Audio upgrade advice please.

[mightyevi5u]

Hi all,

I've got a 2010 exeo st lux with the standard gala stereo. I love the car, but i'm more than a little dissapointed with the sound of the audio system.

Would i be better off upgrading the stereo or the speakers first. I've got my eye on the rnse-1 as i'd like the built in satnav, but would it make any distinct improvement in the sound, or do i need to upgrade the speakers. And if so what speakers would you recommend.

Many thanks in advance.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

 

[marty_34]

Theres deals galore on after market stereos. My own choice would be alpine or pioneer some are double din with built in sat navs

Sent from my GT-S5839i using Tapatalk 2

 

[mightyevi5u]

So your saying I'd get a significant improvement in sound quality if I just changed the unit?

Sent from my XT910 using Tapatalk 2

 

[marty_34]

Could be worth looking at speakers first

Sent from my GT-S5839i using Tapatalk 2

 

[mcdonald]

I think somebody here replaced his speakers, but put the original ones back in because the new speakers were even worser.
Did a search for the topic but couldn't find it.

 

[mrkev]

To be honest I would just change the head unit for a decent one. Perhaps one that does Sat nav. Changing the speakers will likely make it sound worse without first fitting a separate amp, but things start getting expensive then.

 

[Loonyjuice]

I replaced my speakers for the bose upgrade and fitted the RNS-E - all off eBay. I wouldn't say upgrading the speakers makes much difference, they even look similar. It's the amp driving them that makes the improvement. I can assure you the upgrade from the standard unit was noticable, as I too was unhappy with the output originally.

If I shift the balance to the rear the output is still poor, because the amp in the boot, which drives them, is weak. I also have an amp and sub from an S4, but I've not been able to fit the amp as I don't have a wiring diagram.

Should anyone know how to do this I'd be most interested.

 

[Dark Andrew]

My own choice would be alpine or pioneer some are double din with built in sat navs

Sent from my GT-S5839i using Tapatalk 2

Have a read of the Pioneer Unit "Sticky" before opting for one of these - actually it would probably be wise to read that thread before opting to get any after-market unit.

 

[mightyevi5u]

I replaced my speakers for the bose upgrade and fitted the RNS-E - all off eBay. I wouldn't say upgrading the speakers makes much difference, they even look similar. It's the amp driving them that makes the improvement. I can assure you the upgrade from the standard unit was noticable, as I too was unhappy with the output originally.

If I shift the balance to the rear the output is still poor, because the amp in the boot, which drives them, is weak. I also have an amp and sub from an S4, but I've not been able to fit the amp as I don't have a wiring diagram.

Should anyone know how to do this I'd be most interested.

Cheers for all your info much appreciated. It's strange that such a good car with good ssound proofing has such a strange stereo. It's almost as if the speakers have been wired up incorrectly. It just sounds flat.

 

[mightyevi5u]

Have a read of the Pioneer Unit "Sticky" before opting for one of these - actually it would probably be wise to read that thread before opting to get any after-market unit.

I'll have a quick look for the sticky now.

 

[mightyevi5u]

I read through the Piioneer sticky and i'm guessing the Pioneer unit is not the same model as the rnse then? Was the pioneer provided as standard on later exeo's?

Who makes the RNSE and will it be an easy swap in/out for my standard unit?

 

[Dark Andrew]

The Pioneer was temporarily provided instead of the standard RNS-E due to shortage of stock following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. As far as I know, it was only fitted to a relatively small number of cars for a couple of months until the original RNS-E was available again.

 

[mightyevi5u]

If I get the RNSE is it just a case of swapping out the old unit for the new one, or is there any other programming or wiring that needs to be done.

Ie, would I be able to do it myself, or would I need to take it into a Seat Dealership to get it installed?

 

[mightyevi5u]

RNSE Help!

Hi LoonyJuice,

So was it just a case of swapping out the old unit and installing the RNSE? Or is there anything else I need to be aware of before I purchase the unit.

 

[M7R]

Have a look on Audi-sport.net in the a4 section there's info in there on upgrading the head unit, you can't just fit any old head unit though without extra wiring, the amp in the boot has a split feed and the speakers in the back wont be amped unless you use the proper looms.

I would suggest either a rnse upgrade as that's plug and play, bar the extra looms needed for the nav etc, or invest in a dynavin head unit, which is fully compatable with the amp inc Bose and has more features than the rnse units.. That's what in saving for to go in my a4 (both the wife's exeo and my b6 a4 have the Bose system, hers with rnse head unit and mine the symphony 6cd changer and mine sounds deeper and richer so some cost cutting has gone on even in the exeo Bose system!)

 

[mightyevi5u]

I would suggest either a rnse upgrade as that's plug and play, bar the extra looms needed for the nav etc,

An RNSE was what i'm thinking anyway, I want to keep it as simple as possible.
With regards to the looms thats what I was worried about. Would the wiring I need already be there and just not connected?

 

[Loonyjuice]

Not sure what looms you're referring to, unless you mean the GPS receiver? I just pulled the old unit out, threw the receiver into the abyss behind the dash, and slotted the RNS-E in. All the connectors are the same, I would have though they are the same no matter what head unit you get - at least they are in modern cars.

 

[mightyevi5u]

Not sure what looms you're referring to, unless you mean the GPS receiver? I just pulled the old unit out, threw the receiver into the abyss behind the dash, and slotted the RNS-E in. All the connectors are the same, I would have though they are the same no matter what head unit you get - at least they are in modern cars.

Thats what I was hoping, looking at your profile i've got the exact same model Exeo as you so hopefully mine should be the same. I was just concerned about other threads i've read on various forums about post installation tasks such as telling the car it now has Navigation installed and also programming the wheel and the DIS. But to be honest most of the threads seem to focus on audi forums so maybe this is just applicable to certain Audi models.

 

[Loonyjuice]

I did lose the ability to click the left wheel to select an option on the head unit. I have a dension ipod adapter, so I would click the wheel to select the cd changer disc (which selects the search type). Everything else still works, including blue tooth. I don't know if the newer models, with the colour dash, have the navigation details displayed in the centre screen.

 

[mightyevi5u]

Did you go for the LED Screen Seat Exeo RNSE model?