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Audio Upgrade Advice for newbie


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Hi All

 

I've decided I can no longer put up with the standard set up in my car (columbus) so I have purchased an xtrons PB96MTVAPL and a Kenwood ksc sw11 under seat sub. I'm pretty confident in installing the head unit as I have done a few before however the sub is a bit of a new one so my plan is to put it under the drivers seat and run the cables up the centre console getting the power from a fuse tap on the internal fuse box. Can anyone fore see any issues with this. Is it ok to run the rca cables alongside the power cables? Also the Kenwood instructions state a power control connection is this to the head unit or can I tap into a switched fuse? Thanks in advance

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What advantages Columbus have over this Xtron??

I'll also go that way as having Android OS - apps - and access to Google Maps is priceless ;)

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I find the columbus very slow and unresponsive and the routes it gives I find bizzare sometimes hence the reason to switch yes the columbus has some advantages but the xtrons is the latest octre core so looks good I guess time will tell. Anyway I didn't really want this to be a android vs columbus debate just need advice on the sub really.

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Running car audio twisted pair RCA leads together with power should pose no issues, but every vehicle and setup is different. Even running a cheapy cigarette lighter socket USB charger can mess with radio reception, inducing static into playback. My philosophy was that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing it right and ran power and RCA leads to the boot on separate sides of the car, but if you follow more practical philosophies, you can always disassemble the interior bits you need to run the wires through, hook up what you need, give it a test at different volumes, engine off and varying engine RPM and if all is good, assemble everything back together and test again.

 

Running the power control connection off either the switched fuse or the headunit means the woofer amp is powered either with ignition on or when the headunit is turned on. The latter is preferred.

 

My personal preference was to leave the headunit in my Superb alone and use Waze on my phone for navigation. I've yet to see a headunit that doesn't have considerable drawbacks in practical use, so my Amundsen does have the latest navigation SD card in it, but only to be functional in theory and have moving images on the screen in practice.

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37 minutes ago, T-1000 said:

I find the columbus very slow and unresponsive and the routes it gives I find bizzare sometimes hence the reason to switch yes the columbus has some advantages but the xtrons is the latest octre core so looks good I guess time will tell. Anyway I didn't really want this to be a android vs columbus debate just need advice on the sub really.

There are a few different route optimisation preferences on the Columbus - it could be worth checking those out before you decide to take your car apart to replace it. Slowness is subjective - I don't think it's slow given that it is basically a mini computer in the dashboard, running from a HDD.

 

On newer units, some people have upgraded their Columbus to SSD and found it improved things a bit.

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I can't say what the fit is like for the superb, but from my experience underseat subs do hardly anything to improve the bass. They add a bit of extra mid-bass but not much especially at higher volumes. I have a 10" sub in the boot of my fabia which is a much smaller car, and it still only just about copes with what I want it to do which is hardly window shaking bass.

Depends what you want from your sound system really maybe upgrading the door speakers is a good way to go.

 

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19 hours ago, T-1000 said:

I've decided I can no longer put up with the standard set up in my car (columbus) so I have purchased an xtrons PB96MTVAPL and a Kenwood ksc sw11 under seat sub.

 

No disrespect intended here towards OP, but why not install a better head unit?

For slightly more money you can have a Kenwood or Pioneer with Android Auto / Apple car play, which IMO is massively better than using the clunky navi built into these units.

Not to mention, it should only get better with time as you upgrade your phone down the line.

From what I can see, that unit also does not appear to be CE tested or eMark tested. CE would be a legal requirement, especially as it does have a transmitter inside. eMark, while not a legal requirement in this case, would be cause for more concern to me than the CE mark. CE will only check radiated emissions and immunity testing. I.e. how the head unit will react under EM fields. Making sure the Bluetooth connection stays up and that sort of thing.

 

eMark testing will check to make sure that the head unit is not disturbing the CAN BUS. I have seen plenty of units in our lab which will cause physical damage to a vehicle's components under some conditions. And these are the big boys with entire engineering centers.

Not saying that anything would happen, mind you, only that when something isnt tested the likely-hood is higher.

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The xtrons/etc android units support the parking sensors/car info whereas the pioneers etc don't. The only exception I found was the Kenwood unit but it was expensive and the features were limited. 

 

I bought an ASure unit from eBay and so far I've been impressed. Android, so play store etc. Means I have got Spotify, iPlayer radio, radio x etc as well as DAB, Bluetooth, dvd, navigation etc for less than £200. 

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22 hours ago, Chris said:

The xtrons/etc android units support the parking sensors/car info whereas the pioneers etc don't. The only exception I found was the Kenwood unit but it was expensive and the features were limited. 

 

I bought an ASure unit from eBay and so far I've been impressed. Android, so play store etc. Means I have got Spotify, iPlayer radio, radio x etc as well as DAB, Bluetooth, dvd, navigation etc for less than £200. 

Just keep in mind that after a year or two, it may not be possible to get Apps for older versions of Android. It is not likely that the radio would have an update to the newest version. Though, perhaps there will be someone privately creating updates.

Good to know about the park sensors though. That would also be a deal killer for me.

Edited by pablomax
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On 21/03/2017 at 19:11, Chris said:

I'm also looking at installing a Kenwood underseat sub. The question is though...Does it fit? 

 

Yes it fits very neatly. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6d9pg80zgxq5dar/20170325_102502.jpg?dl=0

 

This is with the seat fully forward

 

And 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/plqhth4brewujdh/20170325_102530.jpg?dl=0

 

The seat in my driving position which is not quite fully back. Very difficult to see it without bending down.

 

I haven't installed it yet still waiting for the head unit to arrive. When I have it fitted I will try and do a guide and review

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On 27/03/2017 at 09:13, Chris said:

Thanks for that! Would be great to have a how 2 guide on the install! 

 

Finally fitted yesterday. Impressed with the Xtrons I will post a review once I've used it a good while. The sub was pretty simple I've put a guide in the appropriate section but if you need any help let me know.

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7 hours ago, T-1000 said:

 

Finally fitted yesterday. Impressed with the Xtrons I will post a review once I've used it a good while. The sub was pretty simple I've put a guide in the appropriate section but if you need any help let me know.

 

When the time comes, I would be very interested to read your review on the Xtrons. My Columbus went faulty and only its basic functions work now, with no connectivity to external devices. Never really had any great love for it anyway and the dealer wants £2k+ for a new one.

 

Was the head unit replacement mostly plug and play, or was there wire splicing and running new cables around the car required?

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@Jules Tohpipi the android head units are plug and play. @Rustynuts may be able to help with your faulty Columbus if you want to stay OEM. 

 

I've got an ASure unit in my superb and think it's great. Android plug and play. I use Spotify and the radio apps for radio 1 and the radio x app. 

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@Jules Tohpipi 

 

It is pretty much plug and play. I installed the dab windscreen ariel and so had to route the cables through the back of the glovebox. You will probably need to remove the glovebox anyway as it's very tight as there are alot of cables coming from the xtrons. Without the glovebox in it does make it easier to get the unit back enough as you can get your hand behind the unit to move the cables about whilst pushing the unit in. 

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15 hours ago, T-1000 said:

 

Finally fitted yesterday. Impressed with the Xtrons I will post a review once I've used it a good while. The sub was pretty simple I've put a guide in the appropriate section but if you need any help let me know.

Mind showing picture of your unit installed??

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6 hours ago, Chris said:

@Jules Tohpipi the android head units are plug and play. @Rustynuts may be able to help with your faulty Columbus if you want to stay OEM. 

 

I've got an ASure unit in my superb and think it's great. Android plug and play. I use Spotify and the radio apps for radio 1 and the radio x app. 

Appreciate a pic of yours installed too...this will help me with a decision to change my Columbus unit to android too...

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20170401_092409.jpg

 

That's mine installed into my Superb. Pretty much as it came out of the box. I've installed a few apps (very easy with the Google play store) so I have chrome, iPlayer, iPlayer radio, radio X, YouTube and Facebook. I've also installed Waze but to be honest I've not found a nav app I like enough to part with my TomTom stand alone device. 

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Looks good Chris, thanks for posting those photos.

 

Were you able to install yours without removing the glove box to manage the cables easier? I'm slightly nervous about removing mine because I had the infamous rattle around that area from new which took three trips to the dealer to rectify. Don't want to undo any 'custom' repairs they might have performed to fix it...

 

I take it your head unit all works fine and shows the parking sensors and everything?

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