Picked up my new S3 on Monday, have already put 2000km on the clock.

Here are my observations:

Good:

Seats - comfortable, ventilated seats lovely.

Driving position, excellent all controls fall easily to hand.

Generally quiet except over poor road surfaces

Fuel economy was over 50mpg round the M25 whilst several hours sitting on 130 kph on the French motorways still gave 48mpg

Adaptive cruise control very smart - for example if a car pulls in close in front of you and is pulling away it doesn't slow you, but if it sits there then it does

Lane assist seems to learn - seemed rather useless when I first tried it, but now it gives a firm nudge when needed

Sat nav and screen display is the best I have experienced

DCC changes the character of the car subtly but effectively depending on your mood

It's adequately fast - fine for overtaking but not so effortless that your licence is at risk every time you press your right foot!

Not so good

Needs a little more sound proofing especially in the doors

Needs a little more isolation against rough surface vibrations under the drivers feet

Canton sound system is pretty poor - a good system has the ability to produce solid bass and midrange whilst also handling high frequency with precision. The canton system is tinny, lacks controlled bass ( it's boomy) and sounds muddy / muffled, it's not got a particularly high high frequency either. It will almost certainly be improved by adding some Dynamat to the doors but that won't solve everything, but may jmprove it little. The system can with the l&k spec and it didn't factor into my decision to go for the l&k - my suggestion if you are thinking of speccing it as an option is if you love be you car Hifi then save your cash and get an aftermarket upgrade - the set up in my pick-up is leagues ahead of the canton and only cost around £800 + dynamat incl fitting

Sunroof means that you have no sunglasses holder and there are no convenient places to put them in reach.

Overall quite please with it so far!

Picked up my new S3 on Monday, have already put 2000km on the clock.

Here are my observations:

Good:

Seats - comfortable, ventilated seats lovely.

Driving position, excellent all controls fall easily to hand.

Generally quiet except over poor road surfaces

Fuel economy was over 50mpg round the M25 whilst several hours sitting on 130 kph on the French motorways still gave 48mpg

Adaptive cruise control very smart - for example if a car pulls in close in front of you and is pulling away it doesn't slow you, but if it sits there then it does

Lane assist seems to learn - seemed rather useless when I first tried it, but now it gives a firm nudge when needed

Sat nav and screen display is the best I have experienced

DCC changes the character of the car subtly but effectively depending on your mood

It's adequately fast - fine for overtaking but not so effortless that your licence is at risk every time you press your right foot!

Not so good

Needs a little more sound proofing especially in the doors

Needs a little more isolation against rough surface vibrations under the drivers feet

Canton sound system is pretty poor - a good system has the ability to produce solid bass and midrange whilst also handling high frequency with precision. The canton system is tinny, lacks controlled bass ( it's boomy) and sounds muddy / muffled, it's not got a particularly high high frequency either. It will almost certainly be improved by adding some Dynamat to the doors but that won't solve everything, but may jmprove it little. The system can with the l&k spec and it didn't factor into my decision to go for the l&k - my suggestion if you are thinking of speccing it as an option is if you love be you car Hifi then save your cash and get an aftermarket upgrade - the set up in my pick-up is leagues ahead of the canton and only cost around £800 + dynamat incl fitting

Sunroof means that you have no sunglasses holder and there are no convenient places to put them in reach.

Overall quite please with it so far!

Would be handy to know what car you're driving. `Superb 3` doesn't say a great deal.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the experience overall.

We should get ours delivered this month so I'm getting impatient.

 

As someone that has paid the extra cash for the Canton system on an SE-L spec I hope yours will improve with time.

Don't the speakers have a running-in period, with it taking some time for them to reach their best performance?

 

Anyway I hope you continue to enjoy your new car. :-)

190 tdi 4x4 6spd dsg hatch L&K

French spec so some of these are standard in france and optional in UK and visa versa

Sunroof

Columbus

canton

ventilated seats

dcc

lane departure

160km/hr adaptive cruise control (there is a 230kph option too)

blind spot assist

park pilot 3

smart-gate

tow bar

electric tail gate

Glad to hear you are enjoying the experience overall.

We should get ours delivered this month so I'm getting impatient.

 

As someone that has paid the extra cash for the Canton system on an SE-L spec I hope yours will improve with time.

Don't the speakers have a running-in period, with it taking some time for them to reach their best performance?

 

Anyway I hope you continue to enjoy your new car. :-)

20-30 hours typically runs in speakers with them getting better and better up to 100 hours - all depending on how you play them of course. I had a quick listen to the Canton system in a demo car. Sounded ok but was not ideal testing environment. I can't put anything aftermarket in mine as am leasing so hoping the Canton system does ok. This will be the first car I've not done an install on. Think I'm probably going to miss my 12" sub...

I had a google of the spec - front doors tweeter, mid, bass, rear doors tweeter and mid, dash speaker and sub, so no bass speaker in the rear doors - based on this I shifted the soundstage forward to the front seats so that most of the sound is coming from the front doors, this made a big improvement to the depth of the sound, and I think with a bit more running in and the addition of some dynamat it should be reasonable.

On re-reading my post I also realised I had forgotten the following extras I ordered:

Phone box - it really does work - seems to add 1-2 bars

WLAN - not really used this - it may be useful when the family is in the car, but doubt I'll use it otherwise ( came with the phone box)

Smart light assist - really very effective

Park assist 3 - not used it yet

Blind spot detect - very helpful when driving in uk or on motorways

Brown leather interior - really subtle and much nicer than the usual black - but realise that it's a personal thing!

I think the Canton misses a rear parcel shelf speaker. My previous Audi A6 had Bose, which I think was better. I feel the Canton has sound at the front, but nothing coming from behind me.

48mpg doing 130kph in a 4x4 sounds pretty decent to me!

48mpg doing 130kph in a 4x4 sounds pretty decent to me!

Could not agree more , I'm seriously impressed and my experience of the VAG brand is that the engines are pretty tight for the first 8000 km and mpg continues to improve..

The Canton and the slightly patchy traffic sign recognition ( so many options / extras I forgot that one too) are the only real negatives and overall I'm still really pleased with the car.. When I get a few spare hours I'll figure out how to get the door skins off and I'll get some dynamat in there and under the d/s footwell too and the car will get even bette...

You are obviously a bit of an audiofile and into your music experience, Me I think the CANTON system is the best I have ever owned, sounds far superior to my last three cars and compairs favorably with my PC audio, played through a sound system ??? to each there own my wife also thinks it is fantastic.

V

You are obviously a bit of an audiofile and into your music experience, Me I think the CANTON system is the best I have ever owned, sounds far superior to my last three cars and compairs favorably with my PC audio, played through a sound system ??? to each there own my wife also thinks it is fantastic.

Yep re the audiophile side of things. My only advice would be if thinking of adding it as an option make sure you get a demo first as audio quality is very subjective - but it's good to hear that you are really enjoying it.

For simple factory fit it's not bad - not as good as the B&O or Bose from Audi, but then it's cheaper. Having said that the Skoda press launch claim that the Canton system "transformed the superb into a concert hall on wheels" is a little ambitious!

http://www.just-auto.com/news/new-%C5%A1koda-superb-features-canton-sound-system_id161797.aspx

I think the Canton misses a rear parcel shelf speaker. My previous Audi A6 had Bose, which I think was better. I feel the Canton has sound at the front, but nothing coming from behind me.

It is all subjective of course but in general, car audio is designed for stereo reproduction and sound stage imaging. You're trying to recreate sitting in front of a stage. The music is meant to come from up front. The sub can go in the boot because the frequency range is omnidirectional (not supposed to be able to tell where it is coming from). The fact that the Canton system can do 5.1 surround too (seeing as Canton do home cinema too) probably explains the rear speakers. I wonder if they are really intended for surround fill when watching something on the little 8" screen. It would be good to know what the rear speakers do when the listening profile is set to driver position. I imagine they are virtually turned off. I never used to put speakers in the rear of my installs. If I did I'd only ever have the rears on for passengers - and only if I was feeling very kind!

Of course, if you are listening to dance music then one could argue that most clubs are playing mono from ever corner of the room so the whole sound stage goes out the window.

FRSkoda - could you do us a favour and find a higher quality, more efficient sub, swap it out for the Canton sub and stitck a load of wadding in the plastic sub enclosure and let use know how that sounds first. Then do the dynamating and let us know the difference then? If you could do it in the next couple of weeks that would be great!

One of these maybe? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262452740320 Or this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Focal-Utopia-Be-13WS-Compact-13cm-5-Car-Audio-Subwoofer-/161830526916?hash=item25add9dfc4:g:fVYAAOSwQTVV~AbP

Or you could tell me to crack on and do it myself! Which I might once I get the car. Good to hear your thoughts though. Let us know if it gets better with time in your opinion.

How many speakers does yours have? I'm curious that the European specs seem to indicate 10 speakers for the canton upgrade but here in Aus it lists as having 12.. Maybe the extra 2 are why I thought it sounded so good while a few people here think it is poor..

Sunroof means that you have no sunglasses holder and there are no convenient places to put them in reach.

 

Have you found the little cubbie-hole down by the driver's right knee position. It took me about two weeks to discover that was there, and should be OK for glasses.

As mentioned elsewhere, I have noticed a very definite improvement in the sound of my Canton since February. Initial disappointment (max volume levels are disappointing, which IMHO usually means that normal volume levels will be slightly compromised) has turned to satisfaction.

It was listening to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring quite loudly (you have to have that loud!) that brought it home to me. There was a real concert-type excitement to the sound.

Yes, the sub could have a bit more oomf, but I'd rather have reduced bass than uncontrolled bass (which is why I also tend to prefer standmount to floormount loudspeakers (unless prepared to spend £1k+) in my audio system at home).

The Bose system in Audi A6 is superficially more impressive, and I must listen again, but suspect that the Canton is "finer".

 

BTW, you CAN have custom fit in a lease car. Equipment fitters are skilled at installing AND uninstalling. The lease documentation even make mention of returning things to original condition as best possible. I do wonder if I should have done that, rather than spend the extra few quid/month on the Canton....

 

PS...

 

I just went to listen (using Love and Affection by Joan Armatrading as a test track) in various seats in the car to play with the fader setting. On normal settings, the music sounded excellent in all seats (the rear side speakers seems unnecessary). Setting optimisation to ALL and fader to rear seems a rather useless setting. The time one might want a "rear" setting is when the people in the front don't want to hear the music so much, but that simply isn't an available option. This does seem a bit fishy to me and I wonder if a firmware upgrade is in the pipeline. 

 

Are there any email addresses I might use to ask the audio design dept if they think that it's working as designed? Maybe that beleaguered UK MD guy?!

Edited 5 June, 201610 yr by thewinelake

FRSkoda - could you do us a favour and find a higher quality, more efficient sub, swap it out for the Canton sub and stitck a load of wadding in the plastic sub enclosure and let use know how that sounds first. Then do the dynamating and let us know the difference then? If you could do it in the next couple of weeks that would be great!

 

The dynamat will definitely be done. but probably not till the summer - I have holiday cottages in Brittany so at this time of year when I'm not working in the Uk every free moment is spent doing lots of little jobs to get them perfect for our summer guests! I tend to be cautious on my audio upgrades by doing one at a time and seeing how I like it for a while - so if after a couple of months of just the dynamat then the rear sub would be next - at 200w its probably the weakest part of the system, though not sure how I'll manage to shoehorn one of these in there instead http://www.audiot.co.uk/images/product/main/BandW-PV1D-Matte-Black.jpg 

Or for the price of Naim for Bentley you could buy a Citigo.

Hi!

Yea, i'm not too happy about the Canton either. But still alot(!) better than the SoundSystem (12 speakers) in my Octy.

I love bass, really love it, and the Canton woofer sounds like a weak 6" woofer, and can't handle it. I'm thinking about upgrading it somehow, with a new woofer and/or strenghten up the plastic(!) box it's housing...

Btw, i'm more into this:

From the octy

Skickat från min Nexus 6P via Tapatalk

Hi!

Yea, i'm not too happy about the Canton either. But still alot(!) better than the SoundSystem (12 speakers) in my Octy.

I love bass, really love it, and the Canton woofer sounds like a weak 6" woofer, and can't handle it. I'm thinking about upgrading it somehow, with a new woofer and/or strenghten up the plastic(!) box it's housing...

Btw, i'm more into this:

From the octy

Skickat från min Nexus 6P via Tapatalk

After watching that, I can see (or rather hear!) why you mightn't be so impressed with Canton!