2015 2-dr hardtop with base radio.Has anyone replaced their door speakers with upgraded one's from BavSound? They don't have a listing for Mini's but the speaker part number cross- reference's to several BMW models that they do have upgraded speakers for. Just wondering if anyone went this direction to improve the sound of the base system. As i'm not interested in doing the high-cost complete speakers/amp/subwofer system redo.
Thanks, Jeff

 

I'm also curious to know if just replacing the speakers works.

 

Talked to BavSound today and they informed me that they're coming out with speaker/audio system upgrades for Mini's in approx two weeks. They are known for great sound improvement with plug&play installation for BMW's. Lets see what they have to offer in a couple of weeks?

 

Helix/Match also offer a few different options for 4" speakers that will work.

 

Here's the link

https://maitreapp.co/l/770-81aa5f33

 

Anyone getting them now that they are available. I was hoping the other speakers and amp would be released as well. Would these speakers be enough to notice an improvement?

https://maitreapp.co/l/770-81aa5f33

 

Only front speakers? How about the "Subwoofers" (LOL) or rear speakers?

 

That's what I am concerned about. Is a better option to go aftermarket and deal with rewiring and/or costly installations? But even if I did that I don't even know how on earth to get started....

Or is the better option to replace the front speakers with plug and play and wait patiently for the other components from Bavsound? All I know is that the basic 4 speaker system that I currently have truly sucks.


https://maitreapp.co/l/770-81aa5f33

 

Yes, absolutely. The question is how much of an improvement are you looking for, and at what cost in terms of $$ and time. If you are looking for a very easy to install upgrade at relatively reasonable cost that will give you noticeable benefit, this will do that. Note that this is only an option for standard 6-speaker equipped vehicles. It will not work if you have the HK or HIFI systems.

But just make sure you have fair expectations. I wrote an article on this topic a while back: Why You Can't Just Replace Speakers. The most noticeable change will be an increase in high frequency output that comes from the addition of the tweeter in the coaxial. And poor high frequency response is arguably one of the greatest weaknesses of the factory system. The midrange will have a bit less distortion as well, but with the limited power available from the headunit there's not much noticeable benefit here. We tested some of the early production run of these, and another downfall is that these also have an even worse breakup node than the factory speakers. There is no low pass filter on the midranges - only a capacitor on the tweeter - so they share that same weakness with the factory system, and you get the full brunt of that nasty break up.

This is something we looked at doing years ago, and I still have the prototypes. We were going to call it the Essential series. It certainly has a good business case. We ultimately decided against it because it just isn't possible to get the level of sound quality that we expect out of our products by just replacing the speakers. The physics just make it too tough. There are trade-offs between efficiency, quality, and frequency response, and if you are sticking with the headunit's output power you're pretty limited in what you can achieve. Claims of dramatically increased efficiency are exaggerated. The factory speakers aren't much, but one thing they are is pretty well optimized for efficiency. Maybe I made the wrong call not doing it, but I didn't want to damage our brand putting out something that was so much lower quality than our core Soundstage product.

Ultimately, though, I have to admit that this is probably better and safer than what a lot of folks do for upgrades. Not everyone can drop $2,300 on our full Soundstage, and I get it. If that's something that's never going to be in the cards for you, then definitely give this a look. You aren't risking much by giving it a try and seeing if it is good enough for you. I will also add that, from my dealings with them, I can say that the guys at BavSound are genuinely decent humans. They have great reviews, and I think they deserve them.

 

Integral Audio, thank you for sharing your expertise. I read the article. So that leaves me with wondering what my options are.. What would $1200-$1500 total investment get me? I would like to keep the head unit. I would like it to be an easy as possible diy project. I currently drive a 2016 Cooper (non-s), with the most basic sound system.


Peggy

 

My recommendation would be to take the reverse approach. Instead of starting with a budget and trying to find something to spend it on, figure out what you want first. Once you figure out what fits/fills your needs, then worry about how to pay for it. Maybe the BavSound stuff is all you need, in which case why spend $1500? It's always easy to spend whatever your budget is, the problem is that you might not be getting anything for the extra money.

In terms of possibilities, the BavSound upgrade is probably the cheapest and easiest real upgrade. We will be developing our Soundstage™ for the F56 sometime this year, but I unfortunately am not close enough to give a date yet. Price will be comparable to our existing R5X Soundstage™ at roughly $1500. Installation will be easier than the R5X, which is already very DIY-able. I'd also suggest that you are far better off with an engineered solution like BavSound's or ours vs. having a local shop do a one-off build. It's not that a local shop can't do a good job. It's just that a) they very often don't, b) they don't have the R&D tools that we have and can't even begin to compete on sound quality, and c) they're job shops and don't manufacture at scale like we do so they will be far more expensive for what they do. Local shops are also generalists rather than specialists - we spend hundreds of hours on a given vehicle design; they might see the same vehicle a couple times a year. And they are technicians whereas we are engineers, which you can think of this way: the person who installs your brakes is a technician, the person who designed them is an engineer. Equally valuable people, but very different skill sets. How comfortable would you be driving down the road with a new set of one-off brakes designed and built by the guy who normally just installs them?

 

Hi guys, first post here, thanks for starting a discussion about our products. I'm one of the co-founders of Bavsound, and we're currently discussing sponsoring the board with the owners, so mods, I hope it's OK if I chime in here and provide some answers.

Here the questions that seem to be floating around, which I'll answer one by one:

Has anyone replaced their Mini Cooper door speakers with the upgraded ones from Bavsound?


I sincerely doubt it, since they haven't been released yet.

However, the speakers we use in the F56 Mini are the same as those used in the current model BMW 2 Series, which is almost identical in terms of system architecture, and we've received excellent feedback on those upgrades.

That said, if you don't love our products we offer a crazy guarantee, which is that you can buy and install our gear, and if you don't love the upgrade, send the products back within 30 days. We'll even refund up to $200 of installation costs (with receipt).

Does just replacing the speakers work?

In a word, yes.

We've been doing this for 12 years and this is our core product. We wouldn't be in business if this approach wasn't successful. However, there is a catch -- the speakers MUST be designed for the specific vehicle and audio system in which they are being installed.

You can't just throw in off-the-shelf speakers and expect good results -- this is a function of the specifications and performance characteristics of the speakers being used.

We engineer all of our speakers for use in the vehicles in which they will be installed, and that's how we're able to get results with a simple speaker upgrade that customers love.

What about the rest of the speakers?

We're actually going to be releasing a Stage One (full speaker upgrade) kit and Ghost Subwoofers (underseat subs) system on the same day we launch the Front Speaker Upgrade.

We aren't making a fuss about this as we wanted to introduce something simple and cost effective in the Mini market, and because the "full" upgrade isn't available on the 2nd generation Minis.

Anyway, you'll be able to get a discount on the order if you go for the full upgrade. But to get access to that discount code, you have to sign up on the waiting list, which I strongly suggest you do.

Here's where you can do that.

http://bavsound.com/Mini-Speaker-Upgrades

-----

Also, Kevin, thanks for chiming in and the kind words.

As you've said, there is a limit to the performance that's available with only a speaker upgrade, but we've spent years doing the engineering and perfecting how to deliver a product that sounds better than it rightfully should.

And that performance limit is higher than many would believe -- as evidenced by our countless glowing reviews. (Yes, I am tooting my horn here!)

Anyway, ultimately it will be the customers that decide. I'm looking forward to some reviews from the community when we release the upgrade next week.

-----

One last thing, guys and gals. I'm super busy, so if I don't respond to your follow up questions and posts, I promise I'm not ignoring you; I'll be back and answering questions as soon as I can.

 

If we buy the front speaker upgrade, will we be able to get subs and back speakers later? Or do they have to purchased all together as a kit?

 

Absolutely. At the time of release later today, you'll actually be able to purchase the full kit and the subs, but if you don't, they're always available later separately.

 

It's so nice to see vendors not trashing each other for a change.

IA have had my full respect for years. The SoundStage is out of my budget but I'm happy to have purchased their harness adapter for my less fancy audio upgrade. Buying that seemed like a bargain in exchange for all the hard-won knowledge Kevin has posted over the years.

 

Just popping in here to say... these bad boys are live (along with underseat subwoofer upgrades for applicable models):

http://www.bavsound.com/Mini-Speaker-Upgrades

 

I ordered mine!!!!!

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO INSTALLING THE BAVSOUND STAGE ONE WHEN I GET THEM. I'VE BEEN WISHING FOR THE INTEGRAL AUDIO BUT I JUST CAN'T JUSTIFY THE COST ... I AM SURE IT IS WELL WORTH IT BUT JUST OUT OF BUDGET FOR ME. KEVIN HAS BEEN A GREAT SOURCE OF INFORMATION! I WISH I COULD HAVE PURCHASED SOMETHING FROM HIM & PERHAPS ONE DAY I WILL.

 

Let us know what you think!

 

I will install them as soon as I get them.... Just waiting on shipping....

 

I have ordered the complete set (stage 1 & woofer) and I'm curious to see the instructions for the A-pillar tweets and the center speaker replacement.

 

Same here. I want to see the specific instructions before I take a chance messing up a brand new car!

 

I just ordered the full kit as well. I can't wait to get them and hear the difference. I'll more than likely get the subs later. Got to save for a trip so can't do it now.

 

Especially since the website has no instructions. There better be some with the product (hint, hint you-know-who).

 

I'm no audio expert but have replaced the entire system in my F56 MCS 2 years ago. I had the HK system. The improvement was enormous but incredibly time consuming and took days to "tune".
The toughest thing were the subs. There is just no room under the seat floor (even less than the BMW under seat speakers)...so I'm not sure if upgrading the subs only could realistically give improved bass sound. After all when you think of home stereos those bass boxes have a reason for being that size. I can't wait to hear the verdict from those installing.