Helix Soundbox highs/mids sounds CRAP

[gamille]

I'm not sure what others are running, but my screw came from the manufacturer adjusted fully clockwise (guessing full gain). I turned it fully counter clockwise until it stopped, counting the number of flats on my screwdriver side (6 sided). I got about 4 flats, so not even a full turn.

I then adjusted to the mid position of the full screw range, about 2 flats. So, my 1/2 down or 50% is of the full screw range.

Again, be gentle and have a proper fitting philips (like from a eyeglass repair kit; I use a computer driver set). It doesn't take much force.

 

[snobrdrdan]

Just to make sure I wasn't crazy:

Or maybe I'm special? It's that blue and white bit you're seeing above the status light.

Ahh...I think there's a cover/plastic screw over mine, that's why

 

[wy2sl0]

The clipping won't disappear. Unfortunately it is a combination of input signal from an amped source (high level) and headroom to amplify that signal being maxed. Remember, to be twice as loud, or 10db gain, requires ten times more power. I used to run 300w RMS per channel ( tweets mids subs) in my previous car which was basically for dynamics as music isn't static ( hook up a volt meter and a song will be playing 5w one second and 30 the next). The DSP uses eq and time alignment to center vocals and instruments on the dash. To do so it boosts and cuts a range of frequencies which will further reduce volume before clipping is heard since trying to reproduce certain frequencies where a speaker is inefficient takes a lot of resources.
If you want loud reproduction with no distortion you are going to need efficient speakers with a ton of power.

 

[yo_marc]

My helix is untuned, so take my experience for what its worth:

I experienced distortion around 40% when I first installed my system - The biggest help for me was flattening the factory systems EQ, and then making sure my sources were clean and that there was no additional coloring being done to the music. (no EQ's set on any plug-in devices)

I think the Helix is really good at drawing out flaws in recordings, mixes, source, bit-rate, etc. It's not a forgiving system and the sound can be a little sterile. Bad recordings sound horrible, good ones can sound pretty darn good. So you really have to be picky and choosy with what you play loud and how. Well, at least I do...

In my experience:

MP3 over USB and (some, not all) HD-radio - Best sources.
Carplay MP3 - Not bad, but not as good as above. Loses about 10% volume.
Carplay streaming music - Noticeable degradation in quality.
Bluetooth MP3 - Quite bad.

Haven't tried CD or MP3 over memory reader.

I've had my volume up to 80% with some music just because I was surprised at how clean it still was. LOUD, but no harshness or distortion. Can't do that will all kinds of music or sources though.

 

[yo_marc]

One other subject --

I was involved in a thread a few months back where there was some confusion about factory base-model speakers.

Some may have had some proof the base models speakers differed from the ones in the factory Fender system. Others I believe had proof the base-models matched the Fender speakers. I think the difference that was noted as that the non-Fender base speakers were found somewhere in Europe.

I am lead to believe that here in the US - Base model speakers match the Fenders.

May be something to look into...

 

[daniel2017]

One other subject --

I was involved in a thread a few months back where there was some confusion about factory base-model speakers.

Some may have had some proof the base models speakers differed from the ones in the factory Fender system. Others I believe had proof the base-models matched the Fender speakers. I think the difference that was noted as that the non-Fender base speakers were found somewhere in Europe.

I am lead to believe that here in the US - Base model speakers match the Fenders.

May be something to look into...

Thats a good point, im here in the UK so maybe the speakers are rubbish. I wonder if upgrading them would help much.

Like your previous post im finding some songs sweet and some I just have to turn off.

Ive turned the gain down and am now using my iphone at half volume which is helping a little bit. Overall it doesnt sound too bad when at a lower volume - I think my expectations were just too high in terms of loudness

 

[gtihop]

I just had the helix spare tire subwoofer installed at VW
Are the factory speakers amplified with this?
and now the front rear fader is different. rear is sub only and front is the 4 front speakers. Is this normal? It was coded and programmed to 15 GTI but doesn't sound right

 

[gamille]

I just had the helix spare tire subwoofer installed at VW
Are the factory speakers amplified with this?
and now the front rear fader is different. rear is sub only and front is the 4 front speakers. Is this normal? It was coded and programmed to 15 GTI but doesn't sound right

Both of ours aren't coded yet, but I would say that doesn't sound like either of our cars. Our fader function really remained unchanged. I'm not sure if you programmed it or a dealer, but I'm not a very trusting person. I would want some confirmation that it was set correctly. This distrust may be misguided, but when I called my dealer, they had no clue what I was talking about and said they would look into and call me back. When they did, the answer was that they could reprogram my "radio" for $114 each. This didn't instill me with a warm, fuzzy.

But, yes the DSP/amp does power the other speakers as well as the sub.

My programmer should be in Monday, and I keep mentioning that my wife's car sounds way better than mine with the same settings. Both are manual 2017, S GTIs. I'm very interested to check how each is coded, if possible.

 

[gtihop]

The dealer did all of it. I'll check to make sure it's wired correctly.
According to the you tube video, the only wires that need to be changed in the car plug is the power and ground. The book wiring diagram has you moving a bunch of wires in the factory plug. does anyone know what is correct

 

[yo_marc]

gamille -- Have you considered swapping soundboxes between the vehicles to see if the one with the better programming also changes?

Not looking to make you jump through hoops. If inconvenient, please don't go out of your way.

Just curious... I would assume the better sound would follow that particular soundbox. If not, then I assume the difference is somewhere in the vehicle.

 

[beardedGTI]

The dealer did all of it. I'll check to make sure it's wired correctly.
According to the you tube video, the only wires that need to be changed in the car plug is the power and ground. The book wiring diagram has you moving a bunch of wires in the factory plug. does anyone know what is correct

The soundbox is set up to work with several variations/generations of VW headunits which have different pinouts. The manual shows variations based on model. For mib1/2, you only have to swap the power wires.

 

[copperbricks]

Just to chime in a little bit on this thread, I found out that Helix offers some replacement component speakers with crossovers etc and matching wiring harness. I already have the soundbox and I'm pretty happy with it, but wouldn't mind something of an upgrade so I'll be putting those in and seeing how it sounds. Not averse to buying a proper Helix DSP if it sound awful and needs tuning. Anyone know if the helix wiring harness would be compatible with a helix pp50 or pp52 dsp?

 

[beardedGTI]

The soundbox is a pp50. Pretty sure 52 was pin compatible.

 

[Bomb Hanks]

Have those with this sound quality issues had their soundbox coded with the dongle for their respective car types? I have the same issue of full range sound coming from every speaker, doesn't seem like the crossover is engaged at all. Dealer will have the dongle tomorrow so I am hoping that after proper coding this unit will sound clean.

 

[gtihop]

The soundbox is set up to work with several variations/generations of VW headunits which have different pinouts. The manual shows variations based on model. For mib1/2, you only have to swap the power wires.

its a 2015 base gti, not sure if mib 1/2