What's the radio like with just 2 speakers?

[RapidRonnie]

My mum is considering a Citigo and I had recommended she get the entertainment pack as it's only £100 extra and I thought the 2 standard speakers on their own might be a bit weedy?

Can someone who already has one comment on how the sound quality is compared to a current Fabia/Roomster for example? I notice they have 4 speakers as standard and 8 on the SE upwards.

[BossFox]

My Fabia had four speakers and the sound quality was best described as basic (2011 model) while I have the "Soundsystem" upgrade in my Yeti with 12 and that's great. (2012 model).

I had concerns and so went for the Entertainment Pack.

[Snuggles]

I find the standard sound absolutely fine for my needs - I mostly listen to the radio but also play CDs and music from an SD card in the PID. Unless your mum is really into her music and sound quality is really important to her, the standard sound would likely be more than adequate. Having said that, if I had gone for a factory order I would have ordered the entertainment pack, as you are getting quite a lot for just £100.

I can't comment on the comparison, as this is my first Skoda, but why not do what I did and head to the dealers with a CD or two and test out the sound in a demo car without the entertainment pack.

[RapidRonnie]

I find the standard sound absolutely fine for my needs - I mostly listen to the radio but also play CDs and music from an SD card in the PID. Unless your mum is really into her music and sound quality is really important to her, the standard sound would likely be more than adequate. Having said that, if I had gone for a factory order I would have ordered the entertainment pack, as you are getting quite a lot for just £100.

I can't comment on the comparison, as this is my first Skoda, but why not do what I did and head to the dealers with a CD or two and test out the sound in a demo car without the entertainment pack.

Thanks. Mum's in the same situation in that the cars currently in stock do not have the entertainment pack but if she was ordering a freshly made one she would go for it.

I will get her to do as you suggest and try the radio when she tests drives as this is something I forgot to do when I took a test drive last month.

[estorilblue]

Exactly!

Mine does not have the entertainment pack, and I don't really miss the rear speakers. It's perfectly fine for listening to music during car driving.

To be fair, if you are really "in" to your music, a standard Skoda set up will not please you in any form.

I'd rather spend £100 on more worthwhile options:

PDC, City Safe etc.

[greenstripe]

I was very disappointed in the standard sound system in the Citigo -we have the Entertainment pack and it makes a BIG difference. One important point to note is that it has extra speakers in the front as well. Having extra speakers in a car really helps the sound of the stereo from being drowned out by road/engine noise etc

[estorilblue]

I think if you are using the car for short city journeys (as intended by design) it would not bother too many people.

Plus the engine sounds awesome!

[MikeW]

It's ok with 2 speakers but not as good as the sound system in my old Fabia 1.2 - it's a bit muffled but adequate.

[Skodaman]

I've bought an ex demo so I didn't have the option of adding the extra speakers.

On my test drive I took a CD and flicked around radio stations and played with the sound settings.

If you turn the Treble to max it really improves the sound of the system and just adjust the bass to suit yourself/or your taste in music. I personally don't like huge bass, just balanced bass.

The system with 2 speakers sounds pretty good imo. I had rears in my last car and I don't miss them. I'm not sure I would have upgraded to the extrea speakers or not if I had the option.

But I would say the standard 2 speaker system is excellent, but pay for the extra speakers if you can afford it as it will obviously improve the sound a little bit.

[Crista]

I originally ordered a car with entertainment pack but because of uncertain delivery times I have changed to a scheduled car without entertainment pack. When I drove the demo I remember the sound being ok but once I get the car I may investigate upgrading the existing speakers. Don't intend adding rear speakers as that shouldn't be necessary unless for rear passengers which I never have.

[Skodaman]

I originally ordered a car with entertainment pack but because of uncertain delivery times I have changed to a scheduled car without entertainment pack. When I drove the demo I remember the sound being ok but once I get the car I may investigate upgrading the existing speakers. Don't intend adding rear speakers as that shouldn't be necessary unless for rear passengers which I never have.

Did you check the Treble was up to maximum on the head unit on your test drive ? This improves the sound dramatically.

I'd be interested in the future in upgrading my front speakers though it will be interesting to see which company ( Pioneeer, Kenwood, etc ) first offers replacement custom speakers for the Citigo.

[Crista]

To be honest I didn't play with sound too much as I was just having a hoot driving it around. As I was trading down from a bigger car I didn't think I would like it. How wrong I was. Then when I ordered one I specified the entertainment pack just because it is so reasonably priced. I am like you and don't care too much for heavy bass. I like clarity especially in a car and by the sound of it there is enough adjustment in the treble to achieve that. That would be just fine for me. As long as I can hear speech clearly, my phone on Bluetooth clearly and the Sat Nav. I will be happy. My main criteria for this change were economy, reasonable comfort, something different and low ownership cost as the car us purely for commuting across town. We have a Yeti for longer journeys and the sound is crystal in that - much better than the Scirocco I've just sold.

[Skodaman]

To be honest I didn't play with sound too much as I was just having a hoot driving it around. As I was trading down from a bigger car I didn't think I would like it. How wrong I was. Then when I ordered one I specified the entertainment pack just because it is so reasonably priced. I am like you and don't care too much for heavy bass. I like clarity especially in a car and by the sound of it there is enough adjustment in the treble to achieve that. That would be just fine for me. As long as I can hear speech clearly, my phone on Bluetooth clearly and the Sat Nav. I will be happy. My main criteria for this change were economy, reasonable comfort, something different and low ownership cost as the car us purely for commuting across town. We have a Yeti for longer journeys and the sound is crystal in that - much better than the Scirocco I've just sold.

I did notice on the stereo that speech and vocals in music were very clear, I was very impressed with that. The sound quality for the instruments could have been a bit sharper for my liking but as a standard car stereo its pretty good I've had lots of far worse standard car stereos before !

I will probably go for new aftermarket front speakers when they are available, the system should sound amazing then !

Edited 10 October, 2012 by Skodaman

[Hudson1]

The only issue with not having rear speakers fitted and then wanting them after is the fact you will need to tear half the car apart to fit the speaker wires which would have been fitted from new if the entertainment pack was ordered as an option. I actaully like rear speakers as in fill, i had a very expensive sound system in my previous car with DLS amps and Rainbow speakers and i always thought it sounded better with a bit of rear fill, most of the work was done by the fronts but i still missed the rears when i faded them out completley.... so i would tend to have them fitted as an option to change them later if i wanted too.

Edited 17 October, 2012 by Hudson1

[MikeW]

Did you check the Treble was up to maximum on the head unit on your test drive ? This improves the sound dramatically.

Interesting tip, might try that soon. I find the standard stereo with 2 speakers a little muddy.

[Skodaman]

Interesting tip, might try that soon. I find the standard stereo with 2 speakers a little muddy.

Its worth doing the difference is like night and day !

[Hudson1]

I would suggest that any standard speakers will be built to a budget and really not that good at all. But i would also caution that if you do change them for something better, do not make them a LOT better, if you do then the standard headunit could have issues actually driving them, the advantage of an after market unit or an amp is the power they often have over and above a standard unit to drive decent speakers. If i had fitted my previous Rainbow speakers (6.5inch / £400 units) to any standard headunit i doubt i would have heard very much at all or if i did i may well have damaged them.... cheaper speakers match well to cheaper headunits and vice versa.

Edited 17 October, 2012 by Hudson1

[Skodaman]

I would suggest that any standard speakers will be built to a budget and really not that good at all. But i would also caution that if you do change them for something better, do not make them a LOT better, if you do then the standard headunit could have issues actually driving them, the advantage of an after market unit or an amp is the power they often have over and above a standard unit to drive decent speakers. If i had fitted my previous Rainbow speakers (6.5inch / £400 units) to any standard headunit i doubt i would have heard very much at all or if i did i may well have damaged them.... cheaper speakers match well to cheaper headunits and vice versa.

The best thing to do is like I said in an above post is to wait for a manufacturer like Kenwood or Pioneer to make a specific custom fit model for the Citigo to replace the standard speakers, that way the speaker will match the headunit perfectly. I wouldn't recommend putting any old speaker in.

[MickA]

I have the additional speakers in my Citigo. They are perfectly adequate and enhance the very good radio/speaker units that are fitted as standard. Adjust the treble and bass accordingly and it really is a rich sound, not tinny like some cheap standard units can be. Ok there is no equalizer and stuff like that but hey it's a budget style (but big on quality) city car, can't complain really.

Mick

[Stu308]

I find the front speakers not too good. I originally ordered the entertainment pack and ended up getting a en route car instead of built because of the build time. I was promised by the dealer the entertainment pack would be fitted at the showroom, but it wasnt. They said they took the rear panel off and there was no where for the speaker to attach to and no fixing kit was available yet.

At the time I had no option but to take the car as required for commuting. Was not happy with the dealer though as he only told me on pickup day :(.

Anyway I have been looking at options to improve the sound but not getting many answers. My thoughts now are to get some 6x9's and put then in the parcel shelf. Was thinking of changing out the fronts but I am sure they a riveted in and the speaker is part of the structure so might not bother. Was also thinking of my old subwoofer going in theboot but dont want to change out the headunit as will lose PID.

Anyone done anything else to improve the sound?

[mannyo]

Surely by fitting 6x9's on such a small rear parcel shelf will lose the stereo image. Fit some decent speakers up front, then add a sub for bass and you should be all set.

[Skodaman]

I find the front speakers not too good. I originally ordered the entertainment pack and ended up getting a en route car instead of built because of the build time. I was promised by the dealer the entertainment pack would be fitted at the showroom, but it wasnt. They said they took the rear panel off and there was no where for the speaker to attach to and no fixing kit was available yet.

At the time I had no option but to take the car as required for commuting. Was not happy with the dealer though as he only told me on pickup day :(.

Anyway I have been looking at options to improve the sound but not getting many answers. My thoughts now are to get some 6x9's and put then in the parcel shelf. Was thinking of changing out the fronts but I am sure they a riveted in and the speaker is part of the structure so might not bother. Was also thinking of my old subwoofer going in theboot but dont want to change out the headunit as will lose PID.

Anyone done anything else to improve the sound?

Does this mean that rear speakers can be added at a dealer if wanted ? Is there supposed to be wiring in the rear for cars without the speaker set option ? As mine was an ex demo I didn't get the choice to have rear speakers but I might add them later if I can.

[greenstripe]

The entertainment pack has extra speakers in the A pillars as well as two in the back. I couldn't say for sure but I would not expect it to have wiring.

[Skodaman]

The entertainment pack has extra speakers in the A pillars as well as two in the back. I couldn't say for sure but I would not expect it to have wiring.

I didn't think so either but I think Stu308 was given the impression wiring would bee in the back by the dealer.

[Liam2]

With the six speaker set in our car I found that the best sound was to be had by reducing the base by a few clicks. I found that as I reduced the base by each click that the sound clarified and there was still enough of it. The treble was left centered. Sounds fine now, for what it is, to someone who is a keen hifi nut for over thirty years. The sound will probably mellow after a period of playing...this is quite usual with electronics from new.