It’s all about the bass...

[Exonian]

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?

[fredgroves]

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.

[Wrex22]

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

[fredgroves]

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!

[ClubsportMk8]

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.

[fredgroves]

I'll definitely be putting up my thoughts on HK among other things when it arrives.... less than 4 weeks to go!

[fredgroves]

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.

[Exonian]

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! 
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.

[Dave1rs]

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.

[fredgroves]

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...