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Helix Soundbox VW sound upgrade HELP!

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Chkine05tdi

New member
Location
Indiana
The distortion will not be affected by programming, the issue is the amp/DSP. Listen to good quality audio, don't expect too much for this inexpensive add on, etc. Also the gain on the Helix only changes the subwoofer output, not the whole amp.
Click to expand...

I should have clarified about clipping vs distortion. I had clipping at higher volumes.

I just programmed my GSW to 60 as the manual calls out, and My system sounds better now at louder volumes. Before programming I got quite a bit of clipping starting around half volume, now after the programming I can go well over half and not hear any clipping. I tried a few songs, and all sounded good. I'm heading on a longer road trip later in the week, and will give it a good workout then, but for now, I'm happy with the improvement!
 
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Anchorjaw

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Los Angeles
So I've had my helix sub for a few months now but never had it programmed. Recently played a song with some pretty low bass and got really bad distortion like pops and crackles. Did I do any damage? Didn't go past 60% volume and +2 on the bass

Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk
 
flipflp

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
^^^ This

I don't think an unprogrammed unit is more likely to cause distortion or damage your speakers, but it definitely doesn't sound as good as it should.
 
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Chkine05tdi

New member
Location
Indiana
I was in the car for 4 hours today, and was able to really give the newly programmed Helix a workout. I have to say, I'm very pleased with the performance now! Before I programmed it, I was ready to take it back out and go back to stock, as it just did not sound good, and I also had the distortion, and popping coming from the front tweeters. After programming the bass sounds better, the sound stage sounds great, and no more distortion or clipping at higher volumes, and it also seems louder, so I'm not turning it up as far either. I also purchased one of the demo switches that allows you to turn the Helix system on and off by flipping the switch, and you can tell a huge difference doing this. There is no sound stage with stock, and very limited bass response. I didn't think stock was all that bad, but I sure do like the improvements the Helix provides.

Bottom line. To those that have not programmed, do yourself a favor and get it done, it is well worth the few bucks it costs to rent one of the dongles from the members on this forum!
 
Chillout

Chillout

Go Kart Champion
Location
the Netherlands
Car(s)
SEAT Leon FR ST
I took the programmer apart last night.
This thing is pretty simple on the inside:


The cable is like a regular straight UTP cable, just with a different color coding.


I'm pretty sure the DSP unit can be programmed through a simple serial interface.
 
BlueHen

BlueHen

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Delmarva
ohgawdammit

I was moving my soundbox today and had to unplug the harness. Booooooiiiiinnnnng! Out popped one of the wires :eek: :



Anybody have a link to a tutorial and supply list on how to re-pin this? I tried jamming it back in like a neanderthal, to no avail, so I need to know how to properly re-pin this kind of connector. I do NOT have soldering skills. :(

Sound still works, btw, and all equalizer adjustments made the sound change, so not sure what I lost exactly - but I still want to get it repinned.
 
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beardedGTI

Ready to race!
Location
Louisville, KY
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport 6mt
It's very likely a molex pin. Do you have older pc peripherals laying around like a power supply or something? You can easily steal one from them. If not I have some laying around that might fit I can send you (depends on #3 below).

1.) tape up the wire for now so it's not dangling around.
2.) Extract the old pin by shoving a paper clip down in the connector to push the "fingers" to the side. Normally you would then just pull on the wire but since the wire is broken you'll need to jimmy it. Be warned this will require a bit of patience.
3.) Post pic of pin once you extract it. If possible, measure length of the metal piece from tip to the collar still on the wire.
 
F

figgy1

Ready to race!
Location
Ireland
Chkine05tdi said:
I should have clarified about clipping vs distortion. I had clipping at higher volumes.

I just programmed my GSW to 60 as the manual calls out, and My system sounds better now at louder volumes. Before programming I got quite a bit of clipping starting around half volume, now after the programming I can go well over half and not hear any clipping. I tried a few songs, and all sounded good. I'm heading on a longer road trip later in the week, and will give it a good workout then, but for now, I'm happy with the improvement!
Click to expand...

Happy that the programming dongle got it sorted out for you in the end;)
 
Chillout

Chillout

Go Kart Champion
Location
the Netherlands
Car(s)
SEAT Leon FR ST
beardedGTI said:
It most certainly can. The atm324p is well documented. The problem is figuring out the protocol without fryin any of the pins.
Click to expand...

If I had more free time, I would investigate...
I guess it's not hard to find out which pin is used for power/ground, tracing the leads on the PCB. Then there's an RX an TX, and I don't think most of the other pins do much.
 
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gimmetaffy

New member
Location
Boston
Got my GTI about a month ago. Installed the Helix myself yesterday in roughly 2 hours. Thanks to Kevin Hannon's YouTube videos. THANKS! It sounds a TON better. Not sure if it came coded properly, it sounds pretty darn good, but I'm in line to rent a programmer anyway. Definitely, would recommend anyone else interested in this part to do it themselves. Seems like very few dealers know what they're doing for this install, save yourself the headache.
 
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beardedGTI

Ready to race!
Location
Louisville, KY
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport 6mt
Chillout said:
If I had more free time, I would investigate...
I guess it's not hard to find out which pin is used for power/ground, tracing the leads on the PCB. Then there's an RX an TX, and I don't think most of the other pins do much.
Click to expand...

It's a multilayer pcb, tracing is tough. Not saying it's impossible. I took a stab at it awhile back and could not accurately trace them though.
 
K

KFiddy

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Adelaide
to all those waiting to program their Helix I'd recommend trying some of the other settings as well, I went through them all and found 13 was way better than the one recommended
 
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