jpaul81

I did wonder if it was set up correctly, maybe i'll have a chat with my dealer. I played about with the 'virtual' surround and tone settings but it just makes it sound different rather than better. I could ask them to demonstrate another swing plus in another car to see if there is any difference... By Dance music i mean the usual fodder you normally get on capital FM. Simple synthesised bass lines sound ok, but anything more complex or instrumental sounds compressed and muddy to my ears. I have a tiny echo dot at home which sounds far better than the swing plus to be honest. No excuses. I also have a Rotel/ B&W system for serious listening, although its knocking on a bit now. But it still does the business. I listen to talksport sometimes plus podcasts through carplay Radio 4 not really my cup of tea.

All i ask from a car stereo is for it to sound reasonably clear and punchy enough to overcome traffic/road/engine noise. At low volumes, i find the Swing plus unit sounds muddy and compressed. Frankly, it isn't particularly loud even when maxxed out. It sound ok-ish with simple dance music and radio dialogue, but thats it. Anything more nuanced just sounds awful at any volume. Like i said, the cd radio swing in my old mk2 sounded far better. Interestingly i recently test drove a Polo, and the system sounded very poor... very tinny. Mayby its just VAG cost cutting or a marketing ploy to make people go for expensive options such as Beats audio. The top option on the Fabia is the the 'Amundsen' system with intergrated sat nav. I'm not sure if there is a difference in sound. After a bit of googling, it seems the swing plus unit is manufactured by LG. The head unit is attached to the back of the screen rather than a separate box like the Bolero. It does look quite small, even more so than the standard single din head units. My guess is that its just too underpowered. It doesn't have line outs so you can't even add an external power amp.

I've got the 2020 Fabia se with Swing plus I was disappointed to say the least. The stereo just sounds muddy and underpowered, no matter how much you tweak the settings. The cd radio in my old mk2 sounded much better.... more clear and punchy. I'm not expecting audiophile performance, but it should at least be listenable imo. The trouble is with modern intergrated head units, you're kinda stuck with it. I miss the old days when you could just swap it out with something decent without breaking the bank.