Stereo Stuff

You will remember that, even after the terrible Tweeter experiences, I was ready to try again with GBMINI#3, again installing a Kenwood head unit and Kenwood Keg (20GB MP3 drive). The new head unit improved sound a little over the stock head unit, and of course gave me access to more than 2,500 MP3 files on the Keg, but there was still a need for more bass – so new speakers and an amplifier were required.

So on May 18 I left GBMINI#3 with Jamie Perkins, the Car Audio Specialist, in Melrose (40 minutes drive). On 21st, I picked it up again, finished. I have been waiting to get hold of the pictures Jamie took during the install, and of course I have been testing out the system.

My priorities were:
– Clean Sound
– More Bass
– Minimal loss of trunk space

I think Jamie succeeded! Only MINI fanatics will even realize there is a false floor in the trunk now, so that I have lost a couple of inches of depth – under the floor is a Rockford Fosgate P4004 four channel amplifier that drives a pair of Boston Pro 60 speakers in the doors, and a pair of JL Audio 6W0 subwoofers – the trick was for Jamie to build custom sealed enclosures and put the subwoofers in the rear 6×9 speaker positions!

 

And as you can see, Jamie used lots of Dynamat too – I have not noticed any vibration so far!

It took me a few days to adjust all the cross-overs and sound levels to get the sound how I like it – sometimes having too many adjustments is a bad thing! But I am now very happy with the result.

The sound will not be LOUD enough to some people, but loud was not on my list – of course the system is anyway much louder than the stock system (I don’t know if it is louder than the HK upgrade).
If you are going to MINIsOnTop, you will be able to check it out! 😉

THANKS to Jamie for doing great work, and of course to Jayson for recommending him!

Even after the dreadful experience with Tweeter & GBMINI#2, I wanted a good aftermarket stereo upgrade in GBMINI#3 … this time I started with the base stereo (instead of the HK upgrade) and consulted Jayson Walker, who has the best stereo knowledge and best MINI system that I know – hopefully this will result in success this time!
Last Friday I properly installed the new Kenwood Keg, in the right side “pocket” in the trunk – I used the HK amp bracket because I knew (from GBMINI#2) that it worked, and again my work colleague Michel made a better/smaller lid for it so that it could fit:

Following Jaysons recommendation, I will be taking GBMINI#3 tomorrow to Jamie Perkins, “The Car Audio Specialist”, in Melrose (near Boston). The plan is for Jamie to install new speakers in the doors, subwoofers in the rear panels, and an amp in the trunk – the Kenwood head unit has separate RCA outputs for front (and rear) speakers and for a subwoofer channel. I assume Jamie will not have any trouble with engine whine, like Tweeter did two years ago.

In preparation, I removed the ’05 door armrests today – I checked with Brian at MINI Peabody earlier this week so I knew how to do it, and I was not sure that Jamie would know. The armrest covers one of the four screws that holds the door panel to the door, so it is necessary to remove it – using a thin non-scratch object to release a catch towards the front of the car (I used a wood stick like an oversized lolly stick):

This evening I decided to install the Kenwood stereo that arrived from England yesterday – this requires disassembling the center part of the dash, so I also took the opportunity to install my chromed toggle switch panel, and replace the silver downtubes with anthracite.

 

Here’s a photo sequence for how to install a new stereo … You will need torx drivers to remove most screws – normally #20 but I also needed #40.

#1 remove the downtubes
Open the glove box, and pull down on the knee bolster under the steering wheel, to get easy access to the two screws in each downtube, and remove them:

I remove the downtubes by forcing them out from behind the trim piece which is around the speedometer & vents – you can pull on the lower edge of this trim piece to loosen it, giving enough play to force out the downtubes (I find this much easier than disassembling the gear shift, mirror switches, cupholders, etc):

 

#2 remove the original stereo
With the downtubes removed, there are four torx screws holding the stereo in place – remove them and slide out the stereo, then disconnect the big (speakers/power) & small (antenna) plugs; both have clips which must be pushed to release them:

#3 install the fascia adaptor and the new stereo bracket
The fascia adaptor converts the non-standard MINI stereo opening to standard size, allowing a standard stereo mounting bracket to be used (except I found it very difficult to push any of the latching clips because of all the plastic behind the stereo opening):

 

#4 connect the new stereo and test it!
The wiring adaptors I got from MikeyTheMINI included one for the antenna and one for the speakers/power (which included a module to interface the MFSW buttons to the new stereo):

Be CERTAIN to test and make sure all the functions work before going any further (they all did for me, luckily)!

#5 Install the new stereo
Much harder than it sounds, because all those wiring adaptors have to be pushed in behind where the new stereo will slide in, without blocking it – I was able to push them back and then down (so I guess they end up mixed in with the HVAC controls); once the stereo slides fully in it will latch to the metal bracket you installed in #3, and lock into place.

#6 Replace the downtubes
Refitting is reverse of removal 😉
Push the downtube down onto its lower base, then force it behind the speedo trim piece – repeat for both. Then replace the two screws in each downtube, and force the speedo trim piece back into place.