Replacing the standard speakers

[freaknout]

Hi all

 

Recently purchased a vRS hatch and would like to replace the standard speakers. Can I ask would the following be suitable front and rear.

 

https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/car-audio-kits-solutions/integration/plugplay/focal-volkswagenr/is-vw-165

 

Unsure whether I will need the 180cm or 165cm version.

 

Many thanks

Jason

[freaknout]

No ideas anyone?

[SpaceWalrus]

I'd take them out and measure, as its the only way you're going to be 100% sure what size you need.

I'd rather not have speakers and wait for delivery than I would deal with a returns process, especially given that you're in NZ, and I can't see any dealers listed on the focal page there, so unless you've got a local supplier you know of, that would probably take quite a while

[freaknout]

Thanks.

 

Had hoped that someone who'd done it before knew off the top of their head 😁

 

Surprisingly many focal sellers in NZ. Obviously quite a popular brand here.

[SpaceWalrus]

Ah, that probably makes life easier! From this website http://www.evo-blr.com/evo-pro-skoda-octavia-5e-premium-car-entertainment-options-octavia-5e/#:~:text=Skoda have installed large 6.5,speakers and a 1.5″ tweeter. it suggests that the 165mm would be the correct size, but I again would advise measuring yourself.

[freaknout]

Cheers. That's what I'd surmised too but thought I'd check!

 

Not looking forward to pulling the door trim off.

[mfreeborn]

3 hours ago, freaknout said:

Cheers. That's what I'd surmised too but thought I'd check!

 

Not looking forward to pulling the door trim off.

Were you thinking of doing anything else like installing sound deadening/acoustic foam whilst you had the doors apart, out of interest?

[freaknout]

I wasn't planning to but is that the done things these days? I've not mucked around with car audio since my Fiat Uno Turbo days 😆. That's a long time ago!

[SpaceWalrus]

3 hours ago, freaknout said:

Cheers. That's what I'd surmised too but thought I'd check!

 

Not looking forward to pulling the door trim off.

Here's the bodywork workshop manuals if it helps https://vwts.ru/sk_octavia3_5e.html#kuzov

Edited 30 March, 2023 by SpaceWalrus

[freaknout]

Supurb. Many thanks for that, will be very helpful!

[3rdoctavia]

As a genuine question, will better speakers improve the sound or will there be limitations due to the head unit ?

I'd prefer better sound but dont  want the faff of changing the radio but swapping the speakers like you are planning sounds much easier.

Cheers

[freaknout]

No that's a great question. I can't honestly accurately say.

 

You are right in that the sound will only ever be as good as the source, in this case a Columbus head unit. I'm really looking for the least faff and best bang for buck and assuming the head unit is ok and the speakers close to rubbish. I figure change the speakers and then change the head unit if required later down the track.

[mfreeborn]

14 hours ago, freaknout said:

I wasn't planning to but is that the done things these days? I've not mucked around with car audio since my Fiat Uno Turbo days 😆. That's a long time ago!

It's just what I have come across after various googling on the topic of improving the sound quality (as well as just making the cabin as pleasant a place as possible). See here for one of many examples.

[freaknout]

Must say, the doors are quite tinny...

[MickC93]

On 31/03/2023 at 10:16, 3rdoctavia said:

As a genuine question, will better speakers improve the sound or will there be limitations due to the head unit ?

I'd prefer better sound but dont  want the faff of changing the radio but swapping the speakers like you are planning sounds much easier.

Cheers

 Interestex to know if you have done this yet, if so what head unit have you got and what speakers did you use to replace the stock ones? I activated the virtual sub and surround sound on mine using VCDS and made the biggest difference so debating now if speakers would enhance the sound further...

 

[freaknout]

I've not bothered yet. Sometimes it sounds ok and other times not 😁

 

I've got the top of the tree version head unit, forget the name and I'd go for the Focal speakers which are a direct replacement for the std fit. About NZ$300 a pair.

[mfreeborn]

I've now finished soundproofing and upgrading the speakers.

 

Sound Proofing

 

2 packs of Noico 2 mm 36 sqft (3.4 sqm) car sound deadening mat applied to:

• Under bonnet
• Inside tailgate
• Boot floor
• Around rear wheel arches in boot
• Under rear seats
• Inside all 4 doors

4 rolls 50cmx200cm acoustic foam (the stuff sculpted like egg cartons) applied to:

• All for door cards
• In and around the rear wheel arches

I only have about 5% of those materials remaining, so the above quantity seems to be just the right amount.

 

Speakers

 

4x Focal IS VW 165 speakers. Notes:

• The tweeters connect to the woofers in parallel, which required some soldering (could also use spade connectors). The original cables to the tweeters are redundant.
• The tweeters don't fit into the existing slots in the doors, so a bit of trimming with a Stanley knife and a hot glue gun are required.
• The connector on the woofer cables needs to be cut off and the +ve and -ve cables need to be either soldered to the woofers/spade connectors used.
• The original woofers are held in by plastic rivets which need to be drilled out. M5 rivet nuts are ideal for mounting the new woofers.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the end result. The car feels very refined with low cabin noise (granted I didn't find it overly noisy to start with, certainly compared to what I was used to with my previous car). In particular, I find that whilst cabin noise is still present at lower speeds, the difference is that the existing noise remains subdued as one accelerates. A couple of times on smooth roads I've barely noticed creeping up from 50 to 60 to 70mph because the cabin noise doesn't increase at the same rate like it would do normally.

 

The speakers are good. Much punchier. Perfectly loud enough with the original head unit and definitely plentiful bass which can be tuned with the equaliser.

 

Depending on the song I'm playing, I may notice a quiet hiss at louder volumes during lulls in a song - unsure whether that's the media file itself (some of my music is FLAC and some is lower quality MP3) or the head unit starting to become the weak point in the system. I'm not particularly minded to upgrade the head unit but that would be the logical next step.

[mfreeborn]

28 minutes ago, MickC93 said:

 Interested to know if you have done this yet, if so what head unit have you got and what speakers did you use to replace the stock ones? I activated the virtual sub and surround sound on mine using VCDS and made the biggest difference so debating now if speakers would enhance the sound further...

 

What is the virtual sub and surround sound? I've just received my VCDS and will be playing around with it over the weekend.

 

Further note to the above: whilst unplugging everything in the front doors, I think one of the plugs is related to the airbag, so VCDS is required to clear the airbag error. My understanding is that just unplugging the cable will cause the error to appear, not that there actually is anything wrong with the airbag once everything is plugged back in correctly. This theory will be tested at the weekend when I try to clear the error.

[freaknout]

Sounds like those speakers were a good choice.

[MickC93]

10 hours ago, mfreeborn said:

What is the virtual sub and surround sound? I've just received my VCDS and will be playing around with it over the weekend.

 

Further note to the above: whilst unplugging everything in the front doors, I think one of the plugs is related to the airbag, so VCDS is required to clear the airbag error. My understanding is that just unplugging the cable will cause the error to appear, not that there actually is anything wrong with the airbag once everything is plugged back in correctly. This theory will be tested at the weekend when I try to clear the error.

It's kind of hard to explain, it definitely makes a noticeable difference to the stock non-canton sound though and I believe was something like a £200 optional extra when buying new, it's simple enough to code in using VCDS, can give you the steps if you want. 

 

As for the airbags, they can be a funny one, sometimes te fault may not appear unless the ignition has been turned on while the plugs disconnected, but a simple scan and reset codes should clear it. VCDS wouldn't necessarily be needed to clear the airbag codes a good diagnostics would do the same it's just VCDS is specific to the VAG group.

[mfreeborn]

9 hours ago, MickC93 said:

It's kind of hard to explain, it definitely makes a noticeable difference to the stock non-canton sound though and I believe was something like a £200 optional extra when buying new, it's simple enough to code in using VCDS, can give you the steps if you want. 

 

As for the airbags, they can be a funny one, sometimes te fault may not appear unless the ignition has been turned on while the plugs disconnected, but a simple scan and reset codes should clear it. VCDS wouldn't necessarily be needed to clear the airbag codes a good diagnostics would do the same it's just VCDS is specific to the VAG group.

Please could I have the steps to test out?

 

When I had the doors dismantled, I did turn the ignition on for the radio, so what you say makes sense.

[MickC93]

4 hours ago, mfreeborn said:

Please could I have the steps to test out?

 

When I had the doors dismantled, I did turn the ignition on for the radio, so what you say makes sense.

The steps to code in the Virtual Surround and Sub? Yeah no bother, but just to let you know as well it only works with your own media, such as the SD card or Bluetooth etc, slight difference in the radio stations but nothing major...

 

Enable Skoda Surround and Virtual Subwoofer (NOT for CANTON) Menu only appears on MIB2 cars (using vcds)

1 - Select Control Unit 5F
2 - Select Long Coding (Select 1 from top menu not 0)
3 - Select Byte 11
4 - Activate Bit 2 (Sound System Internal Individual)
5 - Access Media tab, then click Settings – Sound and tick the new boxes

[BT_11vRS]

On 18/05/2023 at 12:11, mfreeborn said:

What is the virtual sub and surround sound? I've just received my VCDS and will be playing around with it over the weekend.

 

Further note to the above: whilst unplugging everything in the front doors, I think one of the plugs is related to the airbag, so VCDS is required to clear the airbag error. My understanding is that just unplugging the cable will cause the error to appear, not that there actually is anything wrong with the airbag once everything is plugged back in correctly. This theory will be tested at the weekend when I try to clear the error.

Can someone point me to a thread regarding VCDS for dummies? I've heard a lot of people talking about it, and that you can play about and fine tune various settings, so I'd be quit interested. I just don't really know if my tech knowhow would stretch to it.

I did have a little search online, but I wouldn't even know where to start purchasing the right gear 😕

[SpaceWalrus]

On 21/05/2023 at 15:08, BT_11vRS said:

Can someone point me to a thread regarding VCDS for dummies? I've heard a lot of people talking about it, and that you can play about and fine tune various settings, so I'd be quit interested. I just don't really know if my tech knowhow would stretch to it.

I did have a little search online, but I wouldn't even know where to start purchasing the right gear 😕

For your car you’d want this: https://www.ross-tech.com/vcds/hex-v2.php

 

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you can order directly from Ross-Tech or a distributor