Sound System for Mini - What do i need?

[Pigsy]

Wanting to eventually set up a great car stereo system for my Mini ('78 Leyland Mini S). Dont really know much bout sound systems so hoping to get some info bout what would be the best.
Pretty much wanting to get a beautifully restored/modified Mini. Only 2x6" pioneers in the back with a rather dodgy tape deck at the moment.. Whats the best combination of speakers for front and rear given the size of the car? I would also like to keep the back seat, so no 12" subs in their place!
Wanting a good all round system with a nice serving of bass :)
What sorta speakers, need an amp?, small sub?, head unit (somthing secure with cd).
Price is an issue so after a system that performs well and still leaves me funds for the rest of the mods :D

Cheers

[tomee]

i'm more of a SQ person then SPL, (been there done that! :))
in such a small cabin space ur wasting ur time with putting speakrs in the back IMO, unless u take passengers all the time in ur car whihc i highly doubt as it it pretty small :)
thus equals more money to spend on ur hu, amp fonrt speakrs if u dont bother with back ones

for best possible sound upfornt its best to go with 5-6.5" splits or co-ax's as u get some good mid range thre too.... aslo depends on ur price range in this department as i dont know how much u wanna spend.

if u want a nice serving of bass id suggest a ported box with either a 10" as u have limited space and having a small cabin u have less air to push and thus louder output of ur sub.

HU's i recommend pioneers range as they are a no fuss easy to use unit.... basic range should start at around $230

amps well it depdns on what ur powering imo

[gti6]

I reckon you should get a good CD head unit with rca outs.

Then a nice 4 channel amp say 30-50WRMS per channel.

Some splits for the front (I'm not sure how big you can go here - that's up to you). I'd spend about $300 here.

Either a sealed 10" running bridged from 2 of the amp channels, or

2 7x10s (I've seen a mini with 6x9s in the parcel shelf and it looked like there was more room) running off the amp in Sub mode with the crossover set so they only play frequencies below say 150Hz. This option might clear up any space issues.

[Pigsy]

Hey guys thanks for ya help.

Well have done some hunting around and have gotten a good price on a set of gear, heres what i was thinking.
JVC mp3cd HU 4x50 6 RCA (so i'm told)
6" 3ways for the front
6x9" splits for the back
10" sub All speakers and sub are JL (i good brand from waht ive heard)
and prolly a cheap 2 channel amp just for the sub.

Just on the speakers, they a good brand? and this sound like a reasonable system to get in the beast? :)
Cheers.
Pigsy

[tomee]

JL's are good IMO
but id prefer splits up front unless you got speaker pods of those in a MKIV supra :)

[Pigsy]

I aint totally up with the differences between splits, co-axials and 3ways or 2ways. What is the main difference in these speakers? just the range they can output and how do they work (well basically)?

[teK]

The components you have chosen are pretty good but I agree with Tomee to ditch the idea of rear speakers. In a car as small as a Mini rear speakers are definately not needed, especially when you are going to have a sub to play bass. More speakers just complicates matters so KISS!!!

Spend the money saved from rear speakers on a decent 4 channel amp. Use 2 channels to run the front speakers and bridge the remaining 2 for the sub. It will sound better than current plans.

The JVC head unit sounds like a good idea. "6" RCA means 3 pairs; front, rear, and subwoofer. Advantage over 2 pairs is that you can fade sound between f/rear and l/right without changing volume of the sub. JL speakers sound like good value.

Coaxials come in 2,3,4 ways and are basically multiple separate speaker drivers mounted into one structure with a very simple crossover system. This is for ease of installation/cost. Each driver plays it's own frequency range, and together the coax is supposedly good to play the full range of sounds in music. How good it performs is up to the quality of the coax :).

Splits have each driver separate and you can mount them whereever in the car you desire, for precise aligning of soundstage. These also have a higher quality external crossover package and so splits are almost always seen in high end installations (see: $$$).

Don't forget a security system, I don't have much faith in the Mini stopping anyone with even a screwdriver :(.