I was thinking about putting two 10" subs in the trunk. I want to fiberglass a box that fits into the well of the trunk that holds the two subs and then the amp in the middle of the subs. To make sure the trunk can still be used i want to then put plexiglass over the box to protect my equipment. What do ou guys think about that idea?

http://www.sounddomain.com Has a lot of good ideas for installs.

 

And have How much storage space left? I've noticed that when people start adding speakers and amps to their cars, they usually don't improve the sound quality from inside the car... It just forces OTHER people to listen to your music who aren't in your car.

I was impressed with the quality of the stock speaker system in the mini (Without the extra upgrade)

 

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What I plan on doing is makeing a false floor with a single 5 channel amp flush mounted in the middle and a removable box with a 10" woofer on one side, and a matching box on the other side to use as a tool box.

 

I would stay away from five channel amps. I would use three amps. One to power front, another to power the rear and the third for the sub. By having sparate amps, less distortion is produced and the better the sound quality you hear. also if one amp burns out, you can replace that amp. Unlike the five channel if one channel is broken the whole thing is broken.

All Red MINI.

 

I hear what you're saying, but I want to use up as little space as possible, as there's not much space to begin with. I had a Soundstream reference 705 in my old car and it sounded great (better than the 3 it replaced) and never had a problem with it.

 

I am waiting on my MINI CS right now. It's in transport and is now 3 days away!

I've done quite a bit of research on this topic. I've listened to the sound system
(my brother has a MINI) and the stock sound system is weak at best. They are 15 watt speakers and the head unit would never be able to handle the demands of an upgraded speaker system. So, I realized it's going to require a completely new system. The good thing is that the inerior of the MINI is sooooo small that it won't require too much upgrading. The bad thing is that the MINI is sooooo small that
it is going to be hard to add a changer, amp and sub.

First, I wanted to upgrade the system without modifying the interior. My first concern was losing the audio controls on the Multifunction steering wheel. I found
the answer in SWIX by PAC. It's a module that will allow you to use those controls after upgrading the stock head unit.

Second, I was not crazy about the cheap CD Changer offered by BMW. I've had numerous changers in my vehicles, and quite frankly they all SUCK WIND! The mechanisms are very slow, and with the rough ride of the MINI they surely will skip at every pot hole. So, I found Kenwood Excelon's MUSIC KEG. This thing is AWESOME. It's the same size, perhaps a little smaller than a 6 disc changer, yet it will hold 2500 songs on it's hard drive. Now, you can download all your digital music files from your computer onto a 10 gigabyte portable cartridge, then you slide the cartridge into the keg player. The keg player is then controlled by your Head Unit or your steering wheel controls. The Music Keg is $700+ retail, you can find new ones on ebay for $500....That's about $100 less than the BMW Changer.

Third, because of the interior space, I decided I would have to do without an AMP. If you get the right components an AMP is overkill! PEOPLE, keep talking about
huge amps, huge Subs...think for a second...you are going to be putting all of that stuff into something with the interior volume of your normal closet. It's not going to take a lot of volume and power to sound like A LOT OF VOLUME in a MINI!! Plus, without compromising the car's functional use, how are you going to fit it all in there???? Spend some extra dough and get a great head unit with a built-in AMP. The Music Keg works with almost all Kenwood Head units. Kenwood has this awesome unit, the KDC-X959 that just came out this year. Retail $700, ebay $400.

Lastly, the sub itself. This was the hardest piece of the puzzle to find. Again,
Kenwood makes the smallest self enclosed, powered sub I could locate. The
Kenwood rep (okay, he's biased) stated that you wouldn't want anymore in your MINI than Kenwoods KSC-WA62RC known as "THE wOOx". He stated that the more open space in a vehicle, the larger the sub. Sub's need open room to circulate the deep sound waves you hear. The MINI really doesn't possess the open space for 8, 10, 12 inch subs. None of these subs will actually sound like they are supposed to in a car of this size. The wOOx enclosure measures only 15X8 X only 4" tall.

So ther you have it. I get my vehicle on Tuesday and it gets installed Wednesday.
I'll let you know!!

 

As much as I appreciate a different oppinion, the "don't need amps" is way off. Head units simply do NOT provide enough RMS power to sufficiently run good components. And I've heard a woox in a friends GTI. Nothing stellar. Decent if you like some low fill, but definitely not a thumper.

I, on the other hand, am going for the triple amp install. Building a false floor in the hatch area to recess mount them under plexi. Will have a fiberglass 10" sub enclosure on the right side. One amp for front components, one for rear 6x9 and one big one for the sub. It may be overkill, but I'd rather have too much sound and have to turn it down, then not have enough and turn it up to distortion.

R

 

[quote]
It's all a matter of opinion. If you're really into music and want it to sound good, stock will usually not be enough for you. I personally have never heard a stock system that can compete with a good amp and speaker combo.
>>
>>It's not about other people hearing your music. I could care less. I just like my music to be loud, clear and have enough low end to it. RustNoMore maybe hasn't heard a good system yet. Most people just put a big sub and a big amp in and expect it to sound better. Truth is, it doesn't. The bass drowns out the highs and mids.
>>


Wessieball, I like my music loud and clear too and most stock systems are not up to the task. However, what usually happens where I live is a lot of bad sound systems that make my apartment windows rattle. (All bass and nothing else). Loud music is ok on the highway, but not in a residential area.

I'm not saying that you do this, but it IS about other people hearing your music. Consideration of others is sorely lacking in this day and age and I think that is what RustNoMore was getting at.

 

Davbret,
I have to agree with you on this..... Most head units don't have sufficent power to supply a good set of component speakers. This is not to say that someone won't be happy with just a good head unit and good speakers. I'm sure many will..... but... there are some of us out there that do like "crystal clear" sounds at higher volume. The best way to do so is with a good head unit, speakers, and amp.
Actually.... most of your "High End" stereo's today don't even have an internal amp. Therefore you MUST use an external amp.
As for the ones who feel they have to show off their system or get everyone else aquainted with their style of music....... (as mentioned above... in residential areas, next to me at a traffic light, sitting in a parking lot, etc....) TURN IT DOWN!!! NoOne wants to hear it!

Just wanted to add my .02 ....

Happy Motoring.
SW

 

Good afternoon Guys,

I'm an designer working for JL Audio on a prototype Stealthbox sub enclosure for the Cooper S. So far the design includes a left and right fiberglass enclosure each housing a single 10W3 woofer. This leaves a 16 inch wide section between the enclosures to access the battery and for amplifier mounting. The enclosures are mounted to the metal channel at the forward edge of the trunck area and the to the OEM loop on the rear panel. This avoids any problems associated with mounting through the floor of the vehicle, and will made the kit more acceptable to the European market. As this is just a prototype, not sure of availability date. Just wondering what you think of the concept.

Thanks
DV

 

>>Good afternoon Guys,
>>
>>I'm an designer working for JL Audio on a prototype Stealthbox sub enclosure for the Cooper S. So far the design includes a left and right fiberglass enclosure each housing a single 10W3 woofer. This leaves a 16 inch wide section between the enclosures to access the battery and for amplifier mounting. The enclosures are mounted to the metal channel at the forward edge of the trunck area and the to the OEM loop on the rear panel. This avoids any problems associated with mounting through the floor of the vehicle, and will made the kit more acceptable to the European market. As this is just a prototype, not sure of availability date. Just wondering what you think of the concept.
>>
>>Thanks
>>DV

Pictures? Sketches? Sounds interesting....

R

 

Davbret,

I've sent a few pictures to have them posted to this site, and am waiting for word on how to access them. In the mean time, if you would like to e-mail me I could send you the pictures direct. My e-mail address is dvertrees@jlaudio.com.

Thanks,
DV

 

Davbret,
Please find above the links for pictures of the Stealthbox enclosure refered to in my post this morning. Anxious for your feedback.
Thanks,
DV

 

Which way is the sub firing? Into the seatback or into the floor? Why not reflecting towards the hatch?

R

 

Woofer fires toward side of the vehicle, with the output aperature at the rear edge closest to the tail light.
This allows for some "loading" of the speaker and protects it from objects in the truck area. We've had a lot of good luck with this type of loading on other Stealthbox designs. If the woofer were down-firing, items put into the trunk area could restrict the output of the woofer. If the woofer were firing forward, it would require some kind of gap, or aperature, and that might look strange. In the configuration I've chosen, the woofer output does benefit from loading off the rear hatch since the aperature is right at the hatch opening area in the corner of the trunk. If you look at picture number 14, it shows a close-up of the aperature area and you can see the black edge of the woofer bezel.

Thanks for you interest in my design. I noticed you had a design of your own shown in a previous entry. I was much impressed with your design. I like the way the oval shaped plexi panel flows with the woofer enclosure body. Is that a 10" woofer or a 12"? Did you do any testing of the enclosure performance with different volumes? I found that my enclosure sounded best with less than the advertised required enclosure volume, apparently due to the interior size and shape of the MINI. How did you attach the enclosure to the car? Where are you located? I'd like to see your finished installation some time if you're planning to attend any local shows.

Good Luck,
DV

 

Thanks for compliments! Coming from a JL Audio box engineer, that means alot!!

To answer your questions:
1-It's a 10" Pioneer TS-W254DVC sub
2-Although I knew the rough enclosure volume I was working towards (sub calls for 0.75cf), the actual organic shape of the fiberglass piece dictated the end resulting volume. Ended up with about 0.7cf, so I wasn't far off. Played with different amount of poly accustic fiber fill (0.5lb - 1lb) and settled on about 0.8lb as it seemed to give the best resonation.
3-Everything fits like Legos. There is a rectangle support frame that fits in first. Then the amp rack wedges into the left side of the interior of the rectangle. Then the stiffening cap has it's own tray wedged into the front right side. The sub has a square bottom that fits inbetween the amp and cap racks, wedged into the back right corner of the rectangle. The sub has it's own built in covering fascia for the right side, and the left side (amps) is covered by a removable plexiglass plate. The whole thing (aside from amp and cap rack) can be quickly removed in pieces to facilitate access to the battery if need be.
4-I'm in Portland OR and will be attending local shows once they are announced.

R

 

Portland! I was hoping for closer...I'm in Ft Lauderdale. Glad to see Car Audio catching on in the MINI forum. I'm a minority MINI owner at work, but think they'll become believers once our Stealthbox is out and the orders start coming in. Got a comment from one co-worker that only older people buy those cars...think he was confusing the MINI with the PT Snoozer. Good luck with your system. Are you also planning to compete in IASCA or USAC? Judging by your fiberglass technique, I assume you're an installer. Nice job!

Regards,
DV

 

Hi Boys :smile:

 

>>Are you also planning to compete in IASCA or USAC? Judging by your fiberglass technique, I assume you're an installer. Nice job!

Ha! Well thanks, but no, I'm hardly a pro installer. This was, in fact, my first real elaborate install. Previously only built MDF enclosures. But with such a small space to work with, I had to utilize every bit possible to jam in 3 amps, a stiffening cap and the sub enclosure. Not to mention I wanted a clean look, not a box sitting in the trunk with a amp screwed to a seatback. Fiberglass was the only way. Read about 4,128 articles from the net about fiberglassing and looked at lots of photos of people's work. From there I just bought all the supplies I'd need and set to work. Took about a week of evenings to get it right. Granted, I am pretty handy when it comes to building things, but first tries rarely turn out so well. This was also the first time I did *everything* myself. Used to have someone install the amps/headunit/etc and then I would build the MDF sub enclosure. Decided noone was going to molest my babe but me. So I did all the wiring and speaker installs...everything. Quite rewarding to see it all done. Still amazed that I did it myself.

Won't be competing in sound comps, but I might show up at a few. Granted, I'm sure I could do very well in certain classes...but honestly I don't know squat about the rules/classes in sound competition. Maybe it's time to check it out?

And thank you again for such a compliment, coming from someone in the audio business. I doubt I'll ever get tired of seeing people's mouths drop open when I pop the rear hatch.

R

 

Thanks for the interest. I'll post something on this forum when the MINI Stealthbox is available. I'm expecting to have production parts available by the end of November (hopefully sooner). You can also check our website at http://www.jlaudio.com.
Thanks,
DV

 

we're removing the entire back seat. Who can fit back there anyhow... Entire Rear will be upgrades... body will be lined with dampeners. I will try to keep a visual log of the entire process on our website http://www.mightyminiz.com.

With special thanks to our audio sponsors....

For Details, keep your eyes open and ears clean!

MightyMiniZ

 

I'm with you on that one. Will be anxious to see your build out. Been thinking along those lines myself.
Good luck,
DV