Well I will be sure to let you know :-).

Also, the leather interior is going to be retrofitted by the dealer, meaning the doors will be opened up and accessible during this time. 

That means that the car audio specialist can take that opportunity to, if need be, fill the doors to improve sound isolation. I know this helped on the Renault Megane break.

 

Let's find out what they can offer to do tomorrow and go from there.

...if need be, fill the doors...

 

I can't be the only one thinking Clarkson trying to bullet-proof his MX5 by filling the door with sand... surely? 

Harmon Kardon in the current 3 series sounds much better than the (cheaper) Canton system in the Octavia and I have no doubt over this. The Canton system does get better with age. The sub seems to tighten up a little and the upper levels of sound seem to mature in the separation department. You do need to feed it a decent source though. Other systems are certainly more forgiving of low bit rate mp3's from my experience. The other factor would be that imo the BMW has door cards that are more up to the job of resisting vibrations and resonance - this is more telling at higher levels and when they cars have done some mileage. OT but the best reasonably priced I've heard lately was in an MQB platform car - it was the factory optional B&O system I heard in an A3 Sportback - a little more costly but super detailed and lots of depth, separation and clarity. Quite awesome in fact

Our canton has definately got better with age! By a large margin actually! Was disappointed but now it's pretty gd for money and would buy again

As for the Audi B&O in a3, fantastic system, for a few hundred extra it's bloody awesome. Shows up canton a little but still worthy if fitting in octy IMO

Our canton has definately got better with age! 

 

Are you sure your ears aren't just adjusting down?  :p

Nah because I have B & o to keep it up to speed

So, the audiotuner listened to the BMW and immediately concluded much is to be attributed to the subs mounted beneath the front seats.

That said, he is able to improve (so he claims, I'll just have to take his word for it ) the sound of the door-speakers by implementing sound proofing/isolation in the doors.

The low end of the spectrum will be improved by mounting an additional sub in the space normally reserved for the spare wheel, which in turn will be replaced by a repair kit.

 

Sadly enough, the run-flat tires had to go, because the won't fit on the Skoda rims ~:-/

 

So with that bit of budget freed up I added some kiddy seats in the back (always nice to have an extra pair) and a bicycle carrier on the back.

 

Last but not least: he found out he could add an RS spoiler so we fit that in as well.

Lol, you sound like you belong in pimp my ride or something similar... :P

Lol, you sound like you belong in pimp my ride or something similar... :p

 

Yeah.. I figured if I were to downsize (figuratively speaking :P) my ride, I might as well pimp it. Of course, there are certain limits imposed by my employer, so he veto'd against white leather interior... can you imagine that?

I like mine, surround settings activated, happy days.. end of.

Old thread, but thought I would add my 2p.

 

I really like the Canton. My previous car had the DynAudio 8 speaker + amp factory option for £400 and this is far far superior The DynAudio didn't fill the space well enough to 'isolate' you from the road and car noise, when the Golf was being driven you couldn't really hear the bass from the system, and it always felt underpowered. Maybe the Skoda is quieter too perhaps?  The Canton is capable of providing a lot of sound and immerses you very nicely.

 

 I'm sure there's better out there for much more money, but the Canton sounds punchy, detailed, has good stereo separation and goes more than loud enough, so I'm very happy. A bargain at £400 IMHO. I'm enjoying listening to music in the car again.

My local dealer said that the Canton upgrade on the standard sat system was an improvement but when linked to the Columbus system made a huge difference. My current Volvo has the upgraded 5.1 system which IMO is the dogs danglies, it was an upgrade I had to add to my order. I just hope it lives up to expectations when it lands

I don't think the Canton would get better with age, more likely you just get used to the sound.  I wanted the Canton upgrade but the wait was too long so bought a dealer spec car.  I had an Audiotec Fischer Match PP 52DSP amp and a PP 8E-Q sub installed.  After configuring the amp with the software (equaliser mainly) I think it sounds very very good, and I am very happy with it.  Incidentally, the dealer thought the upgraded system sounded better than the canton.  The sub is small enough to sit on its side in the side cubby hole thing in the boot.

I don't think the Canton would get better with age, more likely you just get used to the sound.  I wanted the Canton upgrade but the wait was too long so bought a dealer spec car.  I had an Audiotec Fischer Match PP 52DSP amp and a PP 8E-Q sub installed.  After configuring the amp with the software (equaliser mainly) I think it sounds very very good, and I am very happy with it.  Incidentally, the dealer thought the upgraded system sounded better than the canton.  The sub is small enough to sit on its side in the side cubby hole thing in the boot.

I have done 25.000 km with my car, and I always listen to music (house).

Nothings changed. It sounds like in the beginning.

The amount of bass is more than enough (I had to lower it, because it was to much for my ear).

I miss the really deep frequencies but nothing to wonder about...the speaker is relative small in the subwoofer.

I think the lowest frequency that the sub can produce is around 70-80 Hz .

I don't think the Canton would get better with age, more likely you just get used to the sound.  I wanted the Canton upgrade but the wait was too long so bought a dealer spec car.  I had an Audiotec Fischer Match PP 52DSP amp and a PP 8E-Q sub installed.  After configuring the amp with the software (equaliser mainly) I think it sounds very very good, and I am very happy with it.  Incidentally, the dealer thought the upgraded system sounded better than the canton.  The sub is small enough to sit on its side in the side cubby hole thing in the boot.

Hi, I'm seriously considering doing the same. Could you share some info about your installation? How big a job was it? Any modification needed to the original cabling in the car? Where did you place the PP 52DSP? Thanks a lot.

I have the Canton system upgrade fitted to my Amundsen  and not impressed with the sound at al,l fed up with having to turn the sound up and down, when someone is talking cant hear them on the radio so have to turn it up, but then when the music comes on its to load,

 

dont know if it would be better with the Columbus fitted but £1000 is a lot to pay to find out if its still no good.

 

People say on here the sound gets better but how long do you have to wait for this 

I have the Canton system upgrade fitted to my Amundsen and not impressed with the sound at al,l fed up with having to turn the sound up and down, when someone is talking cant hear them on the radio so have to turn it up, but then when the music comes on its to load,

dont know if it would be better with the Columbus fitted but £1000 is a lot to pay to find out if its still no good.

People say on here the sound gets better but how long do you have to wait for this

That Sounds more like bad mixing from the radiostation than a flaw with the audiosystem.

Or perhaps the equalizer is way off?

That Sounds more like bad mixing from the radiostation than a flaw with the audiosystem.

Or perhaps the equalizer is way off?

It sounds the same on all the DAB stations and there is not much on the equalizer on the Amundsen to change only two options either music or speech there are no other equalizer options

DAB is a poor quality audio source in the first place, even FM is better than most DAB stations.

 

http://www.frequencyfinder.org.uk/DAB_sound.html

DAB is a poor quality audio source in the first place, even FM is better than most DAB stations.

 

http://www.frequencyfinder.org.uk/DAB_sound.html

Just one of the reasons why they ended DAB broadcasts here a decade ago.

Just one of the reasons why they ended DAB broadcasts here a decade ago.

In Norway FM probably shuts down in 2017, and all broadcasts will be Dab+.

Dont really know what I think about that. Dont have dab in my car at the moment, but I suspect the coverage will suffer.

In Norway FM probably shuts down in 2017, and all broadcasts will be Dab+.

Dont really know what I think about that. Dont have dab in my car at the moment, but I suspect the coverage will suffer.

We had DAB broadcasts here in Finland from 1997 to 2005 when they decided it was more trouble than it was worth and reverted back to FM. There are no plans to bring DAB back as far as I know.

We had DAB broadcasts here in Finland from 1997 to 2005 when they decided it was more trouble than it was worth and reverted back to FM. There are no plans to bring DAB back as far as I know.

Thats worrying, considering Finland is quite flat compared to Norway.

Did you hava dab or dab+?

Did you hava dab or dab+?

DAB as far as I know, but I haven't read about the subject in quite a while so my memory might not be perfect.

 

Digital radio isn't dead in Finland though, they just broadcast it over DVB-T and online. But I don't think there are many car radios that can play DVB-T/T2 audio broadcasts.

Edited 1 April, 201511 yr by kallekilponen

Digital (DAB+) radio is a relatively recent thing in Australia and gets quite a lot of promotion but few new cars have it as standard equipment although it is increasing.

Analogue TV broadcasts are now a thing of the past and I suspect, eventually, the same will happen to radio.

I think the main driver for conversion is not just quality/technology improvement as money. The Aussie Government made a killing selling off the freed up TV bandwidth to commercial interests and is probably eyeing up the same for the radio frequencies.

My Octavia 3 just has the basic Swing radio FM based radio and reception is pretty good and comparable to input from my portable DAB+ radio. On other previous cars (different make) the portable DAB input resulted in significantly better sound.

There are some remote areas of Australia where you would be better off with Long Wave or even Short Wave, quality suffers though

What would you guys rate it compared to the standard set if speakers? Is it really 400£ better? I was very pleased with mk2 oem speakers.