upgraded sound system

[Minuss]

Thanks for that, Blinks; Went to garage and all now seems to be working fine. As you say, if you have a piece of music with base drum beats and you switch the base up: WOW!!!

@TrevorK

What was the reason, what did they do at the garage?

[TrevorK]

Agree totally with the comments about the sound system and the auto parking.

One is great the other not so.

They didn't seem to do anything at the garage except demo the system with high volume where the effect of the Treble etc controls was obvious (which both the Skoda salesman and I had not done).

It seems as if when playing a recording which is flat by nature the controls dont have much effect; (in other words it does not artificially create bass) but when there is hidden base on the recording the controls really make it stand out (drum beats etc)

My son, who is in the sound recording trade, reckons the sound is superb, so I cant disagree with him.

As to the parking system. I have only had the car for 4 days and tried it 3 times. Once it worked perfectly; once it put me on the pavement in its attempt to line up with the much smaller car behind; and once it could't find a space which was big enough to park a bus in. So not yet convinced

To all you Superb owners you must get a copy of the Autocar for 14 Jan 2009. Comparison between a Skoda Superb; an Audi A6; a BMW 7 Series and a Bentley silver spur. Guess which one won?

Trevor

[Ayreon]

Since I can't make up my mind weither to get a Superb or an A6, I would love to hear the verdict on those two (Don't think I can find the magazine here in Sweden)

[TrevorK]

To Ayreon

My present car is a Superb II; my last was a Superb I; and previously an Audi A6. I liked all 3 and the Audi has the better name; but really with the difference in price there is no comparison. In my mind the Skoda is the obvious choice. It is an Audi in all but price.

The Autocar report covered 4 pages and was trying to look for a luxury car using the Superb as its bottom marker; the Bentley as the ultimate and the A6 and BMW 7 inbetween..

I hope I am allowed to quote bits from their final para:

"All logic suggests that the Superb should have come bog last here on merit" "But thats not the way it's turned out. ---- It has competed hard and on merit, outriding the BMW, offering more space than the Audi and refinement levels close to the Bentley's. It is a proper luxury car, and for the space, comfort and quiet offered for the money asked, it is the most impressive here. Skoda beats Bentley is an odd thing to write, but its victory is real and deserved"

That must help out trade-in values

[Ayreon]

Well, I count on pretty much the same price for a New Superb and a slightly used A6.

Thing is, I won a Skoda Fabia Greenline a while ago, but it has not been delivered yet... and I really don't know what to do with it.

* sell it and keep the money. My 11 year old Volvo is still working.

* Trade it in and get a Superb instead cause the Fabia is way too small for me and my family.

* Trade it in and get an A6 (or A4) instead. New or used (its the same company that sells Skoda and Audi so they said it was OK if I wanted to do that)

But hell.. I can't decide what to do :-)

I have been testing both the Superb and the A6 and I liked both.

[jcblincs]

Ayreo - send me a PM with your email address and I will scan the magazine article and email it to you. I still have the magazine as light reading whilst in the toilet at my house !!!

[Minuss]

Since I can't make up my mind weither to get a Superb or an A6, I would love to hear the verdict on those two (Don't think I can find the magazine here in Sweden)

Yes you can! © Obama.

You can find copies of that issue right now at Pressbyran (the bigger ones) in Sweden. Or order it online from Press Stop:

Tidningar frn hela Sverige och vrlden hittar du i Press Stops tidningsbutik.

And go for the Superb!

Edited 28 January, 2009 by Minuss

[Minuss]

They didn't seem to do anything at the garage except demo the system with high volume where the effect of the Treble etc controls was obvious (which both the Skoda salesman and I had not done).

It seems as if when playing a recording which is flat by nature the controls dont have much effect; (in other words it does not artificially create bass) but when there is hidden base on the recording the controls really make it stand out (drum beats etc)

My son, who is in the sound recording trade, reckons the sound is superb, so I cant disagree with him.

OK, I realised there was nothing happening since I hade previously chosen "vocal", other settings made the sound better, but I think it is something lacking still with my system. Too "thin" output, I will check with my garage eventually.

[jcblincs]

mone is still playing up - vibration from passenger side speaker pod. Garage have had it once and tried to fix it. they said it was all sorted but its not !

[pendragon]

mone is still playing up - vibration from passenger side speaker pod. Garage have had it once and tried to fix it. they said it was all sorted but its not !

I have the same problem I think the SoundSystem sucks. As soon as I turn up the volume a bit more than normal everything in both front doors is vibrating.

[Skoda-Man]

Since I can't make up my mind weither to get a Superb or an A6, I would love to hear the verdict on those two (Don't think I can find the magazine here in Sweden)

Of course, if money wouldn`t be an issue, I would have bought another A6. It`s much more stylish and better to drive. And even if Superb is well built, Audi has that "premium" feeling inside, more than skoda.... On the other hand, Superb is bigger, better equipped and much cheaper.

So it all depends on how much money you have to spend. If you have lots of it, buy a brand new audi, but if you make a sensible choice, I suspect that you will buy a new Skoda...

[Alien8d]

I have the same problem I think the SoundSystem sucks. As soon as I turn up the volume a bit more than normal everything in both front doors is vibrating.

Definition of "normal" ? If I put up the volume more than about 60%, then the doors vibrate, but you can also hear the stereo from about 50 feet away.

[cloink]

Definition of "normal" ? If I put up the volume more than about 60%, then the doors vibrate, but you can also hear the stereo from about 50 feet away.

If the music contains heavy bass (e.g. house, techno, drum'n'bass, etc.) I can't go past 1/3rd of the max. volume, otherwise everything sounds distorted and the doors vibrate in a way you can _hear_ them vibrate.

Luckily (?) this is the only letdown so far. I'm hoping the subwoofer will take care of my problem soon.

[jcblincs]

Of course, if money wouldn`t be an issue, I would have bought another A6. It`s much more stylish and better to drive. And even if Superb is well built, Audi has that "premium" feeling inside, more than skoda.... On the other hand, Superb is bigger, better equipped and much cheaper.

So it all depends on how much money you have to spend. If you have lots of it, buy a brand new audi, but if you make a sensible choice, I suspect that you will buy a new Skoda...

slightly off tpic but interesting debate. we sold an A6 and got a superb. I know what you mean about the premium feel - although the new A4 , which is as big as the previous A6 we had, has gone downmarket in my opinion. plastics are not as good. the A6 (present shape) we had was way too hard a ride. on balance the superb is a better all round package.

[Richf]

I think you will always get the doors rattling with the bass up high with a big speaker like the Superb has, a big speaker moves a lot of air

My home built system i have in my Skyline sounds great (took a lot of work to get right) but the front door speakers are only 5.25cm , the bass is provided by the subwoofer in the boot. Whilst i do have speakers in the rear of the car they are only to "fill in" again the Superb system tries too hard with the rear door systems , most experts reccomend just speakers in the doors and a sub in the boot , nothing else.

I think fitting even a small active sub like the Infinity one (see pic) and then turning down the bass on the HU and the fader towards the front will transform the system

Here is the infinity active sub , you can stand it on its side as well i think if placed close to the storage compartment on the nearside of the car the room it takes up in the boot will be minimal

[cloink]

Whilst i do have speakers in the rear of the car they are only to "fill in" again the Superb system tries too hard with the rear door systems , most experts reccomend just speakers in the doors and a sub in the boot , nothing else.

So true. I simply cannot grasp that the "upgraded SoundSystem" does not include a small sub. My previous car (Alfa Romeo GT) did exactly that: replaced the standard speakers with little Bose ones and an added sub in the boot. Result: teriffic sound (well, for that money).

I think fitting even a small active sub like the Infinity one (see pic) and then turning down the bass on the HU and the fader towards the front will transform the system

I owned an Infinity 2 cars back (a VW Golf) and it did indeed make a huge difference, relieving the speakers from the "sub"-task.

There is a "but" though: the Columbus doesn't have a pre-out. Which basicly means: turn down the bass for the speakers => turn down the bass for the sub too. I have a Pioneer TS-WX77A ready for install next saturday. Will first try without filter, but I'm fearing the worst... (which would cause the need for a filter and which would set me back a couple of hundred, again). Will keep you updated.

[Richf]

you dont need a pre out for the sub as the infinity one i posted will take a feed off the rear speakers

(although when i tried this way the sub "boomed" every time you switched the car on)

[digidoctor]

Are there any more, mainly fresh opinions, of recent superb owners with the soundsystem? Together with Bolero.

[Tomson]

As I have read over forums, the biggest problem is purely positioned tweeter and vibrating doors. So, not worthed all the extra money ...

And as understood, if you listen to lets say hiphop/electronic music and need strong bass and high volumes, then maybe the upgrade would be worth it, if you can settle with it flaws.

And as the overall comparision as they say, the only or the mayor difference over standard sound system is more power 250W (80W) and a strong bass. So if that's what you need ...

Edited 28 March, 2010 by Tomson

[G.K.]

Has anyone addressed the problem of the vibrating door cards? ie. had the door cards removed and packed etc without going to the extent of new speakers?. My bass speakers were really annoying during the really cold weather and buzzed like blazes but the problem seems to have improved with the "warmer" weather.My dealer decided to order up a whole new set of speakers for both the front doors and then failed to contact me for 6 weeks!!!. I am tempted to go to a car audio specialist and get their opinion. I know that they will condemn the OE speakers and try to sell me something else, but I have no problems with the sound quality from the OE speakers (It did take a bit of fiddling to get a decent setting to settle the harsh treble) it is just the fitting that is letting them down.

[digidoctor]

I heard that there exists some new technical service bulletin or something. I expect my delivery beginning of june. I hope that my SS will do fine.

[Such]

Are there any more, mainly fresh opinions, of recent superb owners with the soundsystem? Together with Bolero.

I've had mine now for nearly 5 mths and the sound is a real letdown. If you like any bass in your music you will be dissapointed as the speakers in the doors cannot handle it. Also, the right side drivers speaker has developed a squeak at certain low freqencies.

I think this is from the speaker grill itself. The dealer is looking to remedy this as the door card was fitted incorrectly when built - there is some movement in the door handle when pulling it shut.

I do find the sound harsh on the ears as the tweeters seem to be firing at ear level.. Ths sound quality is good if you have the volume up to around 33%, but over that it becomes harsh with distorted bass.

I currently have the bass level turned down to around 25%, with the treble & mid slightly higher. I also have the fader set to 60:30 back to front.

I am still playing around with it trying to find an acceptable setting.

[digidoctor]

:'( I will miss the excellent sound in my FL MK2 Octavia

[G.K.]

I heard that there exists some new technical service bulletin or something. I expect my delivery beginning of june. I hope that my SS will do fine.

I would be really curious to know what that bulletin says., I 'll bet it does not instruct the dealer to order a whole set of speakers to cure the fault!!!

[Berns]

I bought the SII estate with several options. Will get him half of may.

I all so have taken the upgrade of the sound system.

Lets hope skoda solved the problem with the bass, because otherwyse its realy money for nothing.

It can not be that Skoda dosn't know about the problem, cause so maney people are talking about it...