Stereo Stuff

Got my MINI back from Tweeter today.
Very nice looking install … but not sounding good enough yet.

The main issue is a “whine” or “whistle”; a high pitched sound that follows engine revs. I would call it alternator whine, but I expect all new cars to be filtered. General web opinion is a grounding issue. So I have some experimenting ahead.
The other problem I had on the way home was a lack of bass – but the installer had turned on the low cutoff filter. Silly since I do not have any subs. So I defeated the filter, and we will see whether it sounds better tomorrow.
I have temporarily turned down the amp sensitivity, and turned up the HU volume, which should help to reduce the engine noise until I can do something better.

No GBMINI tonight 😦
Took it to Tweeter in Nashua this morning to have the stereo upgraded. I fitted a Kenwood 759 head unit and a 20GB Keg recently. I temporarily ran the new head unit through the Harmon Kardon amp and speakers – I had to re-connect the old head unit to get the amp to run (four wires linking the amp to the old HU).
Now the complete stock HK system is coming out. Instead I am having MB Quart reference 6.5″ speakers put in all four positions, and a Boston Acoustics GT42 amp installed to run them. If I find insufficient bass then I will consider a JL Audio stealthbox run from a small mono amp … but first I will see what it sounds like with no sub.
Greg, the installer at Tweeter, is taking photos as he works, so hopefully there will be pics soon.
It should be ready for everyone to check out this weekend on top of Mount Washington. Looking forward to meeting over 60 other MINIs and their owners!

Proceeding with the new stereo install … I now have the Kenwood 759 head unit installed, along with a 20GB Kenwood Keg. Currently I have put all my Electric Light Orchestra, Abba and Moog music on the Keg, along with some other stuff – about 20 hours of music so far and about 20% full!
The new head units looks OK in the car – its black bezel matches the bezel around the heating controls, its blue lighting matches the Lapis Blue interior and the red buttons are a nice highlight – looks OK closed too (when the power is off).

Hard to believe how many wires I had to hide, and there is not a lot of room in there (is that why they are called MINIs). I used adaptors ordered from MikeyTheMini (on MINI2) so there were no wires to cut. The wiring adaptor provided power to the new head unit, and I also wired the speakers so that – for now – the HK DSP amp will get a signal from the Kenwood head unit. I ran RCA preouts to the trunk ready for when the new Boston Acoustics GT42 amp is installed, and of course I ran the signal between the head unit and the Kenwood Keg. I had to remove the glove box to get enough access to pull the wires back out of the way so I could slide the head unit in.

The HK DSP amp refused to run with the old head unit removed – they communicate with each other so the amp knows about volume, bass, treble, etc. So I had to jury rig the old head unit back into the car as a temporary measure!
Four wires is enough: B+, B-, Accessory B+ and Kbus. One quirk is that because the audio controls on the old head unit still affect the sound, my steering volume control still works without installing the SWIX (at least, until I put in the new amp). It also means I can get LOADS of bass or treble if I want, by adjusting both the old head unit (which affects the HK DSP amp) and the new head unit (which affects the signal to the amp). I am not playing too much with this because I am not sure if I could harm the HK DSP amp or the speakers – I bet it was not designed to be used the way I have it wired!

I mounted the Kenwood Keg where the HK amp usually goes, behind the right hand access point in the trunk. I recycled the HK DSP amp bracket. Had to remove the huge cover to get it in there; my colleague, Michel, made an excellent replacement cover and event painted it to match – the cover gives it some additional protection, although it will eventually be behind an interior panel of the MINI:

Listening today, everything is fine. The Keg plays without jumping (even hitting a huge pothole this morning); sound quality already seems better than with the stock HU which surprised me! It is incredible how much music you can load onto this Kenwood Keg – and of course the new head unit also plays CDs and has a tuner in case you get bored! The only problem I see is trying to find a specific track when there are 1000 or more loaded!