Upgrading speakers on a VW rns 310.

[Kev78]

I’ve just bought a 2016 VW and I like almost everything about it other than the audio.

I’d rather stick with the standard rns 310 head unit and upgrade the speakers. It’s has components in the front and coaxials in the rear doors.

I’ve seen a few replacement sets on amazon but I’m wondering how much of a improvenment they will be without a amplifier?

I haven’t bought speakers, amps or subs since my max power days.

My last few cars have all been good from factory. But this sounds really “tinny” in comparison.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want to buy, be disappointed and buy again.

Thanks

[xjay1337]

Kev78 said:

I’ve just bought a 2016 VW and I like almost everything about it other than the audio.

I’d rather stick with the standard rns 310 head unit and upgrade the speakers. It’s has components in the front and coaxials in the rear doors.

I’ve seen a few replacement sets on amazon but I’m wondering how much of a improvenment they will be without a amplifier?

I haven’t bought speakers, amps or subs since my max power days.

My last few cars have all been good from factory. But this sounds really “tinny” in comparison.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want to buy, be disappointed and buy again.

Thanks

Problem is, the speakers are OK, it's just the head unit which cannot drive the speakers very well as the inbuilt amps and processing are awful.

I would upgrade personally. I have a Kenwood DNX520 which was an option back in the day from VW.
They have brought out newer version that are nicer looking etc. Has inbuilt Garmin Nav , Bluetooth and the later models can even display the heating settings on the screen etc.
These have proper outputs.

Regarding speakers some will take the OEM connectors, the good ones will have an inline unit which will require a little bit of wiring
I had Hertz ESKL units, pricey but were very good. But notably better once again once I fitted a better head unit.

[Kev78]

xjay1337 said:

Problem is, the speakers are OK, it's just the head unit which cannot drive the speakers very well as the inbuilt amps and processing are awful.

I would upgrade personally. I have a Kenwood DNX520 which was an option back in the day from VW.
They have brought out newer version that are nicer looking etc. Has inbuilt Garmin Nav , Bluetooth and the later models can even display the heating settings on the screen etc.
These have proper outputs.

Regarding speakers some will take the OEM connectors, the good ones will have an inline unit which will require a little bit of wiring
I had Hertz ESKL units, pricey but were very good. But notably better once again once I fitted a better head unit.

Thanks Jay.

Would a small 4 channel amp be ok? I’ve just dropped a lot of money on this truck and she will notice if the head unit changes

I’ve been looking at Hertz, Focal, Alpine and Rockford.

[xjay1337]

You can get a 4ch amp sure.
I ran one, with stock head unit was a bit of a pain on the wiring side. Luckily I have a mate who does a lot of Audio stuff so he did it for me.

It will improve the sound quality a lot for sure.
But it's kind of like putting a turbo on an MX5, no matter what you do it's no S2000 :-)

Depends on your budget and what you want, the Hertz units had to split the original wiring and then put this to the little in-line unit and then run wire from this to the speaker.
Bit more of a pain as you have to remove connectors etc.

If you wanted a more plug and play then you would lose a little bit of quality and generally this are a bit cheaper but again it depends on your budget and how far you want to go. I think Focal do some units which are plug and play.

Would recommend a bit of sound deadening material as well.
Don't bother with the big branded stuff, just get the cheap ste from Ebay works just as well. Don't need to coat the whole car but a bit around the speakers and around any parts that rattle will help too

There's a FB page budget boomers that sells a lot of used / second hand stuff .

[Kev78]

The spec says it supports a amplifier. I was thinking if I buy a hertz 4 channel, components for the front and coaxials for the rear it would sound good?

Would the head unit be that detrimental to the amp?

I love to buy a new headunit. The lack of DAB is irritating. But she will recognise it instantly.

I had a £12k limit for a van and I bought a 2016 Amarok. I’m still in the doghouse as it is.

[SteBrown91]

The above unit is old! The rns310 was from the 09-10 era cars and replaced by the rns315 which looked the same but had more features and better Interface.

It won’t take an aftermarket amp (no OEM will)

What it means is it will support them factory upgrade amp of whatever it’s fitted to (dynaudio etc)

You can fit an aftermarket amp to your existing unit with the right adaptor easily enough you can get some good quality line out adapters nowadays.

[Kev78]

SteBrown91 said:

The above unit is old! The rns310 was from the 09-10 era cars and replaced by the rns315 which looked the same but had more features and better Interface.

It won’t take an aftermarket amp (no OEM will)

What it means is it will support them factory upgrade amp of whatever it’s fitted to (dynaudio etc)

You can fit an aftermarket amp to your existing unit with the right adaptor easily enough you can get some good quality line out adapters nowadays.

I must have a 315 then. It’s got Bluetooth and a reversing camera/sensors but no DAB.
I’ve been having a look this afternoon and shortlisted these.

[Kev78]

[Kev78]

[gmaz]

Do you have room for an underseat sub? That will add much more bass fill to the sound, and allow your door speakers to deal with the mids

[Atomic GTI]

you need to figure out what you want to do as this potential project has already crept a lot!

The biggest factor will be getting the installation done correctly, especially if you are going to rip out the trim to run power cables for the amp \ speakers as it is the easiest way to introduce rattles which will detract from the experience.

I personally wouldn't bother with the rear speakers unless you have lots of passengers the sound you want to hear most will be coming from the front.

the hertz kit is a nice choice. the HSK speakers in sound deadened doors should make you smile.

[SwissJonese]

What VW model is it? My VW T5 Van had the worst, cheapest speakers possible from stock. We ripped them out and installed Hertz speakers fitted to a JL Audio Amp. The sound is so clear now. To be honest the upgrade to the latest Pioneer head unit also made a big difference too.

[Kev78]

I will have a look to see if I could fit a under seat sub. I did look at a Kenwood one.

I had a similar problem with a new Brera in 2009. I took it to safe and sound in droylsen. They installed a 1000 watt alpine mono amp and a 1500w alpine r series sub.

Obviously solved the low end bass but it was unbalanced and mid range was awful.

I will definitely get a professional installation and sound deadening.

It’s a 2016 Amarok highline. I have a feeling it will have the same speakers as a T5.

It sounds like the speakers aren’t good enough for the headunit and I know the 315 isn’t great.

I just want quality sound. I really do hate the current set up. It sounds weird to me.

Volume and clarity isn’t a issue. It’s just sounds “tinny”.

I did consider the speaker upgrade from skipton audio but I don’t think it will make a huge difference without a amp.

[Kev78]

Ive decided to go with a 4 channel amp to power components in the front and a sub in the rear.

I’m going to leave the rear door speakers standard.

Does anyone know where I can get a slim sub enclosure? Loads in Australia where “utes” are more popular but I can’t find anything over here.

[Legacywr]

OP, would it be ok to hijack this thread... a little, as I'm considering changing the front speakers in my Subaru STI.

I currently have Infinity 6.1 Perfects, will I notice much difference if I change to these JBL's?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JL-Audio-JL-TR650-CSI-6...

Or, even more expensive options?

I'm running a 4ch Alpine amp.

[Kev78]

Depends on your amp.

No point having components that good without the equivalent amp imo.

[Legacywr]

Sorry, it’s one of these... PDX-4.150 4 x 150W, the best part of £500 when I bought it.

https://www.alpine-usa.com/mobile/product/pdx-4150

Edited by Legacywr on Friday 26th October 13:01

[Legacywr]

Anybody?

[Kev78]

If I was paying £600 for components I’d want a better amp to drive them tbh.

I would think your infinity speakers sound good with that amp? I don’t think the difference would be huge.

[Legacywr]

I thought it was a good amp!?

I don’t really drive the speakers hard enough?

I’m going to treat myself to an Alpine head unit for sure.