Changing out stereo components on B4 wagon

I was considering upgrading my audio system in my B4 wagon. I like the subtleness (theft resistent) and clean looks of the stock head unit and already have the stock CD changer. Does anyone know if the stock head unit is pre-wired for amplifier(s)? If so, I think I can do a pretty decent upgrade for pretty cheap. I already have some amplifiers from my aircooled Beetle that I can use. Seems all I would need to do is purchase the proper speaker and then I'll be done.

So as far as speakers, there are the dash speakers, front door speakers, rear door speakers, and rear door handle tweeters. What are the right sizes for these? Are there speakers in the luggage compartment (by the rear side windows, if so, what size)?

Edit- found out that the stock head unit would need some kind of converter found here http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=101pl2 to use an amp. I'm thinking by the time I add all this, it might be more cost effective to just replace the head unit. Anyone know of a good head unit that doesn't look so "bling bling"?

I replaced the head unit in my B4 sedan with an Alpine 7894. I too found that all the new head units I looked at to be too flashy. The 7894's green pushbuttons match the instrument cluster lighting and even though it has simple (although flashy) graphics they can be turned off.

The 7894 has been discontinued but the new 9830 looks like it might fit the bill. Check out www.alpine-usa.com.

Re the stock speakers, the ones in the dash are tweeters only. They mount in a special mounting cup that you'll probably have to modify (or replace) to get new tweeters into. DO NOT go with metal dome tweeters for the front! I believe that the midwoofers in the doors are 6.25" but most 6.5" midwoofers have the same frame size and will fit in the stock mounting brackets. Be sure to check the available depth before you buy new ones. The JL Audio XR 650's I put in the front are really too deep to sound their best. The VR 650's I put in the back sound much better. The tweeters that came with the VR 650 CSi set were the perfect size to fit in the rear door pulls. I don't know about luggage compartment speakers since I don't have one, but I doubt it.

Replace the head unit first before buying new speakers. Although they are cheap the stock speakers actually sound pretty good with a decent head unit driving them - just watch the volume control to avoid nasty sounds and a funky smell. The stock head unit is definitely the weak link in the chain here so don't waste your money on a line level convertor.

Rick

I don't know about the stock B4 Passat head unit, but the Clarion-made "Premium Audio" head unit that VW used in A3's is rated for 20 watts RMS per channel. This is still very competitive with today's aftermarket head units -- and the bonus is, the VW head unit has the proper EQ curve built-in to correctly match the speaker placements and acoustical conditions of your car's interior.

And at least for me, 20 watts per channel is more than enough to provide audio that's as loud as I could ever want. In fact, if you choose high-sensitivity speakers, it's like getting a free amplifier because for every 3 dB increase in sensitivity, that's equal to DOUBLE the loudness for the same amount of power going into the speakers!

So if you want to upgrade anything, try upgrading the speakers first. And as for the head unit, you can upgrade to something newer/better even while staying with an official VW radio -- for example, the half-height radios found in early Mk4 Golfs & Jettas (1999-2001) are very good and will plug right in.

I followed this advise 3 years ago and regretted it from day 1. I never found the stock (Clarion Premium Audio) head unit to be underpowered for the factory speakers - it just didn't sound good. The built-in tape deck did sound better than the tuner but since I haven't listened to tapes in years it got very little use. I am admittedly more picky than the average Joe but again recommend replacing the deck before spending money on new speakers.

Rick

So if you want to upgrade anything, try upgrading the speakers first.

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I don't know about the stock B4 Passat head unit, but the Clarion-made "Premium Audio" head unit that VW used in A3's is rated for 20 watts RMS per channel. This is still very competitive with today's aftermarket head units -- and the bonus is, the VW head unit has the proper EQ curve built-in to correctly match the speaker placements and acoustical conditions of your car's interior.

And at least for me, 20 watts per channel is more than enough to provide audio that's as loud as I could ever want. In fact, if you choose high-sensitivity speakers, it's like getting a free amplifier because for every 3 dB increase in sensitivity, that's equal to DOUBLE the loudness for the same amount of power going into the speakers!

So if you want to upgrade anything, try upgrading the speakers first. And as for the head unit, you can upgrade to something newer/better even while staying with an official VW radio -- for example, the half-height radios found in early Mk4 Golfs & Jettas (1999-2001) are very good and will plug right in.

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Are the B4 head units made by Clarion? I am not sure how to tell. That's a good idea about using the MK4 radios, but I was told that there aren't any factory radios (any maker) that has the pre-outs for aftermarket amplifiers.

I used the A3 head (Premium IV) unit from my son's 98 Jetta in my 1997 Passat sedan. You can get an adapter to hook it directly to an external amp from Blauplunkt (when I find the link I will send it) Adapter It sounds much better that way. I also hooked a VW Phatbox up to it in my 97 Passat (over 170 lps at your touch). The best 120 dollars spent! I bought a used cd cable from a 1998 Jetta from someone on VVortx. Very easy to install. I am pleased with the install. I also installed Infinity and Pioneer speakers 2 years ago. I put the rear ones in the rear window platform instead of the rear door. Look in your trunk and you can see the cut outs in the metal for the rear speakers (OOPs, noticed yours is a wagon). All you have to do is cut the cover. Send me an e-mail if you want pictures. Don

Rick P, why did you say not to use the metal dome tweeters? Is it because they are hard to modify to fit in the dash/door handles? I ended up ordering new component (tweeter and midrange) speakers for both sets of doors from Crutchfield so I know they would fit. They did recommend going with coaxial speakers because tweeters are never a standard size and that some "work" (understood as warranty-voiding) might have to be done to have them fit in the stock location. Anybody have pictures of their install?
-Nick

You have to be careful when choosing an A3-style (-1997) "Premium Audio" head unit; some were made by Matsushita (a.k.a. Panasonic) and some were made by Clarion. The Clarion ones are MUCH better in all aspects -- I've had both, and not only does the Clarion version have significantly better radio reception (and better audio quality on AM) but it also has a much richer-sounding audio amp as well. The easy way to distinguish between these two versions is that the Clarion version has a small protruding tab on the cassette door (shown below), while the Panasonic version's cassette door is completely flat.



Another good choice is the VW head unit from 1998 (shown below). This was the first year of the new "flat-face" styling but was also the last year of the green lighting. In 1999 the B5 Passat switched to red/blue lighting to match the new A4 Golfs & Jettas, so you have to look for one from any 1998 VW or from an early '99 A3-body Golf/Jetta. These standard-DIN flat-face radios were all made by Clarion so their performance should be comparable to Clarion's pre-'98 "Premium Audio" head units.



And if you want to upgrade the rest of your audio system while staying within the VW family, look for the amplifier and speakers from an A3 Jetta GLX with the Bose audio package. This system used the same head unit as the B4 Passat (with a Bose logo printed on it, even though Bose didn't make the radio), an external amplifier, and a set of 6-1/2" VW-Bose woofers and matching tweeters. Up until the current Monsoon systems, this was the most powerful and best-sounding audio system VW had ever put into their cars, and if you're looking for excellent well-rounded sound -- not just screeching highs and booming bass -- it will easily outperform many aftermarket setups.

Personally, though, I think the stock B4 Passat speakers are already very good, although on mine I'll have to remove the front door panels and see if I can get rid of the annoying buzzing/rattling noises the doors make when I turn up the volume.

Because of the dash mounting location where the tweeters are closer to your ears and the sound reflects off the windshield I found metal-dome tweeters to be too 'hot'. I ended up tri-amping my speaker setup and have probably attenuated the front tweeters by 12 dB to compensate. Note that when I installed mine I modified the stock tweeter mounting cup, which probably provided another dB or two of gain to the tweeters.

Note that if the components you bought use an an external crossover you'll either have to find somewhere inside the rear doors to mount them or pull another pair of speaker wires into the door. This is because the stock crossover only consists of a capacitor glued to the back of the tweeter so there's only one pair of speaker wires going into the door.

I'll check later to see if I have pictures of my install.

Rick

my head unit looks like the one pictured here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2034337

Is that made by Clarion or Panasonic? Anyone know what kind of output it puts out?

I really don't have to stay in the VW family, I was just looking for something that looked somewhat original, so I would attract thieves.

I have a 98 with the Clarion unit (clarion aftermarket cd changes plugged right in)

In the back is 6.5" speakers with seperate tweeters mounted next to them. Does anybody know how to take the speaker out of the VW housing to replace it with another speaker? It looks like my kenwood 6.5" speakers would fit, but I can't get the grills off the factory speaker holder. This would be eaiser then drilling holes to install the Kenwoods.

WillR, if it's anything like my Passat, then you need to remove the door panel first, then the screws holding the speakers will be visible.

Rick, do you know if there is room beneath the door foam to wedge a crossover?

I guess it depends on the size of crossover you're installing but because of the door storage pocket the space between the door card and the vapour barrier is minimal. Since my crossovers are adjustable I chose to attach them to the back of the rear seats (my car's a sedan) and ran two new pairs of wires into each rear door.

Rick

ps. No luck on install pics but from inside the car the speakers look stock since I kept the factory grills. All the electronics are in the trunk and the head unit looks relatively plain and does not draw attention to itself. If you're interested I can take a few pics over the next couple days and Email them to you.

I forgot to add my question is about the rear deck speakers on an A3 Jetta. The nuts are in the trunk, then the speakers come out the top. The speakers are installed in a plastic piece that includes the grills. Just wondering if anybody has replaced the speakers but kept the factory plastic mount (which includes the grills)

my head unit looks like the one pictured here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2034337

Is that made by Clarion or Panasonic? Anyone know what kind of output it puts out?

I really don't have to stay in the VW family, I was just looking for something that looked somewhat original, so I would attract thieves.

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This one is Panasonic. Mine is plenty loud enough for me.

Are you sure you want to attract thieves...

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Are you sure you want to attract thieves...

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Yup, need thieves to come and steal this car Anybody mount an amplifier in these cars? Seems like the best place for an amp is under the front seats. Where did you tap for power?

Get your amp power directly from the battery - there are spare power points available in the cabin fuse block / relay panel but VW isn't known for excellence in the electrical & wiring departments. There is already a free grommet in the firewall above the go pedal where the accelerator pedal cable would go on a gasser. It is big enough to run a 4-gauge wire through. Be sure to install a fuse at the battery.

Rick

If I hook the power directly to the battery, will that be a drain on the battery when the car is parked (causing weak battery = fried dash panel??)? I would think hooking the amp up to a power source that is on when the key is on would be ideal. Or with the amp hooked up to the stereo, it only uses power when the radio is on?

I bought a Nakamichi head unit for our 96 wagon. The sound is awesome--even with the stock speakers. We were using the stock radio out of a 97, and I was thinking that I would have to replace speakers, and all. With the new radio, it sounds great!

The only problem I have had is a radio reception issue: AM doesn't work at all.

I decided on this radio because it looks totally stock--simple, very classy black face, green illumination (you have a choice of several colors) and the option to remove the faceplate.

I read that they use these as stock in some Lexus/Infinity models. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for my TDI!

The only problem I have had is a radio reception issue: AM doesn't work at all.

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Did you use a VW-specific, powered antenna cable adaptor (DIN-12) when installing this unit? If not, you have no 12V+ fed to the antenna amp resulting in no AM and about a 25% reduction in FM reception. A bad antenna amp will produce the same symptoms.

Power drain due to an external amp is zero when the ignition is off, if connected correctly. In addition to the power lead, the amp should have a trigger or signal lead. This connects to the auxillary power switch wire that comes out of an aftermarket head unit so the amp will power down when the stereo is turned off. Alternately, you can connect it to the accessory circuit wire going into the factory stereo. In this case, when you pull the ignition key the amp will shut down. Either way the amp will be off when you walk away from your car.

Rick

Did you use a VW-specific, powered antenna cable adaptor (DIN-12) when installing this unit?

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Thanks for the feedback! We did, as well as a VW-specific wiring harness converter. Guess we'll have to get the meter out to check for antenna issues. (The previous owner had replaced the antenna.)

I'll try to get pix of the unit over the weekend. It looks really good and sounds even better!

vwestlife,

You had said the 1998 & up head units works. Is it critical to use 1998 only or is it just because the lighting changed to orange? Also, do these units plug directly into the harness on a 1997 B4?

You had said the 1998 & up head units works. Is it critical to use 1998 only or is it just because the lighting changed to orange?

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Any of the single-DIN radios can be used. The '98/early '99 model is preferred simply because its green lighting matches the B4 dashboard.

Also, do these units plug directly into the harness on a 1997 B4?

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It uses the same connectors, but you will need to connect constant (battery) +12V power to the radio's "SAFE" pin. This is the same pin that older VW radios used as a power antenna turn-on output, but since the B4 uses a fixed antenna powered through the antenna wire, this difference is not a problem.

Get your amp power directly from the battery - there are spare power points available in the cabin fuse block / relay panel but VW isn't known for excellence in the electrical & wiring departments. There is already a free grommet in the firewall above the go pedal where the accelerator pedal cable would go on a gasser. It is big enough to run a 4-gauge wire through. Be sure to install a fuse at the battery.

Rick

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Having trouble locating the free grommet. Do I need to take off the bottom cover and find it from underneath the car?
-Nick

Ok, I found the place to pass the power wire last night. There is a cover that has 2 plastic pieces that screw off of it and the top part clips onto the steering column. There is a large piece of rubber underneath the cover and if you gently pull it towards the inside of the car, you can squeeze pretty much any size wire you'd ever want to through there.

Unfortunately, I started unscrewing a lot of other pieces that I didn't need to. So, now I've got 2 trim pieces that I need to figure out how to reinstall, but that'll be another thread.

Having trouble getting an OEM radio to work in either car. Guy helping me out thinks it might be an external amp. Is there one in these B4V's? I've never heard of it before.

Are you sure the new radios work? I've been through 4 for the A3 and I lost count on B4 OEM radios. I do not recall any external amp.

They seem to work. At least all appears to be in working order.

Considering an aftermarket, but would rather not.