2008 JCW with HiFi Sound System and really want to utilize what I have and maximize the sound quality. Read the recommended upgrade but, was wondering if anyone has found additional technology to make this so.

Also, when listening to music from my iPhone it does not sound good at all.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind, anything I do will not be done by myself and will need recommendations on where to take it. I am in Texas, is anyone else in the D/FTW area?

 

Should I have posted a sep. thread?

 

I read through most of this thread. What happened to the days when you bought a couple of Jensen speakers and mounted them on the rear deck (my only audio installation done in 1979 to a 1974 Impala)?
I have a R58 S with the H/K system. I am sold on the IA SW as the best solution to flattening the audio.
I reviewed the installation instructions and I doubt I could DIY. If I buy the SW, how much should I budget for installation? How do I find a reputable installer? Does anyone know of an audio installer in the DC - Baltimore corridor that can install?

 

StrikeZ - PM sent....

 

Not saying this is right or wrong on MINI's part.

1/4 waveform length of 70HZ is 3.5 ft, 1/2 waveform length is 7ft
The MINI hatch interior is approximatelly those dimensions.
Creating nodes at 70hz.
MINI in their infinite wisdom tried to tune the cabin with a notch filter.
But you will notice in-car frequency response at 70hz is relatively pretty flat.

Was your in-car frequency response dip at 500hz with the doors open or closed??

 

I look forward to the reply from IA.

I have a Stereo Integrity 12" inch subwoofer BM MKIV that I will install. I will have to remove the front/rear channel swap.

 

I live in Richardson. Metroplexmini.org is the club of D/FW. Join! I am not a big audiophile but I am strongly considering the IA system.

 

Is there a recommended installer in the NYC/Long Island area that has experience with the Integral Audio kit? I'm not sure I'd want to tackle it myself...

 

Hadn't really looked at any of this in a long time. Your line of thinking is logical, and I went down the same road. But the 70Hz notch doesn't line up with any vehicle modes. Once you dig in, you see that there was no explanation other than de-tuning the system**. At the end of the day, there is an easy way to discern their intent without even getting technical: also look at the processed output from the HiFi and HK amps. Same exact vehicle, yet 3 wildly different curves, with no commonality. It's all speaker correction. And even that is suspect. In the years since I originally took these measurements I've covered tremendous ground in taking in-car measurements. It is very difficult, but it means everything: the entire system is built upon them, and they have to be correct, or everything after is wrong.

Ignore that in-car response measurement from the original post (I deleted it). That measurement was something like 5 or 6 years old, and we've changed everything about the way we measure since then. That particular measurement never should have been put up in the first place - it appears to have been a single-mic measurement that doesn't represent anything close to reality.

We're finishing up work on software that takes the output of our measurement array and calculates a much more accurate response. Will be more accurate and much faster than what we've been doing.

**This is no surprise. Marketing depts at BMW (and others) have always done stuff like this. Small case-in-point: In 2000 or 2001 BMW released a new 2.5L base engine on the Z3. The upgrade option was a 2.8L. Yet the base model vehicle was called a 2.3i, not a 2.5i. The upgrade was the 2.8i. Why? Because the marketing research showed that folks were far less likely to pay such a large spread for what was perceived to be such a small difference. Same thing is true with the MINI here - bass and treble will drive in-store sales. They handicapped the bass response of the 6spkr system to make the anemic HIFI look better.

 

PM Sent...

 

Hello there, read all of it, didn't see anything for the R61 "love or hate it" PACEMAN. Got HK premium, and no choice when buying the ride, for it came fully loaded to Brazil.
I was happier with the 4 two way kits and a 12 "sub in a box" powered by a 4ch + mono sub ch banda amp. Pretty solid and crisp bass. Can I get closer in this car?

 

Well got mine installed and it is awesome! Sure wish I would have done it sooner!

Art

 

Couple of notes for those that install the IA system...

1st, I installed both the speakers and the subwoofer in my Mini. Its been in there now for 2, almost 3 years and I personally love it. The space lost in the back wasn't that big a deal until I replaced my runflats with normal tires. Then the desire for space for a spare came back into play... But tunes over a flat tire... Tunes won.

I have 90k on my JCW Clubman (yea, I know 30k+ a year, my commute is a *****). and things are starting to break on it that the dealer has issues with. The latest was the Forward Computer failure (the one that you hook all your speaker stuff into). Of course going to the dealer, they refused to touch anything under warranty until I removed all the speaker stuff... Fortunately the IA system used taps for most of their wiring so it was only an hour or so to "pull" all the wiring and coil it up out of the way...

$2400 dollars later (for the things that weren't under warranty) I got to put all the speaker stuff back where I started.

Dealers don't want to mess with anything that isn't "stock" so just beware if you are going to install your system with something other than taps, you'll have quite the time pulling it back out in the event you need to have your car worked on by the dealer. About the only thing to go to the dealer for anymore is a few under warranty items (for another 10k) and the computer system.

All in all, I love the IA upgrade. I got basically one of the first ones off the line for the clubman (I remember having to wait while they kept fine tuning the package) and had to deal with the first gen blues, but still, can't really complain. The only thing that went wrong was I didn't have all the cabling for the bass adjuster under the dash (since fixed, Kevin straightened all that out) at the time I had everything apart. Took me two years before I went back under the dash (to remove all the cables) before I actually installed the bass adjuster where it was supposed to be (its been hanging under the dash this whole time :-)

The only thing I'd have done slightly differently is to do something (anything) about the 6x9s in the back... Not for general every day, 2 person use, but for when the kids get stuck in the back for long trips and can't hear the speakers in the front. Changing the fader all the way back gives them sound, but it just reminds me of how cheap the original system was.

I have installed a few of the IA systems in friends mini's and have gotten my install time down quite a bit (learning how to take out the front passenger seat correctly and rapidly makes up the bulk of the time). I'm actually installing another one next weekend for another friend. I should start charging :-)

When you spend as much time in your car as me, this upgrade is phenomenal, especially if you're using your Bluetooth hands-free system :-)

---

On a side note, I have helped others install aftermarket speakers, amps, etc in their minis. After having done this on almost a dozen cars, I can definitely still tell the difference. The factory system is so bad that anything makes it sound better. Even the HK system has holes in it and definitely is a PAIN to install over. They were right, get the cheap system if you intend on doing ANY upgrades (using either IAs or doing it yourself through Frys or something). At least you have something to work with instead of against.

Marcos

 

I noticed a lot of people aren't happy with the HK systems, but I actually have the HK system in my R53 and it's actually pretty good. Was there a change in philosophy by HK between the R53 and R56? I actually competed in a MECA sound quality stereo competition with the stock HK system and it actually scored a 77/100. Anything over 50 is considered above average and most average competitors with aftermarket systems score in the mid 60's. The frequency response of the HK system is pretty good without any major peaks or dips.

Now I'm not saying that the system can't be improved on, I'm just trying to understand what issues everyone is seeing with the R56 system compared to the R53.

Ps: Before anyone asks, I've been doing sound quality competition for a few years. Including qualifying for World Finals in all 3 SQ organizations in 2013 and finishing in the middle of the pack in MECA and IASCA, and a 4th place (3 points behind the 2012 world champion) in USAC.

 

I have a 2012 MCS with H/K that I would like to add a sub and amp to. My amp accepts high level signal so does any one know what color wires I should tap into? Is there a line out located in a harness somewhere? I also have a 14 countryman s with the six speaker setup. I was thinking of adding one of those under seat subwoofers and get the signal from the speakers already there. Any ideas? The amp I have is a JL Audio 500/5 ... If I do subwoofer only I have an earthquake plate amp designed to be installed in the sub box with only heat sinks flush mounted. Just trying to figure out where to get the signal. I am thinking I should use the special connection IA offers but Amazon is out of stock. I probably will go with the JL audio in the countryman and aftermarket coax in the front doors. Better subs under the seats...

 

I have an extra IA x9331 harness and various 6.5" components and coaxials (not recommended) I no longer need. I've also got an x9331 harness I made from individual OEM parts that provides full uncut leads which would allow for a number of different wiring possibilities. PM me if you're interested in anything.

 

PM sent on the IA harness. Would love to grab it from you if it's still available. Thanks!

 

Yes. MINI/BMW decided to save some money by putting in the "HiFi" system by "Harmon". That's the parent company of Harmon Kardon, and unlike their premium brands (HK, JBL, Infinity) the Harmon-branded stuff is quite poor. (You may already know that due to your background, but I mention it for those readers who might not.)

The backlash at the downgrade from the superb R53 to the unmitigated ***** of the HiFi is why they brought back a HK system in 2011. It's good but I don't think it hits the bar set by the R53 system. They did their job too well the first time, I suppose.

 

Mini Cooper Speaker Upgrade By bavsound

https://maitreapp.co/l/770-7af3e6aa

 

Does your analysis apply to the F56? I have 2015 Hardtop S with the wired package but the stock stereo. It seems that the louder I play it or the better the quality of the audio input I play, the worse it sounds.

 

Which part of the analysis? In general the same 6-speaker vs HK concepts apply, though the specifics of the F56 are different. There isn't a whole lot to redeem the standard 6-speaker system. If you enjoy music, you're unlikely to be happy with it (if you ARE happy with it I'd suggest that maybe you actually DON'T like music

 

Ordering the BavSound Stage 1 kit for my R57S - price point was the sweet spot as birthday gift. Anyone try adding something like an Alpine PowerPack with these? Can I safely put 45W to the base speakers / Bavsound S1? I know the stock base head unit is only putting out like 8W, if I read correctly earlier.

 

Not expert, but I did read that Bavsound speakers are designed to handle the factory's power output and upgrades to the amp can produce bad results. I would call them before doing the change.

 

[/LIST]This is partially true; it really depends on the application and audio system in question.

For those applications where we use a coaxial speaker to replace the midranges, they can handle additional power, but it needs to be modest. 45W RMS of clean power, conservatively tuned should actually be no problem. 100W would be too much for sure.

 

Pretty sure I'm going to do my F56 with Bavsound. Just wish the installers were a bit closer and more reasonable in price. Close to $500 to install the complete package and woofers is more than I can handle. The woofers are especially easy looking, can't imagine they take more than 1/2 hour for a pro, which at $150 is crazy money.