Not even close. There are a ton of (somewhat) high quality, inexpensive speaker systems out there.

 

Do you think this is due to the amp or the crossover? I'm curious if putting a better driver in there would make difference or not.

Also, are all of the speakers component (1 way) or are some of them 2/3ways?

 

Reminds me of car audio competitions in the 80's, when you were classed depending on how much power your amp(s) were rated for (at 4 Ohms).

This led to a bunch of the manufacturers producing "cheater amps" that were modestly-rated at 4 ohms, but were actually built to be stable down to 1/2-Ohm, 1/4-Ohm, or even 1/8-Ohm loads.

So you'd see competitors in the 1-25 Watt class with a single "25 Watt" amp driving eight or ten speakers through a passive crossover network, producing 800 Watts or so into an 1/8-Ohm total load.

So if you ever see an 80's-vintage car amp that's only rated for 25 or 50 Watts, but it's three feet long, weighs 40 pounds, has multiple cooling fans and four-gauge power/ground wires, that's the reason.

Ah, good memories...

 

I'm not sure. I don't recall seeing any crossovers near the 6x9 speaker ports, but it has been awhile and I may not have been looking for them.

The factory speakers are all 1 way. The HIFI system has separate tweeters in the A pillars, and at the 6x9 locations.

My Infinity Kappa 693.7i 6"x9" are 3-way with two sets of connectors. I connected the tweeter wires to the two small drivers, and the 6x9 wires to the woofer.

The Infinity Kappa 60.7cs 6-1/2" component speaker system provide the woofer for the large door speaker and the A pillar tweeter.

The Infinity Kappa 42.7i 4" are 2-way, but I did not use the crossover, nor connect the tweeter. The four tweeters produce enough highs, IMO. Perhaps I should have used the crossover to cut the highs from that speaker, and still not connected the tweeter. I may try that if I have reason to open it up again.

 

Thanks for the info. It'll be intersting to see what the speaker locations in the rear of the Clubman look like. I may enlarge the 6x9 install points to handle a 10" driver if that is possible. Who knows what I'll end up doing. Heck I haven't even taken delivery!

 

For an R56 non-HiFi system, with the 2 door-mounted fronts and the on rear 6x9, what are the maximum depths allowable (without a spacer) for replacements?

I'm considering a few replacements for a stock non-HiFi 2009 MCS that arrives next week. Looking at Infinity Kappas and Polk Audio offerings, high efficiency, both component & coaxials. I don't really want to replace the interior trim pieces to allow for a separate tweeter (HiFi style), so I'll likely buy a coaxial 3.5" for the top spot and perhaps a coaxial 5.25" for the lower. Suspect I'll leave the rears in as is (I don't want to rip apart the car), but run an Infinity Basslink in the boot. I'll live with the sound limitations.

Anyone have the depth numbers for the stock speakers?

TIA

 

Check this sticky thread titled R56 Speaker Replacement how-to
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=95211

You should find all the info yo need in there first post i believe has at least some of that info

 

Thanks, Schatzy- Knew I had seen that stuff somewhere, but couldn't seem to find it when I needed it.

 

Does anyone know who supplies or manufacturers the head unit for 2007 and later minis? I have the standard Mini Boost CD player and was just wondering. Thanks

 

It's Alpine

 

Anyone know if these specs have been updated for 2009? I thought I remember a thread that mentioned some audio changes for 2009, but I can't find it now! I have the non-HiFi, and I'm about to throw in some front speakers that prefer the 2-40 watts range. 15 watts probably won't even get these moving.

 

I only know that they have a new Alpine upgrade kit for non-hifi systems in Germany since December 2008. It contains new speakers for the doors plus tweeters for the a-pillars, crossover networks, a digital 2 channel amp (2x100W) and cables. Price at 400 EUR. The amp will be attached under the passenger seat. Installation time 1.5 hours.

Found in a German forum: http://www.mini2.info/forum/showthread.php?t=42458

See the pdf files in thread 8 (german language).

 

After a week of research, I can tell you that there is plenty of bass going to the rear 6x9's with the HiFi upgrade. The wiring from the Harmon Karden amp in the driver's side rear is pretty stright forward once you figure it out, EXCEPT for the rear 6x9's which each have much larger AWG wires running to them. The 6x9's themselves are more than just screwed to the body work, they are SEALED onto the metal. Both of which add to the punch of these speakers (weak as they are, they are only factory after all).

When I first installed my JL amp, I had figured out the wiring for every speaker in the car, and I THOUGHT that the same wires feeding the rear tweeters also fed the rear 6x9 woofers (with maybe a capacitor to crossover between them). Turned the system on and thought, where the heck did all my bass go? I was getting SOME from the front speakers, but most was gone. Once I realized the rear woofers were not getting any signal, I traced down the appropriate, MUCH LARGER wires that I had missed, wired them up and bingo! Missing bass found.

I made a LOT of other discoveries in this install, too numerous to mention here though I will try to write it up soon. Until then, if anyone has any questions, feel free ask.

 

Interesting. Looking forward to more details. I test drove a standard audio MINI Clubman last week and was very disappointed. I honestly would rather listen to my iPhone's earbuds than that system! My '06 Harman Kardon system is spoiling me. I LOVE that system!

 

This is a common misconception. Almost any speaker will be quite loud with 15W of power, and 40W is only slightly more than 15W. There is no such thing as how much power a speaker prefers, only how much it needs and how much it can handle.

There are two real things you need to be concerned with when talking about speaker power. The first is efficiency. This determines how much power a speaker needs. Speakers efficiency is rated by decibels/watt. This rating is usually around 90, +/- 10 or so. Decibels are a logarithmic scale, and a increase or decrease of 10 decibels is equivalent to 10x more or less power. (!!!) All things being equal, a more efficient speaker is better. An 80dB/watt speaker like some subwoofers might require a 1000W amplifier whereas a 100dB/watt speaker would be just as loud with a 10W amp. All things are not equal, however, and it is difficult to make a speaker that produces deep bass, is small, and is also efficient. You usually have to give up one of the three.

The second is absolute power rating. This is how much power a speaker can handle without burning up or reaching the limits of its excursion.

Some people like to say it is easier to destroy a speaker with too little power than with too much. There is a little bit of truth to this. If you turn an amp up so high that it produces a lot of distortion, and keep it that high, the high frequencies produced can burn up tweeters. Most people would find this distortion very unpleasant and turn it down before that happened.

 

Me too!

 

Do you have the wiring layout for an 09 MCS with HiFi? Not sure which is + or - since nothing is marked including the factory speakers.

 

Has the HiFi been changed? My 2009 MCCm has much stronger bass than my 2007 MCSm had. I have turned the bass down to -3 to keep a realistic level, and at that balance the sound is very, very good. Wondering if this is an early incarnation or prototype of the new Harman system coming in future models.

 

Turn the front-to-back balance all the way towards the back, and listen for bass. Then change to only front and compare. Are you getting full bass in the rear speakers?

 

I will try that today, Robin.

 

Out on the highway today --

I turned the fader to rear only; got strong bass, but weak mids and highs. (The weak mid/high may be because I have the seatbacks down and the cargo floor/side cover in place. I did not take the time to stop and remove it.)

I turned the fader to front only; got strong bass, strong mids and highs.

I turned the fader to mid-point and got strong, balanced sound.

 

can you please also post the specs for the head unit and amps. do the head unit got a subwoofer out put.

 

I just want the loom they make for the x9331 connector.

 

I just wanted to clarify something about the boost audio in a r56.
The speakers are not 2 ohm speakers. The speakers are ALL 4 ohm nominal speakers. In the original post it seems if they are 2 ohm.

 

No what it states is

Amplifier power:
•2 x 40 W (2 Ohm) Bass
•6 x 25 W (2 Ohm)

or in other words the amp outputs 2 channels at 40 watts into a 2 ohm load and 6 channels at 25 watts into a 2 ohm load.

It states nothing about the actual speaker impedance.

BTW the amp also produces 40 watts into a 4 ohm load and 25 watts into a 2 ohm load. It is just that at a 2 ohm load the distortion level is slightly higher.

At 8 ohm loads the amp produces slightly less in wattage around 37 watts and 20 watt respectively.