less than $100)





I'll put the tweets in the Pillars, Mids and mid-bass in the doors.

I'll fit the Focal tweets in the HK pillars that I have... a friend can 3D print an adapter for that I hope.

Kicker 6 3/4" CompRT 2 Ohm DVC Subs in the rear side panel locations in place of the 6x9's in custom CNC fabbed Heavy duty adapters.




Audiocontrol LC2i 2 channel line out converter with bass enhancement and subwoofer control... driven from one of the front stage speaker pairs.
As Kevin from Integral pointed out.... the front speaker channel outputs from the factory HU are full range signals... and the LCi2 deals very well with speaker level signals according to my research... and it is a tiny little unit !




The LC2i will drive Two, 2-channel amps, via RCA cables from RCA cables to the
1) The front-stage amp, a Focal FDS2.350 and

2) The subs amp, a Rockford Fosgate Power T400X2ad
I have both of these on hand from a customers boat project that he upgraded.

I'll be able to keep the factory HU... Get full range input (according to Kevin/Integral's great thread) to the LC2i, adjustable Sub-level with Bass enhancement where needed, and go with my iphone as source with iTunes and Spotify... retaining factory steering controls using using BOVEE BT adapter that uses the factory Aux-in and USB on the center console.

Will it be as precise the Integral setup or have the depth of base that the Integral has???... not very likely at all.
BUT...will it be a big upgrade from what is in there now in terms of clarity, bass and good imaging.... I believe so.

I believe that I can get better bass response from a round 6.75” than I can from a 6x9”… not really any good 6x9" true subs out there that I can see.
Again... It will NOT be what what a large speaker in an enclosure or false-floor sub in terms of bass levels or overall performance... but that is not an option that I am entertaining whatsoever.

Since there are rarely 4 people in the car... and when there are... the rear passengers don't want to 'rock out'... which is usually limited to my solo drives...solo time is most of the time in this car. So, that being said, I really only want a nice clear sound stage in front for my occasional passenger and me as a driver.

I want 'decent' music... and not break the bank. Using parts that I have on hand... and buying an inexpensive LC2i and some small subs... I hope to pull it off.

I am also very open to wiring particulars in terms of power and speaker wire routing.


Thoughts?

Input??





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I don't think I'd bother with the 6.75" "subs" at all to be honest. The 6.5" mid-bass from the component setup is probably pretty darn close in terms of bass output. I'd see about cutting or fitting an 8" sub at minimum, below that I think it'll have too similar of a range to your component drivers for the most part. The components won't go that deep - but I bet if you used the more powerful RF amp on them, they'd sound pretty good!

Out of curiosity - the previous owner replaced the stock speakers but didn't add a tweeter?? That seems pretty wild.

 

The PO put in Coaxial speakers... they have tweeters built into them.