Fender Audio System sounding flat?

[SnailpowerMk7]

Hey guys, fairly new. Got my car last week and discovered it has a "sound system" over the standard GTI trim. So yeah, this Fender system, why the heck does it sound so flat? Like, the bass is weak and I feel like my music going through bluetooth just sounds very flat, almost like I'm running stereo out of an old school radio. I'm not sure what I'm missing. I bumped up the bass to like 1 tick from the top but the bass is still very weak. I then lowered the treble closer towards the middle. I believe 1 or 2 up from the middle. It's not doing much... My Mk6 GTI was basic trim and the sound was so much more powerful. Not sure what I'm missing here...

On a side note, does anyone know how to set it so that every time I link my phone to the car it doesn't automatically default to loop the music? I thought I found a setting somewhere in the sound settings that talked about repeat and I unchecked it. Didn't seem to make a difference.

 

[randomhobo130]

If you have the fender system, there should be an option to turn the subwoofer itself up. Are you seeing this?

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

If you have the fender system, there should be an option to turn the subwoofer itself up. Are you seeing this?

Yeah, that is also part of the volume level controls. I put that one all the way up also and don't hear it all that much.

 

[Keehs360]

If you’re connected via Bluetooth I think it takes into consideration you phones equalizer settings too? Maybe?

 

[Diggs24]

Put some songs on an SD card and try that.

 

[Sc629]

BT and Radio sound fine on fender.

(Most important**) Double check your sub is plugged in under the trunk false floor and that sound is coming out of it.

Double check your phone equalizer settings

My personal fender settings with more balanced bass is +4sub, +3bass, -2mid, +1high. If I want more base, I turn sub and bass up 1 more. If bass is still weak, I’m inclined to believe there’s an issue somewhere. I use BT 99% of the time so it’s not the issue. Fender is not the most amazing system compared to higher end like Audi’s Bang and Olufson but it is a very solid system

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

BT and Radio sound fine on fender.

(Most important**) Double check your sub is plugged in under the trunk false floor and that sound is coming out of it.

Double check your phone equalizer settings

My personal fender settings with more balanced bass is +4sub, +3bass, -2mid, +1high. If I want more base, I turn sub and bass up 1 more. If bass is still weak, I’m inclined to believe there’s an issue somewhere. I use BT 99% of the time so it’s not the issue. Fender is not the most amazing system compared to higher end like Audi’s Bang and Olufson but it is a very solid system

Thanks dude. I'll have a look see later today. I typically only use BT audio and coming from my mk6 with base level audio, it sounded so much more powerful than this. I even upgraded it to the touchscreen display from the VW China cars and was told it would weaken the overall sound quality. I think I did notice that on the mk6, but even in it's weaker state, it was more potent than this one thus far... That really says a lot to me anyway.

I also checked my phone sound settings. I'm paired with my Galaxy S8. It had Dolby Atmos but my equalizer settings are greyed out so it is not inheriting them. I actually toggled off the Dolby Atmos and it sounded even worse, lol.

 

[KevinC]

I even upgraded it to the touchscreen display from the VW China cars and was told it would weaken the overall sound quality.

Wait... WUT?! Why would changing the display have ANY effect on sound quality? That makes zero sense.

No reason to use Bluetooth streaming when you've got a dedicated SD slot and a 64gb card costs $15. Move your library to SD card and you'll get better sound, album art (as long as the art embedded in your files is 500x500 or below) and no futzing around with cranky Bluetooth, which also introduces more compression.

 

[Javwohl]

I agree with Sc629. Double check to make sure the sub is plugged in. Had the same problem with my last one had no bass at all checked the sub was plug in and wasn't plugged it in made huge difference.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

Wait... WUT?! Why would changing the display have ANY effect on sound quality? That makes zero sense.

No reason to use Bluetooth streaming when you've got a dedicated SD slot and a 64gb card costs $15. Move your library to SD card and you'll get better sound, album art (as long as the art embedded in your files is 500x500 or below) and no futzing around with cranky Bluetooth, which also introduces more compression.

It wasn't just the display, it was the entire head unit. I went from this guy basically, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Head-Unit-...at-Beetle-Genuine-1K0-035-164-D-/352753521864

To this guy,
https://www.reddit.com/r/GolfGTI/comments/8wy81s
The one I got was off AliExpress and costed around 180. It was out of the Chinese VW cars and came with an adapter. Apparently because of the adapter need, it would degrade the quality of the overall sound. While it may had slightly, after some adjustments, it sounded just as good as OEM and definitely better than this Fender sound system.

I use the Bluetooth functionality for the convenience. I literally walk into the car, turn it on and the music picks up where it left off. If I need to get an SD card, then I need to go back and forth loading it with music. Kind of an extra hassle but I can see if you don't use your phone for music at all, you're just moving the hassle from one device to the other. I might give it a shot to just test the sound quality component.

 

[kevinkar]

I use the Bluetooth functionality for the convenience. I literally walk into the car, turn it on and the music picks up where it left off. If I need to get an SD card, then I need to go back and forth loading it with music. Kind of an extra hassle but I can see if you don't use your phone for music at all, you're just moving the hassle from one device to the other. I might give it a shot to just test the sound quality component.

That's actually a good reason to use the phone/bluetooth but don't you still have to transfer the music to the phone? I've got so much music on my SD card I only add to it every 6 months or so. Otherwise I just listen to all my new music at work or at home.

Regardless, I have had intermittent bass dropouts in my '18R. Listening to one song and it's fine but the next has no bass. Turn it up but nothing. Drop back a song and it seems flat as you describe. Go back and forth through the music and it's like the sub is disconnected. Next day, it's all fine. So, it's possible we are experiencing a bad connection somewhere or a bug/glitch. Because it happens rarely and is not repeatable, I have not gone in to the dealer for any check. But it does sound flat when that happens.

 

[c31561]

It wasn't just the display, it was the entire head unit. I went from this guy basically, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Head-Unit-...at-Beetle-Genuine-1K0-035-164-D-/352753521864

The one I got was off AliExpress and costed around 180. It was out of the Chinese VW cars and came with an adapter. Apparently because of the adapter need, it would degrade the quality of the overall sound. While it may had slightly, after some adjustments, it sounded just as good as OEM and definitely better than this Fender sound system.

I am confused, what year is your car? What you have pictured is the RCD-510 for the MK6 and the link is also for a MK6. Or did you get a RCD-520 for the MK7?

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

I am confused, what year is your car? What you have pictured is the RCD-510 for the MK6 and the link is also for a MK6. Or did you get a RCD-520 for the MK7?

Sorry for the confusion. I was responding to KevinC who thought I only changed the display when I was referring to my Mk6. I posted the unit I had and what I upgraded to.