Hi all,
A while back, I had an aftermarket Stereo system added to my R56 (2007) mini (just-a-cooper). I installed Focal KPS speakers in front, Focal Access line sub in the boot, powered with an Alpine PDX 4.150 and a Rockford Fosgate 3Sitxy.2 for integration. The car was dynamated from the boot up to the front seats. What wasn't dynamated was the front doors and the floor under the front seats up to the fire wall.

I really liked the sound but two factors detracted: 1) On all sources, the sound was just a tad bit "hollow" or "nasal," and 2) the 3Sixty.2 has failed twice - once on the bluetooth connectivity issue (check their web site for details) and once a total blowout (no sound at all). I was also tired of the alternator whine that no amount of tweeking could resolve.

Being a bit tired of the 3Sixty flakiness, I bought an Alpine PXE-H650. After several afternoons of tuning the Imprint system, I got a sound that was really good. Sound was equivalent to the 3Sixty on imaging, better on tonal balance, and no alternator whine! All good things which, naturally, allowed me to focus on other issues - the "hollowness" that still remained.

I so dearly wanted to Dynamat the front doors and tried valiantly to take apart the inner door panel with no luck. I even went to the Mini Dealer and asked for the shop manual pages for removing the inner panel. They did provide some help but not enough for me to succeed. Frustrated, I read Robin Cassidy's numerous posts about sound and dynamat and thought, what do I have to loose - so I pulled the front speakers and dynamated every thing inside the front doors that I could reach. I even resorted to using a bent coat hanger to apply pressure to dynamat pieces that I could place but not fully reach. I also applied the DynaXorb squares directly behind the Focal 6.5 speakers. Lastly, I modified the outer door panel - the one that has the speaker grill in the bottom front.

When I had the system installed last January, the installer used the existing grills. I removed the original grills, enlarged the opening with a jig saw, and installed the grills that came with the Focals. I was carful with the cut, trimmed the plastic to ensure smoothness, and other details to ensure a quality job. The Focal grills are about 1 inch larger in diameter than the Mini grills. And the result....

The car is much quieter. Just that small amount of Dynamat behind the front speakers really helped!! Audible detail is really improved as is the system imaging. Also, no more "hollowness." All sources just sound better. For the cost of a door kit ($69) and the DynaXorb ($29), the sound really improved. One other improvement was from the grills. Apparently, as installed, the focal drivers would hit the original grills when driven hard. The result was an ugly distortion that sounded a lot like a door panel rattle. With the larger grills, the interference was gone and the rattle with it. My recommendation - everyone should dynamat the door behind the front speakers. You will notice the improvement right away and it is dramatic.

For the future, I an considering adding an Audison VRx 2.150 for the fronts and use the Alpine PDX solely for the sub. Also planned is Dynamat under the front seats and up the fire wall, and Dynamat under the headliner too. More to follow.
Regards,

 

Thanks for the writeup

 

Great tip shutterbug, and this will save me wasting too much dynamat on the doors this spring during my sound proofing project. I just wanted to clarify that you put dynamat behind the speaker that the door mounted armrest inserts into. Were you able to do this with just the speaker cover pried off and speaker removed or did you have to take any other plastics off?