Hello I have 2009 R57 standard audio system and I would like to change out the two door speakers with the speakers that come with hi fi option. Has anyone done this and if so are the speaker connections the same. I looked on Real Oem and the diagrams for the speakers and the size and the shape look exactly the same but part numbers are different the price difference for HI FI speakers are more. I just assumed that the speakers in the doors were that same for base vs. HI FI option but they are not. On the Miniusa.com question and answer forum with the product manager someone asked about the differences in the systems and the Mini product manager replied that the speakers for base six speaker system were made by Phillips and the HI FI option were made by Harman. While I know that none of the factory speakers are that great and the best option would be to replace with aftermarket speakers but this is out of the question for me as I had warranty issues with a aftermarket audio upgrade with my BMW Z4 that I do not want to repeat. I had a Clubman with the HI FI option and those speakers in the door sounded a lot better than base stereo. I understand that HI FI unit has a little more power but the HI FI speakers must be of little higher quality. If the HI FI speakers would fit with same connections I would be willing to try it out and see if there is a difference.

 

Aside from questionable quality improvement, it is not a good idea. The front speakers in the standard stereo have built-in crossovers and receive a full range signal from the headunit. The HiFi speakers have no crossover -- crossovers are built into the HiFi amp. So fundamentally it is the wrong type of speaker for the application.

 

This could be your reason for different part numbers.. some with filters, some without.

 

Actually this is not true at least on the base speakers I have seen in person. There are no filters of any kind on the base system. The two door speakers run in parallel with no crossover.

Also the OEM head unit has full range signal to the doors but the rears are filtered in the head unit to eliminate base below 100 hz.

This is correct.

The speakers for the HiFi system in the R56, R55 and R57up to now and Hifi Option for 2010 are made by Phillips. Now in December of 2010 they are supposed to come out with a HK system for the 2nd Gen cars and that would then have the speaker made by Harman hopefully.

I have my HiFi option speakers at home and they are stamped with the Phillips name on them.

Now back on the Gen 1 cars the base speakers were made by Phillips and the HK system were made by Harman, but this is not the case on the second gen cars.


As for the quality of the speakers from the base to the HiFi. No there is not a quality increase. In fact the HiFi speakers are of the same or maybe even lesser quality. I have had both in my hand at the same time and the HiFi even look cheaper.

As for the connections at least they were same on the 07/08 models.

EDIT: for the cost of the HiFi speaker form the dealer you could get a very nice pair of aftermarket speakers.

Also You were talking about having a warranty issue with replacing the speakers on another car. One note for you - You Would Still Have The Same Issue of Warranty Problems if you chagned the speakers to the HiFi OEM Speakers as they are not the ones that that are designed for the Base System. If is just exaclty the same as going for aftermarket speakers.

 

So they just mechanically roll off in frequency; no capacitor or resistor inside the speaker?

 

Yes all speakers do that. Other wise all speakers could be the same size.

There is no possible way to get a 4" speaker to produce 20HZ with the same volume level and quality as a 12" speaker. And there is no way to get a 5.5" speaker to produce the same 15khz as a 4" or even better a 1" speaker.

It all has to do with the actual size of the sign wave that is generated and the amount of mass the speaker diaphragm has, the smaller the diaphragm the better for high frequencies, the larger the diaphragm the better for low frequencies.

And in fact the 4" on the base system trys to produce 20 HZ and it will very easily start hitting bottom on the coil/magnet structure and this causes sound distortion and in some cases clicking noise as the drive coil hits the bottom of the magnet opening.

 

My factory HiFi speakers are stamped "Harmon"... weird.

Not HK, just Harmon.

 

The HiFi amp is from Harman/Becker (it is printed on the label). Harman/Becker is owned by Harman International, a large conglomerate that also owns Harman/Kardon, Infinity, JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson, and many other brands. H/K is a more premium brand than Becker.

 

My plan was to use HI FI speakers because I thought they would be of better quality and I could use the same wiring harness plug and I could easily put it back to stock if I had to for warranty issues Well, it seems that they are just as cheap as base units speakers. So that idea is a no go. What I need now is a good aftermarket speaker that will fit in the factory opening and do not want to cut the factory wiring plug so is there any way to pull off the plug from old factory speakers and use it.
I just want to be able to put it back to stock if I had to and avoid any warranty issues.
The trouble I had on my BMW Z4 was I upgraded all the speakers on the car with a kit that was designed specifically for Z4. I worked fine for about one year then the head unit stopped working. Dealer said that my aftermarket speaker kit damaged the head unit and warranty was denied. I escalated to BMW USA but they said no and I would have to pay for a new head unit and external amp. It was $2500.00 to fix. The dealer finally good willed the repair when bought another car from them.

 

I didn't see any band name on mine (2007).

 

Well it seems that they can get the spekaers form a number of manufacturers then for the HiFi system or have cahnge manufacturers over the past couple of years.

Very Interesting.

 

As long as the T/S parameters match, I guess Mini get their speakers from whomever sells them the cheapest...

 

The odd thing is that the 6.5" has an odd connector on the front side of the speaker, and an unusual mounting hole placement. I think they must be custom made for BMW. Perhaps they just get bids each time they order a batch.

 

Yeah, that connector on the front is pretty strange. But it works fine...

 

After market speakers will not damage your headunit. BMW was pretty much taking advantage of you in that situation. Unless they can prove that the speakers caused the damage or it is explicitly stated in the warranty that aftermarket speakers will void the warranty, you are protected under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuso..._Warranty_Act).

If you're still worried, call MINI USA and ask them about the warranty deal.

As for new speakers, avoid the HiFi speakers in a base system. It'd be very silly to use them. Instead, look for a component set like the Polk dB series, Infinity Reference, or JL Audio C2-650 set. There are several more. It's only limited by your budget.

If you're still not satisfied with your setup after a new set of front speakers, read up on your options. You have many.

 

The stock head unit frequency response varies with frequency, and I guess, depends a lot on the impedance of the speakers you chose.

So, if you are looking to replace your stock speakers with something better I'd definitely recommend you add an amp too...

 

An amp is only necessary if you are installing speakers with a sensitivity rating lower than 90dB. That's not a definite number, but that's where the gray area lies. An amp is only going to push the same frequencies that the stock head is outputting. New speakers will sound better than stock, and even better with an amp, but don't go believing it's required for new speakers.

 

In practical terms, don't expect Magnuson-Moss to protect you. The manufacturer doesn't have to prove anything until the case reaches the courtroom, and to get to that point, you first have to sue them and spend months of legal fees. Maybe you'll win and get your fees back, but do you want to put that much money up front in the hope of winning (and you might lose, too).

 

Not exactly....

I installed a set of Kappa 60.9cs and noticed how bright they were. After taking MLS measurements, RTAs and measuring the stock unit output, I found this:



The stock HU gets bogged down pretty hard by low impedance speakers. I actually had to design a new crossover based around the response.

When you add an amp, its load is negligible (IIRC, amps have an input impedance of 50K Ohm or higher - compare to 2 Ohm of the Infinitys!) so the head unit behaves in a linear fashion.

So, adding a new set of speakers will result in better sound (considering the garbage Mini uses, its no surprise!) but the best results will only come when you use an amp.