I just picked up my 09 MCS with Hi-Fi a couple days ago and I am thrilled! I have no complaints. Sound is crisp and clear. Bass thumps and rocks that little car's world. MA's said something about 09 being Bose now. don't know but I am not complaining about my sound or the $ I paid for it.

 

Bose? Is this possible? That would be nice. Can anyone confirm by comparing an 08 & 09?

 

Yea I dont know but two different ones said it. I had Bose in an Altima a few years back and this sure sounds fantastic like that one did. This may be stupid, but something I already noticed was that you have to set your bass/treble for each type input ie.e radio, CD, iPod etc. Im sure the folks here arent stupid but if it wasnt the previous stereo that was of poor quality then maybe some folks made their settings on one input and didnt change them on the rest and therefor had lousy sound. A silly idea I suppose but one never knows. I am truly over the moon with my sound quality. In fact, I have a Rockford Fosgate(premium stereo option) in my 07 Titan King Cab LE and I have never been happy with it.

 

OP - read the speaker replacement thread. It'll have every peice of info you could want for upgrading either the 6 or 10 speaker system. Learn from the folks who have actually done it. I've read quite a bit in this thread that I disagree with but since this topic has been beat to death more than once I won't get into it now.

I started off with the hi-fi and now have over $2k worth of stereo stuff.


If I had to do it again with the budget I have I'd go with the base system but if I didn't have the money for amps/signal processors etc and just wanted to upgrade the speakers for better sound I'd go with the hi-fi.

 

My "HiFi" option was bundled with Sunroof "Premium" package on my 2008 and I do love the sound from it.

FWIW hearing is an occupational hazard for a pilot, (but if you run your sound system at a high level,
you will suffer the same lack of appreciation for fine HiFi that I may now have ) .

My MINI HiFi sounds a little better than the Premium Bose Sound System in my last ride and my Bose (noise cancelling) Headset
is responsible for preserving enough of my hearing over the past twenty years and 10k hours of piloting,
to hear the difference.

Sunroof was a Must Have and AutoAir & HiFi were just Nice to Have, but I can never resist 'Buy One ~ Get One Free'.

2007 & 2009 Premium Package bundles Multi Function Steering Wheel instead of HiFi and is $250 cheaper as well,
but this doubles cost of HiFi and it may not be selected by a lot of users now and we know how passionately NAM Members
like to defend their selection or non-selection of an option. Yes, this is important, as well as the output settings and feed from your source into Aux (and I would assume USB if you have it).

Not only do you need to select your best volume, bass/treble, fade and balance exclusively for each (Tuner, CD, Aux and any other source),
but you must do it again for the other key fob.

 

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately (and conflicted over the somewhat mixed reviews) and finally decided to go down to the dealership and test both the regular and hifi setups. all of my past vehicles have had upgraded sound systems with pretty high quality stuff. in my opinion, the 6 speaker system is do-able if you mainly listen to soft rock, AM radio, and low volume FM radio. if you like to listen to hip hop or anything that requires more bass response, i felt the hifi system did make a pretty big difference. it is by no means a great sounding system, but clearly better than the non-hifi. is it $500 better? that is a very tough call and even at this moment, i have a hard time deciding. i'm leaning towards yes just to save the hassle of taking door panels apart, etc. really, you go from standard (not really acceptable) to hifi (acceptable). someone above mentioned the high wind noise though, so not sure after factoring that in how much of a difference it would make to go with the hifi.

 

So what are the best aftermarket speakers that I can buy for the stock head unit to drive/power cleanly for the 6-speaker stock system without adding an aftermaket amp?

 

"Best" is highly subjective.

Set a budget and work within that. Decide if you're going to be doing the swap, or you're going to have someone do it for you.

A good approach is to gather some material that you like, and you know, and go listen to speakers. (Do this midweek when places aren't super busy.) Be sure to set tone controls, equalizers, and such flat, and turn off any boom boxes.

Different people have different likes. I went with the Polk speakers -- the ones I heard I liked, and I could get them for a reasonable amount of money (on eBay). Others go for Infinity, or JL.

Take a look at the channel swap thread -- on the R56 standard sound system, swapping front and rear channels puts more bass in to the 6x9 rear speakers, which helps the fronts as well, as they aren't being called on to reproduce signals they really can't handle.

I'm currently very happy with the Polk speakers and the bass box -- I can't see adding an amplifier (and re-doing a whole lot of wiring) in the near future. I figure the 4 replacement speakers (two 6.5 inch and two 6x9 inch) cost me less than $200 total on eBay.

 

Read a post on another thread with someone else pissed that they got the HiFi system.

My opinion (and you're getting what you paid for) -- if you're not going to do anything to the car's sound system, and you like the HiFi better, go for it!

But...

If you're going to tinker afterwards, or pay someone else to do some tinkering, I think you're far better off with the standard system -- the HiFi system locks you into so damn much! You can't easily replace or work around the HiFi amp is the big pain in the ***.

If you're going to tinker, save the $$ and put into what you want.

 

So it looks like the stock head unit is more than capable of handling most aftermarket speakers out there. Thanks 'yall for the input. So what model PA's are you guys running for the front?

 

What about the issue with the head unit doing the filtering in the standard audio, and the amp doing it in the HIFI? Wouldn't it be easier to get a good signal to an aftermarket amp from the X9331 connector in the HIFI version? Couldn't you just bypass the HIFI amp and leave it in place?

Bob,
I may get some time this week to work on installing the Bass600, so may contact you about helping with the X9331 connection soon.

 

The stock HU in the non-HiFi has plenty of power (for most listeners) and a little surgery goes a long way toward making the listening experience inside MUCH better. But no matter how much replacement you do, you won't have the power to cruise down the boulevard thumpin' the neighborhood. Not sure if one can even do this with the HiFi system.

The biggest drawback in the non-HiFi system is the odd MINI placement of the front speakers. Sure, it looks sleek and all, but one speaker sits just below your knee (and your knee will be close to the grille) and the other is right at your left ankle on the driver side. I replaced the stock speakers (a/k/a mud) with JL-Audio 4"/6.5" co-axials and they sound much better. The new boys actually have tweeters (unlike stock) and despite the crummy speaker placement down your leg, I get fairly OK treble response now. The HiFi system has tweeters (not sure how good they are...thinking bad) in the pillars above the dash, which is a MUCH better place to have a tweeter fire higher frequencies at your head. Treble pretty mych needs to fire right where it is intended to be heard, while bass can come from pretty much anywhere (hence sub-woofers hidden anywhere convenient.)

But if you replace the 2 fronts with decent properly power/resistance -matched coaxials, you can overcompensate a bit for the speaker placement weakness with extra treble that comes from the built in tweeters. Doing the channel swap (I did it today - easy - see R56 channel swap thread) gets you much more bass from your rears, and the sound now is pretty good. The stock rears still produce a muddy sound, but if that is heavily balanced toward bass, it isn't that horrible.

Clean stereo separation is definitely compromised by the MINI speaker placement, but I knew that going in. For me, this is not that big a deal, but others might rationally think otherwise.

So to summarize a bit, the stock non-HiFi isn't mind-blowingly amazing, but at the same time, it isn't severely under-powered either. It sounds great when matched with better speakers and R/F swapped. I'm VERY satisfied with my choice of not getting the HiFi system. I'm sure I'd have to replace all the speakers there too and still find reasons to complain about the sound.

Let's see how long I go before replacing my rears (removing all that stuff to get to them...yuck). The stock MINI speakers really, really, suck. You should see what they are made of.

 

You may learn new "magic words" in the process, but you only have to replace the rear 6x9 speakers once! And with the vast majority of the 6x9 speakers out there, you can re-use the mounting holes and hardware.

Learning to pop the rear sears out is useful. It will take you a few minutes the first time, and the next time you need to do it, it's a snap. When I did it, I think it was well under three hours start to finish, and well worth it. It will also improve things all the way around -- bass, midrange, and highs.

 

LOL. Yeah, well I'm betting the answer is ~2 weeks. One week to get the speakers, and another build up my nerve to face the back seats. I think I'll go with the Polk Audio 6x9s you used. Seems they have decent sensitivity, a nice low 35Hz bottom, and are priced right. You still happy with them, I assume?

I'm hoping this guide saves me a lot of time.

http://www.miniacal.com/remove_rear_seats/

Well...I'll budget plenty of "staring at the mess" time in between.

[How did folks drive at all before the internet came around?]

 

That guide is a gem -- go over it a few times, and have it available when you do the deed.

And I think it took me three weeks before I did the rears -- a week to order and get the speakers (on eBay), and the rest of it just being too busy to block off the time to do the job. When I got around to it, it took less time than I'd expected. Doing the front doors gave me confidence in dealing with the little plastic snaps (grab and pull -- no, you're not pulling too hard).

How did people survive before the internet? When I work on my Mini, I drag my laptop out to the garage, so I have access to information, and more important, access to folks who have been there.

A BMW fanatic friend of mine, when he tackles interior projects, puts down large pieces of butcher paper on the garage floor next to the car, and as he takes something out, puts it on the butcher paper, labeling it (and taping fasteners in place).

Way too organized for me -- as long as I don't end up with parts left over, I'm happy. Well, not too many parts left over...

I'm very happy with the 6x9 Polk speakers. Good low end, and they add to the mids and the highs. Well matched to their cousins in the doors.

My son is using the OEM 6x9 speakers in a home built guitar amp. Everyone is happy!

 

So, for people who don't like to upgrade from factory to aftermarket, the HiFi system is the better sounding choice, right?

 

I'll start out by saying that I'm the wrong person to ask, and then throw out my opinion anyway...

If you like the sound of the HiFi system, and don't plan on putting any money into it (if you've leased the car, for example, and plan on dumping it at lease end), then do the HiFi.

But part of me isn't even sure if the HiFi is a good deal... Haven't listened to one of the 2009 deliveries, but the one I looked at on the street (California Ave in Palo Alto on Saturday -- a new MCS parked by the bagel shop), looked to be the same on the outside at least, as the 2007/2008 HiFi.

 

Well, if you're content with the sound from crappy speakers, it will do. You'll certainly get more sound (more speakers, more watts/channel, an amp, etc.) and better placement of a speaker in the pillar. No question - stock vs. stock, the HiFi will sound better. Why couldn't MINI invest in a teensy weensy bit better selection of speaker components? MINI drivers deserve better!

However, if you compare the MINI HiFi set-up to a "real" aftermarket stereo upgrade with similar speaker placement, I don't think you'll be pleased. You'll think you've shelled out for something special, but what you'll get is simply more than the non-HiFi. For many people, this will be quite sufficient. Do what makes you happy and comfortable and don't listen to critics.

I'll bet my upgrades on the non-HiFi (once the rears are done, cost ~$270 for 3 sets of speakers and $0 for the channel swap) make for better quality sound, even though they might not blow the doors off the neighbors as I vrooooom down the street. Would I prefer a nice tweeter in the pillar and a component speaker in the 4" door slot? Yes. Can I do that later if I want? Yes. Will I? No. It isn't worth it, because my set up now passes my own sound taste tests.

A MINI will never be an ideal listening environment, so you have to decide for yourself where you'll stop pushing for improvement. And if the MINI HiFi system sounds really good to you, it is good. Buy it. And everything k6rtm said about leased-car/soon-sold-car applies - go for the HiFi instead of the mod.

Unfortunately, you can't test drive my set up at your dealer.

 

Nicely stated. And if you're in the Silicon Valley area, drop me a note, and you can listen to mine -- less than $500 invested in new speakers and the bass box.

 

I think that some potential buyers are worried that the the non-HiFi won't be loud enough for them. I think it is safe to say that the system's (potential) loudness is not the issue at all. 15 watts per channel into efficient speakers in a MINI's listening environment can produce plenty of loud, quality sound, without terrible distortion, for rock-n-roll loving adults and their teenage kids alike. I've had loads of high end stereo equipment over the years, played in bands, still play some...if the non-HiFi didn't have the chops, I'd know it and say so. I believe all the electrical engineering folk participating in various threads on the topic here would agree about the ample loudness. These guys are not the types to excuse an underpowered system if wattage alone were the problem.

 

Eurotrash is right -- the non-Hifi is plenty loud. An important thing to realize about audio is that a 10x increase in power only results in a 2x increase in perceived loudness. Most speakers can produce ~90 decibels from 1 watt of power. This is actually enough to cause hearing damage if you listen to it for more than 2 hours a day.

My problem with the standard audio is that it sounded muddy and distorted. That is the fault of the speakers, not the amp/headunit.

 

That was my problem with the OEM speakers -- muddy at best. New speakers solved that problem.

The OEM head produces enough power, particularly after redirecting that power by swapping front and rear channels. During the 2 hour drive home today, at times my son had things turned up a bit too loud for me -- but things were clear and crisp.

Same thing on the bass box -- the little Boss Audio bass600 produces plenty of thump for the Mini -- even when I want to make the rear view mirror shake, I don't have to crank it up all the way. A zillion watt 14 inch sub would be complete overkill.

 

+2

Very satisfied student from the "speaker replacement" and "channel swap" threads. Non-HiFi w/ better speakers and swapped F/R, makes for a very pleasant sounding car.

 

so what is the consensus on some of the favorite FRONT replacement speakers for non-hifi stock systems?


btw, not planning to do channel swap because i have bluetooth and dont want sound coming out of the rear.

 

I believe that it comes down to specific speaker manufacturer dimensions. Some are just too deep for the door, some don't fit in the upper speaker hole at 4" while others do fit. If you read the first entry in the thread, Outmotoring tells us that the speakers are 3.5" for the tops and 5 1/4" for the bottom fronts. Well, that may be the case for the OEMs, but if one can put slightly larger speakers in them without having to add spacing adaptors or doing any cutting, I think that's what you want to do. Given the lousy location of the fronts for listening pleasure (knee + ankle height, no pillar speaker) I assume folks are only considering co-axials and not component speakers. But I may be off-base on that line of thinking.

When I heard from a couple of other posters that the 4-ohm JL Audios 4" and 6.5" fit well, sounded nice, and weren't too pricey - I was sold. There is a minor amount of careful drilling in plastic to mount the lowers, as the holes don't align correctly, but that's not a hard job (see speaker replacement thread, basil49's guide.)

There may be other friendly speakers out there with similar dimensions, but it is hard to tell from the printed online specs if, in fact, they'll fit both in the hole, and be a safe depth if they are 4" + 6.5" speakers. Maybe smaller speakers fit fine and sound great - no clue. So I guess I benefitted from those who went before me, and just went with larger and safe.

One minor thing about the JLs...because the wiring in the car is tight, and the attachment points are where they are, you have to mount the (round) speakers upside down. So that means behind the stock MINI door grille, if you peer inside, the JL Audio logo is upside down. Didn't bother me, but I know some very sensitive types who might find that a deal killer. I don't know if any other makers have this problem. Maybe I could have somehow repositioned the tweeter in the middle of the speaker, but a simple twist didn't work. Did anyone out there find that they could do this? If you really want the speaker logo right-side-up...again, behind the door grille...I guess you could splice in some extra speaker wire, giving you more wiggle room.

If you are not channel swapping the 6.5" size may even give you a teensy bit of bass (OK really teensy) that the OEMs can't.