Calling all audiophiles!

Kevin - at IA - has agreed to accelerate IA's Subwoofer + Soundstage development specifically for the R60 platform - IF we can get 10 to 12 people to deposit $100 (down-payment) - for the COMBINED solution: Subwoofer + Soundstage. (This is an edit from my first post - based on clarification from Kevin)

Yes - my signature is for a Clubman, but we will be adding a Countryman to the stable (already on order); and I'm interested in improving the HK sound-system.
After pretty thorough research - I believe the IA Subwoofer is the best solution in terms of improvement for the $$ invested.

There are a number of posts already on NAM from IA regarding their solutions for R56 & R55 platforms ... look those up for reference in how research and develop. More to the point though - following is an excerpt from an e-mail exchange on the topic:
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"The R55 and the R60 are quite different. It's not just the internal
volume, but the dimensions and distance of the various boundary
surfaces, the location of the speakers, and the listener location.
Mere inches make a difference"
------------

Kevin will place an official Group Buy in the Vendor's section as soon as he sees interest. If we have sufficient interest - he'll start the development.

Signed Up:

1) zephyrgtw
2) cmutt
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)

 

What is special about the subwoofer they provide?

 

Best evidence of IA's level of attention is found here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html

(Or - navigate to: "2nd Generation Minis / Navigation & Audio / Mini Audio Basics: Specs, Details & Upgrades")

Net - they remove as much subjectivity as possible. They 'engineer' the solution to fit the physical space of the car (volume, dimensions, stock speaker placement, etc).

You can buy any enclosed subwoofer and improve the sound. But it is a generic solution. IA's solution is for each car specifically. I'm told they spend between $75k & $100k on R&D for an entirely new solution. In our case though - they have experience with the R55 - which is relatively close to the R60 (closer than the R56)

 

Hmmm... this could be interesting, how well does this work with the 6 speaker (non-HK) system? Also im guessing this goes in the truck and doesnt replace the underseat subs, would you need to have a flat load floor?

 

Good questions - which Kevin will have to mostly answer. He said he would monitor the thread.

Yes - goes in the floor space behind the seats.
No - you would not 'need' the flat-load floor - as that is only a cover - so the Sub would be visible/exposed.

The rest is for Kevin

 

A few brief comments:

-The most important aspect of what we do is the acoustic design. Most people - including most "professionals" in the aftermarket audio world - do not understand that the listening room (the vehicle cabin in this case) has as much and sometimes more of an impact on the final sound than the components used. Frequency division (the crossovers) MUST account for the relative path lengths, axis angles, distance, proximate boundarys/reflections, etc. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Period. You can't achieve the level of sound quality of our systems without proper system design. We measure the actual speakers to be used in situ, using our own proprietary method and software, and then build the crossovers around that data. Think of it like tailoring a suit. Using nice fabric is only part of it; unless you measure the actual person and make the suit to fit them, it isn't going to look good.

-the fact that our systems are bolt-in, plug-n-play, perfect easy installation and are completely stealth is a secondary benefit. We 3D scan the vehicle and use that reference geometry in CAD to design perfect fitting parts. These are tooled production parts.

-Product for the R60 will be similar to our products for the R5x: will work with either standard 6spkr or HK. The R60 architecture is similar to the F30 and F5x, and will include replacing the 8" underseat woofer with our own shallow woofer.

-the subwoofer will probably be similar to our R55 sub, which sits entirely below the factory false floor in the boot/trunk area.

 

I'm definitely interested. Where do we sign up?

Couple of questions...

When will this be available? What's a ballpark estimate on the total price?

And as for the underseat 8" woofers, a little more clarification on the replacement/swapping. From what others have said, they are glued into their enclosures and have to be ripped/pried out... so exactly how will this be handled in a semi-simple manner?

Thanks

 

Greg (Zephyrgtw) will be coordinating here on NAM, so confirm here in this thread.

Would start shipping probably Q2 2016. Pricing should be inline with our other kits, approx $1500 Soundstage only, $1200 Subwoofer only, or $2300 Soundstage + Subwoofer.

No answer on that until I get into it. There is always the possibility that some part of the system design for a given vehicle proves impossible. Haven't encountered a problem than I couldn't solve yet, but it's always possible.

 

Cmutt - I've added your name to the list at the top of the thread.

 

Thanks, I am interested in this system.

But I want to be honest and clear, I like to listen loud, and the stock sound system just sucks so bad that I don't know that I can wait until mid next year to do something with the audio in my Countryman.

I already have two amps, a 10" shallow mount sub, and an LC6i LOC from my previous car. Plus I recently purchased 2 sets of Focal 4" speakers for the doors... so I'm basically all set to go with upgrading the system.

Although I'd much rather have the Integral Audio system for the Countryman, I'm just not sure I can hold out that long.

 

1200 for an integrated sub sounds steep. I would like to understand what you are getting for that. JL Stealth vehicle specific subs are normally half that and you likely are getting a better sub that has been tuned for the vehicle similar to this. I am doing focals back/front in my Countryman with the 8" Earthquakes in the existing enclosures this week. 5 Channel Alpine amp. I am interested to hear how it turns out. If it is not the base I am looking for I will likely have something custom built for the boot that will be integrated and maybe use the 8"'s or a better driver for mid base. In building many integrated subs, I have had a number of fiberglass enclosures of different sizes and complexity done in the 600-800 range installed with the sub.


Good luck; I think they should have focused on the Countryman earlier on. In fact I am surprised they would have waited this long when likely a new body style upgrade is a couple of years away IMHO.

 

There are two primary elements of being vehicle-specific - one is the physical fitment/look, and the other is acoustic. JL (and everyone else outside of the vehicle manufacturers for that matter) do the physical part. Believe it or not, they do little to nothing on the acoustic side.

This is what really needs to be done: http://www.integralaudio.com/other_f...Design_opt.pdf

 

Any updates to this?