[janssen_nicholas]

I have an 06' Jetta TDI with what I believe is the "premium" sound package. I know the car is equipped with the Package 2 trim level from the factory. How can I tell what sound system I have in the car, and what makes the premium sound package premium as opposed to the normal sound package? In either case, I'm looking to upgrade my sound but I'm undecided as to what I want to do yet. I have several questions:

1. I believe my car has either a 6 or 8 speaker system. If i'm right, how are those speakers powered? Straight from the headunit or from an external amplifier? Are these speakers all run off of 4 main channels (FR, FL, RR, RL) and then just split between higher and lower frequencies to power tweeters, mids, and lows?

2. Since I want to maintain a clean, stock looking dash, the local audio store recommended just adding an adapter that allows RCA jacks to be run to an amp and some subs. This would be good but then that leads to my next set of questions - headunit upgrades. I have read all of the FAQ writeups on these isses and I'm still left wondering how I should approach this. To me, it's between the RNS-510 or the aftermarket Chinese look alikes.

3. Is it worth spending the $$ on the OEM unit vs. the Chinese units since I plan to add bluetooth and ipod connectivity? DVD playback would also be nice but I'm a firm believer in the saying that says you get what you pay for. I dont want to buy a Chinese unit and have it go out in a few months, have crappy bluetooth clairity, hissing audio, not support my iPod, and not work with the MFD display. If the Chinese units are fair choices, which one is the best that provides the most features? It seems that the more research I do on them the more confused I get when it comes to which features are offered with each unit. It seems there is always a toss up between which units have which features.

I will really appreciate any help. I want to build a very nice system that can serve all my needs without going extreme with the $. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Look under the driver's seat. If you see a big amp you have the premium sound. If you don't you have the regular sound. Because you have a package 2 it's possible. I believe the 2005.5 and 2006.5 special edition/diesel edition Jetta TDI came with the amp. My 2006 package 2 w/navigation does not.

If you have the amp, others have reported great success with the amp from the Passat. It's plug play and on clearance: http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Passat_B6-FWD-2.0T/Search/New_Items/Fluid/ES489489/

If you don't straight from the headunit. The entire audio system wiring is different if you have the amp vs. don't so I wouldn't try to retrofit it.

I would go with what the audio store says.

I have the RNS 510 and I'm very happy because of the high res display, GPS works fast, works OEM. Adding the 9w3 bluetooth isn't too hard because kufatec sells the wiring harness to retrofit it. If you buy the 9w3, check out the forum sponsor mfd3.com. The aftermarket China units definitely give better value and look OEM if you didn't know any better.

 

[janssen_nicholas]

If I have the amp and I get the Passat upgrade, what kind of wattage will that output? Could I still upgrade later to the RNS-510 with the Passat amp and have it all work together?

 

[blupearl]

The RNS 510 will work. There's one blogger maloosheck who even put a Dynaudio system in his car. The entire interior carpeting and dashboard had come out.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Yes, the RNS 510 will work fine. The coding should be set for volkswagen sound system since you have the premium system. It's possible that when you buy it, it'll be set to none or dynaudio. I don't know the wattage but people who have done it report that the system sounds much better.

Also, I'm looking for clear pictures showing the amp under the seat, one from far away showing where it sits and close ups showing the connections and part number. Any help?

 

[janssen_nicholas]

Well, it seems I dont have the amp under the seat afterall:dunno Now I really dont know what to do. Is it possible there is still a seperate amp running the speakers but located somewhere else? I find it hard to believe that all the power going to all 10 speakers is comming from the HU alone. I dont know if it is still worth the trouble of buying a wiring harness to use the Dynaudio amp or not. For shure the RNS-510 will come later on but for now I just really want to upgrade my sound quality and add some bass. I've been thinking of going with a pair of 12" JL W3's with about a 600W amp. The local audio stores also said that Focal makes some of the best component speaker setups on the market. Granted that if I went that route I wouldn't have an "active" system but rather a "passive" system. I dont know what to do.

1. Go with the JL subs and amp now and wait to upgrade the speaker components and power supply.
2. Not buy the JL subs and amp and instead buy the proper wiring harness needed to run the Dynaudio Passat amp.
3. Scrap the idea of the Dynaudio amp and components, but instead go with the subs now with the intent to buy some other high quality door components and seperate aftermarket amp to power them...

What would you guys suggest based on whats out there available and the possible gains I could achieve from the Passat amp upgrade with possible additions of a complete Dynaudio setup in the future?

 

[chittychittybangbang]

I would go aftermarket then. Yes, the head unit powers the speakers. I've read how to retrofit the dynoaudio and premium VW sound system and it's very involved. You have to remove the door panels which is easy, carpeting (pain), run wiring to the doors, in the doors, and under the carpeting. The amount of work isn't worth it even if you had a parts car, I'd go aftermarket sound system in that case.

 

[janssen_nicholas]

That makes sense. Even if I go aftermarket i'm going to have to remove door panels and run new wiring, install amps, speakers, etc. I guess what I was getting at is while I'm going through the trouble what setup will be more pleasing in the end? You're saying aftermarket - thats what I guessed. Anyone else?

 

[Schneideau]

I'd hoped you we're closer to ATL or DEN

A pragmatic solution to the MkV Jetta's gaud awful stereo performance is a healthy dose of old fashion system equalization. There, I said it. The secret is out in audio engineering terms. Equalization.

Not more “Watts” because just the thought of more watts should do the trick and Not more bass frequency because if 1- twelve inch speaker is good, than 2 twelve’s should do the trick…. And certainly Not because French made Focal who once-upon-a-time manufactured an excellent “inverted dome tweeter” and decades later just the thought of the Focal brand name in your car creates the pricey expectation and or illusion of a cure-all.

The uber affordable (presently) 3C0-035-456-C (Dynaudio VW Lear) audio amplifier w DSP and the aftermarket Poland sourced wiring harness when combined makes for a pragmatic solution; bringing to bare the much needed system equalization and the required RMS power reserves. Who care’s if you use the VW speakers to get there. Nuff said! Have the local auto audio HiFi shop do the cake of a wiring install (door/amp wiring) – this is a cow path for any freshman car stereo installer. My $.02 cents.

If your nearby the Atlanta area or, Vail, Colorado throughout the summer months you are welcome to have a listen to the new Dyn audio amplifier in the MkV Jetta. Your jaw will drop! The Dynaudio w/DSP driven system plays LOUD and dynamic or soft and dynamic all the while with detail and very musical. All grown up. Shame on VW for not taking the time & spending the dime.

Cheers, Mike

 

[Seatman]

Oooh 2 12's you can't beat the oomph from them. Nice. I've got a cheap 2x12 with amp in the boot and it's fantastic, I would never go back now even if it does take up a bit of space. I'm going to do a custom install at some point though to get things out of the way a bit and also going to get a four channel amp for the front plus 2 6in's that I'll fit in the rear doors. If you get a reasonable amp there's quite a lot of adjustment on the amp and some have a seperate box which you can locate up front for making tweaks. I've got mine turned down quite low at the moment because of the style of music I'm listening to but it just fills in where road noise etc takes it away.

 

[janssen_nicholas]

Thanks Mike I appreciate the offer. I'm actually in Austin, Tx. though. Anyone here in Texas - preferably south Texas - with the Dynaudio amp setup? I'd love to hear it.

Also, what exactly does DSP do? I've heard that it is an "active" system rather than a "passive" system but what does that mean? Does it mean that at different volumes the amp adjusts certain frequencies to better suit the music and the speakers that it is designed to work with?

Or...is DSP basically just continuously equalizing the frequency levels to a flat line and hence compensating for factory HU pre-programmed descrepencies and fail safes?

I've heard of units such as JL's CleanSweep that are designed to equalize factory HUs to a flat line level. It also says something about it possessing DSP technology. Does the CleanSweep perform the same function as the signal processing unit in the Dynaudio amplifier?

 

[Schneideau]

Hey J/N -

Check out the Dynaudio site and once there navigate to the VW area. This marketing blurb that Dyn puts together may answer a few questions.

Basically what Dynaudio is doing is system tailoring each of the VW platforms; spkr. Location, size, equalization, time alignment, etc., to name a few aspects of the audio engineering at play. In the Dynaudio 3C0 amps case its tailored to the Passat chassis/interior. What is taken into account largely is the Passat chassis acoustics (road noise, interior size). This 3C0 Dyn amp works magic with our ever so slightly smaller Jetta interior, although the two cars share a chassis in many ways. The Dynaudio acoustic tailoring goes well beyond the generic output of the Clean Sweep. Yes, both utilize some form of digital signal processing (DSP). Not all audio DSP is equivalent.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Well, it looks like someone found a pre-made wiring harness for dynaudio/premium sound system. You can add the OEM VW amp with this wiring harness and it should let you keep the OEM stuff.

Here is a link to the wiring harness. I emailed them for details but they haven't sent me installation instructions.

http://naviservice.com.pl/?item=169&lang=en