I found the first improvement was to reduce bass.
Wish it had a mids eq. as their is some muddiness that reducing the bass greatly reduces.
Their is a nasal quality where the mids are peaked that I try to ignore but hear.

So here's the BIG deal!

I think the designers and testers may be more 21st century than not.
Why?
The system seems eq'd to deliver great performance via Bluetooth.

Old recordings sound great. Your hear all the cross fades in Hendrix Electric Ladyland.
New Yellowjackets and ten year old Yellowjackets sound great.
The drums really project with clear help from the rears.
I can crank it very loud without distortion something I cannot do with a CD.
The system doesn't sound budget at all. In fact I'm wondering if the CD unit isn't up to the HK quality.

I do use full size WAVs not Mp3s.
The few downloaded MP3s I have are better than okay.
Without going into my qualifications, they are suitable to offer an informed opinion on this subject.

I previously thought that this was the weak link that slightly impacted my enjoyment of the Mini. Not anymore.

 

Got a 2012 with HK myself. And yep, learned dialing down the bass was a big help. I play my music off a thumb drive, sounds pretty good.

You near Lake Minitonka? I grew up in Mound, MN..

 

No, name play on words.

 

Yellowjackets: Now you're talking!

I find that the HK system in my 2013 sounds great with good MP3s in the flash drive, with the bass on 0 and treble around +8. I only used the CD player once -- right after buying the car, just to make sure it worked -- and I don't remember how it sounded.

Although the bass is too strong when sitting still, it seems to be tuned to overcome the road noise when the car is moving, and then it sounds great.

 

The cd units are Alpine units. I have a. 2012 clubman with the hk set up, I took the dash apart and noticed the unit is alpine.

 

First Mod on my car is replacing the entire sound system. Mine us the base audio but been in a ton of Mini's with the HK upgrade and while better is still awful. But I am a audio phile so it's pretty high in my list. Shame they don't put a better quality unit in these cars. 2k later mine will sound fabulous

 

For those young ins' that don't know what a Tonka was!!
They were small metal toy cars and trucks. Built like tanks.
They were also made in Mound MN on Lake Minnetonka!!!

 

Agreed, its good but not brilliant. The HK to average joe is a huge improvement, but like yourself, I too am changing my HK setup for something a LOT better.

What kit are you installing?

 

Referring to which dash kit or type of audio ?

 

Well you mentioned youre going to spend £2k on it, so was wondering what your plans are, so everything really...

Ive got (waiting to be installed)

HAT L6v2
HAT L1pro
DLS A7 amp
Diamond Audio TDX12

Ordered a Audison Bit One few days ago, so hopefully that will arrive in the next few days so I can start to get things installed. Im using the stock unit as a source upfront, and eventually an ipad mini (optical connection into the bit one) too.

 

I know I'm getting off topic, but couldn't help myself. As a child, I grew up just down the street from the Tonka factory. My best friends father worked there, he had ALL the trucks they made. Was a hoot..

I did mangle the name of the Lake, oh well..

 

Estimate
Date
5/12/2014
Estimate #
2241
Bill To
Music City Customs
7107 Crossroads Blvd
Suite 108
Brentwood, TN 37027
P.O. Number Terms Stock #
Year 2009
Make Mini
Model Convertable
Color
Mileage 13,000
Vin Number
Total
Sales Tax (9.25%)
Signature
Please visit our website at www.MusicCity-Customs.com
I hereby authorize the above work to be done including all necessary materials. You and your employees may operate above vehicle for purposes of testing, inspection or delivery
at my risk. An express mechanics lien is ackknowledged on the above vehicle to secure the amount of repairs inc. It is also understood that you will not be held responsible for
loss or damage to cards or articles left in cars in case of fire, theft, or any other cause.
615.788.5120
Quantity Description Price Each Total
1 T-Spec V10-4RAK Amp Kit 99.99 99.99T
1 Polk Audio MM1040 10" Subwoofer 199.99 199.99T
1 Polk Audio PA D5000.5 5 Channel Amp 409.95 409.95T
Pioneer DEHX9600BHS CD Reciever with MIXTRAX, Bluetooth, HD
Radio, adn SiriusXM Ready
1 229.99 229.99T
labor to install amp, head unit, steering wheel controls, components,
coaxials and sub
1 300.00 300.00T
1 Polk Audio MM6501 6.5" Component Set 299.99 299.99T
1 Custom sub enclosure 100.00 100.00T
1 Metra ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Module 58.99 58.99T
1 MINI COOPER 07-UP/09-10 CONV Dash kit 44.99 44.99T
1 BMW and MINI Cooper Accessory Wire With Chime Speaker 99.99 99.99T
1 Metra 40-EU10 Euro CAr Antenna Adapter 9.99 9.99T
1 Stinger RCA 8000 Series 12' 4 CH RCA 79.99 79.99T
$2,112.74
$178.88

 

The Integral Audio looks like a great game in town. My intention in starting this thread was to highlight the possibilities of the HK. As I stated I am more than qualified to discern and discuss very hi-end audio. That's for another place and time.

The surprising difference between the CD player and Bluetooth was my point.
Can we stay on that topic except for occasional forays into the blessings of original Tonka trucks? P.S. The '80s large Fisher Price trucks and earth movers were pretty cool. No sharp edges to rust.

 

That estimate scares the crap out of me. Is that a fixed price, or an actual estimate? $180 in blister-pack amp wiring and RCA's? Ouch. Only $100 to build a sub enclosure? I don't think that's going to go well. Ours cost me WAY more than that, and they are batch-produced by a specialty manufacturer on computer controlled equipment with the (very-intensive) design work already done. They are selling you a 5 channel amp, yet no rear speakers - which you wouldn't want anyway, but the question is what are they doing with those 2 channels? Amping the existing rears? Why? They are going with a mediocre off-the-shelf 6.5" 2-way in the front, which is going to bury your midrange low in the floor. And I suspect they don't know what they are getting into with the HU replacement. And without a proper kit, ribbon cable, and a ton of work you are going to lose your display on your speedo. It'll sound different - and maybe largely better - than stock. But you could do so much better for the money.

It takes pages of info to detail all the benefits of our Soundstage - one of the most important being the vehicle-specific custom crossovers. You can find the info all over this forum, I won't re-hash it here. No shop can replicate the crossovers, the custom hardware, the sub enclosure, etc, etc. The only reason not to buy it is price - it is expensive. But you are already spending that much. Read the reviews here, ask around, take a close look at the Soundstage + Subwoofer.

I'm here if you have any questions.

 

To that, I read the Kool Aid and have to say a system like the Integral Audio designed specifically for our cars trumps any assemblage of great components. Second, hey KeyPlayaJim, yes the YellowJackets are something else!!!!. I've gone through their periods and drummers and have stayed a fan. I've seen them live three times and they deliver the music with huge enthusiasm!

 

The reason for the low price on the installation and sub enclosure is that one of the owners is a hood friend of mine. Polk mm series components going in the doors is as good as anything else in its price range ie Jul audio, hertz, focal etc. I priced a similar set up without my friend discount at another shop and it was 3600....Btw rears are also polk just two ways for some fill

 

It's around 400 for amp kit, dash kit, wiring for steering wheel controls etc not sure where the 280 generic figure you quoted is coming from This will be the 6th custom system he has done for me. Ranging from 4k to 1k. He's been doing this for15+ years and is a perfectionist to the extreme. Everything else he has done gas surpassed my expectations and I am sure this install will as well. They are also sponsoring my Mini so there is other custom work being done.

 

Tried iphone5 Bluetooth vs flash drive. iPhone clearer more depth and air. Flash drive still superior to CD. Both the iPhone and flash drive deliver punch in the lows that CD player lacks. The rear speakers are really working as part of the soundstage.

 

As I alluded to.... What If our stereo guys & gals were between 20 and 35? What if the algorithms for our stereo are new school ie. Bluetooth and to them "old school" is CD and flash so they just checked if the USB worked and the CD player worked without demanding the best out of them. As an employer of 18-30 year olds I believe that this is so possible. Our engineer said hey everyone will be beaming their Bluetooth signal within the Mini. So it got the attention.

 

I'm not an audiophile, but it seems like the CD should sound better? After all, music on our phones and thumb drive are compressed?

 

I'm loading uncompressed WAVs on my phone and flash drives. Takes up more space but sound is the most important to me.

 

Ah, that makes sense. I'll try that, thx for the clarification..

 

You're welcome, of course!

 

Tom H., is that you??

 

No