heynick

I've had my MKIII Octavia RS for about 6 months now and I must admit I still find the Canton disappointing. Seems like I might be in the minority, but I find the sound quality very hollow and tinny and just lacking real depth. I've experienced Bose systems in the Mazdas, the Macintosh in the Subarus, I've had after-market head units and speakers in previous cars (Kenwood and Pioneer mostly) and I honestly feel the Canton is one of the weaker of all I've experienced. Like most above, after a lot of experimenting I've set the sound to the front, turned down the mid and treble and upped the bass to find the optimum configuration. I find the mid is where it's really lacking... turned down and you just lose that clarity.. turned up and it just gets really hollow sounding that's not enjoyable. I had to drive my wife's car recently for an extended period and the stock, unbranded system in there sounded better I reckon. But i also agree with the others that the source file plays quite a significant part in sound quality... a poor quality file will really show up. Certain styles also struggle a bit with the Canton... i like rock and metal and find the Canton doesn't generate great sound for this type of music. Unfortunately though, my daughter's "Frozen" soundtrack sounds fine.

Yep sunglasses holder got me... spent months trying to work out where this really annoying rattle was coming from. almost sounded like it was coming from the passenger air vent, but then the missus thought it was coming from the drivers side... and it was only occurring at random times so we just couldn't pin point it as the sound was obviously being thrown around in all directions. Anyway just by chance i had taken my sunnies out and halfway through a drive put them back in the holder and the rattle came back and i managed to put two and two together that the rattle was the sunnies banging about in there. Probably needs some felt or rubber lining in it.

Thanks for the replies everyone - yeah i can live without the start stop. In the habit now of just switching it off before i drive off. Have to also now remember to turn off anything connected to the power sockets! Compared to previous cars i've owned/driven, for the performance this car has, the fuel economy is actually quite impressive. At the moment I only do very short trips, and with a heavy right foot so really can't complain with the returns i'm getting. I just think a slighter larger tank would have been great. On the highways though the car is very economical! Anyway i'm happy to hear that there is potential for improvements to the Canton as it beds in a bit - sound quality also seems to vary immensely between different styles of music and the file source so i'll crank it up and see how it goes over the next few months. I've got it set quite similarly it appears to most others - sub up full, bass up, mid decreased, surround off. I might just need better tastes in music to get the most out of it!

Hi all, Fairly new to this forum and have been spending a lot of time just reading up and learning about the car. Have had my first Skoda (Octavia RS Wagon) for a couple of months now and really loving it. DSG shifts beautifully and the car is a little rocket. Have been impressed by the build quality too. I mentioned in my intro that I've come from various makes - originally drove a 70's Chrysler V8 for many years, have driven mostly Japanese cars apart from that, and my wife had a Holden Cruze for a couple of years which I hated and was glad to see the back of! Glad to be back in a car that has a bit of go! My only minor concerns or impressions with the Octavia so far have been: 1. Fuel economy - while the car is still new (just clicked over 1000k's) it is probably thirstier than i expected around town - not too fussed about it as i'm used to thirsty cars, but probably would have liked a slightly larger fuel tank to get a bit more range. Most of my driving at the moment in this car is short trips and all stop start traffic. 2. The Canton sound system is rubbish - it's a bit odd, it's not too bad at lower volumes, but as you crank it up it gets really hollow and tinny sounding. I've read someone say that it improves over time, but i don't see how this is possible with a sound system. Look it's probably not that bad, but I've had better stock sound systems in previous cars so expected a bit more considering it's part of an audio upgrade. 3. Stop-start system .. overall it's reasonably good and i find it's fairly easy to control and keep on or re-engage when required by doing the half-brake but I just think it cuts out a tad too early for my liking. i tend to switch it off most times before i start driving. 4. So much tech!!!! - i'm a bit old school so all this technology in cars does my head in so i'm yet to use a lot of the features - will get there one day! And finally, and it's probably a really stupid question, but the other day i hooked up some portable DVD players (ones that just strap to the rear of the front seats) for the kids to watch on a longer drive, and when i switched the car off and locked it - i came back to the car a couple of hours later and the DVD players were still on and playing!!!! i assumed once the car was off and locked it would shut down everything electrical that was connected, so was a bit shocked that they were still playing. Does this sound right? Do i just have to unplug or switch off the actual unit each time? Anyway, thanks for your time for those that read this, if anyone has any comments or suggestions or even just opinions to share that would be great! cheers Nick

Hi everyone, I'm Nick from Australia - stumbled across this forum recently and have barely logged out since! (in fact i spend so much time on car forums my wife told me that she'd find it less weird if i was actually up all night looking at p0rn instead!!). Just purchased a MK3 Octavia VRS Wagon in brilliant silver and 18' blackpack. Absolutely loving it! Probably the best driving car I have owned. Have upgraded from a gen 4 Subaru Liberty which was a real slug and have driven all sorts of makes over the years from Mazdas, Holdens, Nissans and 1970's Chryslers. Still early days so i'm getting to know the car but can't fault the drive and performance. Specifically chose the silver as i like the subtle, sleeper look of it plus i'm usually carting around two kids in the back so i wanted to just blend in with the crowd. Anyway looking forward to swapping notes and learning more about the car! cheers Nick