Hello all,

The hi-fi in my VRs is rubbish, its the Stream unit I think. What are the options to upgrade, what have folk done in their Octavia's?

Should I go aftermarket?

Opinions & suggestion's please..

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/296751-what-double-din-hus/

It depends on your budget. There has been a lot of discussion and many threads exist already, but these are two good recent threads to read:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/296751-what-double-din-hus/

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/293348-kenwood-dnx521dab/ (this one is specific to the Kenwood VAG unit)

 

edit - Beaten to it!

thanks guys! Lots of food for though there! I really need to change the HU, its total pants! Budget will be about £400-500 I reckon...

Would I need to change the speakers to or are the OE ones up to the job?

your choices depend on a few factors.

 

Do you want to keep oem look?

do you want to keep oem integration?

 

If yes to these then you have a few options. Upgrading to a higher end oem headunit or vw equivalent headunits or going for the kenwood unit mentioned.

 

If you dont mind and want good sq mainly then aftermarket is the way to go. The pioneer deh-80prs is very highly regarded and is "only" £250. For better sq the pioneer refrence line is the way to go but those headunits cost four figures

You could look at the Kenwood DNX-520VBT which is the earlier version of the DNX-521DAB. The main difference is the lack of DAB radio, but the sound quality and compatibility with the Octavia are really good. Well worth a look and probably within budget too.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENWOOD-DNX520VBT-GPS-SAT-NAV-DVD-USB-MP3-BLUETOOTH-2013-MAPS-VW-SKODA-OEM-/121244566683?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item1c3abd449b

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-DNX520VBT-Automotive-GPS-Receiver-/151201868885?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item2334556c55

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENWOOD-DNX520VBT-GPS-SAT-NAV-DVD-USB-MP3-BLUETOOTH-2012-MAPS-VW-SKODA-OEM-/301059820495?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item4618904bcf

IMO, the standard speakers do a decent enough job to not be a priority. Changing the headunit alone gives decent gains, so that's absolutely the place to start. What you do next depends on your personal preference; you'll definitely find bass is somewhat absent and they are nowhere near the quality of a really good pair of aftermarket speakers, but considering they are stock, they're pretty decent.

thanks guys, really appreciate all the info / links etc...

i'll shop around for a decent HU, once that's done i'll see how the speakers sound...

I had an Alpine HU, Infinity 3 way component front speakers and Apline 6x9's in an acoustic parcel shelf in my previous car and the sound was superb!

so, think I might go shopping! :-)

btw, is the Columbus unit any good?

a speaker layout like that really doesnt suit good quality staging. The rear speakers being 6x9's drag the sound back, you are not designed to listen like this so i'd massively advise against it.

 

The oem layout isnt perfect but its pretty good which really does work. I've replaced the front speakers with cdt components and left the rears running off the headunit. The sq is pretty good, just need to deaden the doors and door cards now.

 

The oem system uses components so 2 way or 3 way co-axils should be forgotten about really. The sound will be very harsh with the extra tweeters

 

The columbus unit is good if you want oem. They are not cheap mind you.

 

If you want to run a amp in future the oem stuff doesnt have RCA outputs so you'd need to spend money finding a way of creating rca's using a range of possible products

btw, is the Columbus unit any good?

 

You won't regret the Columbus if you can find a fairly priced one.  Sometimes they pop up on here where you can be a bit more sure that they are genuine and not stolen (be a little careful with eBay for example).  Just make sure you have a code and try and get one with newer firmware and maps installed if possible.

IMHO, the sound quality of the Columbus is OK but no better. I know that there are plenty of people on here who think it's great, but I just couldn't get it to my liking. The DNX520 sounds better and gives you the chance to upgrade to an amp etc in the future much more easily.

The ans-810 has preouts as per my thread looking for a decent hu. The kenwood a are highly recommended but pricey.

I put a pioneer fh-x700bt in mine today. Really happy with the sound. The standard system sounds nice and doesn't sound like it's struggling with the sound turned up.

a speaker layout like that really doesnt suit good quality staging. The rear speakers being 6x9's drag the sound back, you are not designed to listen like this so i'd massively advise against it.

 

The oem layout isnt perfect but its pretty good which really does work. I've replaced the front speakers with cdt components and left the rears running off the headunit. The sq is pretty good, just need to deaden the doors and door cards now.

 

The oem system uses components so 2 way or 3 way co-axils should be forgotten about really. The sound will be very harsh with the extra tweeters

 

The columbus unit is good if you want oem. They are not cheap mind you.

 

If you want to run a amp in future the oem stuff doesnt have RCA outputs so you'd need to spend money finding a way of creating rca's using a range of possible products

Its interesting when you say about the 6x9's dragging the sound back, etc. When I got the VRs it took me ages to get the sound setting right on the Hi-Fi, the sound is harsh, very tinny with no real depth, whereas on my previous set up the sound had a lot of depth and clarity to it compared to what I have now. The Skoda set up seems a bit strange, to have 4 speakers situated so close to each other and in the mid point of the car.

There's a lot of info here, thanks to all! I'll need to think carefully before I buy anything...

it is a very odd setup but to my ears the tweeter being that far forward of the mid pulls the sound forward. My previous car had mids in the normal position in the doors and it doesnt sound all that different. You can tell they aren't by your shins but dont sound like they are at the back of the door. 

 

It is quite tinny and took me a while to eq it aswell. Im not running the oem components up front so i've lost the tinny sound and my front speakers are much louder than the rear so you can't actually hear the rear speakers but im pretty sure the mids do help in a small way. 

A headunit with a good EQ is essential if you want to stick with the stock speakers for a while. The stock speakers can be tinny and can't handle huge amounts of bass, but with tweaking you can get it sounding really good. My Kenwood has a great graphic EQ and I've managed to find the sweet-spot with decent bass (that doesn't distort or rattle the door cards) and nice sounding highs that aren't too harsh. I've also set the fader forward and to the passenger side a bit, to balance the sound out. It takes a bit of time though.