best upgrade for $400 ( stereo vs. speaker )
 

Hi there--

I have a base 09 MINI hardtop. The local car audio guy recommended a stereo upgrade for $289 ( install included ), and then to upgrade speakers later if I had extra cash. I'd like to keep my total outlay around $400--so would you recommend going with new speakers, or do the stereo upgrade as suggested? Some parameters:
- I listen mostly to jazz and prefer high-fidelity over exaggerated bass, etc. I did notice tha bass seemed very low though on the stock speakers.
- I use my car as a two-seater, so perhaps only the front speakers would need to be swapped out.

Also any recs on particular speakers / stereos in that price range would be awesome! Thanks

Isaac

What kind of upgrade is he going to do for $289? Keep in mind you are not gonna be able to change the stock head unit in these cars since they are overly integrated.

I'd say for $400 you can get a Pioneer mono amp and install kit off e-bay and the smallest box for an inexpensive 10" sub, plus the sub, but I doubt you'll find that deal at the local car audio shops.

$289.00 This guy is crazy.

As unclemeat stated the OEM Head unit is very integrated into the car it has connections to the CCC (central car computer) and displays all the funcitons on the speedo and tach. It CAN NOT be removed. Even the Japanese have not come up with a way to change that.

Now there is a way to add a separate head unit either in the secret compartment or in the center console. The replacement plastics for the center console alone cost over $300.00 To put a head unit in the secret compartment would cost you about 5 hours in labor alone.

So for the "Stereo Guy" to offer you a replacement stereo for $289 means that there is no way he can do it.

Now your best bang for the buck would be to start out by changing the speakers. That is hwere the largest change is sound quality will come from.

The OEM head unit at last check was still made by Alpine so it is a good unit and many of us here have left it in place and change the speakers first and then added an amp if we wanted more volume.

Please use the search function on the forums hear. All of this has been explained many times over hear.

Does the front/rear channel swap improve the 09 with the base stereo too? That real cheap. I agree, I can't think of anything useful that could be done for $290 from a shop except a few speakers. That's where the money is in this deal. If he was proposing doing the headunit for $290 on the Mini I'd get the heck outta there if I were you. This isn't some VW bug here.

Yes. Not sure about the 2010's but they are probably the same as the parts have not changed.

I don't think they could sell a brand name head unit for that. Much less do the install in any car for that little.

For $289 he probably adjusts the bass/treble setting of the stock radio and hopes the placebo effect will make you think you got your $$ worth. :lol:

I would find out exactly what he is talking about before I went with anything like that. I'd be very suspicious of someone who didn't do speakers as the first option. You might want to get a second opinion.

I can't give you a simple recommendation for front speakers because I don't like the only ones I've heard for around $400.

My guess is he is quoting you on a replacement HU, without knowing that he can't just swap the factory for an aftermarket.

LOL, you need to take a metal gauntlet and smack your local audio salesman across the face, and call him a fraud.

Hell, I think even the 12 year olds at Best Buy wouldn't even do this.

I would spend the next few days reading up on the different speakers people have installed, and then go to a store that sells a few of them and listen to the way they sound. And then, select the brand that creates the sound you enjoy and have those installed.

When you have them installed, bring that metal gauntlet and threaten them into giving you a good price! LOL.

Gluck!

Is that G'luck, or Glock? :lol:

Change the speakers. Do it yourself.

That's all you need.

did the upgrade
 

Thanks guys--

With $400 and a base mini sound system, I ended up replacing my front speakers with Infinity Kappa 60.9CS, and also installing some dynamat in my front doors.

Total cost:
speakers ( $109 + tax at sonicelectronix.com ), install ( $95 ), dynamat + install ( $150 ) = about $370.

I had them wire up the -6db on the tweeters based on reviews of the speakers being very bright. For my ears, I ended up wanting to add back a lot of the treble, so I adjusted my EQ on the stock unit to +5 treble, +2 bass, +1 fade towards the front, and +1 balanced towards the right. i'm still fiddling with these, but over a range of genres/cds this seems to be about where I'll leave it.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the result. The only areas that are missing now are the mid-highs are kind of low. Brass hits, some vocals, don't shine the way they should. But the bass in punchy, and the highs are quite crisp--some tracks sound amazing. A noticeable improvement over the original, and worth the price for me. I'm sure if I could get a decent EQ in there it would be quite a nice sounding setup. In fact, ot makes me want to apply some sort of EQ-sound processing to the mp3s themselves just to make them sound better in my car.

For comparison though, I still prefer my desktop $180 2-speaker Swan system at home, which seems to give a much more even representation of the music. But for $400 in the base MINI this was probably about as good as I could've done I think.

Incidentally, the dynamat produced a noticeable, if not earth-shattering, improvement in cabin noise. Anecdotally, it now no longer seems like a particularly noisy car on the highway, where it used to.

Hope this helps someone down the line!

I'm impressed that the door Dynamat worked out. I've wanted to Dynamat the doors myself, but I've been put off by rumors that the window mechanism is too troublesome to work with. Glad you got the sound-reduction results you wanted, this gives me hope!