Adding an Aftermarket sound system keeping the original radio

[JohnnyType2]

So i'm prepping for an aftermarket sub and upgrade to the factory speakers while im waiting on the MIB2 flat screen upgrade to come back. The canton is just to weak for my taste as i like it loud and hard
To keep the OEM head unit and run an after market amp setup you need a few things. As the head unit will have bass roll off at above 75% volume to protect the canton sub if you have one, it wont work well with an after market sub as you just wont get decent bass at high volume. You will need the Audiocontrol LC7i (@£200) if you want to run a 5 channel setup, if you are happy with the factory speakers? then an LC2i will do the trick. It can amplify the bass on the fly to counteract the roll off using accubase. It has a few other clever features like GTO which uses signal sensing to turn the amps on rather than the ignition meaning you can have the sub even with the car turned off and you don't need a feed from the ignition just a single constant 12v. 

 here's a diagram...




Im waiting on a few bits coming from woofersetc.com including the Sundown Audio SA-10 D4 REV3 10" 750W RMS Dual 4-Ohm SA Series Subwoofer, rears = Sundown Audio NeoPro-6.5 V3 6.5" 360W RMS 4-Ohm Carbon Fiber Midrange Speaker (Pair), front components = Sundown Audio SA-6.5 CS V.2 - 6.5" 100W RMS Component Speakers System, and running these on two Alpine PDX subs the 1.100 for the sub and the 4.150 for mids and highs. 

First thing is to route the main power line through the bulk head. (what a PITA this turned into)

Usually i would run 0/1 AWG but its very stiff and over kill for a smaller 10" sub so 4 AWG will be more than adequate. This is a pretty powerful sub for a 10" as it can handle 750w rms and peak at 2700W. 

This was a hateful job as there is literally no space behind the fuse box. I took the fuse-box and glove box out which was a waste of an hour as there is still no access to the grommet from the footwell, everything is done by feel. There is one large grommet that passes through the firewall behind the battery so first thing is to take the battery out. Unscrew the holding plate at the front (13mm) after removing the terminals (10mm) put them out of the way so they cant spring back and make contact. Pull the battery towards you and lift up and out. 

this is the grommet, its a few inches across and the wiring is wrapped tight with PU tape. You don't want to put another hole in it as there's no way to seal it properly again. You need to gentle cut the PU tape with a Stanley blade until you find the edge of the grommet and use a blunt driver to work it open enough to get an opening. This took me several tries pushing the wiring into the cabin but i had to give up as its way too tight and there's not much space. After an hour or so of head scratching and hand cramps i had to try something else as the fish tape was not strong enough to push through into the foot well either.



Heres the grommet behind the battery on the right hand side, i wouldn't take it off as you would never have enough room to put it back on.



the only thing you need to remove inside is this piece of foam underneath the glove box. 



I used an old piece of brake pipe as it was flexible enough to bend but stiff enough to push through the grommet i used a blunt screw driver to lift the rubber boot enough to push the pipe into the foot well. Its a really tight squeeze behind the glove box and it took several tries to get the pipe with one finger and pull it down and through. I greased it to help but even this was difficult. I taped the 4 AWG to the brake pipe with PVC tape and pulled it back though so there would be no break in the original seal through the firewall.

Battery back in with the cable routed a down and along the side of the battery. I taped it up and cable tied it ready for connecting to a 100 amp fuse and then to the fuse box or battery. The main battery terminal isn't easy to connect to so i'll probably take it from the main power line into the fuse box as it has a nice handy 10mm bolt and hide the fuse under the lid as there seems to be enough space.







there's more to follow as i get the amps wired for the speakers and decide where to fix them. I will be using the premade 10" boxes you can get on eBay as they are the just the right size and you couldn't make them for £80. 15L is the minimum sealed size for this sub anyway. I have some 12" type Rs which are amazing subs but not enough volume for a sealed box without sticking way out into the boot space.

more to follow as the gear arrives,  stay tuned.

Edited 25 February, 2019 by JohnnyType2

[jaygemson]

Good work.  Great to see time being taken to do things properly, and the honesty of the struggles involved when working with modern cars.  Everything's so tight these days!

 

I'm loving that people are finally getting stuck into audio upgrades on the mk3 too!  I routinely upgraded the audio systems on my previous cars, with a mix of Alpine and Focal equipment, up until my previous S4 which had B&O audio that I was fairly happy with so spent the money on performance mods instead.  The stock sound system in my vRS is terrible though - so flat at high volume, hardly any definition, and way too many loose rattles.

 

Love the info on the LC7i (and 2i) too.  Sounds like an invaluable bit of kit for gaining control whilst keeping the stock HU.

 

Are you planning on installing sound deadening in the doors?  I'm assuming you are - I'd be really interested in this too.  Subscribed for updates - keep up the good work!

[JohnnyType2]

yes ill be doing the doors trunk and wheel arches between the body and the liners. Since not having any stereo i've realised how bad road noise is. I will also 'fast ring' the speakers for more isolation.

cheap ebay noise killer for the arches and roadkill for inside the cabin. 

[jaygemson]

Great, cheers!

 

Look forward to seeing where you recommend the sound deadening be placed, and how effective it is too.

[JohnnyType2]

check this out for sound proofing! 



the car must be 50Kgs more now!

http://caraudio.basser.pl/en/skoda/306-skoda-octavia-3.html

this is a great gallery as you can see the spacers and the speaker sizes front and back. Its really difficult to find info on MK3s speaker replacement and what's required.

Edited 24 October, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[JohnnyType2]

I'm doing this step by step so ill add even the small stuff that most people miss like wiring and the harness i'm using. I've got the CT10SK03 which has a full 52 pin populated. It's way to much as i will show the harness in the car has much much less. You can leave them but it makes the harness much bulkier and the lack of space behind the MIB head unit might be a problem. You can always keep the removed pins and put them back if you are adding reversing cameras etc at a later date. Im using an LC7i to sit between the factory headunit and the aftermarket amps. I was going to use an LC2i which fits in the space behind the screen on the dash but the 7i is too big and you want to have easy access to the controls for setting bass boost etc. The CT10SK03 has two iso connectors tailed off from the MOST connectors that go into the back of the MIB headunit. One is F+R speaker outputs and the other is constant 12v and you also have a blue ignition on for the amp automatic turn on. We wont use this as the LC7i has GTO. GTO senses speaker input from the headunit and sends the same signal to the aftermarket amp so no need to run a wire front to back for turn on.

 

CT10SK03 harness for MK3 MOST connectors. this sits between the headunit and the car harness.



you can see there are a lot less wires in play on the factory side, the colours are also different but its not a big issue.



You need to run the speaker outputs from the take offs on this harness to the LC7i which will be in the rear of the car for this installation. The neatest way to do this is to use Stinger Speed wire (18 gauge 9 conductor Audio cable SWG9920). its a really tidy way to run the output at the 9 cores (8 speaker and 1 ignition source) are bundled in a 4AWG sized single wire.

 

 

We need to wire this into the ISO plug and attach it to the harness with this...



convienently its colour coded so even a dummy like me can manage it. Ive soldered the ISO harnessand the Speed wire together and shrink wrapped for the safest connection.

 

before soldering the ends make sure you add the shrink wrap on first...

 
 

Ive finished off with tesa tape to give that factory look. And... always test for continuity with a multi meter, if you dont know how to do this you would be better getting a pro to do the install.



the blue wire i've left in place just cable tied up, even though its not needed. We will also use a 12v source from the rear of the car rather than the other female take off on the CT10SK03 harness as its less wire to the back as well. 



With the connection above the output is going to the aftermarket only, you can unplug and plug the other brown ISO back into the CT10SK03 to reconnect the factory speakers. This will allow me do do all the wiring and amp and sub install first in prep for the speakers and still have sound.

 

Wiring will follow these lines, the SKODA vag MIB unit doesn't have a subwoofer output, the LC7i will sum the inputs from F+R speaker inputs and output a full frequency pre-amp signal to the sub woofer line out on the LC7i.




 

Edited 24 October, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[JohnnyType2]

I've tidied up the CT10SK03 loom to make it look a bit more factory, there are 26 pins you don't need and can be removed. The harness can be left in place and the ISOs swapped back into the loom to enable the factory speaker wiring if needed.

[JohnnyType2]

Sub box arrived! very well wrapped and great quality. Well sealed inside and a perfect fit for the side space. I can't believe they can make and post this for £80! its got all the cut outs for the 12V power and lighting as well. Its a shade too dark but i have the correct colour carpet and will most likely recover the front. The Sub is on its way from the USA and I've ordered some cintra blown PVC board to mount the Amps/crossovers/power distribution and signal processor to. I'll mount the amps etc. to RHS wheel arch as there are a few mounting points. The Radio is on its way from Pawel and i should get wiring and testing next week hopefully. I also had the shark-fin for the GPS done in (yes you've guessed it) carbon fibre. 

 

 

 

 

Just test mounting.... still to drill the hole and run the cable forward to the headunit.

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 October, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[JohnnyType2]

Blown PVC board for mounting the amps arrived and the LC7i!

(key to give an idea of scale) its quite compact but it wont fit behind the screen.



MIB2 came back from Pawel with everything working! WOOT! i have tunes again. Just have to figure out how Android auto and mirror link work.

there were so many rattles and road noises you notice when you dont have sound for 2 weeks! Ive bought a load of silent coat for sound proofing on saturday. pictures to follow.

[pab567]

@JohnnyType2 great job! I hope you are satisfed with my work on your unit and the final outcome.

 

I'm seroiusly thinking about replacing 5Q0035874C unit I have used in my Fabia with 5QA035874 which is Seat equivalent of 5Q0035874C but with 10 channels output - additional channels are front center and subwoofer. Subwoofer is fully controlled from the head unit. Additionally equalizer is 5, not 3 points.

[JohnnyType2]

EQ control is really useful i had auto EQ on a pioneer unit in a clio V6. the sound was incredible. 

The non canton is limited as you only get four channels but with the price on DSPs dropping its an easy mod.

[norsko]

Which Headunit are you using? You mentioned that the Canton sub will have a bass roll off, but if you have Canton the head unit only has an optical output to the amp?

[JohnnyType2]

Stock amundsen MIB2,  the processing for the sub is done by the LC7i

[JohnnyType2]

I've been rattling around like this for a week. road noise is awful! deadening tomorrow as soon as monsoon season eases up, i miss my double garage.

Edited 10 November, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[JohnnyType2]

some sound proofing...

[ChoonDoode]

Where did you get that deadening from? And was it easy to get the back in pieces to get it fitted in?

[JohnnyType2]

5 hours ago, tunedude said:

Where did you get that deadening from? And was it easy to get the back in pieces to get it fitted in?

i bought two types, the precut A4 size sheets of silent coat 40sq (feet £50), and a roll of sound mat 40sq feet (£44). The sheets of Soundmat are better value but the Silent Coat is easier to handle, you can get it from any number of ebay stores.

ive used about 60sq feet to cover the boot and rear seat.  

Edited 13 November, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[ChoonDoode]

7 hours ago, JohnnyType2 said:

i bought two types, the precut A4 size sheets of silent coat 40sq (feet £50), and a roll of sound mat 40sq feet (£44). The sheets of Soundmat are better value but the Silent Coat is easier to handle, you can get it from any number of ebay stores.

ive used about 60sq feet to cover the boot and rear seat.  

 

Is it heavy? When I put some deadening in on my Hyundai, it did weigh quite a bit. I'd done what you've done on your car, put it in the boot and the spare wheel well.

 

It did make a good bit of difference to the noise. I had a non resonated backbox and it droned like mad. But after putting the deadening in, you'd only hear it if you'd put your foot down.

 

One thing I'd wish to do to my car (our cars) would be to put some (some how) in between the engine and cab, just to numb down the dieselnessness.

 

I'm watching this thread with great interest...............

[JohnnyType2]

10 minutes ago, tunedude said:

 

Is it heavy? When I put some deadening in on my Hyundai, it did weigh quite a bit. I'd done what you've done on your car, put it in the boot and the spare wheel well.

 

It did make a good bit of difference to the noise. I had a non resonated backbox and it droned like mad. But after putting the deadening in, you'd only hear it if you'd put your foot down.

 

One thing I'd wish to do to my car (our cars) would be to put some (some how) in between the engine and cab, just to numb down the dieselnessness.

 

I'm watching this thread with great interest...............

theres alot going on up front and i dont fancy lifting the carpets. I'll do the doors and door cards properly next and hope santa brings me some decent mids and highs for the front. its hard to get it done on the drive in this weather...

Edited 13 November, 2018 by JohnnyType2

[ChoonDoode]

be good to see the results

[jaygemson]

Coming along nicely!  Cheers for the updates, keep up the good work.

[KevC_Derby]

On 13/11/2018 at 15:53, tunedude said:

be good to see the results

 

Be better to hear the results! 

[JohnnyType2]

On 18/11/2018 at 06:58, KevC_Derby said:

 

Be better to hear the results! 

im waiting on the US shipping company (and the weather before i can progress any further). If you are into clean installs "5 Star Car Stereo" on Youtoob is probably one of the best for examples, even if it is mostly US models.

Its surprising how little there is out there for Skoda's, ive found a few very limited tutorials on speaker replacement,  even the speaker rings are few and far between given there's a 1.5 inch spacer front and rear. I'll probably fab some up as i have some nice routing tools and a table.

[JohnnyType2]

ive fitted a temporary GPS in the centre speaker location.

 

this is the center speaker location for canton system if you  have that option, im using it as a temporary GPS location.

 

Its not too hard to pry off and the cover is fairly flexible.

 

 

There is a gap through to the back of the screen that cn bbe used to pass the fakra connector.

 

 

some  number plate tape to hold it on.

 

 

and some duct tape just in case

 

[JohnnyType2]

I've routed the speed wire speaker cable down the centre console and added the connect2 harness.

 

 

Its a tight fit but it all fits at the back. When ready for the amps and sub its just a matter of switching this orange plug with the OEM one.

 

 

Speed cable routed behind the centre console

 

The cable can be run down the middle without removing the console which is a big job.

 

The rear storage has to be removed and the carpet cut to feed the speed wire around the rear seat and into the boot. The power wire will be run down along the door jamb. I didnt have enough time to finish it.