I am not really sure what I need here...but I know what I want. I have an 04 MCs with HK system. I want a cd player that suppors mp3 cds foremost. I would also be interested in controlling an Ipod through my steering wheel controls if this is possible. Can anyone tell me what cd player I need to look for. Ive did searching and pretty much came up with 04 differs from 05, which differ from 06. I think 06 is the year I need, but were there different models in 06 that I need to steer away from, or will they all do what I need?

EDIT: what is a "boost" player?

 

You can add the newer OEM HU if you want. The newer models will work in your MINI and I think that Tom sells them. They aren't cheap. You can also try EBay and or a wrecking yard. The upside to using OEM is that it will support your HK fully then you can add a DICE unit or Icelink Plus to add the Ipod solution.

Now, if you are looking to add an aftermarket HU, you will need an HK enabler (http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=116) and fitting kit (http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...ductshow&id=76) to get the HU working or you can do what some others have done and rewire the HK amp to full then add the HU. The down side is that you will lose the additional features of the HK and only have a fully cranked amp.

One other bit is that Tom @EAS does not sell the HKEnabler, but Mikey can and will work with you if you decide to go this route.

 

thanks for the reply, I def. want to stay with factory cd player simply because i cannot find an orange cd player, and i'm very ocd about my lights matching lol. I have found a CD player out of an '06, but the seller doesnt know if it supports mp3 or id tags...all he knows is that it did not come out of a h/k mini, would this matter? and are there some 06 players that do not support mp3?

 

If it is out of an 06 (and not previously swapped) it will support text and play MP3 files via the CD player.

The text portion is actually the phone channel that was introduced. The Icelink and DICE take advantage of that channel by pumping ID3 text to it.

It will also FULLY support your HK system and is a simple plug and play solution.

We are lucky in the USA as we only have Boost radios. In Europe they have a Wave solution (lower power radio) that uses a bit of a differnet harness. However, there are solutions for that as well.

 

I believe all of the radios after April of 2005 support playing MP3 files and displaying ID tags, so the 2006 head unit should be fine.

Also, I don't think there's a difference in the head unit between the H/K and non-H/K systems.

One funny thing I've noticed is that even though my wife and I both have 2006 convertible MCSs with the H/K system, the cars have two different head units. Mine has all the same buttons as hers, but some of them are in different places, and the volume **** is larger. Evidently, sometime between April 2006 and September 2006, MINI switched over to using the "Euro" Boost head unit in the U.S. cars. Functionally, I think they're the same, though.

 

Here is the skinny...

The HU with the larger **** is made by Siemens VDO and actually has one additional feature. It can recieve TMC. This means that if you had the stock NAV, you could hook it up and get traffic messages pushed to the NAV system. I actually swapped my HU out here in Germany (US Model) for one of those so I could use TMC for Stau (traffic jam) information.

The other HU is made by Alpine and is the basic unit that most of the US cars get.

Unfortunetly I don't know if TMC is in use in the USA at this time.

 

Good to know - thanks! I thought it was neat because we got my wife's MINI in May of 2006, and then when I saw a friend's GP, I saw that it had a different head unit, and I thought "That's kind of cool". So I was pleasantly surprised when my car showed up in October of 2006 sporting the same head unit as the GP.

 

That was actually when they started going to the US. For some reason they decided to put them in the GP which I thought was weird. I guess they flowed over to the other sections as well.

 

I'm in the UK and have a April 2006 MCS with the Boost Headunit.

My query is that although this supports MP3 play back there is no track information displayed only TR01 etc etc.

Give your statement above, are we different over here or have I done something wrong with my CD ?

Si

 

Si,

By supporting text, I mean that it has the phone capability in it. This is the part that supports the text. Unfortunately MINI skimped on radio features and where they could have tied the ID3 tag in to be displayed, they chose not too.

So, if you want ID3 tags to display off of a CD, you will need an aftermarket HU.

If you have an Ipod and want ID3 tags, DICE or IceLink plus can take advantage of that phone channel to get you some text on the radio.

Does this make sense?

 

Perfectly thanks.

I'm looking at fitting an Dension Gateway 100 with the Bluetooth Adaptor shortly so I guess it's no hardship for the moment.

I'm also looking at upgrading my ICE but not really sure what to upgrade but thats a whole new question.

Thanks for the quick response

Si

 

Si,

If you are in the UK, check with Mikey at www.newministuff.com.

He is in Formby and knows the MINI in and out. He also has some really great upgrade packages designed for the MINI.

 

Thanks,

I'll e-mail him directly

Si

 

Did you go with the gateway 100 and the bluetooth adapter? What happened there? How'd that work out?

 

I just installed the Gateway 100 with the BTA 1000 Bluetooth into a 2006 Cooper. Thanks to several threads on this site it was pretty easy to install .. about 1 hr all in. The drop down knee panel under the steering wheel makes a great place to velco mount the Gateway 100 and BTA 1000 hardware.

The iPod works great but I'm not having much luck with the bluetooth. I can get it paired up with the phone, Motorola Razr, but it does ot want to call out / receive calls.

Assuming that the Gateway is the latest firmware ... no updates available from the Denison web site or other info. Any ideas welcomed

Also. if anyone knows how to display ipod text on the head unit I'd be interested.

Thanks

AE

 

See Mikeys post here, maybe it will help with your Gateway / Bluetooth:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/interior-...-option-3.html

 

Thanks. I think this may be useful.