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Front & rear channel freq response, rear channel bass cut

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Buz999 
#1 ·
Just read these two interesting threads on NAM and thought some of you guys may be interested:

MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - R56 front/rear channel swap -- just do it!

MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Measured frequency response, front and rear, non-hi-fi

In short it looks like the rear channel has a bass cut in the head unit and the front does not. A NAM user has identified a connection in the car you can use to swap the front and rear channels and so pass a full signal to the 6x9s which should more capable of handling low frequencies than the fronts. Not tried it but it seems to make sense...

Any ICE gurus care to comment?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Mini Cooper S (2008) - Swapped Front and Rears

This sounded interesting, so I had a go.....

Well, managed to get the pins out, swapped over as per NAM's thread, *but* left and right are reversed on UK spec mini's - FR = FL etc....

Changed over again, and all is working as expected - I wasn't expecting much of a difference, but there is definately more bass, and treble sounds better (that could be subjective though).

I've attached a pic showing the UK pinouts - it only took me about an hour, including making a tool to pop the pins out. (wrap some metal around an m5 bolt, leaving a 1/2 mm or less gap)

Just make sure you disconnect the battery first!


*EDIT* - Phasing is incorrect on the Rears - pins 8 & 2 are swapped - wil update later.....

*EDIT* - Updated - New connection jpg uploaded.

Also, when checking everything, I double-checked the wiring pairs, and which speaker had which pair...

FR Black/Violet (-) Black/Red (+)
FL Yellow/Black (-) Yellow/Brown (+)
RR Yellow/Red (-) Brown/Orange (+)
RL Blue/Blackk (-) Blue/Brown (+)
 

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#4 ·
Thanks Matg28 just completed this in my clubman to your diagram and the stereo sounds so much better, as you mentioned there is definately more bass being generated by the 6x9s, the fronts no longer distort even with the bass is turned up (would benefit from a tweeter upgrade)

What is the impedance of the front and rear channels now that these have been swapped? are both 2 ohm or is one set 4 ohm?

I would definately recommend this to anybody wanting better sound without the investment of a full upgrade.
 
#5 ·
Not sure about the ohms - I think I read on the NAM forums that they're the same front & rear, fronts being 2 x 2 ohm, rears being 4 (or something like that....)

Had a nice long listen today (after the M4 debacle), defo better, still not true "hifi", but REM was thumping along nicely - even had the windows rattling......

Glad to see that it worked for you!
 
#8 ·
Mike, just a stepping stone whilst I save up the penny's to come and see your good self for a full upgrade..........If you have any offers on anytime soon please let me know. I am in Birmingham but I have read that it is well worth the drive up.

Swapping the speaker terminals has added a bit more depth but is still far from transforming the stereo system into what it should have been from the factory, my old mini cooper S had the standard boost system and it was the best stereo I have ever had and I must say I did expect a lot more from the clubman or at least not to go backwards.
 
#12 ·
Pins were a nightmare! For anyone else trying you'll need a pair of needle nose pliers.

Cut back/pull back 1-2" of tape that covers all the incoming wires on the female side.

Using a small screwdriver pop the sides of the connector and its base loose from each other; once all 4 plastic tabs that hold the base in place are loose work the loose section as far back up the wires as possible.

Now use the needle nose pliers to pull the wires loose.

Took me an hour to figure this out, breaking two connectors in the process; so be gentle!:hmph:

This process is very much worth the trouble, took me 10 mins to gain access to the connectors and 50 mins to work out how to free them!

Good luck
 
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