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Model specific boards => Golf mk8 => Topic started by: Exonian on 03 February 2021, 15:38
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If there’s one thing I would have liked to have specced it would’ve been the upgraded HK audio, but alas my car is devoid of all options.
The standard system isn’t truly terrible but after having been spoilt by Dynaudio I do miss the extra oooomph at times.
With the mk7 there was the option of the Helix sub but I can’t see that being listed for the mk8 yet.
Does anyone with audio leanings know of a reasonably cheap, easy to fit sub that’ll fit under the boot floor to give a helping hand to the standard set up?
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The Helix sub was designed to plug into something specific on the Mk7.
They don't sell a "plug and play" sub for the Mk8 do they?
If VW haven't allowed for that integration, I don't see how you could easily. It would be dependent on there being a line out on the back of the head unit.
I'm yet to see my car with HK... hoping it has a sub in the boot but who knows.
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I’ve got H&K in our F40 M135i. Don’t really rate it tbh. It’s no better than the standard system that was in the GTD 7.5 we had imo
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I’ve got H&K in our F40 M135i. Don’t really rate it tbh. It’s no better than the standard system that was in the GTD 7.5 we had imo
When I tried the HK in the F40 128ti I wasn't impressed.
Mk7/7.5 standard is better and Mk7 Dynaudio is superb.
No idea about the Mk8 HK yet.... i just took a punt!
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I’ve got H&K in our F40 M135i. Don’t really rate it tbh. It’s no better than the standard system that was in the GTD 7.5 we had imo
When I tried the HK in the F40 128ti I wasn't impressed.
Mk7/7.5 standard is better and Mk7 Dynaudio is superb.
No idea about the Mk8 HK yet.... i just took a punt!
That’s interesting, the Dynaudio in my scirocco was fairly terrible.
I’ve had HK in a 430d, M4, X4M and 730d so pretty familiar with the systems. The 430d and M4 system was reasonably good (I also had the standard BMW in my 435d and that was poor) but did suffer from distortion at high volumes. The X4M and 7 series which were a more modern design given the newness of the model were head and shoulders above the others. I think it was due to the speakers being placed higher up in the doors so you got a more direct sound. No idea where they put them in the Golf!
I would have loved it in my GTI but I needed something fairly quickly so had to go for a standard car.
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I'll definitely be putting up my thoughts on HK among other things when it arrives.... less than 4 weeks to go!
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Here's the HK spec (had to dig for it as VW tell you bugger all except a price):
Volkswagen has teamed up with Harman/Kardon and has developed a brand new audio system specifically for the Golf Mk 8.
What you get here is a small battalion of 10 high-performance speakers, including a 160mm subwoofer that has been packed into a 10-5 litre sealed enclosure for added bass boost. Meanwhile, the music gets pumped out via a 480-watt amplifier.
Distribution of the sound works a treat thanks to one 80mm centre speaker in the dashboard, four 25mm tweeters in the A-pillars and rear doors along with twin dual voice-coil woofers in the front doors. A further two 168mm single voice-coil woofers are also positioned in the rear doors, and music delivery gets additional help from the Fraunhofer Sonamic Panorama.
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I would have loved it in my GTI but I needed something fairly quickly so had to go for a standard car.
Likewise. I needed a deal done ASAP to loan the equity in my previous car to my son before New Year. His second house in under 12 months, and people thought I was bad with cars! :rolleyes:
It was either a base spec Clubsport or a fully loaded showroom JCW (with HK!!) that I shortlisted where the deal had enough money in it for my pain in the arse son.
I had Dynaudio in a mk6 Golf and did loads of miles in that car but the system didn’t impress me. Never bothered with it on my mk7’s due to that but when I got my (ex-demo) TCR it blew me away how good it was.
I’m fairly certain the HK in the mk8 has a sub, I’m sure I’ve seen it in pics and vids.
EDIT, just seen Fred’s post!
Likewise, the zillion speaker HK didn’t overly impress me in the M135i. The surround sound was fun but the bass lacking for a system that has two underseat subs.
I was hoping someone on here might frequent another forum where someone had a bit of experience with mk8 audio.
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Don’t know how you connect it....but at the back of the mk8 manual there are instructions for removing a sub from the wheel well....so there is one out there. Or is this part of the h/k audio.
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Yeah if you watch that autogeufel (sp?) video on the clubby the other day, he opens the boot and shows you the floor space.
That car doesn't have a spare but does have HK.... you see the sub in the boot just like on the Mk7 dynaudio.
So in theory...
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There have been a few vids showing the HK sub in the boot.
If VW don’t come out with something along the lines of a Helix boot mount soon I might attempt a small Pioneer amplified sub under the passenger seat.
I don’t need Corsa-boy levels of amplified sound, just something to add that extra dimension to the standard unit at civilised volume levels.
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There have been a few vids showing the HK sub in the boot.
If VW don’t come out with something along the lines of a Helix boot mount soon I might attempt a small Pioneer amplified sub under the passenger seat.
I don’t need Corsa-boy levels of amplified sound, just something to add that extra dimension to the standard unit at civilised volume levels.
I will be interested to hear where you go with this. I didn’t go with the HK as it pushed me over the magic £40k on my soon to arrive R. I’m yet to hear the standard system but assume it will be on a par with my 7.5R.... I have the new car for 4 years so will 100% want to upgrade.
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The standard Mk8 system is indeed much like the Mk7.5.
Its pretty good vs other manufacturer basic systems - mainly because it has A pillar tweeters.
It is a bit front passenger biased and even if you use the fader, the rears just don't seem to have the power.
Bass isn't bad, but not capable of reliving "No Sleep til Hammersmith" in an effective way. I expect to have my face smashed in by Lemmy and the boys :)
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Yes, I’d say the standard audio quality in the mk8 is probably very similar to the mk7.
It’s acceptable.
Being as I’m a trainee old fart (I’ve even recently started listening to half an hour of radio 2 lately to back up my geriatric in waiting credentials, but admittedly that’s because it’s Jo Wiley [who is one of those incredibly rare people who is actually genuinely very very cool] in the evening as I thread my way to work) I tend to play my music reasonably quietly most of the time but I do have the bass up quite high to combat the plethora of natural resonances cars make when driving which would otherwise get drown the low frequencies out. Trouble with that is when I have a funny five minutes and blast out a cracker of a tune the bass will then distort worse than the old school disco speakers did when the wannabe DJ got carried away.
The Helix sub would be ideal as it is properly engineered to redirect the bass away from the door cones and requires minimal fiddling with factory wiring to do so.
I’m reluctant to start splicing a brand new factory loom which an aftermarket amplified sub might require, even if it’s not exactly a full on system upgrade.
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I did email the seller of helix systems on eBay asking if they fit the mk8 a few weeks ago. He just replied saying send him the VIN for the car and he will check.
Whilst searching various possible options came up. But like you say, I really want to avoid messing with the wiring. My days of running cables and doing stereo upgrades are waaaay behind me.
Edit.... I found the like on eBay. Maybe work sending him your VIN number and see what he says.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Helix-Plug-and-play-Soundsystem-Subwoofer-000051419B-Original-VW-/173940289267?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
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I’ve sent my VIN to the eBay seller Darlo.
I strongly suspect the answer will be no as the Golf 8 doesn’t appear on any of the tech sheets.
Edit just got this back from them:
New message from: audi-vw-ahstoye (4,841Red Star)
Hi Andy,
according to Volkswagen, the Golf VIII is not compatible. But I can imagine that it will work anyway.
Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee it.
regards
*****************
I meant to add the the last post that I’d contacted Audiotec Fischer but have yet to hear back.
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How does the Helix connect?
Presumably there is some sort of connector on the rear of the glovebox magic box?
On a Mk8 the magic box isn't there? Or at least not visible because there isn't a CD or SD card slots.
So the question is, where is the "brains" of the MIB unit in a Mk8 and does it have the same audio connector....
I'm guessing it has to have SOMETHING because HK needs to connect the sub somewhere but is that the same connector and interface has the old Dynaudio/Helix system? I'd not be surprised if it wasn't different, but you'd have to go hunting.
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That’s basically what I replied to the German dealer above.
Once my garage is clear of boxes and I can get proper access to the car my plan has been to try and remove a few lower dash panels and get up in under there with a torch.
I enjoy taking things apart to see how they work.
My mother once said that when I was a baby I climbed out of my cot when nobody was looking, dismantled her watch which was sat on a cupboard then climbed back in again. Personally I think it must’ve been a poltergeist but...
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Yes, people hide things from me here because I take them apart to work out how they function... and often can't get it back together again
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Exonian, courtesy of my friend Massimo...
The mk8 stereo gubbins is above the glove box, just not visible because you don't have CD player or sd cards.
Also here is the back of the it...
(https://i.postimg.cc/CKZpPGHx/IMG-20210513-165715-509.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/FfQ61JBM)
Audison make an audio upgrade and it definitely fits the mk8.
https://www.audison.eu/products/ap-560pp-io/ (https://www.audison.eu/products/ap-560pp-io/)
You can see the cables in that link.
Helix should work i think based on all of that.
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Thanks for that fredgroves, :smiley: good work and thanks also to the ever resourceful Massimo :afro:
I reckon you’re right, it *should* all work ok.
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Audison definitely does work, that I can tell you. Think there was someone on here with a Mk8 GTD with it.
Helix, probably and it can't be doing anything different.
Although I don't know if you get any special controls on the mib unit for adjustments... got a feeling you might not but did you on the Mk7??? :undecided:
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Audison definitely does work, that I can tell you. Think there was someone on here with a Mk8 GTD with it.
Helix, probably and it can't be doing anything different.
Although I don't know if you get any special controls on the mib unit for adjustments... got a feeling you might not but did you on the Mk7??? :undecided:
The MIB on the mk8 does have a basic ‘equaliser’ to set bass, treble and mid even without HK
I’m quite open to something like Audison if the sub could go under the passenger seat to avoid wiring the full length of the cab.
Obviously the Helix can be set up with the VW dongle in a mk7 (same cabin obviously but lacks the mk8 dash speaker).
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Remember you've got an amp and a sub to hide somewhere....
the guy on here had the sub in the spare wheel well, plus the amp attached to the rear seat back.... not ideal really.
My HK amp is behind a panel in the left hand side of the boot, not sure if a third party one could fit there?
Some older cars I had put the amp under the passenger seat and the sub in the boot...
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I’m that guy with the Audison set up 👋
Here’s a couple of pics.
I’m yet to find a problem with the Amp position, but Perhaps it would be aesthetically pleasing to have it hidden, but practically it doesn’t pose an issue for me.
(https://i.postimg.cc/1tCxBZpS/86-F20-C9-F-CB36-4196-9-D49-A8502923116-A.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/wymbxZf4)
(https://i.postimg.cc/yxkMrrPZ/8-E3-ACF71-5-F89-4-A38-8-EA8-23-A109-B7-CB5-E.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/tnGvsk8q)
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The amp isn't even big. Modern amps are so much more compact. If you are happy then that's what counts.
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I’d prefer an amp and sub all in one for simplicity