Is a CANBUS stereo a necessity?

she_loves_the_D

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Location
west coast
TDI
EA288 (mk7 tdi) kerma 1 million ftlb
I just picked up a mk6 TDI. moving Up from about 10 years of driving mk4 tdi's.
So nice.

However. The stock stereo and sound quality is sooo bad (non fender) no monsoon thats for sure.

Ive been looking into aftermarket decks and i like the idea of the android decks.
They have Chinese ones from 100-200$ that have pretty cool features and come with a can bus box. They plug directly into the stock harness and bolt up to the same holes so installation is like 10 min. Some of them are only 2 inches deep so I could make a cubby behind it which would be cool.
But... Im kind of snobby about my sound quality. And i can see that they have no HPS or curve adjustment of any kind. Just some aftermarket EQ's from the app market.

What ive always ran is Pioneer stereos because they have great equalizers. High pass, low pass, Front curve, sub curve. Separate sub control. All for like $70. bluetooth even.

So I checked out the pioneers that work with android and they are like 300$ and only work with android auto. They are not full android. And from what ive read. They block you from watching youtube and netflix and junk on the stereo. You have to root the phone.

So my next thought is just eliminate the stereo all together and hook a nice amp with a crossover or run a digital signal processor Directly to the speakers and connect them to a bluetooth dongle. And just mount a tablet.
Then i could take it out take it with me if i want.

I feel like it would be more simple and sound better. (would be really cool to somehow wire a volume knob in there.
I dont think it would sound quite as good as a pioneer unless i got a really expensive dsp but it would be close. and unique.

Guess im just wondering if it would mess anything up. If the alarm runs through the stereo somehow. Or just your thoughts.

Thanks.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
No matter what you do for electronics, you will need to upgrade the speakers if you want better sound...
 

she_loves_the_D

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Location
west coast
TDI
EA288 (mk7 tdi) kerma 1 million ftlb
Have you checked out the RCD330 plus? It’s a stock VW radio with Apple CarPlay. Just installed one in my Mk6 and couldn’t be happier.
Amzparts RCD330 RCD330G ...
The problem with the ones that have apple carplay and android auto or whatever its called is that with newer versions they will not let you play any videos like netflix or youtube and its a pain in the ass to root my phone.
This is just from what i have read of course. Maybe there is a way.

Ideally I would stick with pioneer because their good decks can make a piece of cardboard with 2 wires and a pizza hut refrigerator magnet hot glued to the back sound like your at the orchestra but sitting with the musicians (exaggeration). But if im going to have a big ass screen in front of me i need to be able to watch netflix while I eat burritos or else whats the point ya know.

Also I have unlimited data on the phone but not with tethering. I need to figure out if those decks play it from your phone or if they just use your phones data to run apps the way the chromecast does.

Heres where im at. with way too many hours of research.
2 options. so far.

1
Bluetooth DSP controlled by app in phone
This or something similar.
This is a digital signal processor. So I can bluetooth the audio directly from a phone or tablet. And also be able to open the app on the same tablet and have full control of the very high quality audio it puts out. Equalizers and filters for each speaker individually. Sub controls.
Ill hide that in my dash and run a small amp for the front speakers and my bigger amp for my sub.
One big thing i like about this one is that it has a remote control volume knob. So even if its hidden i can wire a knob up to control the volume even if the screen on the tablet is off. Thats one of my criteria for a stereo, that volume knob is a must.

2
This amazing amp from Sony
The next potentially more expensive option.
This amp is has a bluetooth controlled dsp inside. 6 channels. 4x100 watts and then 2x300 watts bridgeable for the sub.

So simple. Could just mount that upfront somewhere (maybe under the pass seat). Wire the 4 channels to my door speakers and run a single set of speaker wires to the rear for the sub. 600 RMS is more than i need.
That would be so clean. Big ass cubby hole (gun stash[place to hold my salsa cups]) in the dash where the 2 din POS used to be. neodymium magnets on the 4 corners of the tablet to hold it in place covering the cubby. You kiddin me? Tesla doesnt have that.

Doing all this research makes me think this is going to be the next wave in car audio. Really no need for a deck anymore. You could keep the stock stereo in as well. Most people have their phone mounted in front of their stereo anyways.
Would work great in an all original classic car or a rental/lease.

Sorry. I know this is a TDI forum not a car audio forum. But TDI people are usually into this kind of thing.
 
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she_loves_the_D

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Location
west coast
TDI
EA288 (mk7 tdi) kerma 1 million ftlb
Yes. Paying attention to the road while driving can be SO boring...:rolleyes:
Cheers,
PH
HAHA. Yah that would actually be too distracting. One on my biggest pros of using a tablet will be to turn off the screen completely while driving at night.
None of this would be a question if i just had unlimited tethering data. Just like i have unlimited phone data. I use more data on the phone anyways.
I would just have a Microsoft Surface mounted in there.
 
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