Hello, I've been in my Superb Elegance for 10 days now. And I love it! Except for the sound system, which is doing my head in! Or doing my ears in, at any rate. I shelled out for the upgraded sound system and frankly I'm very disappointed. No, it's worse than that, it's horrible. No matter how I mess around with the settings, there's a certain grossly nasty top end, that doesn't go even if I wind the treble right down. I think I've traced it to the little speakers by the door handles. I suffer from tinnitus, and the sound I'm getting even at very moderate volume levels really makes me suffer. The problem is there even with speech. Anyone else have this problem? I've had three Saab 9-5's in a row over 9 years before the Superb, and quite frankly, for me, the 7 speaker system in the Saab blows the Superb's sound system into touch!

The Superb's a lovely car, but the sound system is going to be hard to live with for three years. Is it possible to upgrade the speakers, or perhaps disable the ones by the front door handles?

Think you must be the first person I know who doesn't like the upgraded system. Is is due to the tinnitus I wonder ?

I listen to a whole range of music (and talk radio) and the settings I have are as follows

Treble, Up 2

Bass, Down 1

Front/Back ratio - 2 clicks towards the back (around the centre console in the on screen diagram)

That gives a nice coverage across the volume range without blowing your ears off if you crank it up.

Of course, there maybe a wiring fault causing some feedback in the small speakers (does anyone know if they are tweeters ?). If that doesn't help, I'd suggest taking it back into Skoda and asking them to look at it.

It will be the tinnitus, I suffer from it as well in a small way and I find that the tweeters in the door can upset the tinnitus when the sound volume is increased. If you suffer more than I do then I can imagine this will exagerate it even more.

Try moving the balance towards the rear of the car and slightly towards the passenger side, that may help you improve the sound.

I don't have a problem with the upgraded system BUT do have the Sat Nav lady talk as if she has a lisp. I don't know if when the sat nav voice comes on all the sound comes out of only a pair of speakers. Has anybody else noticed this.

I don't have a problem with the upgraded system BUT do have the Sat Nav lady talk as if she has a lisp. I don't know if when the sat nav voice comes on all the sound comes out of only a pair of speakers. Has anybody else noticed this.

LOL, the sat nav in the works mondy is very bossy! I've Named her Helga

Caution, M1, NARROW LANES!

Anyone else have this problem? I've had three Saab 9-5's in a row over 9 years before the Superb, and quite frankly, for me, the 7 speaker system in the Saab blows the Superb's sound system into touch!

I think you should have your car checked at an official dealer, your sound system seems to go highwire...

I've also had several Saabs over the past years:

- 93 SE (4-speaker system)

- 9000 CS (4-speaker system)

- 93 Viggen (6-speaker system)

- 95 Arc sedan (7-speaker system), my father's car

- 93 SS cabrio Vector (7-speaker system)

- 95 SW (4-speaker system), my wife's car

And I can say the Skoda "Sound System" (10 speakers) is clearly better than any of the Saab systems. Even I would dare to say it's better than the Harman-Kardon system that was mounted on the Saab 95 Griffin (a "top-line" special edition).

So I think your Skoda radio must have any fault everywhere. Check it.

I think you should have your car checked at an official dealer, your sound system seems to go highwire...

I've also had several Saabs over the past years:

- 93 SE (4-speaker system)

- 9000 CS (4-speaker system)

- 93 Viggen (6-speaker system)

- 95 Arc sedan (7-speaker system), my father's car

- 93 SS cabrio Vector (7-speaker system)

- 95 SW (4-speaker system), my wife's car

And I can say the Skoda "Sound System" (10 speakers) is clearly better than any of the Saab systems. Even I would dare to say it's better than the Harman-Kardon system that was mounted on the Saab 95 Griffin (a "top-line" special edition).

So I think your Skoda radio must have any fault everywhere. Check it.

slightly off topic but curious how you would compare / contast the Saabs with the skoda. I test drove a 9-3 cabrio and didnt like it. very odd driving position. PM me if its more appropraite. I am looking for a cabrio as my second car.

Although my own Superb is on order, I did have a similar experience during a test-drive.

The car was equipped with the extra "sound system", yet I was far from impressed. Compared to my current system (Bose system fitted by Alfa Romeo in a GT), the Superb's sounded terribly sharp with little or malformed bass. I'm guessing this also is very dependent on what kind of music you're playing. Perhaps opera or other instrumental stuff will sound great, but anything with a bass went sour...

That made me decide to buy a Pioneer TS-WX77A to accompany the "sound system". I'll let you know how that sounds in about 3 months...

I test drove a 9-3 cabrio and didnt like it. very odd driving position

You'll hardly find a better driving position or a better petrol engine. The 93 cabrio has been the best car I've ever hard (together with the 9000, a land-to-land missile). I only sold it for buying one of my dreams (XK8).

Returning to the original topic, the sound quality is obviously very dependent on what kind of music you're playing, as cloink has said in the previous message. But it's curious that the last CD I've played in the radio is "too heavy" (Dragonforce), with a lot of distorted guitars, and it still sounds great

Having said what I said, I wouldn't rule out that the car I drove had been abused, seeing the rep told me it had been the official "press car", one they lend out to people writing articles about the Superb... Perhaps the speakers were blown or something?

Could be.

Once I bought a second-hand car and, despite it mounted the "premium sound system", the sound was horrible. So I thought about upgrading the speakers and went to a professional sound dealer. When they take the door panels off, they found the door speakers were literally "burned". We also checked the dashboard (also damaged) and rear (OK) speakers. So I replaced the damaged ones and the sound was excellent again.

If this is your case, I presume the warranty should replace yours. So you don't loose anything going to your dealer for taking a look at your car