I bought my Coupe off the lot. It was love at first sight! I inherited the Harman Kardon sound system. It sounds good, but I made the leap and ordered the Integral Audio sub-woofer to enhance the H/K system. I have this site to thank for the many great reviews. I am a lifelong audiophile,, so I will brief you all once I get the sub installed.

 

What? You can add a subwoofer. Please tell me where?

 

I found this on this site. Lots of good reviews by NAM.
http://www.integralaudio.com/index.p...er-system.html

 

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on adding the subwoofer to an existing H/K system. I've been thinking about doing the same but havn't seen any postings on anyone that has.

 

Here are several reviews from other Mini Owners - these led me to order this system.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...uct/460/cat/52

 

I can still HIGHLY recommend the Integral Audio system for the coupe. Here's my original post w/links to photos.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...for-coupe.html

 

I got the sub this weekend and it will be installed tomorrow, I hope it meets my expectations. It will take a week of use before I can give my impressions.

 

Missing a 3 ft. RCA cable. At least they did not check it on the packing list when they loaded the box for shipping. I probably have a dozen RCA cables at home. But at what I paid for this system - it should not be missing.

 

I too have spares, but did you call them and see if they would ship you one? I am sure they would make it right for you.

 

I am sure they would ship one - but it does not help when you discover it was not included, half way through the installation. The installer placed the remote *** on the left of the steering wheel to accommodate.
I had it professionally installed. They said the directions were not that clear. They had two people working on it for 3 hours. It was finished late last night, I have not had a chance to inspect it and test. I hope to do so this weekend.

 

Review: Integral Audio Model 1101S Subwoofer System

Which gets me to the point - would I recommend this to other r58 owners. Yes

 

I have a 2013 roadster and the amp doesn't sound so good as well. I have the amp set as the instructions say. I'm going the set the amp on high and start to mess with the amp settings to see if I can improve things. What are your amp settings?.

 

I have both gains at max. The output Low and BX2 On. My installer wondered why it is an underseat mount on a 2 seater, he said better to place behind the seat so the amp is easily adjusted or removed. He says he has 100's of horror stories of amps under seats.
Integral Audio sent me an email and blamed the installer (which was absolutely correct).

 

StrikeZ,

I saw your post here and made the effort to reach out to you, unprompted, and despite your negativity. I'm giving you all the support that I can. No one blamed your installer, but I did point out the obvious - that had he tested properly before replacing the seat you wouldn't have had to remove the seat to test yourself.

Some installers love to trash talk product that they didn't sell. They don't make their 50% markup on it, and they aren't happy about it. Almost all of the installation issues we have are with local retail installers. I'm not going to argue about the amplifier installation location with some local technician, and neither is BMW/MINI who also installs the HK amplifier in the same location. What I am going to do is continue to provide whatever assistance you are willing to accept in order to get whatever is wrong with your setup/install/product corrected so that you are happy with the sound.

 

I have to retract my previous review. Kevin is correct, the installer made an error and I ended up taking my car to a 2nd shop and have them look at it.
They found a wiring error and fixed it in 30 minutes. The system now works as advertised and is everything I originally expected it to be.
So my apologies to Kevin and Integral Audio. They make a great system, that is perfect for the R58.
Kevin was persistent with assuring I was satisfied, I was difficult to work with, because I did not know how to do half the stuff he was asking me to do. He knows Minis and these systems; he cares that they work for everyone that gets one.

 

Wow, very nice: A couple of stand-up posts. Way to go Kevin and StrikeZ!

 

Any R58 people do the full upgrade? My HK system sounds horrible. Muddy sound, not enough highs. Just all around terrible. I am considering the IA kit with the sub and the replacement drop-in speakers. I would love to hear feedback.

 

Ironically we have had the same 2 Minis (2014 and 2015 JCW Coupes about the same). When I got my Coupe the HK definitely didn't sound right, it was worse than my 2007. I was considering an upgrade, but my wife found the problem. The right bass speaker (low front of door) was buzzing, it wasn't putting out hardly any sound. I had the dealer replace it and now it sounds fine. See if you can shift balance right/left and find something amiss. Try jacking up treble and see if anything changes. Because there are only 4 main speakers (and the pillar tweeters) it doesn't take much to make it sound bad. It should sound at least as good as your other Mini. What color's your JCW?

 

I have the full integral audio system installed in a R59. I installed it about a year ago. It's a very good system well worth the money.

 

I'll see if I can play around. I'm really not happy with the overall sound. I still am having really horrible sound out of my lighting cable too. I just use the Bluetooth connection now. Additionally the speakers behind the driver / passenger put out hardly anything either.

White silver / black.

 

Maybe it's the connection not the speakers. Mine's a 2014 so I have a "Y" cable that goes to the docking port on the iPod and separate USB and male connection to the car. Get another cable. Let the dealer hear it and compare it to one of their cars. The back speakers are for fill, not to balance the sound. Mine aren't very loud either.

 

Trying to get to the site and buy the sub setup but it isn't working. Just pops up with an error message. Any ideas?