$1000 to improve CC audio?

[Vexed]

Hi guys,

What is the best way of improving the standard VW sound system on my 2010 CC? I'm happy to spend $1000 to do that, hopefully without ripping the car apart... Anyone knows a decent fitter that knows VW CC well enough in Sydney?
I'm not looking for anything massive, something to improve bass and sound clarity while keeping the RNS510. I checked the Alpine HU for VW, looks great but way too expensive @ $2500.
Would love to hear your thoughts.



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[Vexed]

Anyone?

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[brad]

Best guy in Sydney (IMO) is FHRX Studios in Caringbah.

He aint cheap but he does a premium job that looks factory fresh. Generally he's booked out about 3-4 months in advance.

Best you talk to him about your options but at a guess your package would involve dynamat type material in the doors, sealing & beefing up the existing speaker mounts, possibly some upgraded wiring. If you wanted more base then you might be looking at upping your budget a fraction for a sub & amp.

[Vexed]

Thanks for replying Dave...
I'm happy to increase the budget a bit for a decent job.
I have checked fhrx studios website, I will shoot them an email to see what's available.

Thanks again.

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[wfdTamar]

You might want to check my thread. I'm doing a complete 'change all but RNS510' premium Polk Audio upgrade including full Dynamat and Dynaliner. It'll be more than you want to spend, but you could easily get good results spending less than I have.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f78/planning-nice-audio-upgrade-rns510-octavia-94253.html

You'd be looking at an amp and replacing the speakers at a minimum.

[Vexed]

You might want to check my thread. I'm doing a complete 'change all but RNS510' premium Polk Audio upgrade including full Dynamat and Dynaliner. It'll be more than you want to spend, but you could easily get good results spending less than I have.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f78/planning-nice-audio-upgrade-rns510-octavia-94253.html

You'd be looking at an amp and replacing the speakers at a minimum.

Wow that looks like some serious setup... I like the idea, do you mind telling me how much was the total cost? Where did you fit it?
I didn't know Polk makes car audio, I have always liked their soundbars, and they are pricey...

[wfdTamar]

Yes, I got a bit carried away. Lucky I'm not married - I can do this kind of thing without having to justify it - except to myself. I plan on keeping the car for a long time and I can take the audio stuff out and put it in a new car if I want to. Very easy to just put the factory speakers back in and plug their wiring back.

Jeez, now you made me go and add it all up! Gulp - $3666 including the Dynamat, which was about $1150 of it. So just the audio stuff and all the hardware and wiring for it was $2500. If I bought all the Polk Audio stuff in Australia and new it would cost a fortune - I reckon $3000-4000. Really it was silly to go for a pricey brand like this for my needs. There is plenty of good stuff even half that price, maybe less. You could also do the Dynamat quite effectively for about half what I spent, maybe a third.

Do you mean where in the car did I put all the bits? The Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3 goes under the pasenger seat. The two amps will go in the left, rear boot cupboard, the sub in the right one (I need to build an MDF box for that).

Another thing to consider is the weight this all adds. About 16-17 kgs for the Dynamat/Layer. Maybe 10-12kgs of audio stuff. My car is a diesel so it wont make a huge difference. Even with the interior not all put back in the car feels much more solid with the Dynamat. I'll be interested to see (hear) what it's like fully assembled. Driving it with all the interior out (just the drivers seat) it felt zippier and quite tinny.

It's also a big job - I'd hate to pay someone else to do it. If you did the Dynamat the minimum 30% coverage (which they reckon gives good results) and just used the factory speaker wiring (just get adaptors for the VW plugs) it would be quicker.

The Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3 processor isn't really nessecary - if you get an amp that can accept speaker level input (that's high level, as opposed to line level) you can run the RNS510 speaker wires straight to it which would simplfy things. You might be able to get one that will fit under the passenger seat. Either just get new door speakers, or if you did want a sub, get one like the Pioneer one I showed in the early part of my thread. You just need to work out how to get a signal to it (maybe an amp that has a sub out line level connector).

[Vexed]

Yes, I got a bit carried away. Lucky I'm not married - I can do this kind of thing without having to justify it - except to myself. I plan on keeping the car for a long time and I can take the audio stuff out and put it in a new car if I want to. Very easy to just put the factory speakers back in and plug their wiring back.

Jeez, now you made me go and add it all up! Gulp - $3666 including the Dynamat, which was about $1150 of it. So just the audio stuff and all the hardware and wiring for it was $2500. If I bought all the Polk Audio stuff in Australia and new it would cost a fortune - I reckon $3000-4000. Really it was silly to go for a pricey brand like this for my needs. There is plenty of good stuff even half that price, maybe less. You could also do the Dynamat quite effectively for about half what I spent, maybe a third.

Do you mean where in the car did I put all the bits? The Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3 goes under the pasenger seat. The two amps will go in the left, rear boot cupboard, the sub in the right one (I need to build an MDF box for that).

Another thing to consider is the weight this all adds. About 16-17 kgs for the Dynamat/Layer. Maybe 10-12kgs of audio stuff. My car is a diesel so it wont make a huge difference.

It's also a big job - I'd hate to pay someone else to do it. If you did the Dynamat the minimum 30% coverage (which they reckon gives good results) and just used the factory speaker wiring (just get adaptors for the VW plugs) it would be quicker.

The Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3 processor isn't really nessecary - if you get an amp that can accept speaker level input (that's high level, as opposed to line level) you can run the RNS510 speaker wires straight to it which would simplfy things. You might be able to get one that will fit under the passenger seat. Either just get new door speakers, or if you did want a sub, get one like the Pioneer one I showed in the early part of my thread. You just need to work out how to get a signal to it (maybe an amp that has a sub out line level connector).

That's great mate, good on you, I believe it sounds amazing as well...
I'm married and I have been spending heaps on my home theatre at home, and my XB1, and my 4K TV, and and and, lol my wife is about to kill me...
My problem is, if I start something, I have to get the best, I'm sure I will end up paying 4-5K minimum...
You enjoy your well built system maybe later this year I will start a project like that...

[Vexed]

I was looking around and I came across this Pioneer Space-Saving Flat Amplified Subwoofer TS-WX710A...
TS-WX710A Space-Saving Flat Amplified Subwoofer (200W) - Pioneer Car Speakers, Sub

Sounds like a nice quick fix if I can chuck it in the boot... I guess I don't need any amp with that...
What is involved in setting up something like that?

[wfdTamar]

Similar to what I was considering. Not a bad solution if you're short of space and don't want a huge sub. Have a look on this site for ideas (link below). Also ryda.com.au and elite-electronics .com.au. I'm sure there are others, I'm no expert. With an amp like below you can feed it the speaker wires from the rns510. Pretty sure that sort of amp can send a line level to that sub. Make sure any speaker package will fit in your doors. I had to pull the tweeters in my polk to bits to make it look factory.

PIONEER TS-A1605C 350 WATT 6.5" SPLITS / COMPONENT + TS-A1675S 300W 3 WAY 6.5" COAXIAL + GM-A4604 4 CHANNEL AMP AND WIRING KIT! - Super Cheap Everything

[Vexed]

Similar to what I was considering. Not a bad solution if you're short of space and don't want a huge sub. Have a look on this site for ideas (link below). Also ryda.com.au and elite-electronics .com.au. I'm sure there are others, I'm no expert. With an amp like below you can feed it the speaker wires from the rns510. Pretty sure that sort of amp can send a line level to that sub. Make sure any speaker package will fit in your doors. I had to pull the tweeters in my polk to bits to make it look factory.

PIONEER TS-A1605C 350 WATT 6.5" SPLITS / COMPONENT + TS-A1675S 300W 3 WAY 6.5" COAXIAL + GM-A4604 4 CHANNEL AMP AND WIRING KIT! - Super Cheap Everything

It is my wife's car, but I like driving it sooo much, and the fuel economy on it amazing, my other car is BMW 5 series with Harman Kardon Logic 7, and I'm used to that So I would like to keep the car as stock as possible, adding a bit of boom boom would be great.
So I did a bit of research, and most people recommend a DSP with high level input like BitOne 10 or LC6i, especially if I need remote turn on... hmmmm you reckon I could install the Pioneer TS-WX710A and feed it directly from the speaker wires? that is interesting...
Man I'm a real rookie when it comes to car audio, thank you for spending the time to reply... much appreciated.

[wfdTamar]

No - factory speaker wires to something like this amp. (the one in that Pioneer package doesn't do it). I meant find a 4 channel amp that also has low level (not amplified) output for a sub to feed that powered one you found.

Or just do it this way:

A 5 channel amp (so one is meant for a non amplified sub). One that's designed to take speaker level input. Here's an example of what I mean (not recommending that one - I just picked it quickly):

Alpine MRX-V70 5-Channel 1200W Amplifier - $345.85

Upgrade the door speakers. Then use a sub that has no built in amp. There's lots of prebuilt 'sub in a box' things around.

Loaded Enclosure : Elite Electronics, Welcome to our Online Store


Alpine Electronics of Australia

When looking at amps there seem to be Class 1/2 (general purpose, run of the mill) and Class D which are smaller and more efficient (run cooler).

[kamold]

You dont need an amp that requires speaker level output nor do you need a line out converter.

The RNS/RCD can be configured via VCDS to output line level balanced output for an amp. This is how they integrate with the factory amp like Dynaudio or Typhoon.

Adding an amp is the easiest and cheapest way to improve the setup. Then if you feel the stock speakers aren't up to the task (which they are for 90% of people) then go down the route of replacing them. The stock headunit's internal amp is underpowered (4x25w) so having a dedicated amp drive the speakers makes a huge difference on its own.

Agree that an amp with a separate sub output is desirable should you wish to add a sub and take the bass duties away from the stock speakers, this will allow them to handle only higher frequencies again increasing their usefulness.

[Vexed]

Thank you guys, you have been most helpful, I have a better understanding of what I need to do now... It looks like I can spend $1000 - $1500 to improve the sound a bit
any decent VW installers you are aware of in Sydney other than FHRX? I know they are one of the best, but I live in the upper north shore, he is a bit too far...

[kamold]

Brad at Insane Car Audio at Castle Hill is very good, don't know of anyone further east...