Just a couple of questions..

Car is Octy vRS Estate on 53 plate.

1) Is the connector on the back of the standard symphony headunit in the vRS a standard ISO connector?

If not, what wires need to be changed about, etc.. to be able to fit a standard ISO headunit?

2) Having not taken the door cards off yet, i'm not sure what the speakers are up front.

Can I fit 6.5" components?

Any speaker mounting adaptors required?

Any butchering of the door cards to do?

Is mounting depth an issue, for window regulator, etc..?

3) Where do people tend to run the power cable inside the car, from battery to boot, for an amplifier?

Are there already holes in the bulkhead, and channels in the sills for cabling?

I'm sure there are more questions I will need to ask, but I think this covers it for now.

Thanks,

Andy.

hi andrew sorry ive no answers for you but im still interested in any you do get as im in the middle of sourcing and having installed audio equipment in our v.

are you happy with just changing factory stuff in doors etc ???

im still unsure?????

Just a couple of questions..

Car is Octy vRS Estate on 53 plate.

1) Is the connector on the back of the standard symphony headunit in the vRS a standard ISO connector?

If not, what wires need to be changed about, etc.. to be able to fit a standard ISO headunit?

Although the connector looks the same, and everything appears to work after connection, the power connections (perm and switched) are reversed. Also the 'K' wire if left connected can cause strange happenings with the convienience ECU and blow up dealer equipment.

2) Having not taken the door cards off yet, i'm not sure what the speakers are up front.

You dont need to take the door cards off, the front grills just pop out, any shallow mounting 17CM speaker will fit. Note the word Shallow, big magnets are no good and either foul the window mechanism or the door skin.

3) Where do people tend to run the power cable inside the car, from battery to boot, for an amplifier?

Are there already holes in the bulkhead, and channels in the sills for cabling?

There is a grommit behind the pollen filter, that will lead straight to behind the glovebox. The pollen filter is located under the passenger side scuttle panel.

Although the connector looks the same, and everything appears to work after connection, the power connections (perm and switched) are reversed. Also the 'K' wire if left connected can cause strange happenings with the convienience ECU and blow up dealer equipment.

I can swap the two lives over - thats no probs.

Which is the 'K' wire you mention? Can I just simply remove this from the iso and insulate it?

You dont need to take the door cards off, the front grills just pop out, any shallow mounting 17CM speaker will fit. Note the word Shallow, big magnets are no good and either foul the window mechanism or the door skin.

A set of the Infinity Reference components then I think. Do I need a speaker adaptor, or will it mount to the existing frame?

There is a grommit behind the pollen filter, that will lead straight to behind the glovebox. The pollen filter is located under the passenger side scuttle panel.

Nice, so no drilling required. Thats cool.

Any guestimate as to how long a cable I need to get from the battery to the middle of the boot, via the sills?

Thanks for your previous answers!

hi andrew sorry ive no answers for you but im still interested in any you do get as im in the middle of sourcing and having installed audio equipment in our v.

are you happy with just changing factory stuff in doors etc ???

im still unsure?????

I have bought a nice pioneer headunit, which I will be fitting tomorrow night, if it arrives.

I also have a 10" sub and amp to go in the boot, and I'm gonna upgrade the front door speakers.

I'm not bothering with the rear speakers, because I fade the sound forward anyway - I may unplug the rear tweeters though, because they drag the sound stage back quite a bit.

When the above is done, I will see how it performs, and then possibly amp the front speakers if the headunit struggles.

I don't need my music to be particularly loud, I just want a nice quality sound with a bit of bass reinforcement..!

Andy.

Well, I fitted the pioneer headunit this evening.

I had hoped for a bit more space behind the headunit for wiring... it's gonna be a nightmare when I come to install RCA's for the amps!

Glovebox came out easily, and there is space to the side of the headunit for wires, so that is cool.

I just gotta work out how the damn h/u works now!

Just a quick pic of it in situ...

Which HU is that and are you using it with an iPod? I'm on the lookout for a birthday present... for myself!

Headunit is Pioneer, link here.

It is ipod compatible but only if you buy the optional adaptor.

I'm not bothering with that bit, because the headunit has USB, so I can just plug in a 2Gb pen drive

Andrew, that looks really neat. If you need space for cables in the future, remove the climate control module, and there is plenty of space behind there if you need more room.

Hmm, doesn't seem to be a link there! I'm guessing as you've siad it's got the USB connection that it's the DEH-P7900UB?

P7900UB is correct - link above corrected.

I found a bit of room for cables between the headunit and glovebox, so I need to keep taking the box out to get at everything now!

hi andrew i see it as lighting up blue is that correct or can it be changed to green

fab looking hu but i want to keep mine all as green as i can

the blaupunkt i put into the 06 lights up red and blue and it breaks my heart looking at it even though its a quality hu with loads of features and wasn't cheap

i just feel that it spoils the night-time illuminations of the dash

This does only light up blue unfortunately.

It does have a dimming function, so at night when the dash lights are on, the blue is a lot more subtle.

One thing worth noting with this h/u is that there is not a manual fascia release button..

You need the key in the ignition to operate the electronic fascia release.

This takes a bit of getting used to, but is pretty secure I guess..

Hmm, that's the HU I've been looking at, a lot! I'd definately have it, but I'm just a little put off by the blueness at the moment, not sure wether to go for it or not. It seems the HU's that come with green illumination are poopy Alpines! :P

gooooo for it

The mounting depth for front speakers is very stingy, somewhere around 55mm. You are correct that they are 6.5" though and the skoda speaker mounts take regular 4 screws so no adapter plate required (unless simply to give you more depth but then you may not fit the grills on)

the skoda speaker mounts take regular 4 screws so no adapter plate required (unless simply to give you more depth but then you may not fit the grills on)

Nice one mate, a few of the car audio sites I frequent disagree on whether an adaptor is required, so i'll try without first.

Are you aware of a particular model of speaker that definitely fits without fouling anything?

just about to pick up some pioneer component units from fellow user GAFF that should (because he had them in his rs) so pretty happy about that will keep in touch re. this matter

yeah it seems green illum. is on the way out ....

ten years ago green was all the rage till veeedub and its blue started to hit the showrooms

smellie old cheap jvc are still running with green but headunits are poorly stacked in comparison with the main stream units ho hum

Alpine units are good! go for the best one you can afford with quad illumination so you can change the colours. and full speed ipod is good also on them. i prefer alpine to pioneer units.

seen an ad just today for a new pioneer that is priced @ 232 sterling that has ten illum. options green has to be 1 eh ??????

Do share!!

yep there are 2 (that i ve seen) pioneer HUs with 10 colours one of them being the DEH 5900 at

I've gone for an Alpine in the end, CDA-9877R, was supposed to be delivered today at work but I'm going to have to go to the depot to pick it up now, monkeys. I'll post pics once I've got it fitted.

Hi - I just got an TDi GLX hatch; glove is easily removed with 5 star-headscrews to give access to rear of unit, cables can be run through cavity at rearof glove box, then under plastic strips at edge of sill through to rear seats, then just tuck cables between seat cushions to boot. Easy!