MuthaFunk
Veteran Member
When I bought my Canadian Golf Highline the navigation package was not an option. Also, the whole bluetooth 9W? issues was in full bloom and the dealer wanted $700 CAD! Now I think they've lowered the price to $400. Still rubbish if you ask me. I was not happy with the sound of the Canadian Highline stereo system either so I thought I'd start with upgrading the head unit. I decided to go with the Pioneer AVIC X920BT because of the on board Navigation, Bluetooth functions, and advanced iPod control.
The Scoche mounting bracket is the best match I could find locally where I could see them in person. If you wanted to upgrade to a single din unit you can get a single din adapter with change pouch on the bottom right from VW!! Perfect soft rubber match. In my case, I had to go with the Schoche unit but I'm happy with it.
I used a PAC SWI-PS and a PAC SWI-CAN to get the steering controls to work with the pioneer. The SWI-CAN also supplied the ACC wire to the Pioneer. It works great!! When you shut off the engine the stereo remains on for 1/2 Hr or until the key is removed. Much better than the factory system.
One thing of note though with the PAC SWI-CAN. You can't get the track foward and reverse buttons to function with it. I had asked PAC myself over the phone specifically if the SWI-CAN module would do it because their web site was not clear on the topic and they told me yes. Upon installation, I found it does not work. After a second call to PAC to find out ***??? They told me I would need the CR2-VW2 unit to obtain those functions. I purchased the PAC modules locally from an authorized dealer because I thought I may run into problems. My dealer is working on getting me the right module this week. I'll post back how it goes when I get it.
I ran the iPod cable to the factory spot. I purchased the iPod cable from ebay directly from Hong Kong. Awesome price but the cable doesn't pass the video signal from the iPod to the Pioneer. I didn't need this function at all because my 160G iPod is completely full of music, no room for video. The gentlemen from ebay kindly refunded all of my money because his description said it would do video as well. You can tell the video capable cables by the three rings on the 1/8" mini jack. Mine only has 2 rings like a regular headphone jack.
It was a little tricky removing the stock iPod pouch from the console. I had to make up a couple of keys from an old thin 1/2" wide metal ruler I had. I cut the ruler down the middle to make some keys to slip into the two tiny slots you can see above the pouch. There is some metal tabs inside there that you have to push to the center to remove the whole pouch with media port. Once removed it was easy to pull the Pioneer iPod cable through the soft rubber lining.
I ran the Pioneer microphone to the stock location in the pano roof console. It works great! It's funny that it doesn't look like a great spot for the mic but it works exceptionally well there. Because I never paid the $400 (dealer was asking $700 at the time!) for the Bluetooth option I had a piece of foam stuck in where the mic would have gone. The foam doubled as a placement holder for the new Pioneer mic.
**Edit** In practical use I've found this spot for the mic to be great for the Voice Recognition functions to work but I was getting complaints during phone conversations of sound quality. I ended up moving the mic to stick out of the overhead console aimed at the driver and it works perfect for phone conversations as well now. It is an eyesore though.... I plan on painting the mic to match the headliner color.
I'm happy to report that I think the sound from the factory speakers is quite good! I am a true blue audiophile and also a sound engineer with much recording, mixing, mastering experience. There is nothing wrong with the factory crossovers or speakers. With a nice high powered head unit driving them, the three way front speakers sound good. The imaging is all screwed up because of speaker placement but that's a little bit much to ask of any car system. The rear two way speakers are very good! Better than the fronts IMO. I have the Pioneer faded to the front a little to ballance out the sound of all speakers.
I'm going to install my JL Audio 10W3V3 in a sealed enclosure right in the cargo area on a XLR quick connect. If I need the space I'll simply remove the box and eliminate the head unit's High Pass Filter to allow all the low end through the mains. The sound with the stock speakers is very impressive in that you don't need a sub to get that low end out of them. The only reason I'm installing the sub is to allow the use of the Pioneers HPF on the mains crossed over at 80Hz so I can get way more volume out of the Pioneers internal amp. The sub and external amp will handle all the high power low end freeing the mains up to do an excellent job on the rest. I couldn't believe the low end you can get out of the stock speakers and this Pioneer AVIC-X920BT. Not at earth shattering volumes but definitly loud enough for the average user. I was fully prepared to do a complete speaker upgrade but don't think I'm going to now. I'll have to see how the stock speakers work crossed over and with a sub before I decide.
Now if anyone knows a good place to get rid of my stock RCD510 I'd love to hear it!
Stay tuned for the amp / sub install and the PAC C2R-VW2!
The Scoche mounting bracket is the best match I could find locally where I could see them in person. If you wanted to upgrade to a single din unit you can get a single din adapter with change pouch on the bottom right from VW!! Perfect soft rubber match. In my case, I had to go with the Schoche unit but I'm happy with it.
I used a PAC SWI-PS and a PAC SWI-CAN to get the steering controls to work with the pioneer. The SWI-CAN also supplied the ACC wire to the Pioneer. It works great!! When you shut off the engine the stereo remains on for 1/2 Hr or until the key is removed. Much better than the factory system.
One thing of note though with the PAC SWI-CAN. You can't get the track foward and reverse buttons to function with it. I had asked PAC myself over the phone specifically if the SWI-CAN module would do it because their web site was not clear on the topic and they told me yes. Upon installation, I found it does not work. After a second call to PAC to find out ***??? They told me I would need the CR2-VW2 unit to obtain those functions. I purchased the PAC modules locally from an authorized dealer because I thought I may run into problems. My dealer is working on getting me the right module this week. I'll post back how it goes when I get it.
I ran the iPod cable to the factory spot. I purchased the iPod cable from ebay directly from Hong Kong. Awesome price but the cable doesn't pass the video signal from the iPod to the Pioneer. I didn't need this function at all because my 160G iPod is completely full of music, no room for video. The gentlemen from ebay kindly refunded all of my money because his description said it would do video as well. You can tell the video capable cables by the three rings on the 1/8" mini jack. Mine only has 2 rings like a regular headphone jack.
It was a little tricky removing the stock iPod pouch from the console. I had to make up a couple of keys from an old thin 1/2" wide metal ruler I had. I cut the ruler down the middle to make some keys to slip into the two tiny slots you can see above the pouch. There is some metal tabs inside there that you have to push to the center to remove the whole pouch with media port. Once removed it was easy to pull the Pioneer iPod cable through the soft rubber lining.
I ran the Pioneer microphone to the stock location in the pano roof console. It works great! It's funny that it doesn't look like a great spot for the mic but it works exceptionally well there. Because I never paid the $400 (dealer was asking $700 at the time!) for the Bluetooth option I had a piece of foam stuck in where the mic would have gone. The foam doubled as a placement holder for the new Pioneer mic.
**Edit** In practical use I've found this spot for the mic to be great for the Voice Recognition functions to work but I was getting complaints during phone conversations of sound quality. I ended up moving the mic to stick out of the overhead console aimed at the driver and it works perfect for phone conversations as well now. It is an eyesore though.... I plan on painting the mic to match the headliner color.
I'm happy to report that I think the sound from the factory speakers is quite good! I am a true blue audiophile and also a sound engineer with much recording, mixing, mastering experience. There is nothing wrong with the factory crossovers or speakers. With a nice high powered head unit driving them, the three way front speakers sound good. The imaging is all screwed up because of speaker placement but that's a little bit much to ask of any car system. The rear two way speakers are very good! Better than the fronts IMO. I have the Pioneer faded to the front a little to ballance out the sound of all speakers.
I'm going to install my JL Audio 10W3V3 in a sealed enclosure right in the cargo area on a XLR quick connect. If I need the space I'll simply remove the box and eliminate the head unit's High Pass Filter to allow all the low end through the mains. The sound with the stock speakers is very impressive in that you don't need a sub to get that low end out of them. The only reason I'm installing the sub is to allow the use of the Pioneers HPF on the mains crossed over at 80Hz so I can get way more volume out of the Pioneers internal amp. The sub and external amp will handle all the high power low end freeing the mains up to do an excellent job on the rest. I couldn't believe the low end you can get out of the stock speakers and this Pioneer AVIC-X920BT. Not at earth shattering volumes but definitly loud enough for the average user. I was fully prepared to do a complete speaker upgrade but don't think I'm going to now. I'll have to see how the stock speakers work crossed over and with a sub before I decide.
Now if anyone knows a good place to get rid of my stock RCD510 I'd love to hear it!
Stay tuned for the amp / sub install and the PAC C2R-VW2!
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