Hi,

I have a Skoda Superb II Combi Ambiente with Bolero radio, and default sound system.

I find the sound quality very moderate to poor. I played with balance and treble/mid/bass, but could not find a setting which satisfies me. Any experience with this ? Does anyone recommend a certain balance & treble/mid/bass combination which does give give good quality, or are there other tips & tricks ?

Thanks.

I have the same system as you, and I do agree, the sound could be far better. Obviously the sound you want from the the unit is a very personal thing, depending on the type of music you listen too.

I personally played around for a few days on and off. In the end I have set the system up as follows.

Fader and balance set equally

Bass set just over half way between the mid point and max

Treble set about half between mid point and minimum

Mid range set as low as it can go.

I found this to give a nice deep sound. It picks up the base without banging and stops the treble from sounding too high pitch.

After a few monthes, I decided to upgrade the Sound System in my SII, so I added the following:

- Subwoofer to the left hole of the boot, plus an equalizer to the right hole which powers the equalizer (boot size remained the same)

- Relaced the front door speakers to a middle-quality system

With these changes, the sound quality became much better...

After a few monthes, I decided to upgrade the Sound System in my SII, so I added the following:

- Subwoofer to the left hole of the boot, plus an equalizer to the right hole which powers the equalizer (boot size remained the same)

- Relaced the front door speakers to a middle-quality system

With these changes, the sound quality became much better...

Could you please post some photos and/or give some insight on what and how you set it up?

Thanx

After a few monthes, I decided to upgrade the Sound System in my SII, so I added the following:

- Subwoofer to the left hole of the boot, plus an equalizer to the right hole which powers the equalizer (boot size remained the same)

- Relaced the front door speakers to a middle-quality system

With these changes, the sound quality became much better...

Hi,

I presume you are still keeping the stock Bolero/Columbus unit. Could you enlighten on the following?

1. Are you using the line (hi-level) outputs from the stock headunit to feed the subwoofer and amplifier? The stock headunit does not seem to have a RCA output.

2. Has Skoda installed speakers with paper cones on the Superb II?

Pictures showing the upgraded sound system will definitely help. Thanks!

I was worried by all of the comments regarding the Bolero radio in the S11.

I went to the showroom with CD's in hand.... it sounds fine to me. OK it doesn't have pounding depth to the bass but this is a good radio in a good car?

I don't know exactly what you all expect?

If you want or need a radio that bounces the car down the road I doubt you are going to find that from any 'Car' manufacturer.

I suggest that most if not all of the radios you here driving past are after-market retrofit devices.

When this is accepted and you change the head unit and speakers etc, then yes go for it and the limit then becomes your imagination!

The radio as standard in the superb fits nicely with the car, is very easy to operate and gives a perfectly adequate sound quality, what more do you expect from a 'car' manufacturer?

Hi,

I presume you are still keeping the stock Bolero/Columbus unit. Could you enlighten on the following?

1. Are you using the line (hi-level) outputs from the stock headunit to feed the subwoofer and amplifier? The stock headunit does not seem to have a RCA output.

2. Has Skoda installed speakers with paper cones on the Superb II?

Pictures showing the upgraded sound system will definitely help. Thanks!

1. I left the Columbus unit in place. I think (I was asked a company to do the upgrade, I was not there) they got the output for the amplifier (which powers the sub) from the head-unit, while they got the output for the replaced front-speakers from the bulit-in amlifier which is part of the upgraded sound sytsem.

2. Skoda definitelly installed speakers with paper cones for the car.

You can check some pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.hu/Levente.Kiss.SSL/SkodaAudio#

My definition of a good car stereo is one you can listen to at 70mph (maybe more on the German autobahn) , hear all the voices clearly and not have to have it so loud that you cant hear the person next to you without having to shout.

i find the stereo in the Octavia does not meet this standard. There is no midrange, no clarity . You have to have it up too high to hear. whenever the traffic reports come on, stereo goes up to 14

I hope the Superb with the upgraded sound system will meet this requirement. The only demo cars i looked at had the standard stereo. But could never get a dealer to lend me one for a decent amount of time to test properly. Hope the new car meets my expectations!