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Post Info TOPIC: Upgrading the sound system ('14 Countryman All4 S)


Newbie (Taking the short-cut)

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Upgrading the sound system ('14 Countryman All4 S)


Hello All.   After 27+ years of driving mostly pickup trucks, I bought a used MINI a couple of weeks ago and have fallen in love with driving again.  What a blast.   Since I like to drive with the sunroof open and the windows down during these beautiful Buffalo summer days, I quickly discovered the limitations of the stereo.   My 2014 Countryman All4 S has the standard stereo package.  I've seen the YouTube videos on adding aftermarket head units that involve ripping the dash apart - not interested in that route.   From what I've read, upgrading the speakers make a noticeable improvement, with adding an amp being the next logical step.   I've not been able to find any details on the speakers mounted in the doors or under the seats.   The audio store I visited had the front and back speakers listed as 5.25", but the opening in the front doors look more like tweeter size in the 2-3" range.  Taking my VIN into a dealership wasn't much help either other than confirming I had the "standard" sound system - no details on speakers.

I'd rather not have to pull the doors apart or remove the seats to figure out the correct speaker size, so if anyone has info on what's in there I'd be grateful to learn.  If there's an existing thread that touches on speaker upgrades and/or amp selection and installation, that would be great too.   Thanks.

 



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Newbie (Taking the short-cut)

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Posts: 2
Date:

I'm just posting this for other owner's future reference.

I ended up buying a "Stage One" speaker upgrade kit from Bavsound.com. I'm very happy with how it sounds. All the 2 front and 2 rear speakers are the same size (100mm diameter). The Bavsound speakers have identical mounting points (3 total) as the stock speakers. The wiring clip on the stock speakers plugs directly into the wiring harness for the Bavsound version - very much a "plug and play" upgrade.

The front speakers are accessible by removing the small filler plug (about an inch long) that's in the bottom well of the window switch assembly. There's a screw behind the filler plug that, once it's removed, will allow the switch assembly to lifted off the door panel. This exposes 2 more screws that are locking the door panel in place. Once they are removed, it's a matter of using a trim removal tool to "pop" the remaining plastic fasteners loose. I started from the bottom/underside of the door panel. Once a couple have come loose, it become easier to use hand pressure to get the rest of the panel off. There's a short YouTube video (www.youtube.com/watch) that might be useful to watch ahead time.

The back doors are similar, except there's no filler plug to remove. Instead, the door handle has a hard plastic cover which had to be popped off using a trim removal tool starting at the small open slot on the bottom edge of the cover. Removing the plastic cover will expose 2 screws. Once these screws are removed, the panel removal will again be a matter of progressively prying it loose from the bottom edge with a trim removal tool and then using hand pressure.

All of the screws on my doors were Torx T-20 type. A metric socket (I believe 8mm) will be needed to remove the nuts holding the speakers in place.

All in, this took less than an hour to get all 4 new speakers in. The hard parts were figuring out how to get the first panel off and finagling (thank you spell check) the wire clip off the stock speaker.





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