# 2009 Jetta TDI Premium VII Sound, how to upgrade?



## jms164 (Jul 29, 2009)

I have recently purchased a new platinum gray 2009 Jetta TDI Highline DSG with every option available, and then some (lip spoiler, chrome mirrors, rear chrome accent on trunk, stainless exhaust tips, stainless Cloud-Rider grille set, tinted rear windows, and 3M PPF on mirrors, headlights, hood, fenders, bumper, chrome piece on bumper, infront and behind rear wheels). I love this car and the accessories make it very very sharp, but I simply hate the so-called "premium VII" sound system and it is bugging me to no end. I would like to do something to improve the sound, but I want to keep my factory HU because #1 I like it, #2 I have integrated bluetooth, #3 I have integrated Sirius. I also want to leave the original speakers intact because I'm not removing door panels and drilling out rivets to remove the speakers. Now, I was convinced there was no factory amplifier for this system because nothing is there under the driver's seat. But I talked to a stereo place today and they said there is an amp in the trunk, behind the rear wheel well beneath the carpet. Now I'm really confused







Are the 10 speakers powered off the head unit alone? If so, how do they power 10 speakers off only 4 channels? My initial plan to solve this poor audio quality problem was to purchase an Ipod adaptor (I want one anyway) and use that harness to cut and splice in speaker wires to and from the amp (instead of cutting the factory harness, which I don't want to do). I would purchase a Sony Xplod XM-4S amp and locate it under the driver's seat (because it's super small, and has line-level inputs and auto sensing turn on). Then just run a power and ground, and problem solved...or would it be? I was also considering a JL audio CleanSweep...but only if the sound was still sub-par after the amp install. What are your thoughts on this? Anyone have experience with the Premium VII in the new TDI's? Any advice or suggestion's? Remember though, I want to keep this upgrade completely stealth in the car, and not do anything to void my warranty. Thanks!


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## 2000Jet1.8T (Mar 25, 2009)

First of all I think you will not improve the sound if you don't change the speakers. The amp in the trunk is running all of the speakers. My advice to you would be to change your speakers. Most likely your system is 2 ohm like most factory systems. So you should see if you can find any aftermarket 2 ohm component speakers that you can replace the stock ones with. I would stick with 2 ohm because a 4 ohm speaker will cut your power in half. I know that Crutchfield used to provide adapters that would plug into your car's speaker connection and then to the speaker. You should look into that. Otherwise trying to make a stock stereo sound better without making any serious changes is nearly impossible.


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## nukeman (Jun 26, 2009)

*Re: 2009 Jetta TDI Premium VII Sound, how to upgrade? (jms164)*

I too have a 2009 TDI and share your concerns about the quality of the premium VII and the desire for the stealth install. Consequently, I have extensively researched the audio system. Unless you have the loyal edition, there is no factory amp, the speakers are powered directly from the head unit. Did you actually see the so called amp. This would be the first I have heard of it and I have read numerous posts online about this system. My factory head unit has four outputs (front right, front left, rear right, and rear left). For the front, each output is then fed to crossover units in the front doors which separate the signal to the three front speakers. You'll notice that there is a big hole in the upper base/lower midrange response for the front speakers which is due to the crossovers. I have measured the output of the headunit and it is relatively flat so it is not the problem. Replacing the headunit or adding the clean sweep + amplifier will not fix this problem.
My recommendations for improving the sound would be to first add a powered subwoofer. You can either tap into the factory wiring or what I did is purchase harnesses from enfig that plug into the factory wiring and headunit. You will need two metra 70-9003 harnesses and one metra 71-9003 harnesses ($40 total). The reason you need two 70-9003's is that the connector does not contain all the wires and you will have to cannibalize one to add some additional wires. You can pull the pins by inserting both ends of a paper clip. You then mate (either solder or use connectors) the wires from one connector to the wires from the other and splice in some leads (I used the front speaker outputs) which will supply the speaker level signal. You will then have a custom harness that plugs directly into the factory head unit and the factory wiring. You can then route this speaker level signal directly to a powered sub or amp plus sub that accepts speaker level inputs. Its not as hard as it sounds and the powered sub I added made a significant improvement, so much so that I now might leave the system as is. The is still the lower midrange hole but overall the system sounds more balanced and powerful with the sub. I had an old collins 6 1/2" powered sub that I used which seems to blend nicely with factory systems. 
There are links online, including a you tube video for how to remove the headunit to get access to the wiring. The hardest part was running the speaker wiring back to the trunk. For power I just used the switched 12 volt outlet in the trunk, which I know is discouraged, but in this case seems to be working fine. I believe it is good for up to 15 amps which is more than adequate for the sub I am using.

Should I choose to go further my next step would be to replace the front speakers or possibly just the crossover units. Good luck!


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## jms164 (Jul 29, 2009)

*Re: 2009 Jetta TDI Premium VII Sound, how to upgrade? (nukeman)*

Thanks for the advice nukeman. I did call my local dealer and asked for confirmation of an external amp. They looked it up in the technical schematics for my car (they asked for the VIN number)...and no amp was found. So if my car doesn't have it, nobody's does. And that punk that told me there was an amp in the trunk obviously is confused with an older MKIV. It really dissapoints me because VW calls it premium...but it isn't. Oh well. I am getting more used to it, and seem to have found the best possible settings. When using my ipod (connected via the bottom port, then into the AUX plug in the console), I turn the EQ off on the ipod, then put the bass at 3:00, mids and treble at 9-10 o'clock. While still not perfect, it sounds ok...but just ok. And I've found volume 11 to be the limit before sound quality diminishes. But I think I will try adding an amp, at least to see what happens. I did read a blog (http://www.davidcarrick.ca/?itemid=122) where a guy (same car as mine, 09) added a 4 channel Alpine amp to the factory 10 speakers and said in quote "boy does it drive it 1000 times better than the factory deck." So that leaves me anxious and curious to try it myself. I think I'll still go with the Sony XM-4S amp because it is so small, doesn't need a remote turn-on wire, and it's a class D at a very affordable price. I do want the ipod controller unit (ebay item # 120439412983) because it does exactly what I want with my ipod...but take a look at that harness. It would be sooo easy to cut and splice into those speakers wires for the amp, all without cutting a single factory wire. And I've decided against the JL Cleansweep because it involves a separate volume knob that must be used. Well screw that! 
I think my plan will work. I've been thinking about it for weeks now...and when I ponder up solutions for these kind of things, they always turn out successful. And in the end, if the amp causes the door speakers to rattle/vibrate too much, then I'll add an Infinity BassLink sub in the trunk and turn the bass on the HU down. 
Now all I have to do is order the stuff! But naturally it'll take weeks to come...just like everything else I've ordered off ebay. It sucks being in Saskatchewan. Besides, I'll need that time to gather up enough courage to remove the factory HU when the time comes. I hope I don't crack a panel or break any clips (I'm not saying I don't have experience with this kind of stuff, because I've done lots of dash work...its just VW's are complex and well...German). This is my first foreign car so I'm still getting used to the non-GM/Ford nature of the vehicle, lol. Anyway, as soon as I get everything installed...I'll post the results. Stay tuned!


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## Gyakusetsu (May 17, 2013)

Try replacing the crossovers to fill your gaps. I am working on a solution for my sub-par "Premium" sound system too that has become extremely involved at this point. I am in the same boat by wanting to keep a factory HU and will do anything to keep my factory speakers due to airbag concerns, etc. 

I have started by upgrading from the dumb single-disc POS system to the premium 7 which has helped a lot (thus confirming that only select systems have the amp under the driver's seat). Now, my next step is to replace the crossovers in the doors. I bought a couple of these: http://www.audiopipe.com/products/accessories/general/crx-303.html for about $17 each, which SHOULD help. I am sure it will, because everyone online that mentions them has said that the factory crossovers strip a lot of mid-frequencies. The Audiopipe x-overs should at least fix that and run a clean signal to the speakers.

I'm going to also try nukeman's suggestion of getting harnesses to add an external EQ/AMP which should also help the bass-drop at higher volumes and create an output for a sub later on. I'm probably going to run the amp under my driver's seat so that it has an OEM look and so I don't have to spend a small fortune running hundreds of feet of wire to and from the trunk. They sell the amp cover on parts websites, so it will all be hidden.

EDIT: just found out my jetta only has the 8-speaker system, so that'll be easy enough to replace. Guess these crossovers are going back


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## Gigitt (May 26, 2004)

jms164 said:


> ...
> But I talked to a stereo place today and they said there is an amp in the trunk, behind the rear wheel well beneath the carpet. Now I'm really confused
> 
> 
> ...


10 Speak Premium speakers in a Jetta

3 way 8in, 3in and 1in, in front doors = 6 speakers
2 way 6.5in and 1in, in rear doors = 4 speakers


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