Hey everyone,

I'm collecting my red Octavia TDi this weekend, once it's been prepped by the local dealer. It already has 93k miles, but I hear it should run and run and run. A whole lot better than my outgoing '94 Peugeot 205 (139,000 and counting) anyway!

Anyway, I came by here wondering where I could find an aux in adaptor for the head unit, and thought I'd register and stick around for a while

Take it easy folks,

J.

Welcome

Welcome :orb_wave:

If you do a search , there has been a couple of threads on aux adapters for the radios.

Welcome

I'm sure after the pug it'll be utter luxury!!

Well I picked up the car today. The dealer did a good job to get the car ready for me in a hurry ... my old car broke yesterday so it suddenly became urgent! The paintwork isn't perfect, but overall I'm pretty happy. Even if the Symphony HU is rubbish :(

Here's to an enjoyable commute! :cheers:

Welcome to Briskoda and Skoda ownership.

The Symphony head unit may not be to your taste, but the speakers aren't too bad - 8 on our Elegance estate. But you do need to have the loudness switched on - not something I'd normally recommend (as a long-time hi-fi addict).

Yes , rather than faff about with an Aux-input (bluespot do them) just bin the factory HU and fit a proper stereo.

Oh , and welcome to briskoda.

Hello and welcome. :wave23d:

I had a proper stereo in the Peugeot 205 (a Bluespot San-Remo CD32) and it was such a pain having to remember to take the front plate off. I forgot once and had to replace a door lock :( There's a lot to be said for the dull look of the factory fit unit.

I might try some speakers first, then if that doesn't help see if I can find a new head unit. I presume a new HU means chucking the CD changer?

Also, everybody complains about the 'Symphony' HU, but are there several sorts? Mine's a Radio/Cassette from late 2001. I can't believe they'd still fit this heap.

Cheers!

J

PS: The traffic bulletin recording is kind of neat, I'll give it that.

Mine was an 03 which came with the same dire tape HU and 6 disk changer in the boot.

It lasted about a fortnight before it was all removed.

Hello and welcome.

I have a late 2003 Octy TDi Elegance and it came with the same aweful HU.

Firstly I bought some custom fit Sony replacement speakers and disconnected the rear tweeters. This made the sound a lot better, at least upto what a modern car should be. The paper cone speakers that are standard fit cost the dealers around

Having driven an Octy (basic model, mind you) I would definitely rip that HU out first thing. The Fabia one is way, way better, and actually has quite acceptable sound. Of course you can improve on it, but it's something you could definitely live with. The Octy one imho is basically rubbish

The Elegance has better speakers than the base model, which may mean they're ok, hard to say as I have not personally heard them, sorry.

It's worth considering how much a HU upgrade costs, perhaps try that out and see how you feel about the rest of the system

Sorry to hijack, but as a first step onto the stereo upgrade road, and if you only had enough cash to do one or the other, what would it be:

1. Change the head unit

2. Change the speakers

Which would improve the sound better on a budget?

p.s. Hello 51Octytdi, i have an 03 TDI Elegance (110bhp, which i assume is same engine as yours) Hope it goes well.

JD

Having driven an Octy (basic model' date=' mind you) The Octy one imho is basically rubbish

[/quote']

The car or the HU?

Can't really call the Octy 1 rubbish just because you drove a poverty spec, bottom of the ladder with a 90bhp diesel.

A bit like driving a 1.2 54bhp Classic Fabia and saying all Fabia's are rubbish.

Cheers

Lee

Hey everyone,

Another blast home from work. Woooweeee this car is fun. The dashboard even lights up to tell you so *And* it's done 65mpg over two days. *And* after a fill it says I've got 750 miles 'til I need to go back to the filling station. Yay! *And* I saw an Octavia police car - now that makes you feel special The driver's seat feels a bit stiff though. I feel like I'm sliding down into the left hand side of it. Also, the 12V accessory socket under the arm rest works fine for the cigarette lighter but won't work for my in-car phone charger. It looks really dirty in there so I'm guessing it's been well used. Might have to get a plastic stick out and have a scratch around. I almost had a go with my keys, but thought better of it ...

Anyway, I was listening to the stereo some more today, I think there are two problems.

1. Radio reception, well for BBC Radio 2 anyway, is quite poor. It varies from OK to quite hissy and noisy. This isn't a problem with a CD. It wasn't this bad on the same route in my old car.

2. The speakers sometimes rattle and buzz like there's a fly stuck in a tin can. Yeah, that bad.

People mention "custom fit" speakers. Do standard 6.5" ones fit? What needs to be custom about them? Maybe I should just complain to the dealer - I wonder if speakers come under the Optima warranty?

Cheers folks,

J.

Hey everyone' date='

Another blast home from work. Woooweeee this car is fun. The dashboard even lights up to tell you so *And* it's done 65mpg over two days. *And* after a fill it says I've got 750 miles 'til I need to go back to the filling station. Yay! *And* I saw an Octavia police car - now that makes you feel special The driver's seat feels a bit stiff though. I feel like I'm sliding down into the left hand side of it. Also, the 12V accessory socket under the arm rest works fine for the cigarette lighter but won't work for my in-car phone charger. It looks really dirty in there so I'm guessing it's been well used. Might have to get a plastic stick out and have a scratch around. I almost had a go with my keys, but thought better of it ...

Anyway, I was listening to the stereo some more today, I think there are two problems.

1. Radio reception, well for BBC Radio 2 anyway, is quite poor. It varies from OK to quite hissy and noisy. This isn't a problem with a CD. It wasn't this bad on the same route in my old car.

2. The speakers sometimes rattle and buzz like there's a fly stuck in a tin can. Yeah, that bad.

People mention "custom fit" speakers. Do standard 6.5" ones fit? What needs to be custom about them? Maybe I should just complain to the dealer - I wonder if speakers come under the Optima warranty?

Cheers folks,

J.[/quote']

You will soon get used to the power and start asking about tuning boxes and re-maps.

The 12V socket can be a pain. However, the rear of the fuse box is easy to get at from near the drivers pedals. I've installed two 12V sockets under the dash for my phone and SatNav, works really well as you just need a small length of lead coming out of the dash to your phone/satnav.

The booster for the radio reception is built in the HU so the problem could lie there. If you change the HU you will need an external booster.

The Front speakers will take 6.5" speakers but their isn't much depth. Do a search and there is loads of info. The rears are 13cm with dreadfull tweeters in the front of the rear doors, disconnect these tweeters as your first move.

Most manufacturers like Sony and Kenwood offer custom fit speakers, generally they are speakers designed to fit behind original panels so they come without grills and can have a more than the usual four holes in the casing.

If you go for coaxials in the front doors instead of the components then make sure the tweeters don't stand pround of the main cone or you won't get the grills back on.

Cheers

Lee

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update. I've been putting up with the stereo so far, until I can get around to replacing the front speakers. The mpg readout on the dash seems waay to optimistic. It's telling me 63mpg and a brim-to-brim fill up gave me 56mpg. Still, not too shabby. Now I just mentally deduct about 10% when I read the display.

On a more serious note, the glow plug light started flashing as I got home today. I drove directly to the dealer, where they pointed out I had no brake lights!! Had a spare courtesy car though so I'll go and pick my car up tomorrow. I would be very suprised if the warranty didn't cover it too. Very glad I bought from a dealer now!

The courtesy car is rubbish though. '05 Fabia SDi. Feels awfully cheap inside and it sounds like a beaten up Transit van. Well, I say like, I'd swear it /was/ the Ford Transit diesel in there. Yuck!

Will update tomorrow!

J

Are you sure it was the glow plug light and not the bulb failure light?

Cheers

Lee

Well in that case, I have a bulb failure for a second or two before I start my engine every morning Seems an odd thing to double up on, but I guess they can't get a different bulb in there for everything!

Very glad to have my car back now. The chap at the dealer was very helpful. One signature and nothing to pay and it was mine again. Yay!

J