DTUK CRDT CHIP

[Finglonga]

The old man has one and is insured through Adrian Flux on a GTI. Not sure what company the insurance is with, I will ask him when I see him next.

The DTUK box will be up for sale soon as well on a side note as he now has a Ford and I know that are charging £35 to change over te insurance with a month left..

[fredgroves]

Its not really the head unit that's the problem... speakers and an amp is the most likely to change the sound quality.

Which is what you get with Dynaudio.

You could try the plug and play audio upgrade? It won't change the main speakers though.

I HATE the head unit so bland - i want one with DAB and Android Auto installed theres lots out there but wondered if anyone has done it and what they went with

DAB? All Mk7 Golfs have DAB...

Android auto... I've not seen any third party ones that have this yet.

There is one compatible third party unit that I've heard of - the Kenwood one. If you didn't have Nav (ie just had the basic head unit) that was an option. Its pretty hideous though - not nearly as slick as the VW one which in itself until recently wasn't exactly cutting edge. Expensive to add and was a bit clunky.

Since OEM's integrated a lot of the car functions into the "stereo" most of the days gone by of swapping stereos out has gone away - its why you don't find many car audio shops like you used to. Its just too difficult to do.

Oh and simply getting a VW OEM one and doing an upgrade eg to NavPro, isn't possible either. Technically yes, but the security coding VW refuse to supply.

I think you are stuck basically without replacing the whole damned car.

[Jeni_R_]

Its not really the head unit that's the problem... speakers and an amp is the most likely to change the sound quality.

Which is what you get with Dynaudio.

You could try the plug and play audio upgrade? It won't change the main speakers though.

I HATE the head unit so bland - i want one with DAB and Android Auto installed theres lots out there but wondered if anyone has done it and what they went with

DAB? All Mk7 Golfs have DAB...

Android auto... I've not seen any third party ones that have this yet.

There is one compatible third party unit that I've heard of - the Kenwood one. If you didn't have Nav (ie just had the basic head unit) that was an option. Its pretty hideous though - not nearly as slick as the VW one which in itself until recently wasn't exactly cutting edge. Expensive to add and was a bit clunky.

Since OEM's integrated a lot of the car functions into the "stereo" most of the days gone by of swapping stereos out has gone away - its why you don't find many car audio shops like you used to. Its just too difficult to do.

Oh and simply getting a VW OEM one and doing an upgrade eg to NavPro, isn't possible either. Technically yes, but the security coding VW refuse to supply.

I think you are stuck basically without replacing the whole damned car.

There is actually a whole host of head units with sat nav (garmin) DAB Apple Play Android Auto etc ranging from £300 - £1500 ive contacted a place in Glasgow who have my required spec and say they have done loads of VW MK7 its easy enough to do you just need to replace the double din and have a fascia plate to replace current one with

I have DAB and Sat Nav i just hate the look of the MIB unit and want it changed im fussy fredgroves 

[fredgroves]

Hmmmm and does it have all of the other integration? Eg being able to display stuff between the dials? The menus to setup the car with? Display car faults?

I've never seen anyone here talk about doing it other than the Kenwood units VW Dealers sell as upgrades...

[Jeni_R_]

Hmmmm and does it have all of the other integration? Eg being able to display stuff between the dials? The menus to setup the car with? Display car faults?

I've never seen anyone here talk about doing it other than the Kenwood units VW Dealers sell as upgrades...

Im not sure yet i have literally just contacted them - i have all these questions to ask and if it turns out i cant then tough tittys for me i will just have to improve the sound 

[fredgroves]

And even the Kenwood VW stealers sell can't display the nav directions between the clocks...

[Guzzle]

If you're wanting to improve the sound quality the first place i would start would be upgrading the standard speakers, then maybe adding a subwoofer.

I was led to believe that you could get App Connect  (Android Auto and Apple Carplay) activated by your dealer by crossing their palm with silver as long as you had an MIB 2 unit with the App Connect icon in the menu. I'm guessing you don't have this?

I've looked at a few aftermarket units but haven't found any that can offer exactly the same level of integration as the OEM units. The most common issues are the lack of display between the clocks and steering wheel buttons not working properly. Haven't looked for a while though, things might have improved now.

[Jeni_R_]

If you're wanting to improve the sound quality the first place i would start would be upgrading the standard speakers, then maybe adding a subwoofer.

I was led to believe that you could get App Connect  (Android Auto and Apple Carplay) activated by your dealer by crossing their palm with silver as long as you had an MIB 2 unit with the App Connect icon in the menu. I'm guessing you don't have this?

I've looked at a few aftermarket units but haven't found any that can offer exactly the same level of integration as the OEM units. The most common issues are the lack of display between the clocks and steering wheel buttons not working properly. Haven't looked for a while though, things might have improved now.

Hi Guzzle

Yes VW will provide you with the 'code' for a fee of £218 incl VAT which i resent as its simply that a code that they put in certainly be a lot cheaper than replacing the head unit - i really just want a unit that i can fully utilise the spotify and whats app and i am unsure whether this is doable ?

I am waiting on a mail back from a local ICE installer near me she has a golf and has an aftermarket head unit in hers so waiting to see what she says

Thanks

[Guzzle]

I can understand spending over £200 on an activation code will grate, but there are reasons why it may still be preferable to forking out the thick end of a grand on an aftermarket head unit.

You may also wish to check all the convenience menu's and car settings in your OEM head unit are present on the aftermarket unit. If they aren't then that's clearly going to make it a retrograde step.

I also found some units have rather childish looking nav graphics. The VW nav ain't the most intuitive, but at least they've made it look OK.

For sound quality, even if it's a state of the art unit, if it's still going through average speakers, then there will be limits as to how drastically you can improve it.

Sorry I don't have any experience of WhatsApp or Spotify, but i'm sure one of the other helpful members on here will hopefully be able to answer that. If not, then maybe have a trip down to your local dealer and have a play about with it in the showroom before parting with your cash. Remember to download the Android Auto app onto your phone though first, if you haven't already done so.

[fredgroves]

Spotify will work, Whatsapp I don't use but messaging apps generally are quite restrictive because they don't want you to be mucking around with that when you are driving.

For instance, you can send a new SMS message (or reply to one that you have just received) but Facebook messenger you can only reply to ones sent to you.

No message is fully displayed in text format for either.

These are limits set by the app developer and Google.... nothing to do with the car.

BTW I don't use spotify but do use a few different audio apps with AA.... one of the things you will find is that there is a limit to some of the things you can do while driving. Eg you can't browse huge lists of radio stations and if you search for one, you only get a handful of results - its all about not distracting you while the vehicle is moving...