2011 Jetta SW TDI/9W7 + iPhone audio/voice control question

InquiringMind

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Location
Bay area, CA
TDI
2011 Golf 4dr
I just got done test driving a 2010 SW TDI. I liked the car a lot, but the MDI interface is awful. It seems fine until you actually try to scroll through the list to find an artist, and which point it stops every 5 artists or so to reload everything. Slow... As... Molasses...
Also, on the 2011 SW (which is what I'm currently considering), it appears the MDI is only available as part of the ~$2500 premium package, which contains a bunch of options I don't want (such as the sun roof). Is this correct?
However, it appears the 2011 modal (and 2011 only) now contains the 9W7 bluetooth unit which supports voice control/audio streaming.
So my questions are as follows:
  • How is the audio quality when streaming via bluetooth?
  • Is it possible to use the voice control to control the music (al la the iPhone's built-in voice control)? If it piggy-backs off the iPhones built-in voice control that would be ideal, but I have no idea if that's the case (it seems somehow unlikely, but I can hope). Honestly, hands-free (or at least not requiring the use of the iPhone) control of music is much more important to me than making phone calls.
  • If the above turn out to be less than ideal, does anybody have any other suggestions?
Thank you.
 

InquiringMind

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Location
Bay area, CA
TDI
2011 Golf 4dr
@Mike_Van Thank you for pointing me to that forum. I realized that the Bluetooth FAQ probably contains the information I need (although in reference to upgrading the 2010 unit), mainly that the voice control is in no way related to the iPhone's voice control and can't be used to, e.g., play a specific album, so I will omit the report there.
 

procupine14

Veteran Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Location
Kansas City, MO
TDI
2003 Beetle 5sp
Bluetooth audio streaming on an iPhone is, in my experience, pretty decent to a pair of Bluetooth headphones. As for a stereo, I still have a wired interface in my after-market setup so I can't comment on it in a car.
 

InquiringMind

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Location
Bay area, CA
TDI
2011 Golf 4dr
Does your after market system differ at all from the factory MDI in functionality?

I realize nobody knows for sure on the 2011 SW yet, but how difficult are they typically to install? That would at least let me avoid paying for the premium package, which I'm not going to do.
 

procupine14

Veteran Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Location
Kansas City, MO
TDI
2003 Beetle 5sp
Well, in my Beetle, which is quite a bit different from a Jetta in regards to the factory radio, it was a relatively easy install. Only took me an afternoon. But, of course, I've done A LOT of car audio installation so it probably depends on your expertise level. I have a JVC Arsenal HDR69 head unit and the iPod interface works pretty quickly, it takes a few seconds to do an initial read and then it's off to the races. I have mine setup to just automatically shuffle all my music when I plug it in but you can set it up however you like. There are also two ways to control the iPhone/iPod either from the head unit or you can select to control from the device if you need to access it quickly.

Be advised that there are some extra audio goodies that are required for the newer VWs but as mine was a 2003 I just needed the basic harness adapter and antenna adapter.
 
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