Blown HK mid range speakers or amp? R53

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by gopi.sandy, Nov 9, 2020.

  1. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

    Sep 19, 2020
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    Hi all,

    I started having static and distortion while playing bass heavy songs a month or so ago. Now I both my mid range floor speakers have stopped working. The tweeters and rear speakers work fine.

    I took out the passenger speaker and noticed it kinda works when I press on the cone. Once disconnected I saw what I think are signs of some electric arcing on one terminal at the male and female connections.

    I am happy with the system and have no issues getting new/used hk speakers. I only want to be sure if the origin of the problem is not the amp which I read a lot about.

    Anything I can/should check on the amp before getting new speakers?

    Also are there any 2 ohm aftermarket component speakers that can pair with HK head unit? The threads on this topic are a bit old and I am just wondering.

    Thanks!

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  2. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    That is odd. I would not think the amp would cause that maybe a bad connection. But I am not sure. I have had two HK amps blow. The second one went this summer. When the first one went it would make loud popping sound when the car had sat in the hot sun but it did not damage the speakers.
    I would be glad to sale you a set of HK speakers in good shape. They will come attached to a very nice R58. It will only set you back 19k.:D.
    You may want to take a look at this thread

    https://www.motoringalliance.com/threads/bavsound-speaker-upgrade-kit.31372/#post-424637

    also this is a great place for used parts.

    https://www.allmagautoparts.com/collections/mini-cooper
     
  3. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    While I'm not overly familiar with the HK issue, you should be able to test that speaker by plugging it up to either another amp or to one of the other speaker's where its working. For example the rear (Not the tweeter). That said, if you lost both of the mids, my bet is its the amp. Usually you would only lose one it it would sound horrible.

    If this is a common problem, which it sounds like it is, Bav audio (what MCS02 referenced) has good equipment.
     
  4. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    If you need an R53 H&K system to plug into to test and you are near Charlotte, NC, I'd be happy to let you connect to my system.
     
  5. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

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    I hope it isn't the amp.

    Thanks for the offer but 19k is a bit more than I am willing to spend!

    The bavsound speaker seems to be for r55 and up. Will they work for me?

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  6. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

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    Thanks! It is a tad too far.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  7. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    Ummmmmmmm...he didn't mention it, but, the car goes with it.
     
  8. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

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    I know, sorry my humor didn't translate as I wanted .

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  9. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I am not sure. You may want to give them a call. Usually when the amp goes you get no sound at all.
     
  10. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    By the way, Welcome to M/A!
     
  11. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

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    Thanks!

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  12. gopi.sandy

    gopi.sandy New Member

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    I got new used HK speakers in and every thing works fine for now (1 day!!). Added some felt lining based on jwardell.com

    In the mean time I tried a little something. I got some 6.5 2 ohm coaxial speakers (I know it us not recommended) with some adapters 6.5 to 6 in.

    Because of the 'extra' tweeter i was expecting extra treble but I did not hear it. I guess the filter with in the coax doing it job or the signal that goes to the coaxial does not have any high frequency. Now comparing it to the stock I do not hear much difference even in the volume ( I was expecting this since it might be 4 ohm speakers in parallel). I can comment on Soundstage and other things since I don't have a great palette for this and also 8 only had one speaker hooked up for testing.


    Probably try to return this now.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
     
  13. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Glad you got it working. I still need to get a new amp. I wish some one made a plug and play replacement HK amp
     
  14. Red Bull

    Red Bull Active Member

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    #14 Red Bull, Jan 1, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2021
    The HK amp has active crossovers and sound processing in the amp. The frequencies going to your 6.5’s are being rolled off before the coax tweeter, hence no highs. The rear 6x9’s are woofers with bass only.

    Also, there’s no HK specific head unit per se, so if you ever need a replacement, any head unit matching your current one will work. The HK functionality and sound profiles get “unlocked” when paired with the HK amp.

    Things to look out for are early units, sometime before 2003, do not have aux input capability and somewhere around 2004-2005 the headunits added the ability to play MP3 CD’s, if that feature matters to you.

    If your amp ever goes out it can be also replaced with a JL Audio XD600/6 or JBL MS-8 amp. You won’t have the HK sound profiles, but both are 2 ohm stable and have active crossovers built-in. Unfortunately, both are also discontinued so you’ll have to find a used one or current equivalent.

    AFAIK, they both are close to plug n play and do not need the rare and discontinued aftermarket HK Enabler adapter. I think it’s only needed to add an aftermarket deck to the factory HK system.
     
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  15. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I wish I could ping a plug and plat replacement or someone to repair one of my amps. I am not happy about buying a third amp! The heat kills these amps.
     
  16. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    That is a wonderful thing to know! TYVM!

    Also handy to know... it isn't as plug-and-play as just adding an aux-input or CD changer separately, but you can wire BOTH an aux-input AND a CD changer at the same time.
     
  17. Red Bull

    Red Bull Active Member

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    Yep, the MINI aux input instructions have a step on transferring the pins from the plug to an existing plug wired for a cd changer and/or navigation.
     
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