I bought my Octavia FL VRS from new a couple of months ago, but like others wasn't massively impressed by the standard sound set-up. In particular there's a real harshness to it that makes it unpleasant to turn up. In comparison to my last car which had an aftermarket head unit and some cheap aftermarket speakers it just wasn't very nice.

I didn't want to replace my Bolero hu because in most ways it's pretty good. To replace it with another full screen hu would cost a lot of money, and probably wouldn't integrate with aircon, rear parking sensors, etc. Any aftermarket hu like that is also much more likely to get nicked. Seems a lot of worry and expense just for 4*50W and a graphic equalizer.

So I decided to just replace the speakers in the hope that would be good enough. I initially had my eye on some Alpine SPE-17SF, but after chatting to the installer at Uplands in Bristol who generally wasn't very impressed with the latest alpine speakers I decided to go with his recommendation of Pioneer TS-A170Ci in the front and the smaller TS-A130Ci in the rear. These seem to be designed to work well with lower powered manufacturer's head units (lots of after-market speakers seem to need at least 50W/channel to shine - bolero only has 20W/channel). Spec's back this up - the TS-A170Ci have a very high sensitivity of 92db so will sound louder with less power. They are also full range (35-31,000hz) so designed to work well without a separate sub.

Hence I got my car booked in to have the speakers replaced, in addition I got them to add sound damping (dynamat) to the outer door skin which will give the speakers something to push against making them sound a little louder again. Cost £350 which I suppose could be done a lot cheaper if you did it yourself, but that's a lot more hassle.

Anyway I am very pleased with the result. While the speakers haven't been fully broken in yet the stereo sounds a lot nicer then it did. The two most noticable changes are:

-the dark colouration to the sound is gone, and it's now clearer and more natural sounding.

-the harshness to the upper mid range is also gone meaning it's a lot more pleasant when you turn the stereo up.

The other thing I would say is the sound is much more even across the scale. In the manufacturers set-up you really notice the bass is coming from the doors and everything else is coming from the tweeters - almost like there's a gap in the middle. That's not half as noticeable now with these new speakers.

The bass response I would say is pretty similar (manufacturer set-up has pretty good bass).

If your interested the speakers used were:

http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/25/131/201/TS-A170Ci/specs.html

http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/25/131/201/TS-A130Ci/index.html

I got the work done here:

http://www.uplandscarradios.com/

Edited 1 December, 201015 yr by DbD

I've just done pretty much the same thing, except I went for Pioneer TS-E1702is for the front's, haven't bothered with the rears yet. I did apply sound damping tio the door skin and the inner pressed panel. Are you still using the stock tweeters? If so it's worth changing the cross over capacitor as recommended on this thread, as that's where a lot of the harshness comes from.

Tweeter mod

I've just done pretty much the same thing, except I went for Pioneer TS-E1702is for the front's, haven't bothered with the rears yet. I did apply sound damping tio the door skin and the inner pressed panel. Are you still using the stock tweeters? If so it's worth changing the cross over capacitor as recommended on this thread, as that's where a lot of the harshness comes from.

Tweeter mod

No, the pioneers are separates - all the cars original speakers are now sitting in a bag in my boot.

Sounds good DbD. Did they manage to fit the new tweeters behind the factory tweeter grilles?

Yes, it all looks identical to how it did before.

Interesting thread (see my thread on this forum re: Hertz speakers). I am going to send a link to this thread to my ICE installer and see what he thinks.

I think I'll grab a set of these Pioneers while I've got my doorcards out anyway. Give me something to do at the weekend while the mrs is away. I can't be bothered spending more than this having wasted thousands in the past on previous cars. Just a set of the Pioneer fronts, OEM rears with tweeters disconnected, bit of dynamat and a wiring kit for my old amp and sub. Bish bash bosh, nice little upgrade for about a hundred quid I reckon.

Based on the recommendation above, I splashed the cash. I got the updated model - the Pioneer TS-A171Ci. Fitted them today and dynamatted too. Very, very pleased with them. They sound at least as good as the much more expensive Diamond Audio speakers I had in my last Octavia, with much better bass response too. They're quite usable even without a sub.

Review for the speakers here... http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/index.php/index.html/_/reviews/speakers/pioneer-ts-a171ci-component-speakers-review-r944

Glad you like them, still happy with mine

Interesting read and definately on the wanted list, but do fancy the new infinity reference components that are also designed to run at low input power.

I am still interested in making a change to my audio setup on my FL VRS, but don't want to swap out the head unit as:

a) I like the 'OEM' look

I like how it integrates with the maxidot display

c) I like how it integrates with the bluetooth

d) I like how it integrates with the steering wheel controls

e) I like how it integrates with the ipod media device thingumy

I also don't want a big daft sub taking up most of my boot, nor do I want an amplifier screwed to the back of the rear seats.

So - my options are rather limited - either stick with what I have got and shut my face, or upgrade the speakers only, hence my interest on this thread.

I find the existing OEM setup fairly good at low and mid volumes, its only when it cranked up a bit that clarity and bass response goes AWOL.

Would the above Pioneer speakers, along with the dynamat-style product on the insides of the doors, WITH NO AMP, provide a decent increase in the quality of the sound?

Would the above Pioneer speakers, along with the dynamat-style product on the insides of the doors, WITH NO AMP, provide a decent increase in the quality of the sound?

Yes (imo).

Based on the recommendation above, I splashed the cash. I got the updated model - the Pioneer TS-A171Ci. Fitted them today and dynamatted too. Very, very pleased with them. They sound at least as good as the much more expensive Diamond Audio speakers I had in my last Octavia, with much better bass response too. They're quite usable even without a sub.

Review for the speakers here... http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/index.php/index.html/_/reviews/speakers/pioneer-ts-a171ci-component-speakers-review-r944

Were these fitted to the OEM plastic speaker mounts?

Matthew