I've got an '07 MCS with the standard 6-speaker system. After many hours reading over the wealth of information you've all posted, I think I've got a clear idea of what needs to be done.

So basically I'd like to know if anyone sees any holes they can shoot in my plan. Any insights are greatly apreciated. Am I missing something? Any firsthand experience with the components I've selected here woud be good.

Here's my shopping list:

~~ AudioControl LC6i - $150
Install beneath the passenger seat in foam-filled compartment
Converts speaker level to line-level signal for the amp, device adds sub channel.
Leads into this come from X9331 connector in driver footwell
Allows control of the level of each of the 3 outbound channels

~~ Alpine PDX-5 - $390
Leads in come from LC6i Module, including discrete sub channel
One amp does everything and stays cool.
Hopefully also install beneath passenger seat.
Outbound lines lead to respective speakers.

~~ Focal Polyglass 165VR - $300
Good component set for front sound stage.
Install tweeter in 3" bay. Need to fabricate blanks to hold tweeter.
Install crossovers inside sealed bag in door just below 6.5" speaker.

~~ Kicker KS690 - $85
Mostly there for filling in sound in rear, can prolly shave cost here.
Filter out some of the higher tweeter frequencies.

~~ Sealed Sub Enclosure from UrbanMini.com - $299

~~ JL Audio 10W3v3-4 Sub driver - $140
-- OR --
~~ Boston Acoustics G210-4 - $140

~~ Dynamat: $135

~~ Speaker wire, 3 RCAs from LC6i to PDX, supplies: $50

Total: $1549

 

Looks interesting. Urban Mini added to my list of options.

 

So, not changing rear speakers? If you have Park Distance Control, the rear speakers need to be on because the beeps only come through the rears.

Have you checked under the passenger seat? If you have DSC, there might not be room there.

Be sure to use the Dynamat on the front and rear wheel wells. They seem to be critical areas for road noise entry.

I assume you are aware that on your MINI the rear speaker channels will have the bass filtered out before the X9331.

 

Yes, the rears will be replaced by the Kicker KS690's. They're not the most high-end but seem to be decent speakers as a low cost. From what I understand, in my limited experience with sound tuning, is that the rear 6x9 speakers don't need to be ultra high-end. They are just there to fill out the sound. The front component set and the rear sub are there to do the hard work, and are the most noticeable sound producers in the system.

I have no DSC (that's the parking sensors, right?). Aside from the pano roof and steptronic trans, my car is pretty light on options.

Does the dynamat go on the wheel wells from the inside? I saw another post where they seemed to apply the Dynamat external to the car in the wells.

Yes, the Audio Control LC6i should negate this problem. From what I understand, it will take the full range front channel signal and the filtered rear channel signal. It will add the missing range to the rear signal using the front signal. It will then create a separate set of outputs from this combined signal to feed to the sub channel. This will provide line level, full range inputs for front channel, rear channel, and sub channel to the Alpine sub. I think page 7 of this PDF from Audio Control affirms my assumptions:
http://rs.audiocontrol.com/company_38//LC6i_OM.pdf

From the amp I'll run the front channel speaker signal to the crossovers for the components in front, then to the speakers themselves. The tweeters will mount in the smaller ports up front, sacrificing the 3" speakers.

I'll run the rear channel speaker signal directly to the Kicker 6x9's, and set the amp to filter out the highs on that channel.

And finally I'll run the sub channel speaker signal to the sub.

I'm open to whatever corrections that more experienced people are willing to provide. I'm thinking this setup should give me a pretty strong system.

 

Alpine pdx-5 is killer for the car! I have one hidden in the tool compartment in the rear. I wouldn't cheap out on the rear 6x9s. They will provide the missing link in most people's car stereos- MIDBASS! In addition, since the car is so small, if you set your fader right you get awesome 360 degree sound. Try finding 6x9 components with adjustable angle tweeters so you can aim them up and towards the front of the car. I used all MB Quart components and found that without the rear speakers, you just don't get that full bodied sound. I have three way QSC series speakers up front, and I just can't get the bass response that the rears provide. The reason they hit hard and sound so good is because mini made little enclosures for them in the quarter panels. (Tip- to get even better bass, stuff polyfill in there and dynamat the back wall of the enclosure).

Replacing the 3 inchers in the doors with tweets is a good idea. Be sure to fabricate a mount for your tweeters so they angle up towards your ears. Those speakers tend to get blocked by legs so angling them up helps alot.

As far as mounting the amp under the seat, it's a real tight fit. I wanted to do that, but even with that little alpine amp, there is not much clearance, so I decided to mount it in the rear.

The only other thing I can say is that watch where you run your cables. The mini is a noise maker. There are so many places in that car that can cause interference with your audio signal.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the info Bug!

What MB Quart model numbers did you install front and rear? Were they 5.25 components? or 6.5?

Based on your suggestion of quality 6x9s, not treating them as secondary, it's got me thinking whether I should go with 5.25 component drivers in the front since the 6x9s with decent power will kick out decent midbass. That would potentially leave the 5.25" speakers up front to be the more viable choice up front since the system would be less reliant on a larger 6.5 in front to deliver deeper midbass. Am I correct in this thinking?

Good pointer on the tweeter orientation. Any more specific gotchas to look for when running wires? Methods for mitigating system noise?

 

No, that's park distance control (PDC) that you're thinking about.

DSC is "Dynamic Stability Control". You could very well have it.

 

DSC is Directional Stability Control, or Dynamic Stability Control, or something like that. It is an electronic safety system for when a car starts to go out of control. It was an option in early 2007. Later it became standard.

You remove the wheel well liners and put it on the painted steel. There is a thread about it with instructions and photos.

When you open up the back, there are lots of places to put Dynamat.

 

Thanks Robin. Pix like that are very helpful.
What models of the MB Quart drivers did you install?

 

You are welcome on the Pix.

Bug1515 is the one who uses MB Quart stuff.

 

6x9" (rce-269) in rear
6.5" (qsc-164) in kick
4" & tweet (qsc-210) in mid door and pillar
Kicker L7 8" in the ***

You are correct in saying that the rears will fill out the bass. The fronts just are not located in a good spot and do not have an enclosure to produce as deep of a sound as the rear 6x9s. The QSC164 is an add-a-woofer set that is usually used as a dedicated midbass driver. Even with that in mind, I thought it would produce lows like the the rear 6x9s do, but that wasn't the case.

I am not trying to say that you can't get great lows out of 6.5s or 5.25s. What I am saying is that in my experience with this install, it is not that important to worry about the midbass in the kick panels if you can get it from the rear quarters.

If I can give any advise to anyone doing stereo upgrades to their minis, I would get quality 6x9 components (preferably with tweeter angle adjustment) and quality 6.5 or 5.25 components up front. As far as 6.5 or 5.25, go with what is more affordable (stay with high quality though). Most 6.5s will be tight in the factory location so some trimming of the factory plastic mount ring will be required. Three ways, like I have aren't really worth it (IMO). 4" speakers are nothing to brag about. Of course you get a better sound stage if you mount the tweeters in the front pillars, but you will get great sound also if you mount the tweeters properly in the door's 3" location.

Also the Alpine PDX-5 is a nasty little amp. The rms ratings on the amp are actually the minimum power that the amp will produce. Every Alpine PDX amp comes with a test sheet that shows you the actual power that the amp produced at the factory before packaging. Mine has 104 watts x 4 and 398 x 1 (@14.4v). That is way higher than the advertised 75x4 & 300x1 ratings on the box etc. So this amp will be able to power up almost any high end speaker on the market. If you go with a sub, make sure it has at least 300 watts rms on it. It can handle it. I have tested friends and customers woofers on this amp, and can not believe how powerful it is. Depending on the woofer you choose and how high the bass gain setting is, you also might want to consider installing a capacitor. The lights dim a bit under heavy bass loads with that amp.

 

Pretty solid advice Bug. Thanks!

Since mine has the 6-speaker system and I prefer not to go creating any custom mount points for tweets up front, I'm going to stick with the tweet-in-the-door option. I'm totally sold on the PDX amp. Given its endorsements from everyone here and its very reasonable online price tag, that seems like a no-brainer (of course with the usual cautionary tales about where you buy it from and all that). I had MB Quart drivers in my Z3 that I liked a lot, so I may go ahead and find a set of those for the 6x9 set. I like the ability to angle the tweeters with those.

 

Let us know how it turns out!

 

The LC6i and the PDX-5 will not fit together under the passenger seat there is not enough room. I know I have a PDX 5 in there now and there is not a space 8"x6"x1.5". See post 4 of this thread (https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html) to see a picture of the PDX5 installed, the crossovers are 3.75"W x 5.65"L x 1.15"D, they are for the Focal 165V3 sets in the door and A Pillar. And if the PDX 5 was thicker by 1/4" it would not fit either. As it is the cover that goes over this area is pushed up by the PDX-5 and just misses the seat control rods by less than 1/8". Also the only thing that the LC6i will do for you that the PDX5 does not already do is give you a woofer level control. You should be able to fit it under the drivers seat though, depending on the other options you have in the car.

This amp actually runs rather hot under the seat, not dangerously hot but to hot to keep your hand on. but after high volumes for over 4-5 hours at a time it has not mleted the plastic cover for this well under the passenger seat.

Because of the window coming down so far there may not be enough room for the crossover in the door. The ones with my 165VR3 set would not, fit it jammed the window. Altough the two way are slightly but only slightly smaller. I do not have a size on those, but i do remember looking at them compaired to the three way crossovers and they were almost the same size.

IMHO good choice on the overall equipment.

I would also suggest that if you can afford it to get the RCA output adapter wire harness from http://www.newministuff.com. It will be around $85 shipped but it already gives you the line level outputs from the radio. Yes it is rather time consuming to install but it make for a much cleaner install and does not affect the return back to OEM like tapping into the X9331 connector may do.

 

Schatzy,
The audio upgrade harness looks like it would be well worth the cost. Just to clarify this harness will plug into the OEM head unit and not the X9331 correct? Of course this would require dismantling your dashboard correct? I plan on getting the PDX-5 as well. Sounds like I'll I would need to do is run the main power wire through the fire wall, everything else will connect to the harness.

Is it that simple or am I missing something?

This is what you are referring to correct?

 

That is the type of harness that you would need. It plugs in between the head unit and the wiring harness. there are two coax cables that need to be released from the OEM harness and placed in the adapter harness connector for the radio. If this is not done some things will not work.

Yes dismantling the dash is required but is not difficult just time consuming.

Power wire will need tobe run thru the firewall. there is actually a space for this in the firewall wire pass thru. This post has pictures of what it did on mine. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...155-post4.html

 

Put the crossovers in that gray area of the armrest. I put 4 holes in the plastic (the part facing the door) and zip-tied the crossovers in there. You can't even tell they're there, but you can mess around with the settings easily.

 

Ok. Now that I started this thread and did all my research and such, I'm considering getting an install done at Reus Systems in Irvine, CA instead of home brewing my own. The cost will be about 25% more than buying my own stuff, and save me the hassle of doing it myself.

Anyone have experience with them? I've read about their installs mostly on the Benz forums, and they get probably about 85% highly positive writeups, with the other 15% saying they're overpriced for what you get. Most say the sound their systems put out is phenomenal though. The install would involve a custom amp, custom sub enclosure in trunk on the floor, replace upper set of drivers in door panels, install center high channel on back side of rear view mirror. The custom amp apparently has built in crossovers as well. They do not replace the lower door speakers or the rear seat 6x9 speakers either. This concerns me a bit, but Rick Reus assures me they're not bad as long as the signal to them is cleaned up to only deliver certain frequency ranges. In the end the install will be stealth.

Any personal experience with their installs would be appreciated before I make a final decision.

 

Having looked at the OEM speakers, not replacing them seems extremely odd to me. It is generally accepted that they are the weakest part of the system.

 

Sort of caught me off guard, such a great thread and then BLAMMO, you ditch the upgrade of the weak OEM speakers.

If you ask me, this Rick fella is full of crap. He's also going to charge you for rewiring your stock speakers...

Lastly, he told you the crossover built into the amp, which he calls "custom", will work... It will, but the entire point of this thread was upgrading. IMHO you are just going to make your system louder, not sound any better. The only real difference is your sub will cover up the farting noise that your amplified stock speakers are going to make when bass hits.

Just my two cents.

 

Ha. Yeah it is kind of a sucker punch from the DIY vs. Installer perspective. I'm a bit torn on the issue b/c I'd spent so much time thinking things over, making my shopping list. I'd plunked a fat deposit on a system when I had my last car, an SL500, which has a stereo system that's very difficult to upgrade. With that car a Reus system is one of the only ways to go and retain a stock appearance. I never had the car long enough to have the system installed. Now with the Mini i'm in a dilemma with whether to wait for my deposit back and DIY or let Reus do the install.

 

I'd get a second opinion from another shop.

 

i would DIY it. You would save a good amount of money and also have everything that you had researched and planned done. Wait out for the return of the deposit and you can use that money to recoup the costs of the materials and equipment.

 

Man, it looks like what you've picked out is an excellent choice! (I would recommend the DQL-8 instead of the LC6i... but that's just me.) My PDX-5 is working beautifully!!

 

Hello all, this old thread seemed to be a good place to ask...

planning to install some Hertz ESK-165 components in our R56. I've already replaced the stock "speakers" once, with some cheapie Alpines which I'm not too crazy about. Anyways, the only part of the install I'm worried about is where to put the crossovers. These are about average size. (about 4 x 2.5 x 1.25") I'd like to find a way to put them in the doors so I don't have to try to run extra wires in from under the dash. Does anyone have suggestions? The baggie under the woofer might be easiest if there's room, but inside the armrest sounds interesting too. Can anyone tell me more about that?

I could also buy replacement a-pillar covers which would be nice but I'd like to keep this simple if possible.