The Mk 7 stereo upgrade thread

[Paul_R]

There seems to be very little out there on this. I'm trying to encourage anyone who has upgraded their Mk 7 stereo to tell us what they have done and for people to post links to stuff they have found.

At this point I know and can find very little on upgrade options for the Discover systems. Has anyone enquired about the Helix plug and play in Australia? Is it available? How much does it cost?

I did find this on one of the UK forums.

http://www.synergy-automotive.com/download/i/mark_dl/u/4011457291/4608559514/Audiotec%20Fischer%20online%20retail%20catalogue.p df

The price is one the last page for a typical system. 600 quid. It's the same company that make the Helix and it is also a true plug and play from what I can find. You can download the specific DSP profile for your car from the company website and load it onto the amp so there should be no tuning involved. They also have vehicle specific replacement speakers that plug in too. I haven't found an Oz distributer or local pricing.

There is the sub box option for the boot plus one that replaces the spare tyre which I don't personally wish to do. For those that want spare wheel and full boot use an option might be Uberstealth Uber-Stealth Audio - Home (http://www.uberstealthaudio.com) He does custom boxes that fit under the floor around the spare. I got one for my Mk 6. It cost $450 just for the box delivered from the USA. Very neat though.

That's all I've got for now. Anyone else found anything?

[Kesh]

I'm also surprised at the lack of speaker upgrades being done! I thought by now there'd be quite a few! I think I've only come across one guy on the Mk7 forums who's had a subwoofer fitted to his mk7!

[team_v]

I'm also surprised at the lack of speaker upgrades being done! I thought by now there'd be quite a few! I think I've only come across one guy on the Mk7 forums who's had a subwoofer fitted to his mk7!

Speaker upgrades seem to have dissapeared given cars now come with a 4-6 speaker system standard, upgradable to an 8 speaker system from the factory.
Also, with the increased electrical and coding complexity of these cars it makes it harder to install = more cost for little benefit.

[Kesh]

That is true, but having said that, the added complexity isn't substantial because when you do upgrade speakers, you're not altering any communication with the head unit and the car whatsoever are you? I'm thinking of getting the speakers upgraded and with more power through a line level converter and an amplifier. All that does it takes the wire from the head unit to the speaker, and instead of it going to the speaker, it'd go to the amp which then sends the signal out to the speakers/subwoofer. The only difference on the car side would be an increase in power consumption I guess.

[BCK]

I'm with Paul on this,

I really want an integrated system like the helix, but are they available in Oz through anyone???

[mattex69]

Check out the new Mosconi new all in one processor and 4 channel amp. Was checking out on the other day at Northfield Moorooka. Very cool piece of kit with a tiny foot print. Perfect for integration into factory head units and with enough power to run a front stage and sub.

[slashj]

There seems to be very little out there on this. I'm trying to encourage anyone who has upgraded their Mk 7 stereo to tell us what they have done and for people to post links to stuff they have found.

At this point I know and can find very little on upgrade options for the Discover systems. Has anyone enquired about the Helix plug and play in Australia? Is it available? How much does it cost?

I did find this on one of the UK forums.

http://www.synergy-automotive.com/download/i/mark_dl/u/4011457291/4608559514/Audiotec%20Fischer%20online%20retail%20catalogue.p df

The price is one the last page for a typical system. 600 quid. It's the same company that make the Helix and it is also a true plug and play from what I can find. You can download the specific DSP profile for your car from the company website and load it onto the amp so there should be no tuning involved. They also have vehicle specific replacement speakers that plug in too. I haven't found an Oz distributer or local pricing.


I am interesting in speakers upgrade too, the stock speakers in the Comfort Line (Composition) are nothing to write home about. It's too bright, more than likely a bump in the high freq responses.

The Synergy system looks interesting though I am not sure I need a new DSP/Amp, at least, not until I figure out what my current amp/speakers are capable of, so will do a sine sweep recording to get the transfer function one of these days.

Also, it's annoying that Composition Media cannot play FLAC files.

[BCK]

Or have a USB iPhone connection.

[Paul_R]

The following is not my work. Big thanks th VW7R over on the rforum in the UK. All I would add is about the Uberstealth under boot floor sub box option and the Mosconi Gladen amps with built in DSP that others have found.

So far the choices seem to be:

(1) Audiotec Integrated 5 channel Amp/DSP PP 52DSP (under driver seat or passenger front seat) + Passive Audiotec PP 8E-Q Sub Bass unit (in the boot sitting on the false floor. On further examination it is not that small and it does eat into boot space.
Audiotec Fischer GmbH | Innovative Car Audio (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/p) ... tml?type=N - Audiotec PP 52DSP (£369.95)
Audiotec Fischer GmbH | Innovative Car Audio (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/m) ... -8e-q.html - Audiotec PP 8E-Q Passive Sub (£149.95)
No loss of spare wheel.

Or,

(2) Audiotec Integrated 5 channel Amp/DSP PP 52DSP (under driver seat or passenger front seat) + 8" Gladen SKU HG 200 Slim 4 Passive Sub specifically for VW.
Audiotec Fischer GmbH | Innovative Car Audio (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/p) ... tml?type=N - Audiotec PP 52DSP (£369.95)
Products | Monster Audio Design (http://www.monsteraudiodesign.co.uk/sho) ... er-for-vw/ - Gladen SKU HG 200 Slim 4 Passive Sub (£209)
No loss of spare wheel.

Or,

(3) Audiotec Integrated 4 channel Amp/DSP PP 41DSP (under driver's seat) + Active Sub Woofer (under front passenger seat). There are good active subs from Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, Gladen. Depends on which one is the best fit for the space available under the seat.
Audiotec Fischer GmbH | Innovative Car Audio (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/m) ... 41dsp.html - Audiotec PP 41DSP (£249.95)
Products | Monster Audio Design (http://www.monsteraudiodesign.co.uk/sho) ... subwoofer/ - Gladen US 08 – 8″ Under Seat Active Sub (£169)
http://www.roadradio.com/Pioneer/TS-WX110A/ - Pioneer TS-WX110A Active Sub (£139.99) - fits under seat
http://www.roadradio.com/Pioneer/TS-WX610A/ - Pioneer TS-WX610A Active Sub (£218.99) - fits inside spare wheel
No loss of spare wheel.

Or,

(4) VW Plug and Play, £503 fitted. Loss of spare wheel.

The Audiotec Integrated Amp/DSP components have sound files specifically for the Golf 7. Hope these units can fit under the driver's seat. Otherwise, it is Plug and Play with a Sub Woofer change.

Also required with the Audiotec Integrated Amp/DSP: (1) 'T' Harness: 92b, £25, (2) Remote Control URC-2A, £30

Regarding the door speakers, I'll cross that bridge if I am not happy with the standard speakers. Then, either Gladen or Autiotec-Fischer Speakers specifically for the Golf 7 could be chosen.
http://www.monsteraudiodesign.co.uk/pro ... eakers/vw/ - Gladen Door Speakers for Golf 7 - Prices £139, £189, £249
Audiotec Fischer GmbH | Innovative Car Audio (http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/m) ... tml?type=N - Audiotec Door Speakers for Golf 7 - £199.95.

Some relevant links:
http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/match/ - Audiotec-Fischer
http://issuu.com/synergyautomotive/docs ... talogue_v2 - Audiotec-Fischer UK Pricelist
http://www.gladen.com/index.html - Gladen
http://www.monsteraudiodesign.co.uk/ - Monster Audio
http://mosconi-system.it/ - Mosconi
http://www.bladeice.com/ - Blade ICE

PS: Thanks to Mainframe for his information regarding Gladen Loudspeakers.

[Paul_R]

Was in the dealers today and asked about the Helix plug n play. They have an option coming that doesn't lose the spare wheel. Basically it's a big box that sits up against the back seat but is "easily removable" if you need the full boot. It weighs 10 kg and about 75 x 24 x 17cm in size. Price is $955 inclusive of fitting. They are getting one in to demo that has a big on off switch so you can hear the difference. Spec wise it seems to be the same as the system that replaces the spare - 4 x 35 rms and 200 rms on the sub.

10942
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[Paul_R]

One more
10947

[bammbamm]

That's cheap junk and looks shocking, not much power either at 4 x35rms @ 4 ohm at 14.4 Volts, imho far better to go and see a specialist and have something fabricated to aesthetically blend in with the car interior. If you are going to just drop a big black box in the back you can use just about anything. If you wanted to keep the factory head unit I would be looking at something like an Audison Bit10, JL Audio XD700/5, quality speakers and subwoofer(s)to suit your musical tastes. All in one solutions have never previously been any good, happy to be proven wrong here but I doubt it will happen

[Kesh]

Yeah doesn't look too great. I'm trying to find the best prices for installing 2 fronts, a sub and an amp. Will get more info today.

[VW7R]

Paul_R:
Just replied this to you on the UK forum:

Yes, that actually does not look too huge in the pictures but I think you'll get annoyed with it if and when you wish to drop your seats.

I have asked the UK Importers for Audiotec-Fischer - Synergy - to try and design a sub for me that will sit in the spare wheel for an R. The boss there (Nick by name and very knowledgeable) will go and measure up an R from a local dealer. I will contact him in the next 2 weeks to see how far he has progressed.

I think that fitting the Audiotec-Fischer door speakers will also make a huge difference, especially with the Silk Dome Tweeters.

I think Dynaudio use metal dome tweeters and I dislike the sound of these as they are too bright sounding. I have heard the Dynaudio in a Golf 6 GTI and it sounded too bright and sibilant.

I have a Harman Kardon sound system in my BMW with metal dome tweeters and they too are a bit bright and sibilant.

[Paul_R]

Welcome to Oz VW7R.
I agree on the bright Dynaudio tweeters. I have the treble turned right down on the Mk 6. I think what you are suggesting might be the way to go. I'm going to see what Nick at Uberstealth comes up with in terms of a sub box that fits around the wheel a la the one I've got. Then as you say replace the front speakers and sort out an amp and DSP from some where.

[Paul_R]

I would be looking at something like an Audison Bit10, JL Audio XD700/5, quality speakers and subwoofer(s)to suit your musical tastes.

Now I do like the sound of that idea. Have to see what sort of money it would be. Don't want to spend more than $2000 or so.

[VW7R]

Welcome to Oz VW7R.
I agree on the bright Dynaudio tweeters. I have the treble turned right down on the Mk 6. I think what you are suggesting might be the way to go. I'm going to see what Nick at Uberstealth comes up with in terms of a sub box that fits around the wheel a la the one I've got. Then as you say replace the front speakers and sort out an amp and DSP from some where.

Thank you.

Damned Dynaudio and VW for dragging their heals in making a sub for the 7R. But then if I was able to get the Dynaudio, I could not live with the chromium plated sound from the tweeters and would have to change them to silk domes.

I just don't wish to spend more than £700 max. ($1260). One way out is to get the VW Plug and Plug (£503=$905.4, fitted), dump their massive sub, and replace it with a custom one which sits inside the spare. Swapping the subs would just be an unplug/plug job.

[Kesh]

Was quoted 550 for an install of my own gear! Not bad I say.

[dtpearson]

I have just had the Helix VW Plug & Play system installed in my MK7 Golf R by Euro Car Upgrades in Marochydore. It cost about $800 from Amazon UK (inc freight) and cost about $500 for the install, so about $1300 all up.

This is what you get:

Plug & Play sound system for the Polo5, Beetle, Jetta, Golf VI, Golf VII and the Scirocco
Power output, max. [W]: 300 sine
Power output, max. [W]: 480 music
Channels: 5 (four for existing speakers in vehicle, one for subwoofer) 55Wx4 (to factory speakers and 160Wx1 sub)
Package content: subwoofer with integrated DSP amplifier, wiring harness, assembly materials and assembly instructions
Note: the sub replaces your spare wheel. This is of no concern to me as it has been 10 years plus since my last flat tyre, and i can always get a mate to run me mine out to me if i get a flat.

There is two models that are very similar, the one i got was the 000051419 one which fits a range of VW vehicles and needs a dongle to be tuned for your model. What i SHOULD have got was the 5G0051419 which is already coded for the MK7 4 door.

I havent found a supplier for the dongle yet, so mine is still tuned for a polo..... no I'm not kidding.

But it still sounds very good. Impressive powerful sub base, and somewhat surprisingly a MUCH improved top end. The front speakers are given roughly double the power of the stock setup, and as they are relieved of the base duties by the sub, they sound MUCH better than stock, not just louder, but far better imaging focus and clarity.

The sub base is as powerful as any normal person would want it to be, but its never going to sound like a pair of twelves driven by 1000w mono blocks in a 3cu/ft sub box taking up the entire boot :-)

I like my music loud, and while i can reach the subs limits, i cannot listen to it that loud for more than a few seconds at a time without my ears giving out. This may not be enough for you, but if it is, you should probably have yourself checked.

I cannot wait to get the tuning dongle, so the system is properly tuned for my car, i think that there is a "gap" in the frequency response where the front speakers are crossed over a bit too high. This means that there is a little bit of disconnect between the sub base and the front end. I am not sure if this "disconnect" is due to the frequency response, or just down to the timing of the DSP being out. Its not bad, but the goal of good car audio is to make it sound like all the sound is coming from the front end, and there are no subs elsewhere.

This upgrade is never going to sound as good as a full replacement of all the speakers, addition of amps and well designed subs, but i just did not want to butcher the car (and spend big $$$). This setup is completely invisible to anyone that doesnt lift the boot floor, and dosent require cutting or damaging the car in any way. It can be returned to stock in about 2 hours, and you can even buy a blanking plug for the wiring if you need to put the spare wheel back in, and the system reverts to stock sound.

I was going to do more, maybe order the Dynaudio front speakers and tweets and see if they made a difference, maybe install some Focals etc. But it is just so good as it is, i don't think i will do anything else (except tune it with the dongle).

[CWR]

I'm not sure about the mk7 but dynaudio typically never use metal dome tweeters. The dynaudio speakers in the mk6 R are silk dome as are their home hifi tweeters.

It was mentioned above that if you spent the money on a processor youd have to replace the tweeters too. The whole point of the processor is to EQ the sound flat. If a tweeter is bright or sibilant, it's usually either a terrible quality speaker or in the case of dynaudio, the eq of what you're driving them with.

The stock dynaudio amp is woeful however and the head units are OK but they have a mid scooped sound, but setting the HU to line out, driving a processor into a decent 5 channel amp for the doors and adding a small sub to allow the bass crossover point for the door mid bass drivers to be around 80hz would be the ideal setup for the least money.

[mgrobins]

Hi,

I have been examining options to upgrade my MK7 GTI for about 4 months. There are only a few available options for a bolt on OEM finish.

First questions a person needs to ask are:
1. am I keeping the stock speakers?
2. Do I plan to retain the stock amplification?

For me the key missing component is bass. Sending full range to the stock speakers with the stock amp = poor headroom and poor dynamic range. Just not up to it.

One of the first steps I took was to remove the door cards and fit a bunch of dynamat on the door skin, speaker mounts and card. Overall road noise is reduced and there is much less resonance in the door. A qualitative improvement I think.

Adding a sub will help a LOT according to the feedback from those who have done so. Unfortunately the off the shelf options are not awesome (that VW unit looks like garbage).

Some sub options:
1. Nik Brewer (uberstealth Audio) now has an in spare option for the mk 7. Not sure of cost to ship here as he hasn't replied to me yet.
2. Pioneer TS-WX710A. At 90mm height this unit should fit under the rear floor if you leave it in the 'upper' positon.
3. Helix (as indicated it loses your spare tyre though).
4. Custom box - with 90mm height under the rear floor and the inner area of the spare wheel I think a 10" or 2x8" is quite doable for a sealed sub and some space for your amp.
5. A side mount sub could work in the hatch area but it may not be large enough in volume to work well.
6. a few under seat options that will take up a small amount of rear foot space.

Both JL Audio and Pioneer offer some good low profile subs that would be great in a custom box.


Speaker replacement:
1. Focal OEM Kit. THis requires some modification and gluing of the tweeters in the front I believe.


I have not been able to confirm yet if their is a bass roll off / curve built into the head unit tuning (will likely do testing with some low and mid tones to check). If there is then something like the Audiocontrol L2Ci would be needed for a sub install or if you are going for a full amp upgrade I'd consider the Bit-10 or Audiocontrol L6Ci.


Currently I am considering the simplest upgrade of the pioneer WX710A +/- L2Ci feeding off the speaker level outputs (either from the rear doors or at the Hu dongle I guess). Knock the bass settings down on the HU and set the sub amp gain to compensate and I would expect to see decent improvement in the stock speaker/amp performance along with the bottom range.
Aust price is about $440 for the sub. Add in cable, fuse and bits not included and it seems fairly ost effective (especially if I don't pay $150/hr labour and DIY).

FOr fun, I'm looking at doing a custom MDF and fiberglass box that will sit in the spare wheel and use some of the space above that - either to hold a 10" or perhaps 2 8" drivers and amp. Starts getting more expensive though and could quickly over capitalise vs the performance of the rest of the system. I'll only go this way if I envisage replacing the stock speakers and re-amping the whole lot.

[peekay34]

I have one of these and they are well worth it the sound is impressive for the size of it.... I also have Upgraded speakers in the front ..... Focal splits..... how BammBamm you cans say is junk bewilders me when you have not heard it. I certainly would not do without it now very happy with it. Produces a lot of bass... more than I can bear... I do like my hearing.

[mgrobins]

Peekay do you mean the Pioneer WX710A I mentioned?

I'm not after loud, I'm after something that is reasonably refined. I tend to listen more to jazz, rock etc than boom boom music.

[peekay34]

I have the Helix unit great sound.... happy with it.

[Fixxxer]

The stock Mk7R system is poor, so I'll have to book in to get this done soon. I miss my bass.
I'm thinking instead of putting the amp with the 12"sub and box in the back, I'll grab one of the small footprint 4-ch amps (e.g., focal350, soundstream picasso nano, etc) and get it mounted under driver side dash (someone else has already had this done).

I gather it wouldn't be hard to amp the stock fronts from there too?

Regards, Fixxxer

[kaanage]

I have the Helix unit great sound.... happy with it.


I have one of these and they are well worth it the sound is impressive for the size of it.... I also have Upgraded speakers in the front ..... Focal splits..... how BammBamm you cans say is junk bewilders me when you have not heard it. I certainly would not do without it now very happy with it. Produces a lot of bass... more than I can bear... I do like my hearing.

The subwoofer is a base reflex design tuned to 49Hz which isn't surprising given that the total enclosed volume (including porting, I assume) is only 15 litres. So you aren't getting real bass but rather a whole lot of fairly monotonic midbass.

The filtering off of the bass from the door drivers will make them sound much better though so the overall system output should be considerably greater than stock. And they may have eq curves that tune the treble and midrange for the stock drivers better for the MkVII cabin than the stock head unit's output.

But I have to agree with BammBamm

[peekay34]

Whilst that may be the case the one that goes for it no modification of existing wiring looms that may void warranty it comes with the factory warranty and so on.... I would rather stick with it. If I had another choice I would have ..but the performance is more than adequate... the reality it will still make you deaf...

[mgrobins]

I've been in touch with the manufacturer of the Match Audio amplifiers that can be used for a pnp fitout (I believe they are used in the helix systems).

All seemed great until I started looking into the options for a custom sub. The amp has an 8-pin output (Molex) to the sub.

I wrote to Audiotec-Fischer to ask for the pinout.

The amplifier uses 4 separate channels to power their sub designs - and NO, it cannot be bridged.

What this means is that if you use single voice coil subs they can only run at 1 CH worth of power.

The match subs use dual or quad voice-coils and each sub amp cha is used to run a coil. Hence the quad coil single woofer or 2x dual coil woofer sub enclosures they sell.

To me this is a pita as it limits my choices for a sub driver and the available low profile drivers are single coil.

I'm looking at wether the line output on the Match amp can be configured as a sub output (LPF and still run through the DSP) with the other vehicle specific tuning still loaded.

The question I want to answer is: can the Match series provide a plug-in solution for those who want a stealth sub enclosure (and to keep their spare tyre).

[mgrobins]

Ok, I ordered a package with the following and will be doing an install myself so I'll attempt to put a video together or at least photos of the important parts for disassembly and cable routing etc.

Match PP-52DSP
VW Mk7 specific loom/connector
UMC-2A bass control
PP7E sub (dual 6.5" woofers)

Now.... I still want a stealth sub install so I'll be using this to test and see if I'm satisfied and then I'll likely strip the parts from the sub to mount in a custom enclosure once it's done.

The manufacturer Audiotec-Fischer has kindly provided the enclosure specs I need for tuning to match the sub I bought which will make life a little simpler.

[mgrobins]

Hi,

quick update on where I'm at with my system upgrade.

The Audiotech-Fischer Match system does not work on the Golf Mk7 AU model. We have a variety of manufacturers for the head unit and they seem to behave slightly differently with the DSP amplifier.

Additionally, the OEM cable connector/loom did not fit my Mk7 head unit.

I'll be returning all of the gear and seeking a different path. It's a shame as the Plug and Play idea with the match hardware is attractive.

It will cost more but I suspect my best option will be custom sub enclosure (DIY), Processor (eg Bit Ten), 5Ch amp and take the high level feeds from the speaker outputs on the media unit in the glove box.

I tested the volume response of the stock system with a 50Hz and 125Hz sinewave and they graph very closely in terms of roll off. I'd want to try a higher freq as well but my judgement so far is that this system does not require a LOC with processing to undo any fiddling with the bass.

[Fixxxer]

OK so an update on my Mk7R stereo upgrade.
The Soundstream Picasso Nano 520D (4ch) amp is now mounted under front passenger seat and is feeding the stock front splits and is bridged to the 12" sealed sub in the rear . Tiny amp for the power, 4x100WRMS (260WRMS bridged), it's only like 4.5" wide so barely intrudes even with a passenger in rear.
First impressions are very good sound for a basic setup. Lower frequencies have returned, along with a tremendous thump in the back. Fronts are much happier and not showing any distortion even at crazy listening levels. Job done.

Fixxxer :)

[zayney]

Whats the size of the stock speakers in the front on the Mk7?

[mgrobins]

Ive got my own upgrade underway.

I built my own sub using the slim spare as a mould and a mdf cabinet on top (will post pics later) so I have a full size 10" with 30L enclosure and no loss of boot space as it's all under the floor.

Speakers are stock at this stage and i'm considering Dynaudio (esotec) or Rainbow (CL-6 I think they are).

Amp is a Mosconi Gladen D100-4 DSP
Fronts splits are run active and rears are on the stock HU as rear fill.

Overall huge sound improvement.

Biggest downer I'm trying to resolve is a constant 'hiss' present from front tweeters (not vol related and present even with engine off).
The guys that did the install have reduced it with gain changes but it's still loud enough to annoy me in a number of settings where I listen to music and want those silent moments to be silent.

Could be from the HU for sure .... but I'm still not 100% convinced that the ground/wiring changes aren't impacting it as well.

I wonder if some low sensitivity tweeters would help out as a replacement??

A real shame that the HU in these cars does not allow line output :/.

If I want to maintain all of my oem like functions with steering wheel control etc ... what would be the upgrade path for a HU on the Mk7?

[YellowLemon]

The Soundstream Picasso Nano 520D (4ch) amp is now mounted under front passenger seat

That's awesome! How much smaller are these than the Alpine PDX series amps? I used to think those guys were tiny!

Link: Alpine Electronics of Australia (http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=273)

[VW_Tim]

Hey mgrobins,
how did you go with your hissing noise - I've had the same noise issue on a different car and it all came from the HU... Could be due to the different grounding in your amp and the headunit.
Do you have any pics of the install, I assume you don't know how it was connected to the HU since you got the install done?
CHeers,

[Primordial]

I'm looking for some extra 'oomph' from the stock system in my MK7 Golf.

I'm contemplating a Soundstream PN4.520D (4ch) mounted under the passenger seat to run the stock splits (for now).

Any advice on subs? I'm not after huge sound - probably just a single 10" or something.

I'm after a sub (active or passive) which doesnt take up too much room. Side-mount would be best for me, but I dont think there are any solutions out for MK7, without going custom of course. Any ideas?