I am probably going to replace the speakers in my 2007 MCS, which has the stereo upgrade. Can anyone tell me what, in their opinion, are the best speakers that fit where the original HIFI ones are? I am only interested in those that will go where the present ones are, without modifications. Thank you!

 

This is going to be a tough one. The sizes are fairly common and they are 4 ohm, so there should be plenty to choose from.

It will be tough as everyone has thier own idea of what sounds good to them.

I am in the same boat as you. I will be replacing my speakers as well. Matching the speaker as close as possible to the acoustics of the Mini and how the stock amp is setup will be a challenge.

It also depends on the kind of music you listen too. It used to not matter, but apparently there are those who guage a good car stereo by how loud the bass *thump* is.

I like all manner of music. But old fashion rock n roll is my favorite. My best mix CD has selections from Elton John, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Gladys Knight, Simon and Garfunkel, Steppenwolfe, The Cream, The Rolling Stones, The Grass Roots, The Turtles, Arlo Guthrie, and so on. The other mix CD is full of symphonies from various philharmonics around the world.

 

I recently heard a set of Focal 5.5 speakers that was nothing short of amazing.They sounded like 15 inch subs at the very least. lots of sound in a small package and should be able to fit anywhere.

 

Ok, and not to poke at you trackster, but when you say they sound like 15: subs, I take it to mean you like the big *thump* *thump* sound of bass.

 

I'll second the focals. Extremely good speakers.

If money is no object get the utopia series.
Otherwise polykevlar series are pretty awesome too. I have those in my truck. the 6 1/2" drivers can pump out very impressive bass.

 

But, are they only good for bass? I am trying to get a picture of the type of music you guys listen to. It makes a big difference in how to view your opinion of how a speaker sounds.

 

I think he might be talking about their 5 3/8" sub. (right trackster?) They're my kind of subs - reproduce bass perfectly and they fit pretty much anywhere! But they also make outstanding 2- and 3-way kits, etc, with the emphasis on sound quality. You'll listen to tracks you memorized years ago and hear things (instuments, etc) you've never noticed before. Pretty expensive though.....

 

Car audio is a bit new to me. Home audio does not translate to the car audio realm.

So Focal makes good speakers which have good range and low coloration? I do not care how much they cost as long as they are good quality speakers with excellent sound reproduction.

I noticed OutMotoring referencing speakers from JL. How do they compare?

 

I didn't mention the other speakers in the component set but yes, while the 6.5" driver delivers impressive bass, the midrange and tweeters are also way above anything you can buy at circuit city or best buy. Very detailed and rich even at low volume. Capable of making your ears bleed if you are into really loud music. The loudness they can reach is quite deceiving since there isn't any distortion.

Full retail price is over $1000 but you can sometimes find them NIB on ebay for half that. (The utopia line is even more expensive)

edit:

Here is a 2 way component set in the upper mid range they have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Focal-K2-Power-1...em150100769317
The buy it now price is $515

I also saw a 3 way set of focal's lower end series for about $375

 

I am not into loud music as much as I want it to be clean, crisp, and distortion free.

Specifically, I want th higs to be crystal clear and smooth.
Mids to be lively and free of mud,
Lows/Sub to be smooth and dynamic.

I'll check these Focals out. Thanks!

 

I would also like to hear opinions on what is best for various kinds of music.

Based on Aaron Cornaby's (OutMotoring.com) posts on disassembling the standard audio system, and on some amp figures I found for the HIFI system I made some assumptions* and did some research.

I looked on Crutchfield for speakers of the appropriate sizes, with a power range than matched the amps, and the highest sensitivity rating. I also looked for speakers that had similar characteristics between the different sizes. The best match I found were Boston Acoustics. All have a sensitivity of 92 dB

Boston Acoustics SX95
6" x 9" 2-way Speakers
Copolymer woofer • rubber surround • dual Type-S2 Kortec dome tweeters • 2-60 watts RMS power range

or
Boston Acoustics S95
6" x 9" 2-way Speakers
Copolymer woofer • rubber surround • Type-S3 soft dome tweeter • 2-35 watts RMS power range

Boston Acoustics S55
5-1/4" 2-way Speakers
Copolymer woofer • rubber surround • Type-S3 soft dome tweeter • power range 2-35 watts RMS

Boston Acoustics S35
3-1/2" 2-way Speakers
Copolymer woofer • rubber surround • Type-S3 soft dome tweeter • 2-30 watts RMS power range

Aron suggested that 6.5" might fit in the 5.25" hole, so:
Boston Acoustics S65RC
6-1/2" 2-way Speakers Shallow Mount
Copolymer woofer • rubber surround • Type-S3 soft dome tweeter • 2-35 watts RMS power range

If anyone knows anything about these speakers, I'd like to hear it. Or, suggestions for others that would be suitable, without adding amps.

I plan to try the factory HIFI for awhile, see if it "breaks-in" to a decent enough sound, and road noise doesn't make audio pointless. Then see if I want to upgrade the speakers.

My tastes are somewhat eclectic, if not odd. At the moment I'm kind of stuck on a 1980's JPOP singer named Kanako Wada and soundtracks to Hayao Miyazaki films. I also like Charlotte Church, Eric Clapton, Cannonball Adderly, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, The Doors, Enya, Clannad...

My home theater/audio system consists of an Outlaw 950 preamp/processor, Outlaw 770 amp (200w x 7), 2 ea: NHT 2.5i, 4ea: NHT 1.5, 1 ea: NHT AC2, SVS SV25-31PC Plus (looks like a waterheater, shows up on [SIZE=-1]seismograms, and has a smoooth transition[/SIZE]).

*One assumption was that the holes for the standard speakers would be the same size for the HIFI. As near as I can tell, the HIFI adds four tweeters, and may change the amps. This is guessing based on what info I could find.

 

try crutchfield.com, great website and exceptional service. Lots to choose frrom. Your rear speakers are a standard 6 x 9. Not sure of the rest. Infinity's are great.

 

There are definately 4 tweeters in the HiFi system, but I cannot find out if there is any type of crossover circuitry or if the amp/head unit is any different from the basic audio system.

Wish there was some way to listen to all these speakers. Really sucks having to buy them in blind mode.

 

Aaron reports that the door speakers for the standard audio are 3.5" and 5.25". I'm guessing MINI uses the same size holes for the HIFI.

Be careful with the Infinity's. Many are 2 ohm. There do seem to be some good choices in the 4 ohm, though.

Anyone know how to compare the Boston to the Infinity? Is one brand known to be brighter, warmer, clearer, muddier, than the other

 

correct. The Kappa series are 2 ohm and might be a good replacement for the speakers in the hifi if you do not plan on changing the amp. I was considering getting some myself the first couple days before my speakers got broken-in and started sounding better.

 

Ah, aren't you likely to blow the amps if you put 2 ohm speakers on amps designed for 4 ohm? I was under the impression that you need to stick with 4 ohm speakers if you don't change the amps.

Or, did you mean that the 2 ohm Kappa's are a good choice if you do change the amps. I suppose Kappa refers to the Greek letter, but I can't help thinking of the somewhat humorous Japanese water spirit.

 

according to mikey on mini2 who does installs for a living, the speakers in the HiFi system are two ohms.

 

Sounds (no pun intended) like you have a very discerning ear - if so, you have to HATE buying audio without listening first. I can say I "guarantee" you'll love Focals, but that means nothing - ears and taste vary.

The only speakers I've personally heard with sound character to match Focal are Rainbow, but I know of only one reputable source for them in the US (don't think they have a US distributor at this time) and you'll certainly not find a local dealer with a sound room to try them out. On the other hand, if you can find someone close by that's a Focal dealer, they're likely to have other high end bits to compare them to.

I say check out dealer locators at the websites of companies you're most interested in and go check some of them out.

A few others worth a look:
Arc Audio
xtant
PrecisionPower
McIntosh
PHOENIXGOLD
Diamond Audio
JL Audio

 

Indeed I do have a discerning ear. And yes, I do hate buying speakers without being able to listen to them first. No matter wihch spaeker I choose it will be a crap shoot.

I'll look in Focal.

As to the ohm rating of the HiFi speakers. I wonder if Mini wired the tweeters in series with the other speakers? This would give an effective impedance of nearly 4 ohms. It would also mean there is no crossover for the tweeters.

I think I will wait until I rip mine out before I comtemplate ordering replacements.

 

possibly. I think mikey just took an ohmeter to the lead of the speakers. he didn't say how they were wired.

p.s. there is a set of 3 way rainbows on ebay right now for ~$500 (used 1 year). current retail is about $950

I've never heard them myself but they are supposed ot be even better than focals (which is saying ALOT)

 

Uhmm,..seems to be some unanswered questions that need answering before I plunge right on in and buy the replacement speakers. I'll just wait until I can rip apart my car to make sure I get the right thing.

 

A car is an incredibly different environment than a home listening room, so expectations should be different. A car actually has one great advantage, its a small, finite space. So, assuming you don't need thump that will be heard from fifty yards away, getting a car stereo to sound pretty darned good is fairly easy.

When it comes to the cost of speakers for a car, keep in mind what a good home speaker costs. When you look at what $1K will get you in a home speaker it becomes clear there is no need to approach that sort of expenditure on a pair of car speakers since much of the cost of the home speaker is in the box.

I agree with those that praise the Focal drivers, they are amazing. But, even as an audio nut I don't think I'd go to that extent in my car. Again, maybe my expectations are just different ...but I've owned some pretty sweet set-ups from Boston Acoustics, MB Quart, Pioneer and h/k that gave the big-buck stuff a run for the money. Are they as good? No. Are they good enough? For me, yes. Are they good enough for you? You owe it to yourself to find out.

So, please, listen for yourself at a car audio shop or listen to friends cars that have aftermarket gear and see what you think.

dean.

 

I really like Focal speakers, but I don't know if I would choose them if I knew I was going to limit myself to stock sizes/locations. And if you're willing to use non-stock locations and are really concerned with imaging and sound quality over all else, Image Dynamics becomes a very attractive option with their super-efficient waveguide speakers.

For replacing stock speakers in the factory locations, I usually use MB Quart on my cars, but you need to listen to them first. They really do a good job of reproducing the high frequencies, so they may sound overly "bright" or "harsh" to some people.

 

You can't go wrong with Xtant and Diamond Audio. Both have great products and great customer service. I have been running both for 10+ years and will never concider any other brands, especially the Diamonds. Worth every penny!!!

 

Thanks for all this input! I guess I should have mentioned that I am into classic rock and metal. However, I am NOT into bass that can be heard 6 cars behind me. I prefer clean reproduction, not a stool softener.