Hi Folks,

I have a 2007 mcs with the "base" stereo optiona and would definately like to upgrade.

I (think) what I would like to do is add power and replace speakers for now. (No plans for a sub just yet)...Would prefer to not replace the factory head unit. My questions are:

• Can I simply add a power amp into the mix + new speakers ? Is the head unit configured in such a manner that I can just add power and new spearkers?
• What should I consider when replacing front speakers - Does it make sense/is it possible to forego the crossover and just stick a couple of 6.5" up front?
• If I were to keep both front spearkers what would be a farily good/decent upgrade?
• What about just replacing the rear speakers and adding a two channel amp to them.. Is that a bad idea?

I'm not looking for the "best" stereo in town - just something with good clean power and balanced highs/lows ... I listen to mostly rock music.


To anyone who is considering a cooper - > go for the stereo upgrade. The stock system is well...pretty stock.

Appreciate your help,

Todd

 

Have you read the sticky thread R56 speaker replacement how to?

 

My advice to you is to use an iPod or similar mp3 player and use a dock to Aux input connection, not the headphone port. I did that for $8 and the improvement in sound (I have the HiFi upgrade) was amazing. Sounded like a totally new unit. To upgrade speakers you'll have to remove a lot of panels in the Mini and do wiring as well. If you aren't experienced in that you'll have to hire it out, and pay like $800 for speakers/amps to boot if you want to do all 4.

 

You probably wouldn't have to do any rewiring, unless you are adding a subwoofer or amps. However, to get at the rear speakers you do have to pull some panels. I've never done this kind of thing before.


Hope I can get it all back together.

 

Very nice!

 

Robin, you amaze me! I just assumed based on many of your previous posts, your website, etc. that you were a pro at this stuff! To go to the extent that you have is truly impressive...or foolish.
The above pictures you posted several days ago. What is your current upgrade status? Awesome shift ***** btw.
Pat

 

robin how long did that you to take apart. looks like a lot of work!!

 

As one who bought the "HIFI" I'm not sure I'd agree with this, unless you are happy with usually decent sound. For me, it was a waste of $500, because it is not a decent upgrade, as far as I'm concerned and I will be spending about $2500 to fix it.

 

Seems like the OEM Hifi is a good foundation for aftermarket upgrades, because you can just swap out the amp and speakers without rewiring the car. I'm not as brave as Robin!

 

Thank you all a bunch for the information and insights - especially Robin's reference to "How To"

Best Regards,

Todd

 

I totally agree with your assessment of the so-called hifi upgrade. But, you're scaring me a bit! $2.5K is a tad more than I hoped to spend for a substantial improvement (I was thinking $1,000/ $1,500 max). Sigh! What are you planning on doing to make it right? Are you doing it yourself?

 

I could see easily spending that kind of money if you have someone else install sound insulation, and high end amps, speakers, and a subwoofer.

I've probably spent close to $400 on insulation and rear speakers. I'm leaving the HIFI amp.

I'm happy to say that I got the left side Dynamated, insulated, and the panels are back on. Now for the right side. Then to build the new speaker cabinet.

 

Ok, so here is a bit of information I found out yesterday after having a reputable shop look into things and give me an estimate on bringing my base system up to a decent sounding system...

I'm a novice so I may not be able to explain this well. The stock - non HiFi - radio won't work with just a single decent amp and new speakers since the head unit splits the different ranges that are wired to the different speaker types. Making it decent will require a "channel line input converter" to be able to combine the signals from the head unit into a decent amp, complete rewiring, and new speakers all the way around (and the addition of tweeters).

The estimate I got including top notch converter, 400 watt amplifier, 8 speakers, adapters, wiring, as well as 9 hours of labor was around $2400 including taxes (and this was after they gave me discounts over retail - retail+labor would be $2860).

If I had the luxury of time and could be without my car for more than a few days I *might* attempt it, but given the complexity and amount of work it takes to access some of these locations, I'm going to have to leave it to people who know what they're doing.

 

Unixgal that's good to know. I have (or will have when it arrives) the HiFi system. Does anyone know about the signals TO the amp in the boot? Have they already gone through a crossover or are the HiFi crossovers between the amp and the drivers?

I know some one else (maybe MotorMouth?) has installed a new amp to run Focus drivers in the front and used the existing HiFI amp for the rears. But I beleive that, in that case the rears are still bandwidth/frequency limited due to a crossover (or filter) somewhere in the signal path.

Pat

 

I've put the left side panels back in, so this is from memory. There are two pair of wires going to the left side 6x9 location. One pair for a tweeter and one for the 6x9. IIRC, the same color wires come out of the amp. So, it seems that the crossovers are either in the amp housing or before the amp.

 

Wish you were local to me, $2400 is STEEP for that imo!

 

Hmm, so now that I have a list of the equipment that they would install, how hard is it to do it myself??? I have priced some of those items and can get them cheaper online.

I'm pretty handy with things (I've replaced the rear shock and forks on my motorcycle, change my own oil, know how to solder, etc.), but I know nothing about speaker wiring, amps or crossovers, and am sort of freaked out about messing with my baby. Then again, I did figure out on my own how to take off the dash trim and speedo ring to put on a Kuda mount.

If I understood the wiring and audio stuff I would probably do it myself. What do you guys think? Any volunteers in the Bay Area to advise?

 

Have you read the sticky thread R56 Speaker Replacement how to?

There seem to be a number of folk on this forum who understand a fair amount about adding amps, etc. You can learn a fair amount by looking through various threads here.

Pulling everything out of the back to get at the rear 6x9 speakers is a fair amount of work, but doable. I'd never done this kind of thing before and I've managed to get the left side back together. I'm still working on the insulation on the right. I'm feeling pretty good about it and probably will insulate the front and change the front speakers.

 

Robin, could you comment on the Dynamat that you are putting in? I was not famliiar with it until you first posted your earliest pictures. What is the expected benefit from the extensive work you are doing? Also, which Dynamat product are you using?

 

I'll second (or third) the recommendation to read the whole speaker replacement sticky. Just about any question you could have is answered in that thread.

The rears in my car are currently limited in freq because they are powered off the stock amp which contains the crossovers. Two sets of lines leave the amp to the back speakers. One for the bass and one for the treble. I'm only using the bass wires.

The base stereo will be different since there are fewer speakers and no amp.
The wiring diagrams are in the sticky.

It's not the best idea to install an amp yourself. If you cut a wrong wire somewhere simply taping or soldering the wire back together won't fix it. You'll have to get a new harness at the tune of a few thousand dollars - not covered by warranty. At least if a reputable shop messes it up they will be responsible for fixing it.

 

Hey Robin,

Yes I've been perusing the threads here, but I'm still not feeling comfortable with the whole full rewiring thing - connecting to the head unit, adding the channel line input converter, running cable to the back for an amp, then forward to the doors for speakers... etc. If all it took was speakers using existing wiring, I'd give it a go, but this will be quite a bit more involved than that.

 

Whoops, double post.

 

I'm using Dynamat Extreme. Got a bulk box on ebay. Here is some info from Crutchfield on it. The purpose is to deaden sheet metal which is noramally a great transmitter of sound.

I'm also using some insulation material from American Micro Industries in empty spaces on the sides and where the seats were (under the new floor). I'll also be using their Vibra Pads in various places. One will be to isolate the 6x9 speaker cabinet. I also plan to use them to keep the floor from becoming a sounding board.

I wont know how effective it will be until I get it all done. I'm hoping it will be worthwhile. My main complaint about my Acura Integra was the road noise. As a result I never used the audio system in it. So, I've been wanting to do something like this for quite awhile.

 

Yes, that would be more than I would want to do. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stick with the HIFI amp. The Infinity Kappas are supposed to be fairly sensitive, and I don't want super loud.

I understand that more amperage can mean cleaner sound, even and normal volumes. My home audio has a 200x7 amp that weighs almost 100 lbs. I'm just hoping I can get away with the HIFI 40 amps for the 6x9s.

If I need more amps, I'd probably pull the rear panels to expose the HIFI amp and have pros install something else. However, that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

 

Robin,

excellent job with all the dampening. It'll make a world of difference. Only the part where my bass box is got dynamatted. I do have delfex pads behind the 6.5" in the doors though.

I did a heavy duty dynamat (actually fatmat) job on my truck. The transformation was pretty incredible. It was much quiter inside and the radio seemed to be louder since it dind't have as much background noise to overcome. Sound didn't leak out very well either. You can have it at pretty high volumes and barely hear it outside if there is any background noise outside.