Looking to do serious audio upgrade - Sydney

[Oddman]

Hi all!

I finally have the means after some time to be able to upgrade my polo's sound system. Poor girl has had the stock audio absolutely pillaged as a result of me liking my music loud: left speaker gone, right tweeter gone, left tweeter and right speaker on its way out.

As a result, looking to replace (read: upgrade!!) the current system, meaning better splits, better tweeters, and a couple of 10" subs installed (preferably flat subs to save space). Ideally, I'd even like these on display in the back, but the the shallower the housings, the better (boot space isn't all that great!)

I'm not only looking for product suggestions but also installation suggestions - who's the best person to go to for this sort of work? Finally, may look at replacing head unit if it doesn't screw with the existing features.

[Lucas_R]

Whats your budget? Answering that question upfront will dictate what people will recommend to you. Are you able to do some of the work yourself (eg basic speaker replacement in the doors and sound deadening) as that will save you a good chunk of money.

Stereo installs can get very expensive once you start saying yes to options. And the install will cost you just as much as the parts themselves, if not more - especially if you want subs on show etc.

I know with the Golf's, you can get sub enclosures that are moulded to fit into the side of the boot so they take up minimal space (to suit a 10" sub). Im sure you will find a similar product for the Polo that might be worth considering.

[Oddman]

Whats your budget? Answering that question upfront will dictate what people will recommend to you. Are you able to do some of the work yourself (eg basic speaker replacement in the doors and sound deadening) as that will save you a good chunk of money.

Stereo installs can get very expensive once you start saying yes to options. And the install will cost you just as much as the parts themselves, if not more - especially if you want subs on show etc.

I know with the Golf's, you can get sub enclosures that are moulded to fit into the side of the boot so they take up minimal space (to suit a 10" sub). Im sure you will find a similar product for the Polo that might be worth considering.

Thanks, Lucas! Budget would be around 5 grand. Subs don't -have- to be on show - and what you recommend actually sounds pretty bloody good. What do you mean by saying "yes" to options?

For the enclosure, you mean something like this: Volkswagen Polo 2009 - 2017 Dual 10inch sub subwoofer box - premium sound | eBay ??

[Lucas_R]

I guess what I meant was, you can replace your speakers with say a Focal drop in component upgrade for about $250-300 per door, or you can go nuts and spend $1k+ per door for top of the line stuff. So with a budget in mind, you can say yes to certain options, but obviously have to draw the line so you dont go over your budget. Car audio can get very expensive with high end components.

That sub mount you linked to would be a good solution if you want twin 10" subs, and still allows you to retain a decent sized boot.

[Oddman]

I guess what I meant was, you can replace your speakers with say a Focal drop in component upgrade for about $250-300 per door, or you can go nuts and spend $1k+ per door for top of the line stuff. So with a budget in mind, you can say yes to certain options, but obviously have to draw the line so you dont go over your budget. Car audio can get very expensive with high end components.

That sub mount you linked to would be a good solution if you want twin 10" subs, and still allows you to retain a decent sized boot.

Yeah, cheers.

I'm currently looking at the JL speaker lineup, particularly the shallow subs to fit in the boot like that. Seems like it would be within budget, but surely having the subs there would create audio artifacts?

Could you elaborate on Focal drop in component? Does Focal make literal drop-in speaker replacements for cars like the Polo? If so, that could definitely be a nice way of keeping costs down up front.

Also, is sound deadening worth doing? I've had a few quotes where they offer this - I tend to play my music with windows down most of the time, even during a light rain...

Thanks for all your advice

[Lucas_R]

Well Focal do plug and play speaker replacements for the Golf (as well as other popular cars like Mazda, Ford etc etc). Might be worth considering.

I replaced the speakers in my Mk6 Golf R a few years back with the Focals and they were a nice upgrade in both volume and bass - still driven off the head unit.

And I am in the process of doing the same again in my Mk7 GTI, along with sound deadening this time. Still driven off the factory head unit. I have currently upgraded the speakers in the passenger side along with the addition of sound deadener and you can certainly hear the difference in volume, clarity and bass compared to the original speakers on the drivers side. I will tackle the drivers side in the next few weeks as time allows.

Looking on the Focal website, its saying the 6R Polo uses the ISVW 165 speakers (165mm or 6.5") which are the same ones that my Mk6 Golf used. If you Google the part # you will find them available cheaper from places in the UK or Europe.

They are about $450 a pair locally, but you can save about $100 a pair buying from UK.

VW Polo V | urban (2009-2016) | 6R |EN | Focal Inside

As for sound deadening, I have used it in other cars before and it has made a difference. It only cost me $60 for 2sqm of this so its not expensive. This amount is plenty to do the 4 doors as well as having some left over. Although if you want to sound deaden the hatch also then you will need more. BIG DOG SOUND DEADENING ROLL

[Oddman]

So I've gone and organised this, through a company called autolux in Sydney. Getting a full JL Audio install - all speakers replaced plus some upgrades. Should be amazing

[Lucas_R]

So I've gone and organised this, through a company called autolux in Sydney. Getting a full JL Audio install - all speakers replaced plus some upgrades. Should be amazing

Cool - keep us updated when its done. Some pics would be great too.

[Oddman]

Yeah for sure, will do. I'm also looking at redoing all the upholstery to a gorgeous dark red leather with the same group. I'll post each update/modification and start a new thread once it's got something to report. hehe

[Oddman]

So all done on the audio + leather. Video below