Good morning everyone,

I have an Octy II CR VRS with the Stream mp3 radio (to my knowledge this is the most basic Skoda radio, correct?).

Anyway, I am on a budget of about £300, so my question is what should I change first?

Headunit or speakers? Or keep both and get other additional equipment to improve the sound?

I'm a total novice when it comes to ICE, so please be gentle with me

Good morning everyone,

I have an Octy II CR VRS with the Stream mp3 radio (to my knowledge this is the most basic Skoda radio, correct?).

Anyway, I am on a budget of about £300, so my question is what should I change first?

Headunit or speakers? Or keep both and get other additional equipment to improve the sound?

I'm a total novice when it comes to ICE, so please be gentle with me

I've said it before and I'll say it again - sound deadening. The stock boom in the MK2 is not half bad, but the door cards and skins are bloody awful for resonance. Sort that and you'll get a ton more performance without changing anything else.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - sound deadening. The stock boom in the MK2 is not half bad, but the door cards and skins are bloody awful for resonance. Sort that and you'll get a ton more performance without changing anything else.

Never thought of that before - what type of places do sound deadening then?

Personally change the headunit to something like a pioneer or alpine and only pay for the features you need. Yes sound proofing will make a difference, but its effective use that's key, smoothering doors in soundproofing will be expensive and will not be as cost effeictive as sective application.

Try the headunit first ( you will notice an improvement) and if you are still wanting more consider soundproofing and potentially speaker upgrades however the Mk2 occy is not the easiest of speaker locations to get sounding right.

Edited 14 September, 201015 yr by pstar2002

Personally change the headunit to something like a pioneer or alpine and only pay for the features you need. Yes sound proofing will make a difference, but its effective use that's key, smoothering doors in soundproofing will be expensive and will not be as cost effeictive as sective application.

Try the headunit first ( you will notice an improvement) and if you are still wanting more consider soundproofing and potentially speaker upgrades however the Mk2 occy is not the easiest of speaker locations to get sounding right.

You could go this way and just use filters/eq to chop off the low end, but that's only half a solution. It will obviously sound better, but if you really love your music, you'll want more.

It's true the MK2 locations are gash, but you could either buy some sound deadening yourself and just take the door card off and apply it yourself, or pay a local car audio place to do it for you.

Most people choose uprated HU or comps because it's easier. That doesn't make it better.

You could go this way and just use filters/eq to chop off the low end, but that's only half a solution. It will obviously sound better, but if you really love your music, you'll want more.

It's true the MK2 locations are gash, but you could either buy some sound deadening yourself and just take the door card off and apply it yourself, or pay a local car audio place to do it for you.

Most people choose uprated HU or comps because it's easier. That doesn't make it better.

Ok thanks mate. So in your opinion sound deadening would be a better option than spending money on new HU or speakers?

with a tight budget there's no need to change the hu, just add a processor like an mtx re q £89 - this cleans up the sound and will probably give you better sound than a stock hu, then you'll need an amp as well. you can run your standard speakers off and later upgrade the speakers.

depend what you are after, a bit more bass, better clarifty, loud? sound quality? what type of music?

if you want a bit more bass you can go for an active sub or an amp+sub+all bits (box, wiring, line out converter)

if you want sq you can add a 4 channel amp (bridged to 2 channels), get some components up front and later add a sub and running the amp off the sub as well. You'd probably have to go second hand or if you want new it'll have to be budget stuff which in many cases is more bling than go

.

Edited 17 September, 201015 yr by fabia55

Ok thanks mate. So in your opinion sound deadening would be a better option than spending money on new HU or speakers?

It's not about "better", per se. But if you intend to do anything else down the line, you need deadened doors for a solid foundation. The improvement you will hear will be in more solid mid-bass, less vibration and slightly more clarity overall.

As mentioned above, what do you want from it? What kind of music etc?

If full range dynamics, and low end aren't a priority i.e. you listen to Radio 1 or 2, or local radio a lot with mostly "pop" music - just get the HU/speakers/whatever. If you just want a better sound, that might satisfy you.

If however, you want to really listen to music, sound deadening will get the most from your existing setup and will get the most from every single future upgrade.

On a budget, with your car, my idea would probably be:

Deadened doors

Replacement HU

Cheap sub and amp with the front comps filtered on the HU

The front end on the MK2 isn't that bad, but the above could be done for probably less than £800 and would be fine for most people. Tbh, even deadened doors and a replacement HU would be better, providing you get a HU with plenty of EQ and filtering options to tailor the sound.

Thanks alot for all your replies. I've decided to go down the route of sound deadening and a sub with multichannel amp. From there I'll decide if I want to replace the HU or not.

In terms of what music is played, it's a varied selection really dependant on mood, things like Oasis, U2, Stevie Wonder will be the main things played though. I want to have a good sound quality without the tinny effect, so that's why I've decided sound deadening is for me.

The stream MP3 has no preouts so amp or eq connection will have to be via speaker level input, which is one of the reasons why I spent this weekend replacing my HU. However, I am very happy to report the sound quality out of the standard speakers is much improved even though I will be repalcing them soon.

The stream MP3 has no preouts so amp or eq connection will have to be via speaker level input, which is one of the reasons why I spent this weekend replacing my HU. However, I am very happy to report the sound quality out of the standard speakers is much improved even though I will be repalcing them soon.

Connecting via speaker level input is a bad thing?

Connecting via speaker level input is a bad thing?

It is more prone to picking up that engine/gearbox whine.

as said Foz, you can just get a basic high to low converter to convert the speaker signal to preouts and still run the speakers off the hu.

as said Foz, you can just get a basic high to low converter to convert the speaker signal to preouts and still run the speakers off the hu.

Yeah cheers mate, defo gonna do it that way.

Cheers for your advice.

what type of places do sound deadening then?

Check out: K&M Acoustics in Wigan: 01942-82 01 74

Speak to Keith or Mike.

Check out: K&M Acoustics in Wigan: 01942-82 01 74

Speak to Keith or Mike.

Cheers mate

Never thought of that before - what type of places do sound deadening then?

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/deadening.html

The Stream MP3 has an absolutely shocking frequency response, due to its DSP, resulting in dead bands of frequencies particularly the upper base and lower middle where most of the detail of decent music is contained

Replacing mine with a Pioneer head unit, which sounds much better, but still not sorted all the connection issues yet :wonder:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/deadening.html

The Stream MP3 has an absolutely shocking frequency response, due to its DSP, resulting in dead bands of frequencies particularly the upper base and lower middle where most of the detail of decent music is contained

I'm a total novice to the world of ICE mate so could you say that again but in laymans terms please?

I'm a total novice to the world of ICE mate so could you say that again but in laymans terms please?

Hi there, let me give you my take on improving your system and what I would do if I were you:

Any sound system, whether in-car or in the home or on the mainstage at Glastonbury, is dependent upon a high-quality source.

A really good amp. will amplify the signals which is fed to it. Crap in = crap out.

Likewise, speakers will re-produce the signals which are fed from the amp., so once again, crap signal in = crap signal out.

So in my opinion, the way to upgrade your system initially would be in the path of the signal:

Head unit first, followed by an amp. and then, finally, the speakers.

Only when those three items are in place and set up and running well should you then turn to upgrading to sub-woofers and sound-deadening the doors. Both will improve your sound but they take their place in the order of doing things.

Go for quality and do it in stages. Don't buy budget stuff now just because that is all you can afford.

If you buy quality gear it will still be providing pleasure long after the car you are installing it in now is history.

Buy budget stuff now and you will soon tire of it and it won't be worth anything.

You should also consider going to a dealer who will install your new kit professionally using in-line fuses and the correct guage cables.

If you are new to ICE you need to know about stuff like this as the new equipment that you buy will only be as good as the installation.

Go to the Fourmasters site where you will get much free valuable advice.

Have a read of the free book they will send if you request it.: http://www.fourcars.co.uk/

Whatever you decide to buy, make sure that you listen to it first.

Good luck.

Edited 24 September, 201015 yr by BOBAD

Hi there, let me give you my take on improving your system and what I would do if I were you:

Any sound system, whether in-car or in the home or on the mainstage at Glastonbury, is dependent upon a high-quality source.

A really good amp. will amplify the signals which is fed to it. Crap in = crap out.

Likewise, speakers will re-produce the signals which are fed from the amp., so once again, crap signal in = crap signal out.

So in my opinion, the way to upgrade your system initially would be in the path of the signal:

Head unit first, followed by an amp. and then, finally, the speakers.

Only when those three items are in place and set up and running well should you then turn to upgrading to sub-woofers and sound-deadening the doors. Both will improve your sound but they take their place in the order of doing things.

Go for quality and do it in stages. Don't buy budget stuff now just because that is all you can afford.

If you buy quality gear it will still be providing pleasure long after the car you are installing it in now is history.

Buy budget stuff now and you will soon tire of it and it won't be worth anything.

You should also consider going to a dealer who will install your new kit professionally using in-line fuses and the correct guage cables.

If you are new to ICE you need to know about stuff like this as the new equipment that you buy will only be as good as the installation.

Go to the Fourmasters site where you will get much free valuable advice.

Have a read of the free book they will send if you request it.: http://www.fourcars.co.uk/

Whatever you decide to buy, make sure that you listen to it first.

Good luck.

Just wanted to say this is all good advice. However, in light of the reasonable performance of the MK2 stock setup, I stand by my suggestion. Ultimately though, you will likely want/need to do more than just a HU by itself, or just deadening by itself.

yes a good source, but you can get a processor to clean up the sound so there's no need to change the hu. the mtx re q is probably one of the best u can get for the price. it's also a lineout converter so you get pre outs.

......you can get a processor to clean up the sound so there's no need to change the hu......

On the contrary, there is every need to change the head unit.

The best equalizer ever made, if used with a poor quality head unit, means that you still have a poor quality head unit..

The equalizer is the audio equivalent of polishing a turd.

At the end of the day the most you can hope for is a shiny turd.

.

The quality of the source is the most important part of any sound system and no amount of embellishment will alter that fact.

I'm guessing a lot of all this is purely down to opinion then really as whilst every post has been massively helpful to me, there are also quite a few contradicting statements.

I really appreciate all your help guys.

On the contrary, there is every need to change the head unit.

The best equalizer ever made, if used with a poor quality head unit, means that you still have a poor quality head unit..

The equalizer is the audio equivalent of polishing a turd.

At the end of the day the most you can hope for is a shiny turd.

.

The quality of the source is the most important part of any sound system and no amount of embellishment will alter that fact.

sorry you've misunderstood, a processor is not the same an an equalizer. true the source is important but the oem vag head units aren't bad for oem.

besides the hu can be changed at any date but speakers/amps are more difficult to change/install so best to get those right first.

Edited 27 September, 201015 yr by fabia55

.............I really appreciate all your help guys............

Kind of you to say so Foz, just remember the signal path in order of importance regarding upgrading goes; source (head-unit) - amp - speakers - sound deadening - fancy embellishments (for fine-tuning)..

And don't forget to apply to FourMasters for a free copy of their magazine (Sound Design). http://www.fourcars.co.uk/

It is very informative, contains excellent advice and gives you contact numbers which you will find very useful.

Stay lucky !