Octy II simple car audio upgrades?

[vRSFred]

Hi again

only other thing less than great discovered after first wk with my Octy II vRS is weak sound from in car audio (particularly at motorway speeds). has anyone done any 'budget' mods to audio in their Octy II? I am a novice but am told better to fit an amp as first move rather than upgrade factory fit door speakers - anyone agree/disagree? has anyone fitted additional rear shelf speakers (or a small sub) with any success?

cheers

Fred

[roo]

I've got a sub and seperate amp to 'fill out' the sound a bit more over the faintly flat sound of the no longer avaliable 12 speaker upgrade pack.

it works well enough and it's nothing expensive, but that would be a port of call if that is your thing. Also if the Fabia is anything to go by, just upgrading the speakers in the doors also generates a noticable improvement without touching the player itself.

[JPF]

I also have a Octy II, but with the stream audio (without mp3), and the sound is quite poor.

First of all, as roo said, a good way to start is having a amp to improve the general quality of sound and a woofer to give the absent low frequencies. The problem is if you only have the 8 speakers from factory (like me) you really have to upgrade this, they really suck.

The good news are: with the measure of 17cm that your doors support you can have a decent set of speakers without messing up your doors. I recommend finding one set with 3 ways. With this you can cover the mid-low, mid and high frequencies… with the woofer for low, you’re done.

I´m thinking of doing something like that and I’m facing some problems that probably are common. I have steering wheel controls, phone connection and parking sensors (all “out of the box” here in Portugal ) connected to stream so I really want to keep this.

Therefore I have some questions:

1 - This head unit supports a connection to an external amplifier?

2 – The minimum volume (volume 1) is quite loud and I think that with an amplifier it will become louder, is there any way to configure this?

For some basic assumptions for HI-fi sound see:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/new-octavia/audience-stereo-upgrade/31831/3/

[cheezemonkhai]

Some decent 2 way components, assuming you don't want to do anything with the door and make extra holes, and then if you fancy run the speaker off an amp it the head unit has suitable outputs (eg pre-outs). You can actually get amps that run from speaker level inputs but that's not great as you still have the effect of the streams internal amp.

[IL140]

i had the audio wit mp3 in my 2.0tdi didnt tink the sound was good at al and very hard to set it up so i changed the hole sound sistem . have subs and speaker's put in the back shelf and changed the head unit aswel . i would changed the head unit if you dont want to go down the amps speaker's root .

[bosnjo]

I have steering wheel controls, phone connection and parking sensors (all

[JPF]

i would changed the head unit if you dont want to go down the amps speaker's root .

Sorry but i don

[IL140]

i found with the skoda raido i could'nt set up the sound the way i wanted it . i put an amp on it and stil could'nt get the sound the way i wanted it . i then replased the skoda raido wit a kenwood raido and removed the amp. the sound was far beter .

[JPF]

I am a novice but am told better to fit an amp as first move rather than upgrade factory fit door speakers - anyone agree/disagree? has anyone fitted additional rear shelf speakers (or a small sub) with any success?

First of all what is your head unit?

Because if you have a stream (without mp3) like me, it doesn

[eagleeye]

The problem is if you only have the 8 speakers from factory (like me) you really have to upgrade this, they really suck.

Sorry to sound really thick here but where are the 8 speakers? I have a MkII vRS purchased in Sept 2006 and I can only find 6 in mine. There seem to be two small ones (tweeters?) just forward of the front door handles, two large ones in the front doors and two large in the rear doors and that's it.

From all the vRS literature they advertise it as coming with 8 speakers but was this conditional on HU selected or other options?

Cheers.

[mannyo]

Front Door, 2 towards the front and 2 in the bottom close to the B pillar

Back Door, lower part of the door close to B pillar, and at the top of the door close to where the electric window controls would be/are depending if you have those or not.

The later stream MP3 has better sound than the ealier version, I guess better components in the builtin amplifier. The Audience I have appears to sound better still, even with the 8 speakers I have.

[Hedge]

I had the Stream headunit & standard fit speakers replaced with an Alpine 9853R, DLS components front and coaxials rear. I struggled for 2 weeks trying to set the sound up and eventually had the Stream refitted and kept the speakers.

Since then I have fitted the MFD2 Sat Nav unit and with the DLS speakers I think the sound is reasonable. I would like to add a sub so I would be interested to hear how people have done that too.

[Andy_Q]

I agree, the only thing I don't like on my car is the awful ICE! I'm currently scouring the salvage sites for a written off Audi A3 / A4 with the Bose upgrade sound system, working on the theory that it should fit straight into an Octy and still do all the secondary functions ie climate control display etc. Failing that it will have to be the Blaupunkt head unit (approx £275) and new speakers all round, as I want DAB radio. Any advice or thoughts welcome.

[cheezemonkhai]

I'd agree the audience sounds very nice having heard one of them, however I think the best thing to do would be to work out what exactly you want from the sound system.

If you keep the in head unit amplification to a minimum then you would get a pretty good sound quality out to the amp. You could get an amp with an eq circuit built in if you wanted and then fiddle with it there.

It all depends if you want to keep things like the reversing sensor or not.

[apd007]

The later stream MP3 has better sound than the ealier version, I guess better components in the builtin amplifier. The Audience I have appears to sound better still, even with the 8 speakers I have.

Hmmm, that could explain why I think my audio unit sounds ok, 2007 model year. Turned the stereo up a bit coming home, added extra bass and it didn't sound too bad, IMHO.

[bahnstormer vrs]

I wanted to improve the sound in my Fabia from the OE Blaupunkt and was thinking of better speakers as a 1st option.

I have a specialist car HiFi dealer in the village and went in for a chat. His opinion was that for ANY system the first item to get right is the Head unit (the radio/CD player) then go for speakers etc.

I paid £200 installed, for a mid range Alpine unit with CD/mp3 capability and Aux in to plug in my mp3 player. The difference; chalk and cheese!! The clarity and better overall sound & lack of distortion even at only moderate volume, plus better radio reception on both AM & FM, makes ALL the difference.

I don't need new speakers; the OE ones perform fine.

Having read several earlier threads, and now this one, on the iffy performance of the Stream unit, I am having the Alpine transferred into my new Octy on delivery.

Need I say more?

[kkonstan]

First of all what is your head unit?

Because if you have a stream (without mp3) like me, it doesn

[bahnstormer vrs]

Rather than upgrading your amp/speakers, quite a big fitting job I guess, I'd replace the standard Sream/mp3 with a good aftermarket unit.

As sugested in my post #16 above I have put an Alpine unit in my Octy (with OEM 8 speaker setup) and the difference is amazing. I has a much richer and fuller bass/mid range than the Stream/mp3. I agree with other posts above that the Stream/mp3 sound is pretty good (for an OEM piece of kit) but the radio reception particularly on MW is aweful; I primarily listen to FiveLive or CD/mp3s and I do like the Alpine.

Something to consider though is that the Stream/mp3 is rated at 20W per channel and the OEM spekers can handle 30W per channel (found this in the handbook somewhere).

My Alpine, like most aftermarket units, is 40W per channel so I have to be careful not turn the volume up too much which would 'blow' the speakers. I don't mind this as a volume setting of 18-20 is more than loud enough, with a max of 40.

[Yeti_Man]

Blimey - Im amazed so many of you are critisizing the Octy II audio setup. Within weeks if buying my MK1 4x4, I came to realsie that the audio was easily the weakest aspect of the car so I wasnt expecting much on the MK2 VRS testdrives in respect of the standard audio. I was very impressed tbh. There was a decent CD along for the test drive and I thought the audio performance was spot on - good treble, midrange and even more surprisingly; bass.

Unless this 2007 build VRS had an upgrade of some sort (Im sure the h/u said Stream MP3 though) I'd say at low to medium levels it was fairly comparable to my 4x4 which now has Apine DDDrive components, AVCR head unit and amp!!

[little jack]

Hi again

only other thing less than great discovered after first wk with my Octy II vRS is weak sound from in car audio (particularly at motorway speeds

cheers

Fred

do you not have the gala mode? I have the Audience upgrade and the sound quality is brilliant, the extra bass and mid range tone makes the sound spot on. get the Audience.

[storm monkey]

I have the Audience in my 07 L&K, and the bas isn't bad at all. I usually have trebble and middle turned down, and bass and volume up, to get a pretty good sound. The real problem I have is that the doors/trim rattle like bvggery when pushed to lower frequencies, particularly on the passenger side. I think the glove bow may be at it too! When I have some spare time, i'll be out with the padding and sticky stuff, with the door card off, till I can fix the problem.

Phil

[harrysprout]

Blimey - Im amazed so many of you are critisizing the Octy II audio setup. Within weeks if buying my MK1 4x4, I came to realsie that the audio was easily the weakest aspect of the car so I wasnt expecting much on the MK2 VRS testdrives in respect of the standard audio. I was very impressed tbh. There was a decent CD along for the test drive and I thought the audio performance was spot on - good treble, midrange and even more surprisingly; bass.

Unless this 2007 build VRS had an upgrade of some sort (Im sure the h/u said Stream MP3 though) I'd say at low to medium levels it was fairly comparable to my 4x4 which now has Apine DDDrive components, AVCR head unit and amp!!

I have just read the thread on audio quaity in the MKII vrs Octy. I'm with Mr Ztec on this one. I have a standard STREAM unit in mine, and I am pretty impressed with it. I have the bass turned up pretty high with quite a lot of Treble. Midrange about half.

The sound is warm and punchy. Infact I was playing my Doobie Brothers CD t'other day and I preferrred it to my House system ( NAD amp and Cambridge CD with Dac )

A freind of mine was in my car in the other day, his car is a new 5 Series, he was staggered by the sound from the stream unit. Even at high volumes the bass was tight without hardly ANY distortion. Infact I looked at the wing mirrors, whilst driving and they where visibly shaking. My idea of a crap car stereo was the one fitted in my MK I VRS. Now that WAS crap.

[Guinness]

I'd have to agree - I'm impressed with the sound from the Stream MP3 (and actually, the older Stream unit I had previously). The default settings for treble, midrange and bass (i.e. set to zero) are way out though, and need tweaking to get a balanced sound. Once you've got it set up right though, it's pretty damn good!

I like it quite loud though, so I'm also getting rattling from somewhere around the B pillars - just haven't got around to investigating it properly yet. might invest in one of these! Rattle Buster

[bahnstormer vrs]

The weak point in the system is the radio reception, especially on Medium Wave.

I agree, the general sound and speaker quality are pretty much OK. Although a whole lot better with my Alpine unit hooked up to the OEM speakers.

[Yeti_Man]

I have just read the thread on audio quaity in the MKII vrs Octy. I'm with Mr Ztec on this one. I have a standard STREAM unit in mine, and I am pretty impressed with it. I have the bass turned up pretty high with quite a lot of Treble. Midrange about half.

The sound is warm and punchy. Infact I was playing my Doobie Brothers CD t'other day and I preferrred it to my House system ( NAD amp and Cambridge CD with Dac )

A freind of mine was in my car in the other day, his car is a new 5 Series, he was staggered by the sound from the stream unit. Even at high volumes the bass was tight without hardly ANY distortion. Infact I looked at the wing mirrors, whilst driving and they where visibly shaking. My idea of a crap car stereo was the one fitted in my MK I VRS. Now that WAS crap.

Well I have to agree further with a guy that is agreeing with me! :P

After 1200 miles in the car I think the standard setup is superb. Ive eeked my treble and mid setting upto a '3' iirc and the bass to a '2' and it plays at volume 18 with tight punchy bass and no descernable unwanted noises from either the speakers or the interior trim.

For a standard setup (and for someone used to junking the standard setup within weeks of getting a car and putting in Alpine kit) Id have to give it a big thumbs up!

Lee