I think the base MINI system is as good as the the base in the newest Jettas. I wouldn't say better. I have one of each to listen to. Both could use better speakers and you need to adjust the tone controls and faders to sound decent.

 

Mine doesn't distort. I get a nice thump of air on my left leg when I turn it up, but I don't get distortion. What I find lacking is decent EQ. All it really needs, IMO, is a tweak to the EQ. If I could slide in an equalizer I could make it much better. It's just lacking a crisp high end, and a tight low end.

If they'd move the shelf on the treble up about 1000 Hz and on the bass down about 100 Hz and throw me a midrange control, I'd be happier.

 

Y'all are daft snobs some of whom throw way too much money on audio equipment only to trade it the next month for something shinier which registers .01% cleaner on an oscope.

For those worried about the hifi sound I have it and it's good. Dare I say great. I'd suggest you encode your digital music at VBR MP3 192 kpbs (stay away from AAC) and relax. If your prime source of music is an mp3 player, your music's compression is already the weak link.

Car audio has never come so good with so little money and effort. Remember Jenson Triacs and 8 tracks, and get over your need to make the cabin of every car better than your last.

And to the folks who created the MINI and its sound system I would like to be the first in this thread to say thank you.

 

Are you sure about that? Or just going by the external looks of the unit?

Checking real OEM there are seaparate part numbers listed for several pieces of the speedo/head unit assembaly and it's suggests that they can be disassembled and replaced individually, piece by piece if necessary.



Fom the looks of the stereo unit... the controls inside the speedo are not where the pimary electronics are housed. Looks like a remote display w/ controls. The real guts being inside the CD box below on the center stack. Depending on the plug sysyem from the remote buttons (if there is one)... and the wiring harness used on the MINI head unit (in the back of the CD player)... this might not be as big of an issue over time as many people seem to think.

 

I would hope all you complaining about the stereo have given the speakers a proper run-in, and are evaluating it based on that and not "just out of the box". Surely anyone who knows music knows that once the speakers have loosened up a bit they sounds much better: warmer with rounder bass.

The post somewhere here on NAM about the DPSM (or maybe it's on Mini2) describes this run-in process and how much better the already-excellent system sounded after a month of use. More than anything, though, it will make you want a DPSM!

 

Not me. Same system for almost ten years. Once you get it right there is no need to change.

Awesome. I hope I agree.

dean.

 

I got a bit of a chuckle from this. I admit, I am an audio snob. I like my audio to sound the best it can sound. I am not going to apologize for that. I do not have an MP3 anywhere. MP3 is a terrible format. I even go so far as to recut all my CD's to make sure they are sampled at 48Khz, rather than 44.1Khz.

I still own a $3,000 turntable+cartridge and several hundred vinyl albums. I have a Class A Sansui amp connected to that turntable.

While I will use a pink and white noise generators to tune a system to the room acoustics, I have never used an oscilliscope for anything audio related. It's not about bragging rights. It is about having the best audio experience possible. I have very good ears. My Wife, has lousy hearing. She is happy with AM radio broadcast quality and think it sounds fine. I wish I had her lousy hearing. It certainly would be easier on my wallet.

People have different abilities to hear different things in the audio spectrum. Having the equipment to be able to satisfy each individual is difficult to have in a car. What works for me, may not work for you. What works for you may not work for me.

If you think the sound in the Mini is good, then I am happy for you. For me it is lacking in depth, dynamic range, and clarity. That's just me.

Cars are a challenge to get really good audio from. Too many irregular surfaces, materials and lack of proper space where it is needed to be able to have a sound like a good home theatre would. You are always compromising in a car. You just have to find a decent balance between the elements you find interesting in audio.

 

Au contraire my dear!

Its called "constructive crticism"and take it for whatever is worth

And yeah, I can't seem to get away from terrorizing my R56 cohorts

When my R55 arrives here next year, my detractors are more than welcome to hop over the Clubman forum and tease me all you want

 

I hope this is the case. But still appears they have to dismount the speedo to tget to the radio. I am not thrilled with this design. I am an old school fart. I like my radio and speedo SEPARATE from each other

 

I set up audio in some of my customers autos and homes. I would imagine that 90% of people will think the upgrade in the new Mini's will sound great. Since this is an ethusiast site I would think it would be lower here.

I would suspect the speakers in the upgrade are still crap. They put in a bigger amp and a couple speakers and call it an upgrade. I've taken out speakers in cars that had a stereo upgrade and out came crap paper cones, there was just more of them.

 

Bravo!

I have two systems in my house, my high-end rig (outlined earlier) and a multi-room system that I control via touchscreens that operate a hard-drive where I have burned all my CDs as WAV files. No MP3.

I like the way you think. Long live analog.

dean.

 

I "rip"all my CDs on Apple Lossless format.

 

So the conclusion is to get the Boost audio and just upgrade later? I would have preferred a system that is good out of the box and I don't have to touch...

btw, I think the radio in the new VWs is much worse... the fact that the old Monsoon was really nice has been discussed to death in Vortex...

 

I've never heard the upgrade nor do I know what speaker Alpine is using, I am just guessing from several autos I have seen. I just switched out speakers on a Jeep Liberty Infinity upgrade, junk. Better aftermarket speakers could have been purchased for under 100 bucks.

 

Most of you can just wait until you get to hear your MINI in the environment you drive in. Then decide what YOU think of it.
If you are an audiophile it's unlikely you'll ever be happy with any stock car audio system. Even your idea sound system in a car wouldn't make you happy -your 1/4" thick records would skip and scratch =P

If you really feel the need to upgrade it is quite possible. Many people on MINI2 have put in aftermarket amps and speakers while keeping the stock headunit - and reported it's awesome (as some have reported the hi-fi sounds awesome).

no need to "despair". If you want an aftermarket system bad enough you can get it.

 

I guess I'm in a similar mind set as Skuzzy. I said from the get-go that I am a semi-snobby musician. I've been playing/singing/learning for over 50 years now. During this time, I have often gotten myself in hot water with friends and strangers alike upon expressing myself on the subject of acoustic guitars, quality music and audio systems. I don't think I'm an audiophile, can't afford all the really high end stuff. But my 'musical ear' is well trained and is pretty darn good! Anyway, for those who are pleased by the current Mini hifi system, I am truly envious. I would love to hear what you are hearing....or not hearing.

 

Nice shot there MM.

I never despair. I just rip it apart and rebuild it. But I agree, it is quite silly to think you could get as good of audio as you could from a home setup, in a car (any car).

I also agree, people should listen and make up thier own minds. Never trust the opinion of what sounds good from anyone. Everyone has the ability to decide on what they like to hear.

Personally, I will be ripping apart the interior of my Mini as soon as I can and when I am done, the interior will reflect what I like. I have always though the Mini is a great platform to personalize.

 

That depends on the person. Its not true for me.

While I had to spend a ton of money on my home system in order to be pleased, the stock systems in my Honda Accord and my Lexus RX330 are both fine by me (the Accord is a bit better). My expectations of the MINI upgrade system are no greater than that ...no audiophile pretenses. I just want it to sound as good as the systems that come standard in most cars. I would think the base system should sound as good as standard systems in cars with a similar base price and the upgrade system should sound as good as standard systems in cars that cost perhaps $5K to $10K more. I think this is a reasonable expectation.

I don't do any "serious" listening in the car ...the music is just there to add to the fun of driving. It only needs to sound good, not great. But, if it sounds bad it will ruin the overall experience.

I've emailed my MA to see if they have a demo with the hi-fi upgrade. If they do, I'll go listen to it in the next day or two ...and I'll listen to it while driving as what it sounds like while parked matters not to me.

dean.

My MA just got back to me ...they do not have a car for me to demo.

 

I think that's reasonable. There is a wear-in period which takes some of the middy edge off. AM radio is starting to sound better and less boxy and the unevenness on the low end for FM and CD is starting to improve (although I've actually only dealt with MP3 CDs and MP3-->audio CDs right now)

If you're concerned at all about audio quality, you should get the HiFi upgrade, or stay with stock and plan on aftermarket, which probably means not bothering with the MFSW unless you want cruise. And that's probably going to mean mounting a headunit in the so-far-locked hidden CD changer cubby. But I do recommend hearing it first.

If anyone is wanting a stereo that thumps, or is addicted to the H/K digital sound processing (which is way too heavy-handed in my opinion), then you'll be disappointed even with the upgrade. IMO the HiFi should be the stock system.

 

I did ...I guess we DS/B guys think alike.

I'm a pretty handy guy and have been around audio all of my adult life, so replacing some drivers will be the first thing I try if the system is not up to snuff. That's easy enough to do and not very expensive.

I agree about the thumping (not for me) and have never heard a DSP system that I liked. You are right ...too heavy handed.

dean.

 

If you want to replace the stock speakers without replacing the amps - keep in mind the speakers are 2ohm - not 4 (according to mikeythemini@mini2)

 

Yeah, those of us in musical families who are blessed/haunted by having a good musical ear spend big bucks (as big as our budget will allow - and then some) to satisfy our need to hear music as if the musicians were there with us (the goal). No car system will ever get us anywhere near that goal (I spent many $ in my earlier years trying to get excellent car audio - I ended up getting more than good audio, never excellent).

In the MINI Cooper, it sounds like it might be best to simply buy the stock music system and then add aftermarket amplifiers and speakers, the goal being to get clarity, non-shrill highs, and non muddy lows, a clean sound that we can live with 'til we get home to audio as it should be heard.

 

Sigh! Alas, I suspect you're right. Any idea if aftermarket installation of XM or Sirius will be a problem w/o the upgraded audio system?

 

You can add them but it is pretty expensive and I suspect a pain. I was told around 8 to 9 hundred dealer install or the parts for 4 to 5 hundred. The MA's figs were ballpark. Aftermarket with aux plug is the way I'm going.

 

Another approach: If you Google XM or Sirius Car Kits there's some pretty interesting stuff out there at reasonable cost. Here's a link for a Sirius Car Kit for $100 after rebate. It has a downside .. If you want to patch into your radio via the FM modulator it gets pretty sad reviews. On the other hand, those who had an auxillary input on their car radio didn't have to use the modulator. Those folks gave this little Serius unit very good reviews (our car, of course, has the auxillary input). There are lots to choose from, this is the first and only one I looked at:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-CTr1Noi...it&i=607SP4TK1