Line out converter

[floydspink]

Hi Guys/Gals

 

Has anybody installed a line out converter in their Octy 3? I would like to install an amplifier or at least a powered subwoofer.

I have a 2014 with the stock Bolero unit but find it's lacking in the bass department. 

 

Cheers in advance.

[JohnnyType2]

2 hours ago, floydspink said:

Hi Guys/Gals

 

Has anybody installed a line out converter in their Octy 3? I would like to install an amplifier or at least a powered subwoofer.

I have a 2014 with the stock Bolero unit but find it's lacking in the bass department. 

 

Cheers in advance.

 

award for understatement goes to..... 

 

its lacking in every department! watching this closely, toying with getting one of those chinese all sing/dancing andriod octacore ones 

[marko]

if you're going to install a powered subwoofer you may as well go with speaker level inputs and tap into the wiring loom, I used a Parrot SOT cable just so I didn't have to hack the car's loom them simply ran speaker cables down centre console then under rear seat.

 

most powered subwoofers will have high level input anyway as they are designed for simple upgrading with ease..

 

Mark.

[maul]

Having played with one of the cheapo Chinese do everything models a few years ago I can say now they are exactly what you pay for  cheap and cheerful. They work but are a bit irritating they do everything but not very well. The maps were a real pain couldnt get upgrades. It kept needing to be reset. I binned it in the end and spent 500 on a pioneer unit that has Android auto. So my old Toyota  on a 55 plate now has higher spec entertainment than my 14 plate octy with Columbus and canton. I would swap it in but for the fact the  of the integrations  between the  infotainment mib1 and the rest of the car system.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, floydspink said:

Hi Guys/Gals

 

Has anybody installed a line out converter in their Octy 3? I would like to install an amplifier or at least a powered subwoofer.

I have a 2014 with the stock Bolero unit but find it's lacking in the bass department. 

 

Cheers in advance.

'

Haven't used one but I'm currently making plans for a power upgrade but just to warn you that if you convert high-level output to low-level, you'll also need to source a switched +12v remote for the amp.  Many modern amps have auto turn-on when they sense a signal from high-level input therefore If you're using the stock headunit, a line out convertor might not be in your best interests?

Edited 16 February, 2018 by Guest

[WayTooTall]

I have a Bit One installed in my 14 Octy. Hooks into the speaker lines, equalises the input signal, and then can apply adjustments to the outputs, including time alignment. If you want something simpler, so using one amp, you could use a Bit 10 instead. 

 

The Bit One Uses an auto detect feature to determine when the head unit is on I believe, then turns on my 2 amps.

 

Speakers have been upgraded and sub in the wheel well, and I have to say it sounds good.

[marko]

this my effort, still not finished and I need to upgrade the front speakers which is a project in itself! the OEM turns it on from the speaker outputs and I have also installed a CD player for hi-res listening (remember those kids )

 

[just music]

Isn't the point of taking line rather than speaker level that the deficiencies of the built in amp are taken out of the equation? Having said that, I doubt the head unit itself is going to have a particularly pure and uncoloured signal path, so remaining true to the source material is never going to happen.

[marko]

24 minutes ago, just music said:

Isn't the point of taking line rather than speaker level that the deficiencies of the built in amp are taken out of the equation? Having said that, I doubt the head unit itself is going to have a particularly pure and uncoloured signal path, so remaining true to the source material is never going to happen.

 

correct but as far as I'm aware non of the OEM head-units offered by Skoda have an RCA output so we're stuck with speaker level, you can add a convertor but it will doing the exact same job as an amp or processor that accepts speaker inputs. the main thing that ruins any sound quality the OEM head-unit has is the awful EQ curve and it's terribly non linear as well..

[maul]

I could be wrong but I thought the canton system had an amp under  the passenger seat that had a digital in input? If that has that then can't you use the same output from the head unit for your project? 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, maul said:

I could be wrong but I thought the canton system had an amp under  the passenger seat that had a digital in input? If that has that then can't you use the same output from the head unit for your project? 

'

Correct. According to the wiring diagram there's a seperate fuse in the fuse box for amplifier. Now whether that produces a switched output or not for systems that don't have Canton...  perhaps someone else knows the answer but I can't tell until I pull the glovebox out.

 

Marko - that's quite a system. Are you saying you're running the stock speakers from that? As you'll know the most important part of any system is the signal (headunit) and then amplifying that signal - many people make the mistake of thinking just changing speakers will make a difference ( usually makes it worse!). I'm sure the std speakers sound much better but aren't you afraid of blowing them?    Yep, good old VW riviting the speakers...  makes life an unnecessary pain-in-the-xxx

 

Waytotall - that's equally impressive and quite a bit to spend on just a processor - certainly out of my budget. Did you fit the system yourself?

 

For anyone interested my initial thoughts  is using something like this:  Quadlock   Floydspink - this may be a solution for your line-out, there are cheaper options tho. The beauty of this is I can tap in/out to the car's wiring system without actually tapping in to the existing harness (hence keep warranty intact).

 

It would enable me to either use RCA an as per above, use that amp fuse for a remote turn-on,  or remove them altogether and just use the high level-outs.

 

Jury is out on amplification.  Match DSP does everything I want (DSP + amplification) in a ridiculously small package (could be installed anywhere) but at £445 it's expensive. (not if your name is Marko or WayToAll it isn't  ). The other option is simply a 5 channel amp like Alpine mrv-v500  and at £205, more my budget. Neither amp is going to play extreamly loud music but should improve the system no end. I'll probably leave the rear door speakers, I have MB Quart components lying around that'll fit the front door and again the jury is out re: sub.   Found someone that produces a 10" sub box specifically designed for the mk3 estate (where the canton sub goes) but they haven't got back to me yet regarding if it's compatible with the double boot floor. Sub Box

 

Marko  -  Do you have a spare wheel or is that using the cavity as a box? I was thinking along those lines to begin with but dismissed the idea because I though the double boot floor would rattle with the bass. Does that happen?

 

PS  Sorry for the long post but can't find anyone else who's actually upgraded the hi-fi - everyone just seems to talk about it.

 

Edited 16 February, 2018 by Guest

[just music]

3 hours ago, marko said:

The main thing that ruins any sound quality the OEM head-unit has is the awful EQ curve and it's terribly non linear as well..

Agreed. It doesn't help that the EQ across inputs varies so much. There's a vast difference just between FM and DAB for example, which is simple to hear just by swapping between sources. I haven't compared radio/CD/SD but I wouldn't be surprised to hear similar.

As a largely classical music listener, my ideal would be a system that gives as an accurate representation of the recorded material as is possible in a car, with no EQ in the signal path at all. Just as my home hifi doesn't have any tone controls, neither should they be vital in a car. Desirable for some genres, maybe, but not essential. 

[marko]

Scot5- I don't have a spare as the car never came with one only gunge/compressor. if you want to have a gander at the build process I have a thread going on here..

https://www.talkstuff.net/ipb/index.php/topic/382948-octavia-vrs230-install/

 

no rattles from the enclosure but the front doors are going to need a lot of work, build quality is not Audi or even VW so plenty of rattles and road noise.

 

still got loads to do including fitting 3way Focal BE components, the front amp is not powered up until then, it would be very silly to shove 350wrms per channel to standard Skoda speaker!!

[Guest]

Thanks for that marko, appreciated.  Never seen a battery terminal like that before - very neat. Depending on what amp I go for, it's going to be hidden (the  Alpine would go under the double floor like yours) but I see you'll be running a class A amp? No concerns about there being suffcient free flowing air under the floor for cooling? I bought a Class A Alpine lump way back in '91 which sat under the passenger seat - I remember it running very hot.

Edited 18 February, 2018 by Guest

[maul]

Wow lovely project and high build quality marko such a lot of work. 

There is a website https://www.quietpc.com/casefans

that do loads of silent cooling solutions for pcs and ultra quiet  case fans so they may have somethings for you. 

Is there not a problem with the battery level logic for the start stop if you take power off the battery terminal?

I thought I saw a post about that being a problem in another thread  but I'm only asking to learn so I know in case I want to do a similar thing 

Edited 18 February, 2018 by maul

[marko]

36 minutes ago, maul said:

Wow lovely project and high build quality marko such a lot of work. 

There is a website https://www.quietpc.com/casefans

that do loads of silent cooling solutions for pcs and ultra quiet  case fans so they may have somethings for you. 

Is there not a problem with the battery level logic for the start stop if you take power off the battery terminal?

I thought I saw a post about that being a problem in another thread  but I'm only asking to learn so I know in case I want to do a similar thing 

 

loads of people warned me about the intelligent battery sensing system but so far it's been OK, I only have one amp running at the moment though so there may be trouble down the line yet! but it's only going to be powering the front end and the sub needs more power and that and like said no issues just yet! the battery sensor is on the earth connection too not that that should make any difference to current draw..

 

another 6 months and it should be finished

[WayTooTall]

On ‎16‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 21:00, Scot5 said:

'

Correct. According to the wiring diagram there's a seperate fuse in the fuse box for amplifier. Now whether that produces a switched output or not for systems that don't have Canton...  perhaps someone else knows the answer but I can't tell until I pull the glovebox out.

 

Marko - that's quite a system. Are you saying you're running the stock speakers from that? As you'll know the most important part of any system is the signal (headunit) and then amplifying that signal - many people make the mistake of thinking just changing speakers will make a difference ( usually makes it worse!). I'm sure the std speakers sound much better but aren't you afraid of blowing them?    Yep, good old VW riviting the speakers...  makes life an unnecessary pain-in-the-xxx

 

Waytotall - that's equally impressive and quite a bit to spend on just a processor - certainly out of my budget. Did you fit the system yourself?

 

For anyone interested my initial thoughts  is using something like this:  Quadlock   Floydspink - this may be a solution for your line-out, there are cheaper options tho. The beauty of this is I can tap in/out to the car's wiring system without actually tapping in to the existing harness (hence keep warranty intact).

 

It would enable me to either use RCA an as per above, use that amp fuse for a remote turn-on,  or remove them altogether and just use the high level-outs.

 

Jury is out on amplification.  Match DSP does everything I want (DSP + amplification) in a ridiculously small package (could be installed anywhere) but at £445 it's expensive. (not if your name is Marko or WayToAll it isn't  ). The other option is simply a 5 channel amp like Alpine mrv-v500  and at £205, more my budget. Neither amp is going to play extreamly loud music but should improve the system no end. I'll probably leave the rear door speakers, I have MB Quart components lying around that'll fit the front door and again the jury is out re: sub.   Found someone that produces a 10" sub box specifically designed for the mk3 estate (where the canton sub goes) but they haven't got back to me yet regarding if it's compatible with the double boot floor. Sub Box

 

Marko  -  Do you have a spare wheel or is that using the cavity as a box? I was thinking along those lines to begin with but dismissed the idea because I though the double boot floor would rattle with the bass. Does that happen?

 

PS  Sorry for the long post but can't find anyone else who's actually upgraded the hi-fi - everyone just seems to talk about it.

 

 

I went to SourceSounds in Sheffield to get it all fitted. I already had the Genesis amps and sub, The bit one and the rainbows were new. With the kit that was going on, it needed to have a decent dsp to go with.