Okay, my son has talked me into replacing the standard Rover MPi Stereo Radio Cassette (would have been a luxury in my day) with some "ICE" (thought he wanted a fridge unit first???).
His "musts" - CD - FM/AM Radio + USB slot and aux input for iPod, 4 speakers, sub (stopped him there)
My "musts" it has to be a unit that will fit into the existing slot in the dash, connect up to existing wires (I'm hoping that the original is a DIN type plug and plugs straight in), can make use of the existing parcel shelf speakers (may replace if they are considered rubbish) also, I have a under rear seat speaker board with oval (6 x 9) holes already cut in (would like to use this as it matches car interior).
So, can anyone advise a suitable set of gear?
PS - I would like to not have to buy an amp but not sure if the amp in the head unit will be sufficient for 4 x speakers and possibly a sub? (at a push, may consider an aux amp?).
Was looking at this Clarion unit......................
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for starters, that and almost any aftermarket unit will power 4 speakers, that is how they are designed as they have a 4 channel inbuilt amp for this purpose. it will power your rear shelf speakers and your under seat speakers once fitted. the stereo that you have looked at is a extremely good qaulity unit, and capabel of running amps as well. however, you are limited for space in the mini for fitting amps and subs. i have managed to squeeze a 12" sub and box into the boot of my clubby, but at the expense of no boot space. if you put a nice pair of 6x9 speakers in your under seat board, these can produce a reasonable amount of bass. as for stereo connections, because you have a rover mini, you should already have iso connections on your original stereo, therefore your new unit will plug straight in
if your son is adamant on having a sub, then you will need an amp to power it. but also look at some of the compact under seat subs, these are a very compact design, with speaker and amp all built in. as for size of sub, like i said a 12" will just fit in the boot, so might be better looking at a 10". the likes of vibe, fli and fusion, plus others will do a 10" sub already fitted into a box, with an amplifier built in aswell. these tend to take up less space, and eliminate the need for buying seperate sub, box, and amplifier.