I think the standard Symphony CD sounds alright on my new VRS. But...

I have an amp, sub and powercap from my last car I want to fit. The dealer said so long as I don't cut or drill anything I won't have any warranty issues, so everybody's happy!

Am I right in thinking the symphony is a grundig unit, very similar to blaupunkt, and that this connector...

http://www.bluespot.co.uk/stock/preamp.asp

... will allow me to fit the sub to the standard head unit?

Next, where's the best route to run a power cable for the Fabia? Presumably a rear seat bolt is the ideal location to mount the earth? And The plastic trim just inside the doors should have enough room for the power cable one side and the RCA lead the other?

Also, has anybody used dynamat (or flashing strip - I tend to find it's cheaper and nearly as good) on their boot floor / sides and is it worth doing to try and conceal my stereo mods from the chavs and pikeys?

Cheers all

P.S. anybody know the RMS output of the symphony unit?

Ta

Am I right in thinking the symphony is a grundig unit' date=' very similar to blaupunkt, and that this connector...

[url']http://www.bluespot.co.uk/stock/preamp.asp[/url]

... will allow me to fit the sub to the standard head unit?

Possibly - did some experimentation with one of these and the Symphony, and when it was all hooked up it was spot-on. However, shortly after (about 15 minutes) the amp died. Voltage output seemed to vary wildly, which may have been the reason for the failure.

However, it's quite possible my unit was dodgy...it's a relatively cheap way to experiment...

P.S. anybody know the RMS output of the symphony unit?

IIRC it's about 9W...

Rob.

Possibly - did some experimentation with one of these and the Symphony' date=' and when it was all hooked up it was spot-on. However, shortly after (about 15 minutes) the amp died. Voltage output seemed to vary wildly, which may have been the reason for the failure.

However, it's quite possible my unit was dodgy...it's a relatively cheap way to experiment...

IIRC it's about 9W...

Rob.[/quote']

Hmm, 9W - not exactly going to set the world on fire... but I suppose I can try, I have everything except the headunit to go in, so I'll see what it sounds like. I'm a bit worried about blowing my amp though, it's worth about

Possibly - did some experimentation with one of these and the Symphony' date=' and when it was all hooked up it was spot-on. However, shortly after (about 15 minutes) the amp died. Voltage output seemed to vary wildly, which may have been the reason for the failure.

However, it's quite possible my unit was dodgy...it's a relatively cheap way to experiment...

[/quote']

Oh yeah, when you hooked yours up, did you use one of the connectors in the link mentioned above?

Presumably, if the dealer fitted one of those diddy blaupunkt amp/sub thingies that they offer as a cost option, they would connect it in this manner, so you'd think it would be safe, right.....?

Yeah, 9W is pretty pants, but it's not so bad on the Fabia - the speaker mountings are much better than on the Octavia.

I used the cable from Bluespot...not sure what the dealers would use to fit a sub (one would assume it would be this output), but the Skoda sub has always been listed as a Fabia accessory rather than an Octavia one.

I guess the best way to "experiment" would be to get the cable from Bluespot, hook it up, then measure the voltage across the connectors using a multimeter. If you're getting fairly sensible outputs then chances are it should be alright to hook the amp up.

It would be good if you did try and get it working, as it would prove I had a dodgy head unit.

Rob.

Well, I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance to play...

I am very happy with the standard Symphony on my Fabia but I do have a Infinity Basslink active sub . I bought the preamp cable from bluespot, plug this iso type connection in and it works a treat and have had no problems with it.

Des

I'm pretty sure when I asked about this (ages ago) on here I was told that you couldn't get a pre-out on the Symphony.

If I'd have known you could, I'd have probably kept the Symphony in and just used one of the 2 Blaupunkt leads that I have in my draw!

Glad you can do this anyway... I'll get my mum a basslink for her Fabia when it arrives.

You can however get Line level to Preout level kits that take your speaker out voltage and covert it to RCA voltage and they are fairly cheap as well.

I have ordered one of those adaptors, just waiting for it to turn up now...

Any tips on where to route the power cable through the firewall?

And am I right in thinking that if I take the glovebox lid off, I can remove the panel to the side of the HU to get access to plug in the blaupunkt connector?

Cheers for all the advice!

OK, the adaptor has turned up (nice one Bluespot, very speedy) but still need advice on running the power cable and getting at the back of the head unit. Little help please people??? :confused:

you can run power cable through a grommet quite high up the firewall, just below the windscreen I think. It's on the left hand side, high up behind the glove box.

It's worth taking the glove box out though to help access. Be careful with the cable for the glove box light - it's quite short. The rubber pipe for the air con feed must be disconnected (friction fit). If you have the passenger deactivation switch, be especially carefull with that one - don't have ignition on when you unplug it

I can't explain where the grommet is 'cos I didn't feed my cable in that way, but I gather it's tidier and certainly large enough diameter for 4 possibly 2 gauge wire

you can run power cable through a grommet quite high up the firewall' date=' just below the windscreen I think. It's on the left hand side, high up behind the glove box.

It's worth taking the glove box out though to help access. Be careful with the cable for the glove box light - it's quite short. The rubber pipe for the air con feed must be disconnected (friction fit). If you have the passenger deactivation switch, be especially carefull with that one - don't have ignition on when you unplug it

I can't explain where the grommet is 'cos I didn't feed my cable in that way, but I gather it's tidier and certainly large enough diameter for 4 possibly 2 gauge wire [/quote']

Cheers for that, I'll give it a shot. Think I'll smother the boot floor and rear arches with flashing tape and sound insulation felt first though, just to be one the safe side - the MB Quart 12 I have is L-O-U-D

you can run power cable through a grommet quite high up the firewall' date=' just below the windscreen I think. It's on the left hand side, high up behind the glove box.

It's worth taking the glove box out though to help access. Be careful with the cable for the glove box light - it's quite short. The rubber pipe for the air con feed must be disconnected (friction fit). If you have the passenger deactivation switch, be especially carefull with that one - don't have ignition on when you unplug it

I can't explain where the grommet is 'cos I didn't feed my cable in that way, but I gather it's tidier and certainly large enough diameter for 4 possibly 2 gauge wire [/quote']

Couldn't find a big grommet up there, found a smaller one that already had one wire going through and managed to get some 8AWG wire through it, the 6AWG just wasn't happening (I have the missing skin to prove how hard I tried)

I thought with the glovebox out, I would get access to remove the panel to the side of the HU to plug the adaptor in. No joy. Removed as many screws as I could find and it still wouldn't budge. So, I'm thinking it might be easier to get a set of release keys for the HU and do it from the front. Anyone done it this way? Know what part numbers are for the keys? Or if you have to borrow them from a main dealer? Help please!

Couldn't find a big grommet up there' date=' found a smaller one that already had one wire going through and managed to get some 8AWG wire through it, the 6AWG just wasn't happening (I have the missing skin to prove how hard I tried)

I thought with the glovebox out, I would get access to remove the panel to the side of the HU to plug the adaptor in. No joy. Removed as many screws as I could find and it still wouldn't budge. So, I'm thinking it might be easier to get a set of release keys for the HU and do it from the front. Anyone done it this way? Know what part numbers are for the keys? Or if you have to borrow them from a main dealer? Help please![/quote']

I bought some Kenwood release keys from Halfords, these will defo do the trick. Pretty sure I used the same grommet as you to route my power, I pushed a straight piece of coat hanger through first then taped my power cable to this and pulled through - no scrapped knuckles

Des

It's in, it works, and it sounds SOOOOOOOOO much better than standard

Not quite as loud as I might have hoped... think the RCA output can't feed a strong enough signal to the amp - the display on the stereo dims when the bass drops, but none of the other lights do (dash or exterior) so it looks like it's being a bit strained to supply a good signal to the amp. Need a HU with a dedicated 4V or maybe 6V sub output, but that can wait for a while, it'll do nicely for now!