Hey guys, I've recently bought a 2015 Superb with Canton audio and was surprised with how bad it sounds. You can play around with equalizer and other settings, but I couldn't make a decent setup that would work for all music. Bass-oriented tracks sound okayish thanks to the sub, but everything else sounds dull and flat, mid range feels too narrow. Listening on low volume (so low that it's comfortable to talk in normal voice, maybe 20% of the volume range) is ok, but if you volume up it sounds terrible.

 

My latest daily drives were BMW E60 with Hi-Fi System (it's next to basic, lower than Logic 7) and Toyota Sienna with JBL. Neither had premium audio, they just sounded good enough, but it's day and night compared to Superb's Canton.

 

I've seen older posts on internet about custom firmware that significantly changes the sound of Canton on Skoda. Did anyone try something like this? Or maybe it's possible to replace some of the components to improve the sound quality?

 

I would appreciate any advice on how to make it sound alright. 🙏

I don’t have Canton, just normal which is fine for me, but if you’re playing via Bluetooth have a look at the Bluetooth audio is set to “loud” or “high”

 

When I first got my car it sounded crap then changed that setting and all good, as yours is 2015 I’d imagine that’s been changed by now though

9 hours ago, Danoid said:

I don’t have Canton, just normal which is fine for me, but if you’re playing via Bluetooth have a look at the Bluetooth audio is set to “loud” or “high”

 

When I first got my car it sounded crap then changed that setting and all good, as yours is 2015 I’d imagine that’s been changed by now though

Thanks for the advice. I tried CarPlay (wired), AUX, CD/DVD and FM. Haven't tried SD cards yet, but I don't think they will make a big enough difference to justify their inconvenience.

 

Also, the head unit firmware is the latest available.

I am missing some 'punch' in my Canton as well ... I am sure it was dealt with in the past, but will have to dig.

Yeah I know nowadays is like this, but I have grown (at least chonologically! 🤪) in the 80's and 90's ... loud bass was the norm. This imprinting remains ...

28 minutes ago, leolito said:

I am missing some 'punch' in my Canton as well ... I am sure it was dealt with in the past, but will have to dig.

Yeah I know nowadays is like this, but I have grown (at least chonologically! 🤪) in the 80's and 90's ... loud bass was the norm. This imprinting remains ...

I have no problems with bass though I can make it sound good enough. But then everything else sounds muffled. All in all, the sound lacks clarity which is quite disappointing.

I wonder if you can do something with it using just MIB2 Toolbox.

 

I've also found a tool where you can adjust audio parametrization https://github.com/mrfixpl/mib2-parameter-tool. The question is what to adjust and how

Canton is the best standard ICE I’ve had in any car I’ve owned or driven. The midrange is especially good, so I can only think there’s something wrong with the amp. 

On 28/01/2025 at 16:07, numskull said:

Canton is the best standard ICE I’ve had in any car I’ve owned or driven. The midrange is especially good, so I can only think there’s something wrong with the amp. 

 

+1

How are you playing music? I found this on Spotify via Android Auto. Go into the Spotify settings on the app and change the streaming quality to very high. 

 

Mine was set on automatic which changed the quality to low which made the music sometimes sound rubbish where as the day before it sounded fantastic.

 

I'm very happy with the Canton - it was one of the main reasons I went for an L&K

The above comment by SkodaKing is very important ... using an expression which goes very common nowadays, in my quest to "improve the Canton experience" I've realized most of the MP3s in my USB drive - I do not stream spotify or youtube or tiktok - are rarely 320kbps, sometimes 128 or 160.

These are what I've ripped or "napsted" eons ago, so I never paid much attention to, also because before the Superb I've had cars with "real" players and I was only listening to CDs, and audio CDs to that.

So now I've started - slowly, when I have time - to rip my CD collection to FLAC, and make new USB drives and see if how this changes the "experience" in the car.

Stay tuned! 😉

 

Nevertheless, I'd love a throbbing bass that punches through the seat ... I can't help it 🤭

13 hours ago, leolito said:

 

Nevertheless, I'd love a throbbing bass that punches through the seat ... I can't help it 🤭

I remember reading a Max Power article years ago that a guy had inserted the vibration mechanism from PlayStation controllers into his seat so that when he had the kids in the car and the volume low he could still feel the bass. They raved about it but I don’t know whether it was actually any good.

 

Also noticed Spotify was set to auto and therefore low quality so will correct that and report back.

On 28/01/2025 at 07:07, numskull said:

Canton is the best standard ICE I’ve had in any car I’ve owned or driven. The midrange is especially good, so I can only think there’s something wrong with the amp. 

I must say that I'm getting used to it but it still sounds somewhat muffled on midrange in comparison. My current settings are negative treble, negative but a bit higher mid, and bass at +4. This way all music sounds more or less ok to me.

 

There is a chance that something in my car's system is wrong and I would continue investigating further if I haven't seen similar feedback from other mk3/Canton owners. But you guys seem so happy with it that I now have this urge to find the same car in my city to compare the sound. 

 

On 30/01/2025 at 10:27, SkodaKing said:

How are you playing music? I found this on Spotify via Android Auto. Go into the Spotify settings on the app and change the streaming quality to very high. 

Tried pretty much everything. My main source is YouTube Music via wired CarPlay, it offers the lowest bitrate out of the main music streaming apps (and I just noticed that my quality settings where set to Normal lol — will check with the highest!), but Spotify and Apple Music essentially sound similar. At least it doesn't solve the problem.

 

I still have my old BMW and can compare the same music from the same source side by side: no settings or source could make Canton sound as good as the BMW audio.

 

13 hours ago, leolito said:

So now I've started - slowly, when I have time - to rip my CD collection to FLAC, and make new USB drives and see if how this changes the "experience" in the car.

Stay tuned! 😉

I admire your dedication 😁 

 

14 hours ago, leolito said:

Nevertheless, I'd love a throbbing bass that punches through the seat ... I can't help it 🤭

You are not alone. There must be a good reason why BMW put subs under front seats in most of the trims :))

He he ... actually is not that I am that "dedicated" ... not wanting to digress too much, but I am generally old-fashioned, which means I like to "own" something, and paying an artist for his, hers or their work is a testament to musicianship. For the same reason, if I feel like listening to an artist, I usually select an album and ... play it. Except a few here and there that put "fillers", most albums are a reflection of a specific time and moment, and if you can connect with that, the listening experience is really rewarding, even after countless times playing ....

Unfortunately, in spite of being enourmously advantageous, streaming services are not my cup of tea.

 

And I got stuff that I do not see "streamed" anyway, and finally I need to dismiss the space that my CDs and LPs occupy (sigh), so at least I can reduce them in size and increase the management of them by going digital ...

 

On 02/02/2025 at 08:51, mindoug said:

My current settings are negative treble, negative but a bit higher mid, and bass at +4. This way all music sounds more or less ok to me.

And there’s your problem. Try adjusting the treble to +3, mid to +3 and lower bass to +1. 

These r the settings on my Canton.

I'm really happy with this setup.

95% of the time I'm playing music on Spotify.

 

Sub

 

Surround...

 

Equalizer...

Bit too heavy on the sub/bass for my liking JR, but the mid and treble are about the same as mine and no “muffled” sound. . 

On 09/02/2025 at 20:24, JR RS said:

These r the settings on my Canton.

I'm really happy with this setup.

95% of the time I'm playing music on Spotify.

 

Sub

 

Surround...

 

Equalizer...

That equaliser is very different - is that the difference between MIB2.5 and MIB3?

16 minutes ago, travs said:

That equaliser is very different - is that the difference between MIB2.5 and MIB3?

 

I would say yes - MIB3 is a different system altogether, even the Canton setup is different to wat the MIB2/2.5 uses.

I love the canton too,I use android auto and tidal.

Leaving home from my KEFs LS60 and switching to Canton doesn't bother me.