Well, about 90% anyway. We ran out of time so the amp still needs to be mounted and tuned but it is done otherwise. I ended up using the factory wiring for the front. I ended up cutting the wires on the x9331 female side for the front two channels, ran the speaker wire to the amp, then back to the connector. I tried to get the new speaker wire through the door but I simply couldn't do it. I did tap into the rear speaker wires just as planned and I ran new wire to the new 6x9's just as planned. That part worked out beautifully. I didn't remove the seat backs because I didn't have a big torx socket but I was able to pull the side panels back enough to remove the speakers and run the wires without pulling the whole panel out of the car.

I really like this amp. It takes care of everything just as advertised. I have never used a 5-chan amp before but this one is really nice. It took a minute to figure out how everything needed to be set to get power to the right speakers, but once I figured out all of the switches everything made sense. I was able to use all four channels independently, and run the sub off of those four channels and still get the proper range of sound from all 4 speakers. It sounds 10x better than I expected. That may be because I haven't had a good sound system in so long, but I am impressed none the less. I know it will only sound better once the amp is tuned.

Sorry no pics, but in my defense I started at around 1pm and finished at around 10pm.

p.s. THIS INSTALL SUCKS! (unless you are <5 ft. tall that is lol)

 

Details man! Amp? Head unit? Etc. Judging by your sig I'm guessing you're using a PDX5 Alpine amp and you used the line level inputs?

 

Sorry for the late reply, I've been at work all day. Stock head unit, I used the MRX-V60 5-channel, and yes I used the line level inputs. The next thing I have to figure out is getting 5 channels to play from 2 channels input. The amp is supposed to be able to take only channels 1 and 2 input and produce 5 channels output. I need this feature because of the frequency cut-off to the rear from the head unit. The cut-off is really hurting the sub performance. I knew that was a possibility and I was hoping it would take the sub signal from all 4 channels but instead it is just taking it from the rear. I thought it would be as simple as just flipping a switch but when I set the amp to run off of channels 1 and 2 I get nothing from channels 3 and 4. The sub sounds much better when the amp is set for 2 channels but it isn't producing the rear channels like it is supposed to.

 

The MINI factory wiring really confuses me. It's like someone made a mistake in the planning stages and never bothered to correct it. Let us know if you find a solution. I'm sure someone has run into the same thing.

 

Well the problem I have is mostly with the amp, not the Mini wiring. What doesn't make sense is the frequency cut-off to the rears. It seems the NAM community has been pondering that one for over 4 years now.

I just read through my amp owners manual again and I am right. It is supposed to copy channels 1/2 and send it to channels 3/4. I think the problem I am having might be because I have channels 3/4 wired to the input harness. Maybe the amp is confused since I have it wired for 4 channels but I am trying to run it in 2 channels. Like I said before, when I set the switch to copy channels 1/2, then the sub gets it's full range and so do the fronts but I get nothing from the rear. They only kick in when I set it to full 4 channel mode. I will try disconnecting the rear channels from the input harness and if it still doesn't work then I guess I'm calling Alpine on Monday. I will keep you all updated.

 

Here's a couple of experts from the Alpine MRX-V60 manual.

Reading this leads me to believe that the amp will listen on any channel that's connected. Since you're connecting all four leads (LF, RF, LR, RR) the amps just going to amplify them directly. If you only wired it in stereo (LF & RF) I think this would fix your problem.


This seems to match my earlier suspicions. This seems to indicate that the selector switch is for the RCA Pre-Amp imputs only and has no bearing on the line-level inputs you're using.

 

I think you are right. I'm going to try getting a simple LOC with RCA's and run it in two channel then set the switch to 1/2 and see if it will fix my problem. Simply disconnecting the rear channel from the line level harness did nothing. Eventually I will probably get a line driver which should make everything sound much better. A line driver is really the best way to integrate a factory HU anyway.

 

Are you refering to something like the JL Clean Sweep? I know the Audison BitOne and BitTen get really good reviews but given what you've done so far I don't really know how your budget shapes up for something that high end.

 

I was thinking of Alpine's Imprint processor, but yeah same idea. I played with the settings a little and got it sounding pretty good but it still sounds like something is missing.

 

Ok so I feel kind of stupid. The problem I was having with the rears is solved. Somehow I had the gains almost all the way down on the rear channels. I thought I had tried that already but I must have temporarily lost my mind somehow. After I went through setting the gains, filters, crossovers, etc. again I have it sounding just like I wanted it to. Hopefully tomorrow I can find time to figure out a mounting solution on the amp and it will be 100% done!

 

Well done! Glad to hear it's all up and working. I was scratching my head as well.

 

I can't believe I missed that. I feel dumb but at least I figured it out.

 

You wouldn't have needed an LOC anyway. Your amp has one built in. Also, all a line driver does is raise the input Voltage. This isn't necessary, unless you're competing, because you can simply adjust the gain control.

I'm glad to hear it's up and running right now. It's almost always something small that fixes everything. lol