# Quality of the 8 Speaker Sound System



## buckeye3d (Jun 15, 2006)

I'm considering moving from a GTI with the very nice Fender system to an Arteon SEL. I'm sure the 12 speaker Dynaudio in the SEL Premium is awesome but how is the base 8 speaker system in the SE and SEL? Does it have a sub-woofer?


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

buckeye3d said:


> I'm considering moving from a GTI with the very nice Fender system to an Arteon SEL. I'm sure the 12 speaker Dynaudio in the SEL Premium is awesome but how is the base 8 speaker system in the SE and SEL? Does it have a sub-woofer?


no sub in the base system. And the dynaudio isn't that great either.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ice4life said:


> ....And the dynaudio isn't that great either.


Based on what?


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

I agree, the upgrade system get distorted easily. The bass is ok but mids and highs are average at best. I cannot imagine how bad the base system must be, does anyone know the power rating on the base audio?


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## pistols07 (Jul 6, 2010)

I have the base system. Its Meh, 6/10. Mids and highs decent. No sub so its missing the low frequency deep bass aspect. Over the weekend I just added a JL W3 10inch sub with JL 300 watt Slash amp. Now the overall system sounds great to me.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

So, what is you folks expertise in sound quality? Or are you just flapping your gums?


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## vdubs kopfschuss GLI (Sep 25, 2014)

i think the Dyna system is great!
i mean, im not looking for a system so everyone around me can hear it, but its great for what it is.

its all in the calibration and settings. there is no need to max out all of the settings, which sounds like (no pun intended) what everyone has done.


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## VdubArty (Oct 23, 2019)

To me the Dynaudio system is little better than the fender system, not sure what watt the fender is but I do know the Dynaudio is 700 watt.


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## beaumisbro (Oct 2, 2009)

The Dynaudio sounds pretty nice and clean to my ears ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## bradst3r (Sep 26, 2008)

Yeah it sounds better then my MK7 Golf R system did. I'm not sure what source or style music everyone is listening to. I do notice that the newer music sounds way better on it.


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## vdubs kopfschuss GLI (Sep 25, 2014)

i had a 2016 GTI with the Fender system and i believe the Dynaaudio sounds better.

im a mixture of metal, EDM and 80/90s (i know, i know haha)
but i actually have my bass turned down, maybe 4 clicks above 0 and i do not even get the volume above its 1/4 mark as i think that is too loud and rattles and shakes the car and mirrors. 

definitely clearer, but maybe because there are more speakers? i want to say there are more tweets than the Fender system, but i am not certain.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

I've had too many VWs- base stereos, dynaudio stereos, fender stereos, and even beats in my jetta. The dynaudio is the best sounding for the brand, but imo it is not a great system compared to others I have had like the B&W in my S90. Plus it rattles the car way too much even with the bass set to 0 which is an acoustics issues.


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## jquest1971 (Dec 27, 2019)

*It's all relative*

Coming from a 2018 Toyota Tacoma I think the base stereo in my Arteon SE 4motion sounds amazing. And the satellite radio receiver is definitely better, in my Toyota Satellite Radio always sounded thin when compared to bluetooth, FM or a CD. In my new VW, the satellite radio sounds just as good as any other source.

Of course I'm old and listen to a lot of old rock music. YMMV.

--JQ


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## SDArteon (Jun 16, 2019)

I thought my SE system had partially failed leaving only treble and bass, then i found out the basic system does not have ANY midrange drivers. It struggles to use the tweeter to get barely enough sound pressure at mid frequencies. Its just passable at normal levels, but turn it up and the distortion make the treble sound shrill and does little add any midrange.

the best source that matches the EQ of this system is satellite radio, but that has its own problems with compression artifacts.

i have a project to add midrange to the doors to address this problem. Retro fitting the dyna-audio is a big job and expensive. If i had known this beforehand, i would not have purchased the SE.


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

ice4life said:


> I've had too many VWs- base stereos, dynaudio stereos, fender stereos, and even beats in my jetta. The dynaudio is the best sounding for the brand, but imo it is not a great system compared to others I have had like the B&W in my S90. Plus it rattles the car way too much even with the bass set to 0 which is an acoustics issues.


A friend of mine has a s60 and that b&w system sounds pretty good. The mark levinson system in the lexus ls460 remain the benchmark for me as far as clarity. Bass wise, the harmon kardon system in the bmw 535 has very nice deep bass and clean mids. The arteons upgrade system has ok highs but the mid and low are sloppy.


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## mw2470 (Mar 15, 2020)

I just added a spare tire mount subwoofer from vw website parts to my SEL with the base sound system and programmed it with dangle the sound is awesome


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## eteather (Feb 25, 2020)

i've got the dynaudio in my SEL-P....comparing to my A7 Bang and Olfsen (which is the best car sound I have ever had), it seems a little sterile, but is accurate and can handle very loud with no break up. I like it much better when I put the fader closer to the rear so that I have ~70% rear speaker sound....sounds much fuller and warmer....I am happy with the sound.

the most irritating thing is that you can't adjust the tone/faders while moving!!! can this be fixed with OBD thing?


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## SDArteon (Jun 16, 2019)

Yes, you can change which controls in the complete infotainment system are available while driving. I don't recall the post on this forum, but through VCDS you can change all the settings - the first thing I did with my Arteon.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

VdubArty said:


> To me the Dynaudio system is little better than the fender system, not sure what watt the fender is but I do know the Dynaudio is 700 watt.


https://www.fender.com/pages/premium-car-audio

Depends on the car. But, for a Golf, it's 480W.

The standard 8-speaker isn't that bad, it's the sound processing that could be better. On my 08 Passat, I had the standard 8-speaker "Premium" system, but replaced the stock HU for a Pioneer AVIC D3, and the sound processing on the AVIC made the speakers sound a lot better.

I've been bouncing back and forth about a Soumatrix kit for my Tig.

Here's their Arteon page

https://www.soumatrix.com/collections/volkswagen-speakers/products/arteon-upgrade-speaker-kit


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

eteather said:


> i've got the dynaudio in my SEL-P....comparing to my A7 Bang and Olfsen (which is the best car sound I have ever had), it seems a little sterile, but is accurate and can handle very loud with no break up. I like it much better when I put the fader closer to the rear so that I have ~70% rear speaker sound....sounds much fuller and warmer....I am happy with the sound.
> 
> the most irritating thing is that you can't adjust the tone/faders while moving!!! can this be fixed with OBD thing?


Yeah once you turn off the in motion lockout, you can do the audio settings on the go.


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## RudydG (Jan 15, 2012)

Old post, but anyway ;-)
Just test drove Arteon with standard sound system, and to be honest, one of the worst sounding systems i heard lately in a car. Muddy low's, and very distorted sounds...
As in Europe the Harman Kardon is verye expensive (because off the extras you must add), i decided to upgrade the audio in a later stadium. Audiotech-fisher match system with a subwoofer will be my solution.


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## RudydG (Jan 15, 2012)

Update for who might be interested:
I installed my old match pp-52 dsp amplifier, and the speakers sound so much better, They are now free of distortion, have a good midbass, and the volume can go up much higher! I filtered some frequencies down, like 30-60hz, where most of the muddy sound was coming from. I also have 2 types of subwoofers (match 7 types trunk cabinet and spare wheel type), to be honest, the original speakers sound so much better now, that the sub is not mandatory, i removed it, and don't hear much difference.


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

I think my ipad sounds better than the SE’s audio system.


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## M3Tech (Jan 26, 2007)

The '21 SE 8-speaker system audio quality deficiency is caused by the MIB3 output tuning, it is not quite matched to the actual frequency response of the woofers and the tweeters. OEM woofers and tweeters may look cheap, but they are solid sounding with aftermarket power and DSP filtering and tuning.


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## Dkarteon (Oct 27, 2021)

RudydG said:


> Update for who might be interested:
> I installed my old match pp-52 dsp amplifier, and the speakers sound so much better, They are now free of distortion, have a good midbass, and the volume can go up much higher! I filtered some frequencies down, like 30-60hz, where most of the muddy sound was coming from. I also have 2 types of subwoofers (match 7 types trunk cabinet and spare wheel type), to be honest, the original speakers sound so much better now, that the sub is not mandatory, i removed it, and don't hear much difference.


may i ask did you install an aftermarket amp to existing arteon amp? Do you have link where we can find more info?

Thanks


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## M3Tech (Jan 26, 2007)

Dkarteon said:


> may i ask did you install an aftermarket amp to existing arteon amp? Do you have link where we can find more info?
> 
> Thanks


The Match PP52DSP is a 5ch amp/DSP, which means that the OP installed it in the 8-speaker standard system (MIB OEM HU 4ch, no separate OEM amp), not to the HK/Dynaudio system (12ch, separate OEM amp).


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## RudydG (Jan 15, 2012)

M3Tech said:


> The Match PP52DSP is a 5ch amp/DSP, which means that the OP installed it in the 8-speaker standard system (MIB OEM HU 4ch, no separate OEM amp), not to the HK/Dynaudio system (12ch, separate OEM amp).


100% correct!
For more info:
audiotech fisher website:








MATCH MATCH


MATCH: Innovative system solutions for maximum sonic performance combined with least installation effort. ✓ Over 30 years of experience ✓ Made in…




www.audiotec-fischer.de




the PP52DSP is not available anymore.


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## Dkarteon (Oct 27, 2021)

M3Tech said:


> The Match PP52DSP is a 5ch amp/DSP, which means that the OP installed it in the 8-speaker standard system (MIB OEM HU 4ch, no separate OEM amp), not to the HK/Dynaudio system (12ch, separate OEM amp).


Thank you for that information 
I think my dynaudio system is lacking in areas such as mids and highs (sound is meh, not clear or sharp, dull sounding) 

Will an separate Amp improve that or I need to replace my tweeters ?


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## RudydG (Jan 15, 2012)

Dkarteon said:


> Thank you for that information
> I think my dynaudio system is lacking in areas such as mids and highs (sound is meh, not clear or sharp, dull sounding)
> 
> Will an separate Amp improve that or I need to replace my tweeters ?


The Dynaudio system is not supported by the match / pp dps amplifer system.
Probably a visit to a specialist is your best solution.


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

Dkarteon said:


> Thank you for that information
> I think my dynaudio system is lacking in areas such as mids and highs (sound is meh, not clear or sharp, dull sounding)
> 
> Will an separate Amp improve that or I need to replace my tweeters ?


Sadly, the bass in the Dynaudio is even worst than the mid and high. Overall, anything above mid volume, the system starts to diminish in sound quality. A 700 watt system should sound better than that.


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## Copbait (Apr 5, 2021)

I second the use of a DSP on the base audio system. I added that and an amp to drive a new dash center channel and a new 10 inch sub which fits nicely tucked away in the left side cubby hole in the trunk. The DSP alone does wonders for the sound system. High highs and lower lows. Even the midrange frequencies sound better.


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## Aj_2368 (Jul 27, 2021)

Copbait said:


> I second the use of a DSP on the base audio system. I added that and an amp to drive a new dash center channel and a new 10 inch sub which fits nicely tucked away in the left side cubby hole in the trunk. The DSP alone does wonders for the sound system. High highs and lower lows. Even the midrange frequencies sound better.


Can you be able to share more details of your setup ? I already installed helix sub but needed more . I would like to go in this route of having central speaker with DSP /Amp.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Lomachenko88 (Nov 22, 2021)

ice4life said:


> I've had too many VWs- base stereos, dynaudio stereos, fender stereos, and even beats in my jetta. The dynaudio is the best sounding for the brand, but imo it is not a great system compared to others I have had like the B&W in my S90. Plus it rattles the car way too much even with the bass set to 0 which is an acoustics issues.


Can you describe those rattles a little bit? I bought my car a few months back (used 2018 with dynaudi) and those rattles drives me crazy... its absolutely the worst when i start the car the speakers in front doors buzz and rattle even when te guy on the radio reads the morning news... i dont know what that is... the speakers work and sound ok.. i know that it can rattle when its loudd but on the 20% of the speakers power... i dont know.


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## M3Tech (Jan 26, 2007)

Aj_2368 said:


> Can you be able to share more details of your setup ? I already installed helix sub but needed more . I would like to go in this route of having central speaker with DSP /Amp.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Which Helix sub is this? 

The VW Helix sub has a built-in 5ch amp/DSP for the OEM speakers and the sub, so if this is what you have then you already have a DSP/amp. You may need the correct programming code for the DSP to match your car.


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## Aj_2368 (Jul 27, 2021)

Lomachenko88 said:


> Can you describe those rattles a little bit? I bought my car a few months back (used 2018 with dynaudi) and those rattles drives me crazy... its absolutely the worst when i start the car the speakers in front doors buzz and rattle even when te guy on the radio reads the morning news... i dont know what that is... the speakers work and sound ok.. i know that it can rattle when its loudd but on the 20% of the speakers power... i dont know.


Yep I did it (code :81) for arteon , somehow the bass is too boomy ( not soft bass) for me . Rear seat occupants say that its too much for them to bear even at low volume . I tried changing eq settings but its not much helpful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## M3Tech (Jan 26, 2007)

Aj_2368 said:


> Yep I did it (code :81) for arteon , somehow the bass is too boomy ( not soft bass) for me . Rear seat occupants say that its too much for them to bear even at low volume . I tried changing eq settings but its not much helpful.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


OEM HU bass/mid/treble adjustments may have to be set to 0 when Helix sub is installed - the code:81 means a defined DSP curve in the AF amp for Arteon with OEM HU audio settings set to something defined, as changing the audio settings in the OEM HU will change what code:81 is defined to do by itself.


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## Aj_2368 (Jul 27, 2021)

M3Tech said:


> OEM HU bass/mid/treble adjustments may have to be set to 0 when Helix sub is installed - the code:81 means a defined DSP curve in the AF amp for Arteon with OEM HU audio settings set to something defined, as changing the audio settings in the OEM HU will change what code:81 is defined to do by itself.


Should I set all of them to 0 before programing helix ? Mine was at default when programing. 


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## M3Tech (Jan 26, 2007)

Aj_2368 said:


> Should I set all of them to 0 before programing helix ? Mine was at default when programing.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Set OEM HU tones adjust to 0, Helix programming is to the Helix amp not to the OEM HU.


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