R56 Stereo Upgrade options

[k3ith]

I have the base poverty stereo in my cooper and its the biggest disapointment along with a few other niggles.
As its inbuilt to the car what can i do to replace it? upgrade/retrofit to a used unit? is that possible, seen another unit on ebay so can i retrofit.
or as i saw on another post relocate another stereo into the car?
speakers will no doubt need changed as well any good ones?:thumbs up:

[Craig]

Speak to mikey at Newministuff.com. He is the Guru ;)

[ianking]

I had the newministuff full upgrade in my last R56 and it was brilliant.

Me and my mate fitted it without any probs so saved a trip down south.

[The Dogfather]

Mikey's kit are probably the most cost effective way of upgrading as you get all the kit and the wires. The existing stereo is a good unit it just needs amplification and better speakers to sound good.

Its probably my car that you seen with another headunit in the dash, this was done to use that particular headunit as a processor only. This processor gives time alignment to correct for the different speaker locations to get a good soundstage and it also has a full active crossover network so that the each element of the sound can be amplified individually for the ultimate in sound quality, its a bit like bi-amping in a home system. This processor headunit will be replaced with a proper processor, an Audison Bit One, as soon as I have the cash. The standard unit is still used for playing CDs, bluetooth etc.

Using another stereo in the storage compartment is a bad idea as you can't operate the controls from the driver's seat.

How much are you looking to spend as this will influence what's best for you?

[k3ith]

Not sure as I have some new speakers and an amp in the garage both kenwood wasn't sure if they would fit in. will check their codes

[Audio Advice]

You have numerous options all depending on budget.