sat nav radios

[fabiamk2SE]

I believe the head units can infact be made by different people. So going off what iv read in the past, it doesnt matter whether its a swing or columbus etc, its whos made the unit. Some swings can sound better than others. Or so iv read in the past, i dont know how true it is.

My se has thw full 8 speaker set up, however its a little irrelevant as if you were to upgrade, youd only want to upgrade the front as thats where you spend most your time.

[stevenStefano]

Something I find annoying about the Swing is that it's either too loud or too quiet. 7 is too quiet and I find 8 too loud. Maybe I'll fiddle about with it a bit

[fabiamk2SE]

You sound like a very particular guy haha.

[stevenStefano]

Perhaps yes but there's quite a few little annoying things like that I find about my car that I didn't have with my old Fiesta

[Entertwainer]

all this talk of speakers has brought up my initial curiosity as to what to do with the speaker set up i have at the mo.

just standard front set up only (door speakers with pillar tweeters).

 

was considering getting some upgrades for the front and shifting the OEM front set up to the back...??anyone else done this with good results?

 

also, is it worth going to the hassle of replacing the front tweeters?

or could i just use the tweeters from a new set of components and mix them up with the OEM stuff so the setup is as follows:

 

front:

OEM tweeters

aftermarket woofers

 

rear:

Aftermarket tweeters

OEM front woofers

 

as for the satnav radio - think i will stick with my garmin dash gps and just replace the broken CD/radio unit with a better CD/Radio.

in which case, could i stick with the Swing - or is there a better identical version of the swing? i.e one with an SD card slot/auxiliary input on the front panel?

also, one which my child couldn't shove pennies into would be a bonus....thats how i ended up needing a replacement....

i do like to keep things looking factory - i dont like fitting aftermarket radios with the added fascia panels....

[greenstripe]

The MDI interface is a great unit that can be connected to the Swing and most of the VW group Stereos, it allows you to connect iPods, MP3 players and USB sticks and control them from the stereo. This would work with your current unit with the broken CD transport if you want to save some cash.

 

I wouldn't know how much work would be involved in retrofitting speakers to the back, The pillar tweeters are pretty small and I'm not sure it would be easy to get after market upgrades that would fit.

 

I used to have a Fabia with 8 speakers, MDI and Swing and I found the sound pretty good, the main gripe is trim rattles when listening at volume.

 

If you want to stick with VW group stuff, there's usually a fair amount of stereos on eBay that will slot straight in to a Fabia, the advantage is that a lot of the newer ones have DAB radio built in:

 

RCD 310 DAB - 99% the same as Swing (But with DAB)

RCD 510 DAB - 99% the same as Bolero and has SD card slot (But with DAB)

[Carlodiesel]

Can I also ask

Has anyone installed a separate Blue-tooth kit that can be used with the Original radio?

Cost?

Where from?

Thanks Guys.

CD

[zouche]

The front tweeters are really easy to remove and upgrade - I have had new speakers in the front doors and tweeters in the A-pillars along with a 4-channel amp running the front speakers and a slimline sub in the boot (with some door soundproofing). The sound quality and volume is superb and I'm very pleased with the results. I run this set up from the standard swing head unit.

 

I still have the rear speakers connected as standard, but have them faded all the way down. With good front speakers there is no need for rear speakers at all and it is a waste of effort to install them in my opinion. I remember many years ago when I was first into car audio, the shop I used to buy from said to me 'you wouldn't go to a concert and stand with your back to the action, so why spend money on sound that will be behind you?' Seems good advice (although this was more aimed at boy racers with 6x9s fitted to their parcel shelves - but it still stands!).

 

As far as bluetooth goes, I installed this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009NLTW60/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Works like a charm, simple to fit and streams my audio much better than the MDI which I find very buggy.

[greenstripe]

Parrot kits are pretty easy to fit.

 

While I prefer 2 speakers on a high quality stereo at home. A car is a very compromised listening environment and having more speakers does help combat the noise from the car, engine, tyres etc. at lower listening volumes despite the loss of stereo imaging.

[fabiamk2SE]

In my opinion the tweeters are the main reason to upgrade speakers. I find theyre harsh and miss clarity, the mid/bass driver isnt too bad i dont think. However when i get the cash to upgrade, ill do both the front but leave the rear standard. The rear is just filling a space, it doesnt need to be high quality imho.

Apparently its easy to swap out the speakers, for a set of componant speakers in the same place. Dont forget the dynamatt while your there though!

[PDIBK]

Except only uprgrading the front speakers and fading out the rear gives you stereo sound instead of surround sound...total immersion!!

[PDIBK]

also, to fit DAB, don't you need to fit a DAB receiver/antenna, or is it plug and play?

[fabiamk2SE]

You need an antenna i believe

[Gazbull17]

A DAB arial would be needed, you can get ones that stick to the inside of the windscreen or fit under the trim on the A pillar.

[fabiamk2SE]

Worth noting too, how good the dab signal is in your area. As digital signal is either on or off, not like fm that will get interferance in low signal areas.

I used to drive my old bosses transit sport, which had a sony dab radio. The sound quality was much better, however living in the peak district, it was forever going quiet. So i found myself listening to fm anyway. For that reason alone, i wont be upgrading to dab

Edited 7 January, 2014 by Otaylor38

[chrisgreen]

Seems relevant to resurrect this thread.

Earlier today I replaced the Swing in my Mum's 1.2HTP Fabia II Combi with an Amundsen+.

It's a fairly poverty spec car, so no maxidot (has the dash that Greenstripe posted a pic of in post 6), no Bluetooth, no steering wheel controls (or stalk radio controls). Basically the complete opposite of my Spaceback.

Acquired an Amundsen+ with integrated Bluetooth, so only had to reinstate the mic in the light cluster and the cabling from there down to the centre console. Once I finally got the passenger side A-pillar trim off, it was very straightforward to reinstate the cable and snag it all away tidily.

No maxidot means no heads-up turn by turn directions displayed in the instrument cluster, but this in no way compromises the functionality of the Amundsen, which is 100% useable with no broken features. Navigation display on the Amundsen itself is more than sufficient. Also good to finally have decent Bluetooth hands free and audio streaming in the car.