So I have had my R53 cooper s for about 6 months. It had the HK speaker upgrade from stock so I expected some nice sound out of the system. The lady I bought it from also had a Pioneer head-unit installed by BMW, but once I got the car home I was very disappointed with the sound.

The sound is lifeless, no punch and just sounds tinny to be honest. As soon as I turn it up it distorts like crazy, it really is terrible. It just ruins the whole driving experience.

I decided that it might have been something to do with the head-unit which was installed, but before I had a chance to get my JVC one in, I had the opportunity to get a free subwoofer and amp.

I installed the sub and amp and was happy with the bass, but really there was still something missing. It's really hard to put my finger on what is wrong... it just sounds wrong.

I then changed my head-unit to the JVC one and still wasn't happy with the sound. I tried replacing the amp and sub just to make sure that wasn't the cause of my issues, and it still sounded bad.

I eventually gave up and now I have removed the subwoofer and just have the stock upgrade HK speakers with my after-market JVC head-unit.

Last week I went in my friends R53 cooper S, he has the stock system (not HK). I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality difference! His sound is bass'y, full, rich... nothing like what I have to put up with.

I'm now suspicious as to why mine sound so terrible, are they blown? wired up incorrectly? or maybe a previous owner stripped out the HK system and left me with cheap crappy speakers?

Does anyone know how I can troubleshoot this, or check / test my speakers, or have any ideas on what my next step should be?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

The HK upgrade isn't just speakers, it's the entire system: HU, amp, speakers and wiring harnesses. There has been a lot written about replacing HK system components, but the bottom line is that you can't just bypass the HK amp, using another (or not). And you can't simply change out the HU to aftermarket without some serious re-wiring (or using the HK Enabler that a guy in the UK sells). The HK system uses 2-ohm speakers, and everything (including the Alpine Boost HU) is tuned for that system and amp.

I'm doing a complete HK R&R in my '04 MCS - all aftermarket, including wiring. The HK amp and system will be for sale soon, but not until I pull it. My biggest concern is pulling the complete system - harness(es) and all - so that the future owner can install it as a complete kit upgrade. I don't even know if it's possible to extract the audio harnesses from the main car harness.

 

When you say "installed by BMW", do you mean the dealer? The HK system is incompatible with aftermarket head units, and I'd think that a dealer would refuse to do it because of the incompatibility. Even the notion of a MINI/BMW dealer installing any aftermarket stereo component is itself very unusual.

 

What he said, you can't use an aftermarket head unit with the r53 hk. Plus it should sound amazing.

 

Okay, let's not get carried away . But at least it should sound better than a base stock system.

A Pioneer headunit installed on an HK system is highly suspect. You need to do a thorough audit and determine exactly all the components and connections on your stereo.

Here is a plausible scenario. The HK amp failed (which is a common failure) and someone rewired the cabling to bypass it, and installed the Pioneer headunit so that it drives the speakers directly without the HK amp. The problem is that HK speakers are nonstandard, and designed to work only with the HK amp. HK speakers have 2 ohm impedance (which is unusual) and have no crossovers (active crossovers are built into the HK amp). HK speakers would not work well with an aftermarket headunit. If this is what happened, a possible fix might be to replace the HK speakers with standard aftermarket speakers. But first you need to determine exactly how your system is connected.

 

Sounds like you need a "Do Over"

Decide what you want and get all the correct bits and pieces and have it all installed at once.

FYI: Generally standard stereo speaker systems operate on 8 and 4 ohm impedance. I'm pretty sure the standard MINI stereo system speakers are 4 ohm. (I should remember I've replaced door speakers in both my 2004 MCSs... )

Motor on!