Head Unit upgrade. Major improvement and Bluetooth

[Emeye]

Finally got around to changing the RCD500 Headunit in my Gti for an Alpine BT103 and all I can say is WOW!  With the factory 10 speaker upgrade that my car came with, the improvement is amazing. I've upgraded plenty of HUs in the past, but this has been the greatest improvement I've ever experienced. The RCD500 must be very underpowered as the Alpine is so much clearer and powerful.

I used the VW single din fascia adapter so it looks great too! I also have a nice deep shelf to put my phone etc.

The headunit also comes with Parrot Bluetooth as std, but not had much chance to test it as we managed to get it fitted just in time for the Brazilian GP!

It is pretty nerve racking removing the old headunit, and you have to be careful not to scratch the dash, but it is well worth the effort.

Soon I will be adding the 12" sub and amp which I bought ages ago as the Alpine BT103 has sub level and High Pass Filters to allow it all to be properly configured and balanced from the HU. I will also fit the Alpine high speed iPod lead at the same time.

Tomorrow I will have a go at connecting up a USB pendrive to the front mounted USB port to play some mp3s. TBH this is the only weakness of the unit - a rear mounted USB port with an extension lead into the glovebox would be much neater, but when I get the iPod cable this comes out of the back of the unit so I will run my mp3s off my iPod Touch in the glovebox

All in all a successful couple of hours!

[SM82]

Post pix plz! 

[ifti]

Pics!!!!!!!!!

[Alexander]

I know what you mean about the improvement!once you change the headunit you realise how utterly rubbish the standard headunit is!all vw had to do was put a little bit more power in it and it would sound ok!

[Hurdy]

The only thing you have to be careful of now is to not blow the speakers. VW deliberately underpowered the speakers as they aren't the best in terms of output handling capability. What are they like with the volume up to a decent level? any distortion?

[Emeye]

The only thing you have to be careful of now is to not blow the speakers. VW deliberately underpowered the speakers as they aren't the best in terms of output handling capability. What are they like with the volume up to a decent level? any distortion?

If I blow them up it's a good excuse to buy some upgrades! 

I only had a chance to listen to it on my 10mins commute into work this morning - I need to play around a bit more but the volume levels are resasonable without distortion. When I add the sub then the speakers won't be worked as hard, but the tweeters do seem a bit harsh.

I will get some pics of the HU uploaded later today - the blue and red illumination match the dash perfectly.

[Alexander]

I will get some pics of the HU uploaded later today - the blue and red illumination match the dash perfectly.

same with mine, couldnt have a headunit that wasnt red and blue!mine is double din though. The colour match is actuallly much better now ive had a play with the variable illumination

[Jimp]

That's sweet  Looks very OEM.

[Hurdy]

If I blow them up it's a good excuse to buy some upgrades! 

I only had a chance to listen to it on my 10mins commute into work this morning - I need to play around a bit more but the volume levels are resasonable without distortion. When I add the sub then the speakers won't be worked as hard, but the tweeters do seem a bit harsh.

The tweeters may seem harsh due to two reasons. The rear tweeters are located directly behind you and are the nearest speakers to your ears (bad location anyway, but not a lot you can do except delete them and just use the fronts) and secondly that they are now overpowered and are usually the first speakers to distort at higher volumes.

[Alexander]

That's sweet  Looks very OEM.

Thanks Jimp, thats why I chose that headunit, it blends in nicely and doesn't look too out of place.The colours are all asjustable so you can get an almost perfect colour match in most cars. The only thing I would change is that the ipod lead connects in the front which looks messy and can get in the way.
I am tempted by an all singing and dancing DVD screen and navigation headunit but this one is so understated and sounds great.