# 2021.5 SEL R-Line - Terrible sound system?



## timgem521 (Apr 4, 2021)

Hello. Recently we turned in our 2019 VW Atlas SE with tech due to a lemon law buy back. We love the Atlas and decided to get a 2021.5 Atlas SEL R-line. The sound system in our 2019 sounded much better and had the 8 speaker set up. The 2021.5 sounds TERRIBLE. The volume will not go up past half way and the vocals go lower. I took it in to the dealership and they said it was within spec. This is a $50K vehicle, to me this is not acceptable. Anyone else here experience the same thing with 2021.5? Should I take it to another dealership?


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## Alpinweiss2 (Jan 9, 2017)

I would certainly get a second opinion from another dealership. It should not be that much weaker than your old system. It sounds like perhaps the amplifier is weak? Does it sound the same from all inputs?

Ours is a 2021 SE model. It is a decent sound system, although not as good as the Fender system. It sounds better than what you describe on your 2021.5 model.

🍺


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## timgem521 (Apr 4, 2021)

Alpinweiss2 said:


> I would certainly get a second opinion from another dealership. It should not be that much weaker than your old system. It sounds like perhaps the amplifier is weak? Does it sound the same from all inputs?
> 
> Ours is a 2021 SE model. It is a decent sound system, although not as good as the Fender system. It sounds better than what you describe on your 2021.5 model.
> 
> 🍺


Hello. Thanks for the response. Yes, it does sound the same on all inputs. I might just take it to another dealer or I might go back to where I bought ours and listen to another Atlas sound system for comparison.


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

It definitely isn't great. It is fine if you are just listening at low volume and are just looking for basic noise but if you really want to crank it up and listen to something this stereo is not for you. I never listened to the Fender system enough to fully compare but assume it is better and would have preferred to have been able to get that at least as an option in the SEL R-Line without having to step up to SEL-P trim. I am not a fan with how the trim levels are divided up - (leather and better sound only available in the highest trim level for example), if these things didn't sell easily for more than 10% off MSRP, sales would likely be lower.


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## krebsy75 (Jul 20, 2017)

VW forces you to spring for the SELP to get a good sound system and has been doing so for years. The Fender in our 21.5 SELP 2.0T blows away the system in our 19 SEL VR6. 

The sound system in lower trim Touaregs was even worse. And they pushed $60K 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kocyk123 (Mar 23, 2021)

Did you guys test the stereo on the test drive? This is always the last part of my test drive - audio test. A lot of dealerships tell you not to add your phone as a Bluetooth because then they have to remove your data etc. I always tell them that I will remove it and they don't have to worry about it. I like to play couple of the songs that I like and see how they compare to my previous vehicle. I have 2019 SELP with Fenders and it isn't as great as my 19 speaker B&O in my previous 2018 Audi Q5 but I got used to it and I like it now. You need to play with your sound settings too. I had to lower the bass and sub because when I crank it up, it really gets boomy and I don't want to destroy my speakers (I take it as a good thing because I would always set bass and sub to max in all of my previous cars and I wished I could go a little more).


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## mtbsteve (Dec 6, 2011)

kocyk123 said:


> Did you guys test the stereo on the test drive? This is always the last part of my test drive - audio test. A lot of dealerships tell you not to add your phone as a Bluetooth because then they have to remove your data etc. I always tell them that I will remove it and they don't have to worry about it. I like to play couple of the songs that I like and see how they compare to my previous vehicle. I have 2019 SELP with Fenders and it isn't as great as my 19 speaker B&O in my previous 2018 Audi Q5 but I got used to it and I like it now. You need to play with your sound settings too. I had to lower the bass and sub because when I crank it up, it really gets boomy and I don't want to destroy my speakers (I take it as a good thing because I would always set bass and sub to max in all of my previous cars and I wished I could go a little more).


I did and typically do. For me, the stereo wasn't a priority mainly because it is my wife's car and she doesn't care too much. We also were not going to spend more on the Premium, mainly because the leather, while nice, wasn't a huge upgrade since the basic seat structure and bolstering felt the same. Also, the black edges on the Mauro Brown did not look great to us vs the full brown of the leatherette version. Did not need the self parking, the surround view and folding mirrors would have been nice and the stereo but didn't feel that these upgrades were worth a $3,500 premium. I know I can always add some low end fairly easy for a few hundred bucks in the spare tire well solving the most glaring hole in the sound system. For road trips, it doesn't really matter since it is usually off while the kids listen to a movie, wife naps, or the volume is low because no one would agree to jamming out to the same music anyway. 
For my car, absolutely a necessity to have a good stereo since I am generally by myself while driving. I spend anywhere between 65-80 miles per day, 1.75 to 2+ hours in the car each day and need the entertainment (well, less so now that I have an entertaining car to drive). The Bose in my Sonata N Line is probably the best Bose stereo I have heard in a car that actually sounds good.


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## Senior Member (Jul 2, 2016)

timgem521 said:


> This is a $50K vehicle, to me this is not acceptable.


More like $44k, Nobody buys a VW @ MSRP, at least I hope not.


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## skydaman (Dec 16, 2005)

Senior Member said:


> More like $44k, Nobody buys a VW @ MSRP, at least I hope not.


Facts!


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Anyone know if they changed the stereo, specifically, amp or speakers, on the base system for 2021 or 2021.5?


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## NoDubJustYet (Mar 25, 2002)

Too bad Enfig doesn't sell that amp upgrade anymore...


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## greggmischenko (Mar 21, 2011)

I don't know if anything was changed for 2021 from prior years, but I thought the stereo in the 2021 SE and SEL models I test drove sounded pretty bad. I ended up with a 2021 SEL Premium which has the Fender system. While it does sound much better than the standard system, it is still not great (maybe not even good)...but at least it's passable. Stereo was one of my considerations for choosing the Premium - I figured if I got the SEL that I would need to spend another $800-$1,000 on new speakers and amp/sub.

I was coming from a 2017 Mazda CX-9 with their Bose premium sound system - I though that sounded nice; not too harsh, good bass response (not boomy or too strong). I know none of these are great systems, but I've always been underwhelmed by stereo in my VWs (previously 2009 Tiguan, 2016 Tiguan, 2019 Tiguan).


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## dbean (Oct 19, 2016)

krebsy75 said:


> VW forces you to spring for the SELP to get a good sound system and has been doing so for years. The Fender in our 21.5 SELP 2.0T blows away the system in our 19 SEL VR6.
> 
> The sound system in lower trim Touaregs was even worse. And they pushed $60K
> 
> ...


And now I understand they have done away with the SD card slot, which was a great way to organize and play mp3's.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

NoDubJustYet said:


> Too bad Enfig doesn't sell that amp upgrade anymore...


They don't?? I got it like 6 months ago. It is just a wire harness. They include a pioneer amp, but there are many amps out there almost identical. I would contact them.


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## JKaruzas (Dec 5, 2007)

I have an SEL as well (Cross Sport) and knew going in that the stereo was mediocre at best. My wife has a Tiguan with the Fender system and I don't even think that setup is all that amazing - better but not extraordinary. I decided to not spend the $5k extra on the Premium trim and then put ~$2k into the stereo and I am very pleased. 

As one part of my upgrade, I went with the JBL spare tire mounted powered sub and I can't say enough how good that sounds. If you are looking for an easy and relatively inexpensive way to improve this system, I 100% recommend that. Completely enclosed in the spare tire area, and the amp is integrated into the speaker/enclosure. You can keep it's output lower to match the factory speakers and it will do an amazing job of rounding out the sound profile. <$500 and a very easy DIY install. Search on here for "JBL BassPro Hub".

Also, don't underestimate the quality of sound input. I switched over to Tidal (CD quality streaming) and it absolutely makes even stock speakers sound much better. Also it sounds like Spotify is coming out with a Hi-Fi tier later this year as well, which I am very excited for. There is also Amazon HD which makes a lot of sense for Prime members.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

I also use Tidal with the highest quality tier. For car audio, probably not needed. But with an android, you need an external DAC and play the audio with a player like usb audio pro. Using Tidal as the player wont work.


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## JKaruzas (Dec 5, 2007)

speed51133! said:


> ...with an android, you need an external DAC and play the audio with a player like usb audio pro. Using Tidal as the player wont work.


That sounds like a pain in the ass!


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

it is a limitation of android and only to get master quality...from ANY application.


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## Jayeveryday (May 19, 2021)

timgem521 said:


> Hello. Recently we turned in our 2019 VW Atlas SE with tech due to a lemon law buy back. We love the Atlas and decided to get a 2021.5 Atlas SEL R-line. The sound system in our 2019 sounded much better and had the 8 speaker set up. The 2021.5 sounds TERRIBLE. The volume will not go up past half way and the vocals go lower. I took it in to the dealership and they said it was within spec. This is a $50K vehicle, to me this is not acceptable. Anyone else here experience the same thing with 2021.5? Should I take it to another dealership?


Were you able to find a solution ? I have a 2021 se r line and i have the same issues


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## Mrgee (May 30, 2021)

JKaruzas said:


> I have an SEL as well (Cross Sport) and knew going in that the stereo was mediocre at best. My wife has a Tiguan with the Fender system and I don't even think that setup is all that amazing - better but not extraordinary. I decided to not spend the $5k extra on the Premium trim and then put ~$2k into the stereo and I am very pleased.
> 
> As one part of my upgrade, I went with the JBL spare tire mounted powered sub and I can't say enough how good that sounds. If you are looking for an easy and relatively inexpensive way to improve this system, I 100% recommend that. Completely enclosed in the spare tire area, and the amp is integrated into the speaker/enclosure. You can keep it's output lower to match the factory speakers and it will do an amazing job of rounding out the sound profile. <$500 and a very easy DIY install. Search on here for "JBL BassPro Hub".
> 
> Also, don't underestimate the quality of sound input. I switched over to Tidal (CD quality streaming) and it absolutely makes even stock speakers sound much better. Also it sounds like Spotify is coming out with a Hi-Fi tier later this year as well, which I am very excited for. There is also Amazon HD which makes a lot of sense for Prime members.


Hi did you keep the factory speakers in the factory up and just adding the *JBL BassPro Hub ? I just bought a 2021 atlas and it does not have the fender stereo and it sounds terrible please helpppp*


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## NoDubJustYet (Mar 25, 2002)

speed51133! said:


> They don't?? I got it like 6 months ago. It is just a wire harness. They include a pioneer amp, but there are many amps out there almost identical. I would contact them.


I guess the Pioneer amp has been discontinued. The product page says they’re looking for an alternative but it hasn’t updated in forever.


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## faugrad10 (Nov 10, 2015)

Senior Member said:


> More like $44k, Nobody buys a VW @ MSRP, at least I hope not.


Now they do.


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