[GeordieDave]

Hi all, almost set my heart on a Red Cooper S Works and have a couple of ICE questions...

It's got BOOST Radio and Autochanger: Can this play CD-R's in the head unit or the changer? What about MPS or WMA?
If it can't i might upgrade the head unit, so has anyone upgraded the head unit with the following combo (SatNav, Autochanger, MultiF Wheel)? I had an Alpine head unit in my 330 Beemer and it worked with the wheel but not the BMW 6CD so i thought i'd ask...

Ok so technically that's three questions...

thanks all and great forum BTW.

 

[CooperSBe]

Anything ICE related I suggest you speak to Mike from newministuff.co.uk. I think his user name on MINI2 is mikeythemini...

 

[GeordieDave]

Thanks

Thanx CooperSBe, i've just found his site newministuff.co.uk.

I guess i'll need to be careful not to lose my SatNav voice if i remove the Radio BOOST.

cheers

GeordieDave

 

[speedsman]

To the best of my knowledge you have to have the cd player +boost and this can play mp3's etc. I don't think the configuration you mentioned will play mp3 cd's I imagine it will play cd-r 's that conform to the audio cd format. When you think about it you have the boost cd head unit what is the point in having an autochanger as you have the ability to fit more tracks than a full stocked 6 disc autochanger on 1 cd. I hope that makes sense. There are some aftermarket head units that have the ability to record lots of tracks and they play mp3 cd's which does away the autochanger and they should work with the multi functional steering wheel.

 

[rentagas]

The new (post july build) cd player will play cdr and cdrw discs with WMA's and MP3's on ie about 12 cd's per disc-making the boot hogging multi cd (which does not play mp3s) redundant. There are cheaper and better quality alternatives but they all look naff in the mini interior (IMHO). The Sat nav (if BMW give you the correct disc) will divert around traffic jams which gives it an advantage over some alternatives -oh and if you are spending that kind of cash I would get the HK audio. However £1800 (the cost of the above) gets you a fairly cool alpine/pioneer etc alternative.

 

[GeordieDave]

All, tnx for replies. Rentagas i should have said that the car's from MiniCherished so it comes with what it comes with and is preJuly model so no MP3 then... I don't think i'd have SatNav given the choice (would've gone for HK instead), and from what i read on Mikeythemini's site changing the head unit can lose you the SatNav voice unless you do some extra fiddling.

I suppose the ideal is to change the Boost for an Alpine MP3 or similar and take the changer out to free up a bit of boot space... Maybe i'll just see how i get on with the Boost for a while but as i've just ripped all my Vinyl collection to MP3 it seems a shame. Hey it's not going to stop me getting the car though!

Can anyone tell me whether the bog standard Boost is better than the old (2001) BMW Business radio (which was feeble)?

 

[rentagas]

Your choices for playing MP3's are:
aftermarket-prob with sat nav voice
new-buy a new model cd player (around £400)
get an ipod link -either wait for the BMW or buy Dennison from MTM -this will cost £125 plus at least £220 for the 20GB ipod-but an ipod is a reasonable investment if you have lots of MP3's. The link will work with your MFSW

 

[mikeythemini]

No aftermarket stereos will work with the cd changer
A nav interface will keep the nav voice
a mfsw adaptor will keep the mfsw
Boost is still quite feeble
If you don't want to change the radio, an alternative is an amp & sub for depth
Or upgrade the speakers & add an amp

 

[jason1wood]

geordieDave, if you take the changer out, i'll take it off your hands, got boost CD, no sat nav, just want a changer, that'll keep me happy for a while...cheers.