[ONED]

No issues with cooling being buried into the carpet?

[FergusM]

Had mine a while now and no issues at all.

[robble]

Quote: Originally Posted by robegee (original)

they pull of - start from the lock end of the door at the bottom - they're in two parts - no screws for first part

beware the mirror control knob.

[Rainbow-Walker]

Well, finally taken the plunge .

We recently took delivery of our new R56 MCS to replace a Harmon Kardon equipped R53 Mini Cooper, and have just booked in for the stereo upgrade (including tweeters) with Mikey next week.

We had listened to both the basic stereo, and the hi-fi option when ordering and to be honest neither compared favourably with the previous Harmon Kardon set up. On this basis we didnt bother with the Hi-Fi option, as there seemed to be some great reviews on Mikeys work.

Very apprehensive , but this thread has helped re-assure that it will be OK .....

Roll on next Thursday. Also getting the MFSW parrot kit, and might yet be tempted if the information for reversing camera appears (due later today)....

Just gotta sort out a day off work, and whether to stop overnight somewhere now (travelling from Nottingham).

RBW.

[ONED]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rainbow-Walker (original)

We had listened to both the basic stereo, and the hi-fi option when ordering and to be honest neither compared favourably with the previous Harmon Kardon set up.

RBW.

None compare with the previous BOOST setup

[mikeythemini]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rainbow-Walker (original)

Well, finally taken the plunge .

We recently took delivery of our new R56 MCS to replace a Harmon Kardon equipped R53 Mini Cooper, and have just booked in for the stereo upgrade (including tweeters) with Mikey next week.

We had listened to both the basic stereo, and the hi-fi option when ordering and to be honest neither compared favourably with the previous Harmon Kardon set up. On this basis we didnt bother with the Hi-Fi option, as there seemed to be some great reviews on Mikeys work.

Very apprehensive , but this thread has helped re-assure that it will be OK .....

Roll on next Thursday. Also getting the MFSW parrot kit, and might yet be tempted if the information for reversing camera appears (due later today)....

Just gotta sort out a day off work, and whether to stop overnight somewhere now (travelling from Nottingham).

RBW.

We'll take good care
On the camera front, I am still finalising things but we are looking at 2 options
Number 1: A Very small Kenwood camera mounted under the boot handle - not central.
Number 2: A genuine Mini camera, modified to fit inside your existing boot handle (or in one of our carbon ones). With this option we need to make a small hole in the metalwork of your boot lid - this will however be treated & is also hidden & sealed by the boot handle. This camera is central

[mikeythemini]

If you are looking to stay overnight we have a very nice hotel with spa & golf course just opened nearby Resort & Hotel - Hotel, Spa, Health Club, Aintree, Southport - Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa

[rkw]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikeythemini (original)

Number 2: A genuine Mini camera, modified to fit inside your existing boot handle (or in one of our carbon ones). With this option we need to make a small hole in the metalwork of your boot lid - this will however be treated & is also hidden & sealed by the boot handle. This camera is central

Do you use the OEM camera from the 1st gen MINI? I haven't heard of one for 2nd gen.

[lloydml]

Hi there. I'm a new mini owner with a new clubman diesel. I've fitted an ipod kit and currently have it plugged into the ciggy lighter. Where could I pick up a permanent and switched live feed to do away with the ciggy lighter plug? I don't want to start aimlessly pulling out the dash.

[Rainbow-Walker]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikeythemini (original)

We'll take good care
On the camera front, I am still finalising things but we are looking at 2 options
Number 1: A Very small Kenwood camera mounted under the boot handle - not central.
Number 2: A genuine Mini camera, modified to fit inside your existing boot handle (or in one of our carbon ones). With this option we need to make a small hole in the metalwork of your boot lid - this will however be treated & is also hidden & sealed by the boot handle. This camera is central

Thanks for the info. Mikey.

[ONED]

Quote: Originally Posted by lloydml (original)

Hi there. I'm a new mini owner with a new clubman diesel. I've fitted an ipod kit and currently have it plugged into the ciggy lighter. Where could I pick up a permanent and switched live feed to do away with the ciggy lighter plug? I don't want to start aimlessly pulling out the dash.

Mikey has a kit for this!

Check out NewMINIstuff

[mikeythemini]

Oh dear here we go again

[Benny No.1]

Mmmmmmmmmmm... 599!

[mister.t]

I want the Red Leather in my car Can I do a swap

[Rainbow-Walker]

That's my car in the nude My new installation sounds FANTASTIC Thanks Mikey

[mikeythemini]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rainbow-Walker (original)

That's my car in the nude My new installation sounds FANTASTIC Thanks Mikey

Glad you like it , sorry it took longer than planned but Mini have again changed things & made things harder, didn't get chance to ask about your day in Liverpool, & if you want some pics email me

[Rainbow-Walker]

Hi Mikey, that last post was Mrs Rainbow-Walker, she likes the new sound which is obviously much better than the OEM setup. I will do a short write up soon comparing the two as Im sure others may be interested.

It certainly wasnt a problem for me having to wait a little longer, I'm just glad you managed to get it sorted out in one day, especially given the Mini changes to the wiring that caused the delay. Liverpool was........... wet.

Mister.t, thanks for your kind offer of swapping seats/trim , but on this occasion we will decline your kind offer . Scary seeing how much of the interior has to come out though.

RBW (Mr)

[rochie]

mmmmmmmmm pagoda!!!!!!!!!

[Rainbow-Walker]

After listening to a standard Mini speaker set up, and one fitted with the Hi-Fi option, even though we are not audiophiles, we could tell that the manufacturer stuff was not as good as the Harmon Kardon fitted to our departed R53 Mini. After reading this thread, we decided to put the Hi-Fi upgrade money towards a full upgrade with Mikey.

The car is my wifes, and she was very apprehensive about taking her new pride and joy, and letting someone pull it apart to improve the speakers, and it is really down to Mini2 and this thread that we decided to go for it.

Spending the day in Liverpool

I booked a day off work, and the sole purpose was to visit Formby (I live in Nottingham) to get the stereo upgraded. Its only about 120 miles, but I left super early (4:30am) to ensure I didn't get stuck in rush-hour traffic, arriving in Formby at 6:30, and then proceeded to find the main shopping centre and camped outside the Cafe Nero until that opened at 7:30 for a much needed caffeine fix. Dropped the car of at Mikey's at 8:30, and he kindly arranged a lift to the train station after having a quick look at a couple of interesting cars in his workshop (ferrari and an old restored Merc SL). A return ticket to liverpool is just £4.20 so hopped on the next train (which are very frequent) and then spent the day wasting time in Liverpool. Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable, so spent most of the time drinking coffee, reading papers, before returning to Formby for about 4:30.

Installation process

As you can see from the pics posted previously, this is major surgery, and on a virtually new car. There is no visible evidence whatsoever of the upgrade, the speaker facings remain the same (other than the additional tweeters, which are in the A pillars - and standard if you spec the HiFi upgrade). It's a credit to Mikey that I can't find any evidence of knocks, scrapes or poorly refitted interior and everything looks exactly as before. The installation of the amp under the seat is brilliant (you cant see this unless you physically look under the seat, and it looks like it was made for it).

Comparison in sound to previous HK system

As stated previously, we aren't audiophiles, but we know what we like, and in comparison to the Harmon Kardon system the treble and clarity of the sound is at least equal if not better. To be fair we have been testing it with MP3's and obviously their quality is slightly less than CD, so I suspect it is better.

We did have the optional tweeters fitted, and these really do make a difference. If your thinking of getting it done, and don't currently have the tweeters in the A pillars, I definitely recommend you spec these.

The only slight negative between this and the Harmon Kardon, was that the bass was much more 'thumpy' in the Harmon Kardon. I suspect this might have been quite an artificial bass, but we both quite liked it. I would say that the bass is better though than the quick test we had of the R56 standard speakers and the hi-fi option. Also as Mikey puts matting behind the speakers there is no additional rattling or vibrations. I have asked Mikey via email about this, and he has said that in the Harmon Kardon, the rears were just subwoofers, but in his conversion they are 3 way speakers so they could be replaced with purely subwoofers, or have a subwoofer installed in the boot.

So we are very pleased with this install, it has improved the sound immeasurably for us. We have been riding around today singing our heads off with the music at a ridiculously loud level, and thoroughly enjoying it.

RBW

[ONED]

Nice write up!
Good to hear your enjoying it!

Mikey What changes did MINI make?......nothing to improve the sound I suppose?