Guys, while my home system is quite nice with a Denon receiver, dual rear surround sound speakers, and a tactile transducer pile driving the floor boards, I'vd done squat to my MINI's set-up. Well, I did add the aux input for my iPod over a year ago...

I want to upgrade the speakers. Is it possible to get higher quality speakers without adding weight? I seem to recall (at one time at least) that higher fidelity speakers all had larger magnets - more weight. Heck, it would be nice to even shed a little poundage while improving my audio, if possible.

A pound or two does mean something to me, so I appreciate your understanding re that seemingly **** stance...

 

One of the problems with speaker upgrades for the MINI is trying to find and use speakers that are more efficient (than the stock speakers) since you are using the same amp from the headunit radio.There isn't that much power to work with.

I doubt that it will be very easy to find speakers that would offer much of a weight advantage and still offer improved sound. Adding a separate amp would offer more power for less efficient speakers but that would add more weight.

For autocross or track it is always better to run with a minimal of audio equiptment (read stock audio or no audio) The extra weight isn't appreciated.

You could pull the rear speakers since they provide mostly fill in sound or switch them to 6.5" instead of 6x9 but I think the bass performance might suffer.

Too bad you could not just pull all the speakers and drop 6x9 or 8" round speakers in the front doors (but they won't want to fit easily).

 

Thanks minihune for the ideas. Heck, I listen to news 90% of the time, so no real urgency at the time I suppose. It's that other 10% when I have the iPod rock'n that I wish I had better sound. Oh well. I guess I need to see the stock speakers to get an idea of the magnet sizes (weight), and go from there...

 

To give you an idea of the stock speaker magnets-

For the stock 5.25" front AND 6x9" rear speakers the magnet is roughly
0.75" x 2.8" for both. The front speaker has a completely plastic frame and built in spacer to raise the height of the speaker closer to the inner door panel. The rear speaker has a lightweight metal frame.

An old thread about changing speakers-
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ighlight=Quart

 

minihune, very helpful! I now have a reference point without having to rip-off panels. Thank you.

 

I have the stock Alpine HU on my Cooper, no HK or Nav and simply replaced the front 5 1/4's with Infinity 6002si shallow mount 6 1/2 inch two-way speakers and used styrofoam for spacers with glued on felt so the styfoam wouldn't squeak...cost me $80..very efficient speakers, greatly added to the clarity and brilliance and plenty enough bass for my liking...not into spending $1000 on the sound system...I left the 1' stock tweeters operational too..very easy wiring...very good sound overall....has any one else out there simply changed the fronts and were happy with the sound?....I had planned to replace the rears too but decided not to as I was happy enough with the results after doing just the fronts

 

umberto,
Good to hear you were able to get some benefit with a limited speaker swap.
You made your own speaker spacers for the larger 6.5" size which raises the speaker closer to the door grill? You left in and didn't use the stock cross overs/tweeter or added your own crossover? The 6002si is a two way speaker with co-axial dome tweeter. About $69 per pair over the internet.
The key is to choose an efficient speaker. No need to upgrade the rears if you feel the sound is good for you at this point.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=13341
***
General Specifications
* Sensitivity: 92 dB

Sensitivity: The rating of a loudspeaker that indicates the level of a sound intensity that the speaker produces (in dB) at a distance of one meter when it receives one watt of input power. The Efficiency or Sensitivity rating indicates how effectively a speaker converts electrical power from the amplifier into sound pressure. This is frequently related to larger magnet sizes, larger voice coil diameters, and more compliant suspensions. Optimized enclosures are essential in achieving maximum sensitivity, overall. The higher the Decibel number, the more efficient the speaker and the louder it will play with the same input power. While usually more expensive, an efficient speaker helps maximize the potential of the available power.
* RMS Power Range : 2-50 Watts
* Peak Power Handling: 150 Watts
* Frequency response: 58-21000 Hz
* Diameter: 6.5 Inch

Features**
* Plus One+ polypropylene woofer
* hi-roll rubber surround
* textile dome tweeter
* frequency response 58-21,000 Hz
* recommended power range 2-50 watts RMS
* peak power handling 150 watts
* sensitivity 92 dB
* top-mount depth 1-7/8"


----------
By comparison the stock front component speaker (non HK)
(From tacotim)
"Data on the front woofer and the tweeter. The woofer was about as expected. Good sensitivity: 89 dB.

The frequency response has a hole at 1Khz, though its not worse than some aftermarket drivers. It may be possible to fix with a damping treatment.

The excursion is OK at 2.5 mm, but it does have "offset" which contributes to 2nd harmonic distortion-strong 70-80 Hz bass will make a "growl" from the speaker. It also contributes to modulation distortion, or a tremolo effect. You'd hear this with VERY low bass, and fulte or female vocalist (little else on the track-maybe Holly Cole, or a bassy version of "Fever"). I'd say that limited excursion and the "offset" built in are the driver's weak points. It's disappointing to see this problem, beacuse it's free to fix in manufacturing...

Overall, good driver. As expected, it's tough to find a driver that performs better in the categories that will make the system noticeably better (sensitivity, tonality, dynamics).

The tweeter response looks good. As expected, the crossover is very high, 8kHz-10kHz, with a simple 1st order filter. From looking at the part, it appears to be about the same design as the MB Quart."

 

The Infinity 6002si Shallow Mount come either as components with separate crossovers or as coaxials without the crossover....I used the coaxials and just moved the leads to the stock 5 1/4" speakers on to the 6 1/2" coaxials and left the 1"stock tweeters connected...sounds good to me..BIG improvement over the stock fronts....yes, I positioned the speakers with homemade spacers to lift them towards the inside of the car so they do fit flush against the door grills and they fit fine. I don't play my stereo too too loud although my wife thinks I play it too loud, and the clarity and brilliance and soundstaging is pretty good. So...has anyone else out there simply replaced their front speakers and are happy with the results??

 

Everyone is different with regards to listening volume. What is loud for you is not loud for me. Depends on road noise and where and how you drive. Sound deadening material like dynamat (to the insides of the front doors) will help reduce the vibrations, resonance, buzzing and road noise from the outside.

More old threads on speakers-
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...grade+speakers
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...grade+speakers
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...grade+speakers
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...grade+speakers