Navigation & Audio Audio upgrades, bluetooth, and navigation discussions surrounding the Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S (R56), and Cabrio (R57) MINIs.

Navigation & Audio R56 Door Speaker Upgrade

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Old 04-04-2014, 03:28 PM
mosherrskl's Avatar
mosherrskl
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R56 Door Speaker Upgrade

Like the rest of you, I'm not happy with the sound of the stock (no HK) audio system on my 2013 Justa. I've read a LOT of posts and decided on only upgrading the door speakers as my budget is around $200. Others seem to like the Infinity X Reference 6500 cfx and the Polk db5251 ($200 at Crutchfield). I like the idea of component speakers as I don't fancy a coaxial speaker's tweeter down by my feet. Not looking for an amp or new rear speakers. Crutchfield rep didn't like the way the Polks sounded without an amp.

(Really liked the Bluegrassminis idea of a Infinity Kappa 4" coaxial and the 6.5" MB Quart PVI164, but sadly the MB is discontinued)

Crutchfield says these both "fit", but when you press them it turns out the tweeter needs to have a bracket fabricated to mount the 1 inch (or so) tweeter in the 3 1/2 (or so) hole the existing speaker fits into.

Questions:
1) Any experience with the sound of these speakers?
2) Other similar speaker recommendations?
3) Are the "in the box" adjusters ("Starfish" on the Infinity) adequate to bridge the gap in the 3 1/2 inch hole or do I need to fabricate an adapter?
4) If I need to build an adapter, should I use a metal strap or cut a sheet of plastic or aluminum or what?

May 7, 2014 Update: Over a month after posting my question, 221 views and NO REPONSES (!) I took the plunge. On the recommendation of another poster, I went to The Stereo Shop in Rochester NY (90 minutes away) and spoke with Chris (CJ). He has done this before, including on his own Mini. I ended up with the JL Audio C2 650 speakers (6.5/1 in component) and an KTP445U Alpine amp. With tax, it set me back almost $600 (speakers $250, amp $150, speaker install $90, amp install $50) but it sounds really good. The amp is only like 45 watts/ch so it wont make your ears bleed, but at normal volumes, it's great. I could have skipped the amp and gone with a lesser JL speaker and cut the price to about $300, but I didn't. I highly recommend this installer and this combination.
 

Last edited by mosherrskl; 05-07-2014 at 07:56 PM. Reason: Answered my own questions
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