I am looking into upgrading my stereo and see what is out there. Anyone have any ideas. I don't want to go to overboard, and don't have $$$on trees, but I want a decent system if possible. I would love some suggesstions.

 

I found that the website www.ecoustics.com was very helpful in my searches for the best sound system for how much I wanted to spend. They have reviews and also many places you can buy from.

 

It would be helpful if you said what you now have (standard or H/K system), what kind of music you listen to, and what you are going for (clarity, volume, bass, etc).

 

As for what I have, standard '04. Don't get me wrong, I may be just a girl, but I do like a little bass if you know what I mean. Back in the day, my husband used to compete and i LOVED his system in the Tahoe we used to have. Nothing like driving in inner city Baltimore blasting away with a white chick in the drivers seat But lets get real, I can't afford the 25K he spent on his system when he was single, blah blah blah...What we would dream about would be a dvd that can be nav as well, seperates all the way around, sub in the boot, and amps where the back seats are, since we are planning on taking them out anyway, and making a semi false floor. I know this will be a work in progress, but hey, a girl can dream can't she?
As for the music I listen to, it is all over the place. I have XM so I am between classic rock, today's hits, alternative, and dance, depending on the mood. When my husband is in there it is old school rap, classic rock, etc. We can agree on most stuff except when I get into my Indio Girl moods, then it is days and days of my Ipod, alone...But I will listen to it loud and proud when it has a beat!

 

Well the good news is that the MINI's interior space is so small that a little money goes a lot further than in a Tahoe. I am still not sure of your budget but can offer what I would do if I were starting fresh. First I would put in a new Alpine deck. The stock system already sounds a lot better with just more power to the stock speakers. For bass I would of get then go with the usual amp and sub upgrade. This is where space is limited. Most seem to go with a single 10" and amp in the boot area. If you are taking out the back seats this is way easier and you could do more if desired. In my MC that is for sale I have an Alpine deck with a 250 watt fosgate sub amp and a single JL Audio 10" in boot. I still had the back seats but lost much of the boot space. There is a subwoofer gallery that you can search for that has pics of this in multiple MINIs. It doesnt have to be too expensive, you could probably keep it around a $1000 if you wanted, though you can go crazy if you want. Some then go beyond and upgrade their door and component speakers. I didnt do this in my MC and was still happy.
If you are taking out the back seats then you can do more and have tons of cargo room. In my MCS I have a JL Audio 500 watt sub amp and 2 JL 10"s where the rear seat would go, and now have tons of storage space.
I'll post some pics and see if I can find the sub gallery for you.

 

Here are some links to galleries: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ight=subwoofer

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=17257

You also mentioned nav and DVDs - if you have the factory nav you can look at what I did here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ht=ice+MINITOR. There are a few other threads where others did similar things, but I couldnt find them.

If you dont have the factory Nav there are some nice units with a flip up LED screen that have booth DVD player and nav.