[philip_jones]

Excuse my ignorance, but I've a question on the stereo side of things.

I've just purchased a Mini Chilli Cooper (53 plate), but was disappointed that the CD player didn't play MP3 CD's. I had researched this subject through Mini2 and knew that a 05 plated stereo (with a star like volume switch) WOULD play MP3 cd's. Therefore the mini dealer got me to try a CD out on a Cooper Sport 05 stereo and sure enought it worked a treat. So he is going to take out the 05 stereo and put it in my 53 cooper!

1. Is the CD player from the 05 a boost?
2. If so, what is the difference between the boost and the wave?
3. The boost sounded CRAP in the cooper S....any reason for that?
4. Are the speakers better in a 53 chilli cooper?

Any advise would be gratefully received...

[fourmations]

hi

i dont know what 53 plates are etc (im irish)
but if the cooper is wave, you will need a wave to boost adapter
you will get one from the sponsor shops

the speakers are fine on the mini, its just the head units aint
make sure you up the bass and treble on the head unit
this will greatly improve the sound

im no audio-head, but i put a powerful pioneer head unit in
my wave cooper and it was banging (never bothered
changing the speakers after the head went in)

my 2c

rgds
4

[MartinSSZ]

Philip, as far as I know, all CD players are BOOST and your CD Player will be a direct swap for the new one.

BOOST is a more powerful output than WAVE, I think WAVE was only available as a cassette player.

Agree with fourmations - up the bass and treble on the headunit. I think mine are 1 below the top and 2 below the top respectively and I think it sounds perfectly acceptable

[memphisto]

Quote: Originally Posted by philip_jones

1. Is the CD player from the 05 a boost?
2. If so, what is the difference between the boost and the wave?
3. The boost sounded CRAP in the cooper S....any reason for that?
4. Are the speakers better in a 53 chilli cooper?

Any advise would be gratefully received...

Hi Philip,

1. All Mini CD players are the boost type.
2. The boost models have more powerful amps (and a different wiring harness) than the wave.
3. The original Mini CD player (non MP3) was manufactured by Alpine and sounded good. The later Mini CD player (MP3 and WMA compatible) is manufactured by Siemens and sounds less good.
4. The speakers remain the same.

I have replaced the Alpine boost CD in my 2002 Mini with a 2005 Seimens boost CD. The Seimens unit doesn't sound as good as the Alpine unit but it hardly ever jumps (unlike the Alpine) and it plays MP3's and WMA's.

Also, did you listen to the Seimens unit playing both MP3's and CD's, it sounds a lot better playing CD's.

And finally, have you considered fitting a MP3 compatible CD disc changer in the boot (if you have the wiring) and operating it from the original Alpine CD player?

[philip_jones]

Thanks for the advice......I think in the long run I'll just change the head unit. I'm a little fussy about the sound side of things.....perhaps I should've kept the original Alpine unit and got a MP3 cd changer! Ow well....anyone recommend a head unit that plays MP3/WMA cd's?

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by philip_jones

Thanks for the advice......I think in the long run I'll just change the head unit. I'm a little fussy about the sound side of things.....perhaps I should've kept the original Alpine unit and got a MP3 cd changer! Ow well....anyone recommend a head unit that plays MP3/WMA cd's?

Philip,

Since you want to go this route and don't have Harmon Kardon, you have a good selection in front of you. The post above was pretty dead on except for the part about the manufacturer.

Alpine makes the Boost and Wave non - TMC (Nav system)

VDO makes the Boost with TMC.

Other than that, if you are still wanting to change the HU, I suggest you look at...

www.newministuff.com and contact Mikey. He has a selection of HU's that will work wonders in a MINI.

[PMB]

Philip, I have the 06 Boost cd player and it is fine as a starter. In my opinion the stock speakers are absolute rubbish, just like in all BMWs. All 6 are low tech., If you saw the lot in a showroom you would not pay £20 for them. Yes they are that bad. If you replace the speakers with some good efficient speakers you will probably not want to bother changing the head unit. I recommend the Infinity kappa point 7 range. The kappa 693.7s in the back of the Mini are amazing, especially with some dynamat sound deadening.

Better head units will give you more ability to increase bass and treble but all that is doing is making up for the very deficient speakers. A better head unit will also allow you to connect amps and subs etc, but where are you going to put them? Just playing devils advocate here, but space is a real premium in a Mini.

[memphisto]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flakemeister

The post above was pretty dead on except for the part about the manufacturer.

Alpine makes the Boost and Wave non - TMC (Nav system)

Prepare to eat your words!
I have the pictures to prove it!

Picture of Seimens 2005 Boost CD player in my Mini.


Manufacturers label on CD player.


Close up of manufacturers label on CD player.

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by memphisto

Prepare to eat your words!
I have the pictures to prove it!

Picture of Seimens 2005 Boost CD player in my Mini.


Manufacturers label on CD player.


Close up of manufacturers label on CD player.

OK, I'm waiting?

Alpine makes the NON-TMC versions which is not the one pictured above.

and

VDO (a division of Siemens but still considered its own company here in Germany) makes the one you posted above. The parent company is Siemens (the distributer) but the company that made the product is VDO.

I thought the same until I met a guy here in Germany that works for VDO.

Would you go half and half with me?

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by PMB

Philip, I have the 06 Boost cd player and it is fine as a starter. In my opinion the stock speakers are absolute rubbish, just like in all BMWs. All 6 are low tech., If you saw the lot in a showroom you would not pay £20 for them. Yes they are that bad. If you replace the speakers with some good efficient speakers you will probably not want to bother changing the head unit. I recommend the Infinity kappa point 7 range. The kappa 693.7s in the back of the Mini are amazing, especially with some dynamat sound deadening.

Better head units will give you more ability to increase bass and treble but all that is doing is making up for the very deficient speakers. A better head unit will also allow you to connect amps and subs etc, but where are you going to put them? Just playing devils advocate here, but space is a real premium in a Mini.

Spot on! Speakers are usually the first thing that you should upgrade. You will find that the HU is not all that bad and can hold you over until funds arrive for a new one.

[CarFreak!]

I changed my head unit to Alpine CDA-9853R, and it was a BIG (!!) improvment! It made the oem speakers come alive! (but i'll change them as well ) Morel<3

I really think that the oem head unit sucks:\
But hey, not everybodey is into high-end sound

[PMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by CarFreak!

I changed my head unit to Alpine CDA-9853R, and it was a BIG (!!) improvment! It made the oem speakers come alive! (but i'll change them as well ) Morel<3

I really think that the oem head unit sucks:\
But hey, not everybodey is into high-end sound

Obviously we are not all into high end sound. I connected the stock HU to a BBC LS3/5A speaker and playing flat it sounded very good. I connected the stock speakers to £6000 of tube based CD and Linn amplification and they sounded aweful. Those stock speakers are useless. You see I am an audiophile of pretty much the highest calibre. The only way to get the stock speakers to sound good is by extreme equalisation and processing. By doing this you introduce so much unwanted noise and distortion it can in no way be considered high fidelity (or average for that matter).

The truth is nobody makes a bad sounding head unit. Some just go louder than others.

[Brethy]

has anyone heard or even seen a mini digital set up. @£950 plus fitting it must be good???

[CarFreak!]

Quote: Originally Posted by PMB

Obviously we are not all into high end sound. I connected the stock HU to a BBC LS3/5A speaker and playing flat it sounded very good. I connected the stock speakers to £6000 of tube based CD and Linn amplification and they sounded aweful. Those stock speakers are useless. You see I am an audiophile of pretty much the highest calibre. The only way to get the stock speakers to sound good is by extreme equalisation and processing. By doing this you introduce so much unwanted noise and distortion it can in no way be considered high fidelity (or average for that matter).

The truth is nobody makes a bad sounding head unit. Some just go louder than others.

I understand! I think the stock speakers are crap, and want to change them as soon as possible. I have bought a set of Morel speakers, and gonna buy some morel sub elements. Do you have any thoughts about this brand?. And i'm planing to use some Sinfoni amps to run them. Bad sound kills good music

My point is that a new HU can make the stock speakers punch more But i totally agree that it's smarter to change the speakers instead! more bang for the buck!

Edit: As you might understand, i'm kind of new to this But i love to listen to great audio setups! and wants to learn more about it!

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by PMB

Obviously we are not all into high end sound. I connected the stock HU to a BBC LS3/5A speaker and playing flat it sounded very good. I connected the stock speakers to £6000 of tube based CD and Linn amplification and they sounded aweful. Those stock speakers are useless. You see I am an audiophile of pretty much the highest calibre. The only way to get the stock speakers to sound good is by extreme equalisation and processing. By doing this you introduce so much unwanted noise and distortion it can in no way be considered high fidelity (or average for that matter).

The truth is nobody makes a bad sounding head unit. Some just go louder than others.

You are in a moving car, it can't be considered high fidelity either way. I'm an audiophile of sorts and a musician and I wouldn't consider my car a proper place to listen to music. Might as well have ear buds in with a Ipod on a busy street....

However, I agree that the stock speakers are garbage compared to aftermarket. They are not designed to be high end stuff and aftermarket give you better quality thru all ranges. The HK speakers are a little better but still not the best out there. For me, it is fine as I listen to MP3s (once again a proper audiophile should cringe) for my commute. No need for a $20,000 dollar system in my car just to listen to music with lots of background noise.

Your last line speaks the biggest truth. What it boils down to is what bells and whistles you want with that HU.

[PMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flakemeister

You are in a moving car, it can't be considered high fidelity either way. I'm an audiophile of sorts and a musician and I wouldn't consider my car a proper place to listen to music. Might as well have ear buds in with a Ipod on a busy street....

However, I agree that the stock speakers are garbage compared to aftermarket. They are not designed to be high end stuff and aftermarket give you better quality thru all ranges. The HK speakers are a little better but still not the best out there. For me, it is fine as I listen to MP3s (once again a proper audiophile should cringe) for my commute. No need for a $20,000 dollar system in my car just to listen to music with lots of background noise.

Your last line speaks the biggest truth. What it boils down to is what bells and whistles you want with that HU.

Whether you are in a moving car or not is irrelevant to high fidelity. Fidelity, in electronic terms, is the equipment's ability to reproduce, and faithfulness to an input signal. The fact that it is not easily possible in a car to position speakers to give a perfect sound stage is not the equipment's fault. I would be willing to bet that the 06 stock boost HU when connected to a good pair of speakers, on stands in a good listening environment will produce as good a sound stage as most "hi fi" systems.

Just as a point on the stock speakers, I have no idea if the trade cost or value. However, the H/K system uses Audax TW010 tweeters that in the trade cost about £1.30 each. Very high end!!!

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by PMB

Whether you are in a moving car or not is irrelevant to high fidelity.

I see your point on this. The fidelity of the radio to reproduce good quality reproduction and output is irrelevant. What I meant was acoustics...

However, what is the point in spending all that money when as soon as you start the car you loose the very sound that you were trying to achieve? My point was that the majority is lost anyway and that spending thousands does nothing to help.

We both agreed that upgrading the speakers is a great start (one I highly recommend) over replacing the HU. We also agreed that the stock HU is not really all that bad and the only thing it really fails at is functionality. Bottom line, we both agree. I just don't put much into my car, instead, I buy decent home systems. Either way, nothing can replace a studio.

[PMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by CarFreak!

I understand! I think the stock speakers are crap, and want to change them as soon as possible. I have bought a set of Morel speakers, and gonna buy some morel sub elements. Do you have any thoughts about this brand?. And i'm planing to use some Sinfoni amps to run them. Bad sound kills good music

My point is that a new HU can make the stock speakers punch more But i totally agree that it's smarter to change the speakers instead! more bang for the buck!

Edit: As you might understand, i'm kind of new to this But i love to listen to great audio setups! and wants to learn more about it!

I actually have Morel speakers in my other car. Morel has been around a long time, about 30 years I think. The speakers I have are about 8 years old, but look very much like the current Dotech components as the use Neodymium magnets and the large voice coil. Even the crossover housing looks the same (from memory, I have not seen mine in a few years!!!)

I was in the process of installing a serious system, as usual I started with speakers. I put the components in the front (and some Dynamat Extreme), running from the stock HU, and put a Rockford amp and 15" P1154 sub in the back, taking input from the rear speaker leads from the HU.. I was so impressed with the way it sounded I never bothered replacing the stock HU, or even installing an amp for the components. I may do one day but for the cost and amount of time it will take I cannot see the improvement being worth the investment.