I have the audience unit and even with MP3's playing via a CD, there is more than enough ooomph for me - get the interior and door mirrors shaking! I do have an ongoing issue with the nearside front speaker which vibrates - the dealer has had one attempt to fix but made no difference. A service is coming up so I'll ask them again to fix as otherwise I find the stereo unit to be good.

I only have the mp3 Stream with 8 speakers and I do find there is enough bass to keep me happy, however, I do not think the sound quality of the Octavias stereo set up matches that of my older Fabia estates, which were the companies standard and 8 speakers.

Weird.

It's not the bass that's the real problem for me. It's difficult to describe, but the sound quality is just lacking 'something'. It's particularly noticable on vocals - whether speech on the radio or vocals on music. Vocals seem really flat and no amount of tweaking of the treble/mid seems to fix this.

I think someone else put their finger on it - the small speaker at the top of the door is pointing right in your face, while the larger one is down by your backside. The little speaker does sound like a cheap transistor radio, and unless you shift the balance over to the other side of the car, this output of this speaker seems disproportionate to that of the large speaker because it's pointing right at you.

It's not the bass that's the real problem for me. It's difficult to describe, but the sound quality is just lacking 'something'. It's particularly noticable on vocals - whether speech on the radio or vocals on music. Vocals seem really flat and no amount of tweaking of the treble/mid seems to fix this.

I think someone else put their finger on it - the small speaker at the top of the door is pointing right in your face, while the larger one is down by your backside. The little speaker does sound like a cheap transistor radio, and unless you shift the balance over to the other side of the car, this output of this speaker seems disproportionate to that of the large speaker because it's pointing right at you.

I get the impression there probably isn't anything wrong with the system, and that it is more likely to be down to your driving position relative to the speaker positioning.

the small speakers at the top of the doors are actually "tweeters" so this means they only really respond to the high frequency stuff. Other speakers will respond to other frequencies, e.g. subwoofer for bass. Regardless of which way speakers are pointing the system will rely on all speakers therefore to make a "full" sound.

If your head is near the tweeters I imagine this is going to be irritating.

Some people will be more atune to these higher frequencies coming from the tweeters than others so it makes sense that one person thinks the OEM system is fine and another doesn't...

On the mk1 octy there is a tweeter near the rear door handle, and if you have the driver seat a long way back it can be annoying. In the mk1 at least you can disconnect these tweeters, not sure about an octy mk2...worth a search in the ICE forum...

http://briskoda.net/forums/ice-security-insurance/what-s-rear-tweeter-trick/1977/

i have the new columbus nav and the sound seems to be quite good, i made mine so the left speakers are slightly louder than the right to give a even sound and put more to the back speakers.

i must agree that the sound is not the best in the world but i personnaly think that it is because the speakers are at the back of the door and not the front so it muffels the sound because of the speakers beeing next to seats.

Good for bass tho.

I get the impression there probably isn't anything wrong with the system, and that it is more likely to be down to your driving position relative to the speaker positioning.

the small speakers at the top of the doors are actually "tweeters" so this means they only really respond to the high frequency stuff. Other speakers will respond to other frequencies, e.g. subwoofer for bass. Regardless of which way speakers are pointing the system will rely on all speakers therefore to make a "full" sound.

If your head is near the tweeters I imagine this is going to be irritating.

Some people will be more atune to these higher frequencies coming from the tweeters than others so it makes sense that one person thinks the OEM system is fine and another doesn't...

On the mk1 octy there is a tweeter near the rear door handle, and if you have the driver seat a long way back it can be annoying. In the mk1 at least you can disconnect these tweeters, not sure about an octy mk2...worth a search in the ICE forum...

Put simply, the Octy Mk.2 tweeters are wrongly positioned. They're too close and directed too much towards you, so in the front you will only hear the nearest one. If you're driving alone in the car, turning the left to +5 will balance it out. but that's not much help if there's two of you. The tweeters should be further away and aimed to spread out the sound, as in the Mk.1..

Smart got it right with our Coupe Mk.1 (turret tweeters in each corner bouncing off the windscreen), so why can't Skoda? Our Octy Mk.2 has an Audience with 12 speakers, but the tweeters' positioning meanst that the sound is worse than our previous bog-standard Mk.1. Come on Skoda, get it right - hire a decent sound firm such as B&W!

b&w?

Did I not read that the Columbus was blaupunkt? That is decent kit, but the speaker position is still important

Read recently that B&W are entering the car stereo market - can't remember who with (Bentley?).

The sound quality in our Octy is fairly poor but that was also true for our 330Cd convertible which cost an awful lot more! The stereo was definitely better in the Passat 130TDi Sport we had - pity the rest of the car was a letdown.

Got the Harmon Kardon package in my E46 - good but certainly doesn't justify the £800 or so it cost the original owner of my car. Not that the 3 litre straight six is a bad soundtrack anyway....

The standard Stream isn't that bad really, its shortcoming is it sounds VERY bright, even with treble on -3 its a bit shrilling...

The standard Stream isn't that bad really, its shortcoming is it sounds VERY bright, even with treble on -3 its a bit shrilling...

... but isn't that because the Bass is weak?

hi guys, just installed the "pure highway" portable dab radio in the car. brilliant. i have moaned about the a.m. reception from the standard stream to skoda/dealer who to be fair replaced unit/aerial but to no avail .this little chappie now gives me clear radio5 live/talksport a.m.reception anywhere and i'm a happy camper now. question why don't vag give you the dynaudio option foe i.c.e. like they do on passats for those of us who like our music. cheers john

hi guys, just installed the "pure highway" portable dab radio in the car. brilliant. i have moaned about the a.m. reception from the standard stream to skoda/dealer who to be fair replaced unit/aerial but to no avail .this little chappie now gives me clear radio5 live/talksport a.m.reception anywhere and i'm a happy camper now. question why don't vag give you the dynaudio option foe i.c.e. like they do on passats for those of us who like our music. cheers john

"portable"? so does that mean its not in-dash? any piccies?

why don't vag give you the dynaudio option foe i.c.e. like they do on passats for those of us who like our music. cheers john

Cos we drive Skodas and not VW's/Audi's

... but isn't that because the Bass is weak?

Not at all Guy. Bass is very strong imho, as is the midrange. Its the VERY high frequencies that need to be reduced. Regardless, the fault with the unit is the equalization imho, yes the tweeters are extrememly directional but the eq should be able to soften the sound a little.

Anyone know what the tweeters are made of? I think some silk-dome tweeters could do the trick??

"portable"? so does that mean its not in-dash? any piccies?

can't post picture as i'm computer illiterate but just google"pure highway"plenty of pics and great sound all for£70.00.it can be used as a portable dab as well with h/phones.

It sticks to the windscreen, pick the DAB signal and re transmits it to the head unit via FM/AUX from what I read.

A full review here: Radio Today with United Radio..: PURE Highway - review

It sticks to the windscreen, pick the DAB signal and re transmits it to the head unit via FM/AUX from what I read.

A full review here: Radio Today with United Radio..: PURE Highway - review

I thought the point of DAB radio was better reception/sound quality than FM.

If, as the PURE Highway does, it relies on an FM signal from the DAB unit to the in-car head unit; what's the point? :confused:

Is it worth upgrading from a '05 Stream HU to a '07 Stream MP3 HU?? is the sound quality that much better??

Is it worth upgrading from a '05 Stream HU to a '07 Stream MP3 HU?? is the sound quality that much better??

No; I don't think so. The only difference IIRC will be your ability to play mp3s.

If you want an 'upgrade' you will need to go to an Audience or higher OR get an aftermarket HU like an Alpine.

I have always found that cars which have the tweeters mounted at the extreme ends of the dashboard, pointing up to the w/screen, seem to sound much better.

As a musician, I think that the dispersion characteristics of the w/screen seems to help a lot, rather than the things just blasting away directly to your ears.

My better half is a very picky suprano (not a gangster ). She thinks the Stream Mp3 sounds fine.

Chris

I collected my (nearly new) Octavia 2.0 DSG Elegance last weekend. Love everything about the car except the quality of the sound system.

I've spent all week trying to tweak the treble/mid/base/fade settings, and it still sounds rubbish.

Now - I'm no audiophile, so I'm not looking for anything spectacular. My previous car (Seat Toledo) just had a standard radio/CD with 8 speakers and sounded miles better than the Octavia. The radio in the Octavia seems to have poorer reception, and radio and CD just sounds 'tinny'. It's like having a cheap transistor radio.

Even my wife - who definitely doesn't know her woofers from her tweeters commented on the sound quality the first time she got in the car.

Any thoughts? Should I go back and hassle the dealer?

Hi

mine generally sounds awfull too.. I have my settings set at these and it has improved things esp with CD's FADE +2 to the rear

BASS +4

MID + 5

TREB - 5

Test drove a 3 yr old 2005 Octavia 2.0TDi Elegance this afternoon ... very close to making the big decision to go for it (after many years of Rovers) .... but thought the radio sounded like a cheap tranny in a show-box. Everything else about the car impressed me ... but the radio ?? ... pah !!

I spent a littletime playing with the controls ...... could wind the treble up high, but could hardly tell any difference when I did the same to the bass .... although the display told me I was winding it up, it was as if it was not connected to the amp !!

b&w?

Did I not read that the Columbus was blaupunkt? That is decent kit, but the speaker position is still important

The MFD2 (Nexus) is made by Blaupunkt. The MFD3 (Columbus)is made by Siemens VDO and sounds pretty good in fact both MFD2 and 3 are a step up from the Stream.