When I got my 03’ MCS someone had pulled out the factory Harman Kardon cd player, bypassed the factory amp in the back (I think), and installed a nice Clarion aftermarket unit. I’ve never really been able to get the sound coming out of the factory mini speakers to sound “right”. They just have this annoying tone/sound to them. Not bad enough where you can notice it right off the bat, but after a while listening to the stereo it jus starts driving me nuts. I did a little research on this and from what I can find…..some people have said that the factory speakers may not be able to run with an aftermarket head unit because of the ohm rating on the speakers? Is this right? Some people have said it’s fine, others have said it’s not.

Can some of you guys who are mini pro’s give me some information? Do I need to swap out the factory speakers for aftermarket ones?

 

The HK speakers and HK amp are designed specifically for each other. The speakers have 2 ohm impedence and no crossovers (the HK amp has built-in crossovers). The speakers won't produce good sound if directly connected to an aftermarket amp or headunit.

You need to determine if the HK amp is actually bypassed or whether the headunit is still connected to it (would have required an adapter called the HK Enabler). You should also check whether the speakers are still HK (the grill covers won't tell you). If your headunit is directly connected to HK speakers, you should switch them to aftermarket speakers.

 

Thanks for the info. From what I can tell, the previous owner left the amp and wiring in place (disconnected), but just ran new wires from the head unit to the factory speakers. I haven’t made sure that the speakers are still the HK units yet, but I’ll have to do that soon. I’m betting that’s the case…that’s why they sound so strange.

Anyone have any suggestions on some good aftermarket speakers to get that will replace the factory HK ones?

Thanks for the info!!!