27 replies to this topic

[leadly]

My current mini is the 2nd I've owned and neither have had a head unit or speakers in.

 

From the small bit of reading I've done, you want the speakers in front of you. I toiled with settling for speakers in the door pockets but didn't want them visible. Metro door pockets look like the answer but I couldn't find anything suitable and I don't really like the look of having door pockets.

[travellering]

You may already have made your decision, but if not, I can speak from some limited personal experience. I'm all for the purity of a mini with no sound system at all, just as Sir Alec intended. Unfortunately, I live in the United States of bloody long straight roads, and exhaust roar and gearbox whine can definitely lose their magic after a couple of hours.
Therefore, I've tried almost every version of what you shouldn't do in a mini.
Version 1: Bluetooth speaker, computer speakers, etc. Not really loud enough at anything above tootling round town speeds. They will allow you to keep track of the score while waiting at the lights, but can't keep up if you actually get moving.
Version 2: Car head unit, 6x9 speakers crammed under rear seat in those miserable cheap carpeted boxes. The sound is there, but you know in TV shows and movies when the hero is backstage, or in the room next to a concert, how they muffle the sound. That's the best case with this setup. At road speed I wound up turning the bass down and the treble up to hear any lyrics or speech at all. I still had to run at such a high percentage of the volume range that the speakers were audibly distorting.
Version 3: Bad idea #2 plus amplifier power. With an external amp, I had enough power to drive the speakers to a full range audible volume. I had no idea how loud that actually was until I was passed by a fire engine doing about twice my speed. Useless wing mirrors failed to give me any warning, and it wasn't until he was beside me that I realised he was running his siren and blaring the air horns...
Version 4: I relocated the amplified 6x9s to firing upwards in the rear companion bins. Full range sound much more audible at lower volume levels, but still sounds wooly and slightly off.
Version 5: Added subwoofer. Took some of the load off the 6x9s, allowed them to play midtones and treble and the sub provided the oomph. Sounded better, and is to date the best my mini has sounded...outside the car. Inside, and especially at road speed, there is still a strange peakiness to the sound where the harmonics of road noise wash out a bit of the music. Still needs volumes well above hearing damage levels to sound full and realistic.
In my other mini (which, let's be honest, isn't mine, it's hers) I faced more space limitations and to date I still have just a head unit and cheap6.5" coaxials cut into a flat board under the rear seat. Not much space lost, but virtually no sound either.
Final mini has a set of high-end separates, running off a 100watt per channel 4 channel amp, mounted in the rear parcel shelf. I made tweeter brackets from 1/4 inch thick steel bar so they could be positioned aiming towards the opposing side windshield pillars. It's a fuel injected late Rover, so benefits from the best of factory sound deadening, and the music can be heard at barely above conversational volume levels. A 10" sub sitting in a flat sub box just behind the driver's seat fleshed out the bottom end nicely, without turning heads from outside the car.

Still would be better with the sound in front of me, either footwell pods or tweeters on the dash rail and woofers in door pods, but keeping three Minis, three Citroen's, and five SAABs running doesn't actually leave me enough free time to get a single one of them right...

[Mini-dale]

I have a Bose sound link mini, I have not tried it in my mini, but I recon that would be loud enough, its got a fair amount of bass on it. You could build a nice space in to your dash to mount one which would help with the bass a bit more. about 7hrs battery on it. Just my 2p's worth!

[GreenFrog]

Could you try your sondlink in your Mini?
It's the way I would go, but I think my RC40 + K&N would be to loud...

[andrewmini67]

Wanted my mini to have no stereo or not be visable so I have built this. Made from two fire extinguishers with a small amp inside and fitted a speaker at either end. Originally had the idea of putting speakers into the bottom of the smaller rear roll cage sized ones but would still need an amp somewhere. Still on the look out for some straps to finish it off though. Has a power lead and jack cable so you can plug in any device to play music.The sound quality is OK for me but I have not road tested it yet. 

[Rob B]

I have fitted an io play unit which is very discreet unit with a very small display and a separate control unit that I have fitted to the steering cowl. Separate small amp and crossover units in the boot. Use bass speakers in a board fitted beneath the rear seats with tweeters on the dash. The io play kit can connect direct to iPod or line in, and Bluetooth connectivity. Very neat. Sounds great stationary, but have yet to test drive as the car is not yet finished.

[Big Sam]

You could make your own bluetooth speakers, using car speakers that you know will be loud enough and have no obvious head unit or one hidden in the rear bin:

 

http://www.instructa...eaker/?ALLSTEPS

[blackjack1986]

I have used the sound link mini by Bose in an mpi before, stuck it to the inside of the glove box with some sticky pads just as a test, and worked pretty good, but did not give the same surround effect as a decent sound system can. As people have mentioned, road noise/drumming significantly effects the performance of a small speaker.

[New game mini]

I've just bought this Sony SRS X2 Bluetooth speaker for the mini and it is unreal. The sound is amazing and easily drowns out my engine/Road noise even at half volume. It has an aux socket, It's really small and has grippy feet so it just sits on my dash shelf. At £35 from Amazon it was a bargain too!

[KyleCotton]

Here goes:

I am considering an alternative to a full blown car stereo installation in my 83 City, & I wanted to know your thoughts.

Installing a stereo will mean messing about with running cables, a modern-looking stereo in my classic interior, etc, etc.

With wireless Bluetooth speakers being very good these days, and with the presence of music streaming services like Spotify/Apple Music etc, I was considering buying a decent rechargeable Bluetooth speaker for my car, such as the Sony SRS X33 or X55.

One of these will allow easy connection to my phone, hands-free calls, a fairly decent sound (according to reviews) & the ability to remove from the car for use elsewhere, like in the beach after a long run in the mini during summer.

Reviews state that the sound is good. They are small enough to fit in a shelf in the car. And they do pack a punch. Batteries in them last for a good 8-12 hours before needing a recharge.

Price-wise, I think I'd spend less than I would on a decent head unit, speakers & the necessary cables.

Concerns: Loud enough? Decent sounds?

What do you reckon?

Some speakers won't last long if they are under constant vibrations, I would look into a rugged one. Just an idea.

Edited by KyleCotton, 31 December 2016 - 05:10 PM.

[greenmini1275]

I don't have a stereo in my car either, won't have one. I use a Sony SRS X55. More than loud enough at 80mph. It just sits on the dash shelf next to my centre speedo. The handsfree isn't all that good as you have to almost shout, but still nice to have. When I leave the car it goes under my seat. I'm going to be fitting a cigarette lighter to charge speakers and phone soon.

[Steve220]

I use a set of Bose QC35's. Seem to do the trick nicely!

[Minireilly]

Ok, to bring this thread up to date (took my time, lol)....

 

I took the plunge and bought two UE BOOM 2 speakers for various uses, including in the mini.

 

I am very impressed to say the least!!!

 

The speakers are more than loud enough, and are small enough to put wherever I like. The sound is epic!!!

 

AND, you can link up to 50 speakers together, wirelessly, and play your music through all of them simultaneously! (Though 2 are more than enough).

 

If you only use two speakers, you can set them as a stereo pair, so that you get proper stereo sound (not just mono).

 

They also have a 12hr battery life. More than enough for a day's driving about.

 

I can say that I am converted. I will never be doing any kind of stereo install on my mini. There is just no point.

 

To add to the happiness, you can take your speakers out of the car and bring them down onto the beach, etc, etc, and continue listening to your tunes! Win win all round if you ask me. They are massively rugged, and fully waterproof (they can be dropped into water). They have bluetooth connectivity or a jack connection. They have handsfree calling, if you need it. They also have integrated mounting nuts for if you want to mount them on a camera tripod, which means that I could probably just install see M6 bolts somewhere in the car, so that I could simply mount them (possibly on the rear parcel shelf??). What's not to like?

 

(You'd think I was a Boom 2 salesman, haha!)

 

Thanks for all your input, people.

 

Good luck!