[Jim VVC]

I have the standard stereo in my Cooper S and for the price the car cost I think the sound is awful, has anyone else found this - I had a mini cabrio as a courtesy car and it sounded much better - as does the stereo in my 7 year old gotf gti

[del115]

Cannot comment on yours as I have the HiFi upgrade (£350 ish) which in IMHO is also not that brilliant.
Certainly not a patch on the HK system I had in a previous JCW S.

I like you would have expected something better at the price.

Regards

[L1UNK]

i too was a little gutted by the sound of the standard set-up, ive just ordered a set of infinity kappa 6.5" components for the doors, and 6x9 for the rears! i ordered these as they are low impedance speakers! gotta be worth a try! ill let you know!

[JohnWB]

I found with mine that it has improved over the weeks. The speakers seem to give out a smoother sound now whereas they were a bit rough sounding at first.

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Sounds perfectly fine to me And ive driven numerous (believe me!) R56's, they all sounded fine

[KPKalle]

Just fine for me too

[andrewcregan]

I think it's what you get used to. Mine sounds fine, until you get into a car with a superior set up . However, I am too busy trying to locate all my rattles to have the stereo on

[Harpo]

Rather depends what you want out of them.

I listen to Five Live mostly (on DAB), and it's quite natural sounding.

But if you want head-bangin drum'n'bass while you're driving, you:

a) need your head sorting
b) are only using about 5% of the available sound spectrum
c) might conceivably need something more specialised.

[mister.t]

My Fiesta has a better stereo than the R56 Yes still factory set up too

The R56 distorts even with mild bass, you have to turn the bass right down to get some volume, then you loose all the bass

Then again, mum only really listens to Capital FM, or the iPod, so not really calling for anything of any volume

[chilipack]

I opted for the hifi upgrade and I am DELIGHTED WITH THE SOUND and delivery of bass.....dispite the adversity speculated about how bad it is and what a waste of money it was. And peoples suggestions on how everyone needs to get an aftermarket upgrade at $$$$$ thus compromising the warranty... I was inevitably skeptical about if I should have spent the extra few hundred pounds on an aftermarket upgrade....(as a man who likes his music)....however one forgets that it is still a BMW and has an immense reputation to keep to and they wouldn’t compromise a poor sounding system as an option -albeit the fact that the standard system isn’t perceived to be that great compared to the upgrade....but that again is inevitable as why would someone upgrade if the standard sound was so superior!
In short – the hifi is well worth the money and provides an enjoyable listening experience on CD, iPod and Radio.

[simeds]

i listen mainly to ipod, sound quality sucks using aux input, but since i've had the interface fitted its sounds fine to me !.
But the're again, i don't listen to bangin tooons

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jim VVC (original)

I have the standard stereo in my Cooper S and for the price the car cost I think the sound is awful, has anyone else found this - I had a mini cabrio as a courtesy car and it sounded much better - as does the stereo in my 7 year old gotf gti

I think its terrible, even compared to the "boost" in the old MINI the "boost" in the new MINI is flat and lifeless and quite tinny.


The hi-fi speaker upgrade (as they call it) is good though, in my opinion, although others moan about that too.

[appmacguy]

It is crap, my partners Seat Ibiza Ecomotive has a cracking standard stereo in it, beats my Cooper stereo hands down.

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by Harpo (original)

Rather depends what you want out of them.

I listen to Five Live mostly (on DAB), and it's quite natural sounding.

But if you want head-bangin drum'n'bass while you're driving, you:

a) need your head sorting
b) are only using about 5% of the available sound spectrum
c) might conceivably need something more specialised.

When I first put Five Live on a new boost stereo in AM, I honestly couldn't recognise the voice for a while, it was that bad.

[Jim VVC]

I don't really listen to "banging choons innit" more 60s-90s rock, looks like I should have opted for the upgrade, ah well at least the exhaust note is good

[L1UNK]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnWB (original)

I found with mine that it has improved over the weeks. The speakers seem to give out a smoother sound now whereas they were a bit rough sounding at first.

i found the same, but i just changed mine for a set of low impedance units!

[Tunster]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul (original)

When I first put Five Live on a new boost stereo in AM, I honestly couldn't recognise the voice for a while, it was that bad.

I think that's the fault of a ever aging AM that never seems to go away and the dwindling ears of old people .

I'm quite an audio-freak and to be quite frank, the R56 Boost + Hi-Fi Upgrade is damn fine . It's quite a distinctive sound, but I have seem to have grown to like it (having had a tweak at the settings every week). For a 21k car, I would of expected maybe a bit more personally, but I think it does me well enough .

[Paul]

I just think it's a very poor system, nowhere near up to the scratch of the old boost even, and not a patch on some I've heard recently in other cars (such as the Volvo C30 which puts it to shame).

I'm used to AM in my old MINIs and also my current crappy Corolla, but in the MINI to me it sounds tinny and hollow. I think that's the problem, I can't describe it much better than a lack of depth, warmth and range. Flat.

[ViscountCharles]

I've said before, opinions on stereos are so subjective that you really have to listen to it for yourself to decide ...

Then agree with the rest of us right-thinking people when we say it's pants.

And it's ugly, too.

The hi-fi upgrade is as good as I need a stereo to be, but the basic R56 Boost is complete rubbish when compared to the R50/52/53 Boost fitted to that cabrio.

[adams]

The standard setup is very poor, not heard the upgrade, i listen mainly to pink floyd and indie with the occasional bit of chart stuff, it lacks any real depth or clarity. imho