In my 2002 Mini Cooper S, I just installed an Eclipse 8443 HU, 5 1/4 Diamond HEX s500s in the front doors. I just purchased a set of Diamond HEX s600s to be custom fitted in the 6x9 location in the back. I am going to use a McIntosh MC440M amp and 1 JL Audio 10w6v2 sub in a sealed box. Can you please tell me your opinion? Im wondering if the s600s would be better up front and the s500s better in the back? Stock speaker size in the doors on the Mini are 5 1/4. Your general overall thoughts on the choice of system would be appreciated.
I'd put a s600s in front if you can and don't even worry about rear fill. Save the money and put a better sub for the utmost sound quality, maybe step up to a W7. You could also get an ID MAX, Adire Audio Brahma, etc. JL is good, but I find them overpriced saying there are subs with the same performance for almost half the cost.
Jonathan, thanks for your advice! Ive already purchased the s500s and the s600s. The s500s are currently installed in the front doors and the s600s are not yet. would there be any value in putting the s500s in the back if i moved the s600s to the front? Or is there a way to use one set of tweeters and then the 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 drivers as a 3 way system? And if it as a 3-w, would i bridge channels 1-2 and 3-4 for the 3way and then bridge 5-6 for the sub? Also, the mini is a very small car, and the tweeters stock location is near the door handle at the top of the door. Would you recommend the tweeter being placed in the door just above the woofer? I wonder about imaging because my left leg may block the tweeter a bit.
Also, out of the subs you mentioned, which one would you choose for the best sound quality? The trunk in the mini is small, so i think space is fairly limited for a sub. Also the mcintosh amp is pretty big. Id still like some trunk room for practical things, like groceries
I like ID maxes for sound quality. Sling out some very good SPL, too. One is enough. One option is to return the 5.25" component system. You don't really need rear fill, a lot or rear fill takes away from the front soundstage, especially in a small car like a mini. Another option is to install the 5 1/4 woofer as a rear fill driver, use the crossover as you normally would, but high pass it around 500 hz. This will band limit rear fill. Then, you could install the 6 1/2s up front and the tweeter very close to the woofer, maybe SLIGHTLY above it. Then, install the tweeter from the 5 1/4 component system up high (like the a-pillars or high door) and attenuate the rear (this will attenuate the rear driver and the tweeter up high). Doing this will add a little rear fill, and up front the main tweeters will be from the 6.5" component system, down lower with the woofer, so the imaging and blending of drivers will be very good, while the tweeters up top won't be heard very much, but they'll raise the soundstage a tad so it won't all sound like it's coming from your leg. Either option will sound really good.
Jonathan, Im going to take your advice and use the 5/14 for rear fill and put the tweeters up high in the door, and have the 6 1/2 in the door with their tweeters slightly above. one question, will phase be a problem running 4 tweeters up front?
Shouldn't be a problem at all as long as it's wired correctly. Make sure the rear is attenuated a great deal for the best results. Hope everything works out good for you. Make sure you like what you hear before you make any permanent screw locations, use double sided tape and experiment with the tweeters up top before cutting into your car. Competitors run these setups, but you might not like it. It's all up to your ears in the end, no sense in leaving screw holes experimenting.
Jonathan, a couple more questions. I dont have the Mcintosh amp hooked up yet. I did some experimenting on the way to work this morning and it seems as if the front speakers (s500s) are hooked up to Hi and the rear speakers (stock are installed right now) are hooked up to Mid. Im not sure exactly how to fade the speakers in easy mode, but in pro mode i just went to time correction and turned the db way down on MID. I wanted to hear what the s500s sounded like alone. The crossover was defeated for Hi so the s500s were getting the full frequency range. However....they sounded very thin and tinny, and i have the silk dome tweeters which should sound natural and smooth. I dont have a sub yet either but my experiment was done so i could see how the car would sound without rear fill or with a greatly attenuated rear fill. also the crossover for MID (rear factory speakers) was set at 500 down to 100. In additon, the factory location for the doors in the MINI are 5 1/4 and it doesnt look easily modifiable at all, because the contour of the door panels are clearly designed for 5 1/4 only. I understand that the speakers will sound WAY better when powered by the amp, but should they sound this thin and tinny?
No they shouldn't. Check the polarity, the speakers may be out of phase. I'm assuming your head unit is Eclipse 8454. Easy mode it should display the preouts/amp to be front and rear instead of high and mid.
I have an 8443, and I dont recall seeing a fader control for front and rear speakers in easy mode but Ill check tomorrow. The speakers just sound like there is no midbass at all, just midrange and hi frequencies, and I know its not due to any software settings in the head unit.
I just looked at the HEX crossovers and noticed that rear fill was turned on. I turned it off as I have no rear fill speakers hooked up to the crossovers. I havent had the chance to listen yet, but do you think this could have been robbing the HEX's of power so they didnt sound right? Again, I dont have an amp installed yet so the speakers are only being powered by the head unit.
