My complaint about the Infinity Kappas I had was that they sounded a bit bright or harsh. From a review here, it sounds like the "Perfect" may be even harsher. IIRC, one person here posted that the Kappas sound good with a decent amp and better x-overs, but don't go well with the HIFI amp.

Don't know anything about JBL, but haven't heard anything bad about them.

I'm guessing that the Woofersetc.com are selling grey market Focals. This is common with cameras. They import them from a distributor in the original country, rather than going through Nikon USA. So, they eliminate the profit from the USA distributor. For example B&H Photo (which has a very good reputation) sells both grey market, and non-grey Nikon cameras and lenses. They offer the grey-market at a somewhat lower price with the caveat that Nikon wont honor the warranty. Probably similar situation with Focal (a French company). Focal USA wants their cut, and wont warranty parts they didn't import. You have to decide whether you are willing to risk the lack of warranty. Check Woofersetc.com's policy on returns and warranties.

I bought an Image Dynamics amp and speakers through Woofersetc.com, and didn't have any problems. However, they were not grey market (Image Dynamics is in the USA), and I didn't need to return anything.

I chose to go with Image Dynamics speakers and amp because they were reputed to have excellent sound quality. Focals are reputed to be brighter than Image Dynamics, so I chose not to go with Focals. However, lots of people seem to like Focals. The Image Dynamic speakers I have (4 ohm CXS64 V.2) require more power than the HIFI amp can manage. I tried them before installing the amp. A 2 ohm version is available that might have worked.

My choices were not based on listening to the actual speakers. No one around here has a listening setup for Focals and Image Dynamics. As it turns out, I'm very pleased with my Image Dynamics setup. I'm really surprised at the quality of sound. Great clarity, and no harshness.

 

RC : thanks for the various explanations... based on all that, and the fact that I'm sticking with the existing amp, I'll probably go with the Focals. There are a couple of other clubbie owners on another thread going with them, so I'll see what their experiences are. Thanks for all your help.

 

Thanks for all the instructions on this thread. My initial install wouldn't have gone so smoothly without this thread.
I replaced the front speakers with a set of Infinity 6020CS components. Install went like a charm with the 6.5's in the normal position and the tweeters installed on plexiglass plates cut to replace the upper 4" speakers.
Sound is better in the highs and bass; in fact, running a test CD shows them responsive down to 50Hz. Overall sound, though, seems to be lacking in the mid-range. Is there any way to improve this? (I'm still planning on installing new Infinity Reference 6x9's in the rear.)
I was wondering if I were to remove the component tweeters (6.5's still coming off the cross-over but no tweeter hooked up) and put Infinity Reference 4032 coax's in the 4" hole would that give me any additional mid-range since the wire to that spot is full range?
I'd avoid the problems of too many tweeters, have additional mid-range being put out by the 4032's. Or would that cause mushyness or phase interference between the 4032's and the 6020 woofers?
What do you all think or what has your experience shown you?

BTW, for all those that have had troubles with the driver's side 4" speaker cover mirror control, I found that the best way to remove this speaker covers is to cradle the cover in your hands like you would if you were lifting the end of a heavy beam. Give a quick but short upward pull to unlock the bottom lock tabs. (No tools necessary)
Then pry the cover away from the door, with quick, short pulls with your finger tips to unlock the other tabs.
The cover will come off but be attached to the door via the wiring between the mirror control and the wiring harness.
At this point you can hold the mirror control together by squeezing together the outside and inside surfaces of the mirror control box
Using a small flathead screwdriver, you can then release the small lock tabs on the two 4/5 wire connectors. They're very small so you might not see them but by just pushing the flat of the screwdriver between the top of the connector plug and the control box jack you'll release it.
Once both wire connectors are released, the speaker cover with the mirror control is free and in one piece.
Re-installation is just the reverse.

Hope this pays back in some way for all the help you all have provided.

 

You could try connecting the upper speaker wires to the Infinity X-over, and then running wires from it to woofer and tweeter. I believe the wires to the lower door speaker have a low-pass filter. MINI considers this the subwoofer for the HIFI system.

You will have to find a place to put the X-over. Perhaps if you remove them from their housings, they might fit in the arm rests.

 

I didn't say so before but I have the "Boost" system (now there's a misnomer!) not the "Hi-Fi" system.
Does the lower front speakers on this system also have the low frequency filtering so that they are "Subwoofers"?

Coincidentally I did the wiring just as you described for my initial installation since the wires to the upper speaker were readily accessible to the arm rest area where I put the x-over. So I actually do get good bass and highs but the mid-range is weak and I have to turn up the volume to get any sort of "balanced" frequency response.
Maybe it's just that the poorer sounding rear speakers are overwhelming the front speakers? I do have to fade the speakers to +5 to the front. When the fader is set like that and the volume turned up, it sounds good...

Maybe I should just wait for my rear speakers to come in and be installed before I get to worked up over the lack of mid-range...

 

Did you do the channel swap as well?

 

I believe so.

Not sure why you aren't getting mid-range from the upper speaker leads. You could do the channel swap. That would give the fronts a signal with a high-pass filter that cuts off the bass somewhere around 100-150 Hz. Then the larger rear speakers would be getting the bass.

The Infinity speakers are not as sensitive as the OEM speakers (designed to handle more power). That is why you are getting more volume out of the rears. If you put Infinity Reference 6x9s in the rear, it will be more balanced.

 

Thanks for the help. Your mention of the differential levels between front and back speakers makes sense. I've got the Infinity Reference 6x9's on order and the Bass600 sub was received today.
Will do the channel swap when I get the 6x9's.

 

Getting ready to do the rear speaker install. Does anyone know the torque to be used when re-installing the front or rear seat mounting bolts?
Would be nice to meet the safety requirements for remounting the seats...

 

Be sure you've reconnected BOTH seats BEFORE you start the car, or the car will throw an airbag failure that only the dealer can clear! (Guess how I know this!)

 

Anybody cracked into a 2010 yet? I don't even have my real license plates yet, but these stock speakers have GOT to go. (I have the base config all the way around and plan to just replace speakers and do the channel swap.) If anybody knows of things that might be different for '10, please don't keep them to yourself.

Much appreciation for all the thread...what a knowledge base!

 

just finished my speaker swap on my 2010. pretty much follow what everyone has been talking about and you can do it no problems.
They did change the front driver baseboard piece so it's a two piece trim now. You need to pull out the baseboard like everyone talks about but then you need to pull off a small triangular piece of trim to get to the x9331 connector. This piece you need to pull straight back to pull the pressure clips off the door frame then you need to slide the piece back some more to unhook a long hooking piece that locks it to the dash. Then you can unbury the connectors.
One thing that will save you a lot of work with the rear seat is that you can just use the unlocking clips feature for releasing the rear seat backs. You don't need to unbolt the seat back middle hinge. Motormouth talked about this in his thread but everyone else seems to have missed it and proceed to unbolt the hinge. Lots more work, not to mention the safety issues if the hinge is not torqued back in correctly.
That's all I found. I'll post a compilation of all the "how-to's" that I did and confirmed on my 2010 when I'm done.

 

hey ongf, next time you are in town stop by so I can listen to it!

 

That sounds exactly like my 2007.

 

ongf001, thanks...did you do all 6 speakers? What did you put in, and how long did it take? Were you scared???

I'm a little gobsmacked that I'll be gutting things at SUCH an early stage, especially to the extent required to do the rears, but there will be NO better time than over the Christmas break. Worst case, I mangle a few clips, right? Or mess up the lock mechanism...or get an airbag warning that won't shut off for less than $124...

 

I have red a lot of posts in this topics but one thing is not clear for me. If I replace the speaker by one 3-ways kit, were must I connect the filter ?

-To the wires from the lower speaker (big one) ?
-To the wires from the upper speaker (small one) ?

Thank you

 

You can leave the crossover "filter" out and just live with the filtering of the factory system. This may not be ideal, but you don't really want to have two layers of filtering.

My recollection (which may not be accurate) is that the lower speaker wires get bass signals, but may have a low-pass filter on it to cut mids and highs. If so, I'm not sure where the cutoff is.

I think the upper door speaker gets full range, but not enough power to drive three speakers. Perhaps you could use the crossover here to drive the 4" and tweeter. Then drive the 6.5" with the lower door wired directly.

Others may have something different to recommend.

 

Thank you. I think that it is a good idea. The best way is to test the diferent solution... Thank you again

 

OK... On my 2008 Clubman w/HiFi I have installed the Boss600 and now started on the Focal 165 A3s...

Fit-wise... no problems.

• Woofer and Mid fit very snug... no dremeling required, almost held themselves while I drilled tiny holes for the self-tapping screws that were required for practically every hole (but that's no biggie).
• I even managed to weasel a fairly good sheet of Dynamat Extreme behind the woofer.
• The tweeter needed its two outer 'shell' pieces removed and then fit fairly well in the standard housing in the A-pillar. I used 3 dabs of hot glue (recommended by someone many posts ago) to hold it in place.
• I messed up the reinstall of the pillar... mashed the pins... but managed to get it on there anyway.

I did the passenger door only and tested the woofer and mid first... they were GREAT... quieter than the stock (maybe 20%) but when you crank the balance over to that side and then crank up the volume... good, warm sound and ....no distortion!

Then I installed the tweeter... and ummm... not so great. Very 'harsh' or 'bright'... seemed like all I was hearing was from the tweeter. It did also seem like I got some distortion. My 10 yr old son was with me and said "Dad... sometimes when you get those 'S's... it sounds like hissing". I turned the treble down (3/4 of the way down from midpoint) and it became almost acceptable, but still seemed like I was getting some occasional distortion.

It was late, so didn't test for more than about 10 mins. Will finish tomorrow and let y'all know. I'm hoping that with the drivers side set in there, and everything 'run in' (I heard someone saying that after an hour their focals changed a lot)... that the tweeters will start to match the other two speakers in terms of happiness-rating.

Three dumb questions...
1) Would dynamatting the area behind the tweeter have any positive effect? (I doubt it... but...)

2) Could it possibly be caused by something stupid like the fact that I don't have the two plastic 'shells' around the tweeter (but they're just hard plastic full of holes) or the polarity inverted??? (I had to search a forum to ID the positive/negative... it isn't labeled or documented by Focal...:( FWIW...+ve is the one with the red stripe!).

3) (and here's my favorite...) If I'm still not happy when all is said and done...Could I wire up the tweeter input wires to the Focal crossover and JUST feed the tweeter with the filtered signal (which can also be adjusted to -3db with that crossover)??? [assuming I could find a spot to put the crossover in the dash somewhere].



the tweeter specs...
http://www.focal-fr.com/catalogue-do...files/1588.pdf
the overall set...
http://www.focal-fr.com/catalogue-do...files/1587.pdf

 

Perhaps the HIFI is doing horrible things to the tweeter signal. You might try temporarily connecting it through the crossover to see if that improves it. Running wires for a permanent solution might be challenging.

Some people have mounted the tweeter by cutting a hole in the door panel near the top. Someone posted photos of this and it looked very clean. Not sure what you would search on to find that thread.

It would be easier to use the crossover in the door. Put it in the arm rest and connect it to the upper speaker wires.

You can get replacements for the white plastic snap connectors for the A-pillar and other panels. I believe they are part #51437001491

 

The Focal A3s are known for their overly bright tweeter. Try turning your treble way down.

 

Hi Robin and Clutchless...
I replaced the other side and found that even the factory had problems with their snap connectors... found one really mashed up under there. I had spares, but thanks for looking it up for me.

With the treble all the way down, the speakers sound good... but...

Ugh... when I turn the volume up beyond a certain level... the tweeters give static-type sound. It's very noticable, affects both sides (but one more than another), doesn't sound 'engine'-related, and happens only above a certain volume (pretty high, but not outrageously high, and definitely where I would want it from time to time; it is above the level where the old speakers would have been distorted already, so maybe its been there all along and coming from the head-unit or amp but I just never knew ).

I'll research it tomorrow but if anyone has heard of this before or any clues/tips, that would be great.

 

try reversing the polarity of the tweeters...might help.

 

That static-type sound at high volumes is the amplifier clipping... Definitive confirmation requires an oscilloscope, but that's my carefully considered Saturday Morning seasoned engineering guess...

I can get mine to clip on very complex material (John Rutter/Cambridge Singers on American Gramaphone records, some other acapella material) when cranked up too high.

 

it's not the tweets making the static type noise - it's somethig beign fed them. If it is clipping it's a very bad thing - it could cause the tweets themselves to eventually make static noise on it's own.

If you want more volume than your hifi amp will push through the Focal's right now you are going to need an aftermarket amp. Once you add an amp go ahead and use the focal crossovers. There will be tremendous improvement.

You could go with a smaller size amp of 50w rms per channel and it would sound good, but those focals REALLY start to shine around 90+w rms. I was feeding mine from an amp rated 140w/rms/chan and they would go extremely loud and still be clean without distorting.