Stereo Stuff

GBMINI is back 🙂
Tweeter Nashua called this morning to say it was ready – supposedly everything was removed and the car was back to how it was before I took it up there for the install. So I got a friend to drive me up …
Somewhat unsurprisingly, I found the car NOT in the condition it was before Tweeter first worked on it!
There was NO SOUND AT ALL from the speakers.
When I checked in the trunk, I found that they had not bothered to reconnect the old Harmon Kardon amplifier – in fact the harness for it was still bundled with other wires and inaccessible.
I managed to get the harness reconnected and then had sound; I checked that all four speaker positions were working and sounded correct – at least they got the speakers back properly!

In addition there are a number of cables in the car now that did not used to be there – apparently Tweeter did not think it necessary to remove all that they had done to the car (their interpretation of “back to how it was” and mine differ).

It was great to be driving a MINI again, and nice to be able to listen to good sounding music with no engine noise. So tonight my wife and I went out for a drive to Rockport and back. Saw a scary accident about two miles from home – a car basically in a tree to the side of the road and the police still measuring (the speed limit there is 30; no idea how the car got where it was). The windshield was seriously deformed on the passenger side 😦 A major reminder of the importance of safe driving, speed limits, seat belts, etc.
On the way back I noticed a metallic rattling from the passenger side; Margaret said it sounded like it was coming from the lower area, where the seat belt comes from. So when I got home I had a quick check round … I was horrified to discover that the seat belt mounting bracket was not properly installed to the floor so was loose and rattling!
Tweeter presumably removed it at some time (necessary to remove the panel under the door) and did not correctly re-install it! I cannot imagine what would have happened if we had needed the seat belt to function!

So you will not be surprised to learn that I will not visit Tweeter Nashua again. I do not know if they failed so badly with my stereo install due to a problem with the MINI, the equipment or their own skill levels … some of the things that went wrong bias me toward a particular answer.
If you own a MINI Cooper S with Lojack and have successfully installed an amp and speakers, please contact me!

My MINI is still at Tweeter; even after all the hassle and disappointment, Tweeter do not seem to consider it a priority that they restore my car to its previous audio condition and return it to me.
I am driving a friends Ford Escort today – very kind of him, but it really makes me realize how great the driveability of my MINI is (steering, clutch, etc).

Tweeter have had my MINI for three weeks now, while I was on vacation then working in Canada. Drove up to Nashua this lunchtime to check out the “improvements”.
Engine noise JUST AS BAD; at “normal” listening levels (where you can still talk to passengers) the engine whine is uncomfortably intrusive at 2500-300rpm. At higher volumes you can’t hear the whine, except in the gaps between tracks, but I guess it is still there hurting my ears because I get a headache really quick.

Tweeter claim to have tried everything including new HU, amp, wiring, etc, etc, etc. They say nothing helped. They are currently trying to blame the Lojack system suggesting that the noise is coming from it (“was it installed properly or by a cheap installer”) – I don’t see how engine rev noise can be emitted by Lojack. A continuous hiss, maybe, but don’t believe that Lojack transmits RPM signals …

Tweeter also said they have improved the overall sound quality – maybe they have, but it still does not “blow me away” or impress me as if it is worth $2000+ that it cost me. I now have no faith in Tweeter to improve anything … I have left the car with them to rip everything out that they did and put it all back to HK amp and speakers.
What a painful experience.

Advice for others: Go with someone that can prove they already did a system like you want on a MINI.