Helix Soundbox Upgrade Information Post!

[StealthGTI]

It may be saying something about the "volume" not being found. What it means is that you have to name the volume, the SD card, "VW_SOUNDSYS" before it will put the files on your card. Remember, it's not just unzipping files; it's creating a bootable image. So, the name of the volume is critical for the EXE file to work. If your problem is something else, perhaps reformatting the card will help. But that's a guess, to be honest.

 

[itsjonduhh]

Installed mine this weekend and documented it for fellow S Trim owners (the amp and connectors are behind the touchscreen, not in the glovebox).

http://imgur.com/a/NIfuomp

Hope it helps, would be awesome if it was add to the first page so it doesn't get buried!

 

[boston_chris]

Installed mine this weekend and documented it for fellow S Trim owners (the amp and connectors are behind the touchscreen, not in the glovebox).

http://imgur.com/a/NIfuomp

Hope it helps, would be awesome if it was add to the first page so it doesn't get buried!

This is super helpful. How doable is the install without the radio keys? I'm starting to think I should have picked those up.

 

[itsjonduhh]

This is super helpful. How doable is the install without the radio keys? I'm starting to think I should have picked those up.

glad to help! it's definitely needed for the bottom two locks, i picked up a 4 pack from amazon for cheap. i'd highly recommend it.

 

[StorableComa]

This is super helpful. How doable is the install without the radio keys? I'm starting to think I should have picked those up.

Radio keys help getting the brain box out of the glove box. Wiring might be a pain in the butt without them to help pull it free. A cheap set will do, I used the ones that came in my trim puller kit.

 

[boston_chris]

Radio keys help getting the brain box out of the glove box. Wiring might be a pain in the butt without them to help pull it free. A cheap set will do, I used the ones that came in my trim puller kit.

I ended up doing it by chopping up some credit cards into the right shape. This was a huge pain and I'd recommend buying the keys for anyone else with a mk7.5

I agree with some earlier poster who described the stock system as a 3/10 and the unprogrammed helix as a 6/10. It still totally misses some mid frequencies (the piano on Billie Eilish - everything i wanted), the highs are still pretty harsh, and the woofers are still struggling to produce bass. However all these problems are IMPROVED and at least the highs now distort at like 50% volume instead of 30% which was my biggest complaint

Will update when I get it programmed tomorrow.

 

[itsjonduhh]

Will update when I get it programmed tomorrow.

Where are you getting it programmed? I'm waiting on the arrival from the rental thread...

 

[boston_chris]

Where are you getting it programmed? I'm waiting on the arrival from the rental thread...

I dug around and found another person in Boston with one! I'll ask for permission before posting his username - I imagine this thread gets a lot of traffic and he might not want the spam. But if you're also in Boston feel free to message me.

If that hadn't worked out I'd probably be calling local dealers and begging them to do it.

 

[boston_chris]

Just got mine programmed! I think it helped blend the speakers and added some soundstage. The problems I mentioned earlier are still there though. Overall my ranking is
stock system - 3/10
unprogrammed helix - 5/10
programmed helix - 6/10

Seems like the next upgrade would be getting better woofers, but I'll give it a few months first. And I'd like to replace the subwoofer with something that fits alongside the spare instead of on top. Maybe re-use the speakers in a smaller enclosure? I think stealthgti did this. I'd even consider losing the sub and just using the amp, I think that alone would give 90% of the benefits.

 

[helushune]

It still totally misses some mid frequencies (the piano on Billie Eilish - everything i wanted), the highs are still pretty harsh, and the woofers are still struggling to produce bass.

Source has a lot of play in how things sound through the Helix. I'm still trying to figure out the fine details but I think my 320 mp3s sound better than the FLACs on a sd card/running through plexamp on my phone. For some reason, the mp3s of The Crystal Method really thump and can shake my rear-view mirror but I can barely hear the bass drum or bass guitar of Porcupine Tree FLACs sometimes. Right now, I'm blaming the poor mid-range response on the in-door woofers.

 

[boston_chris]

Source has a lot of play in how things sound through the Helix. I'm still trying to figure out the fine details but I think my 320 mp3s sound better than the FLACs on a sd card/running through plexamp on my phone. For some reason, the mp3s of The Crystal Method really thump and can shake my rear-view mirror but I can barely hear the bass drum or bass guitar of Porcupine Tree FLACs sometimes. Right now, I'm blaming the poor mid-range response on the in-door woofers.

I was thinking about this too! I genuinely think the radio sounds better than CarPlay audio, playing the same song through both. I suspect the CarPlay source is too loud and is hitting some noise ceiling.

I think the woofers and tweeters are equally problematic. If you listen to a song with super-high treble (Ribs - Lorde) it just distorts it to shit even at low volume. But the woofers totally miss some frequencies which is rough too.

Another idea I had is to just get an LC2i and adjust the frequencies manually.

 

[helushune]

I suspect the CarPlay source is too loud and is hitting some noise ceiling.

I've run in to this same peaking issue too many times on different devices that I set my source device output to ~80% and adjust volume on the receiving unit out of habit now.

I had to do some work from home today and put on the Stars Die: The Delerium Years album by Porcupine Tree since how it sounds on the Helix is fresh in my memory and understand what you mean by the high end distortion. The songs are much clearer on the speakers I use with my PC and noise cancelling headphones; comparing them to the Helix is unfair but they do point out where the Helix is falling short. I'm hoping a decent component speaker set will solve the clarity problems but still need to do research. The LC2i is also on my list of things to try.

 

[StorableComa]

I've run in to this same peaking issue too many times on different devices that I set my source device output to ~80% and adjust volume on the receiving unit out of habit now.

I had to do some work from home today and put on the Stars Die: The Delerium Years album by Porcupine Tree since how it sounds on the Helix is fresh in my memory and understand what you mean by the high end distortion. The songs are much clearer on the speakers I use with my PC and noise cancelling headphones; comparing them to the Helix is unfair but they do point out where the Helix is falling short. I'm hoping a decent component speaker set will solve the clarity problems but still need to do research. The LC2i is also on my list of things to try.

You did flatten out the EQ on the dash correct? The DSP on the Helix can be a bit wonky if you go higher than a few clicks i've noticed on anything but bass.

 

[helushune]

You did flatten out the EQ on the dash correct? The DSP on the Helix can be a bit wonky if you go higher than a few clicks i've noticed on anything but bass.

Tried it flat and adjusted each one individually. I was going to re-encode the album as 320 mp3 and see if that makes any difference but I think it's limitations of the stock speaker response range combined with road noise, which is fine. At work, I have some open-back headphones and miss the small details all the time with the drone of servers.

 

[itsjonduhh]

just programmed mine this weekend and am very pleased. listening to spotify mostly (mp3, 320kbps) and for $400ish it's worth every penny. AB'd with my friend's Tidal uncompressed audio and didn't notice a marked improvement. definitely unnoticable while driving.

stock was fine, arguably better than any of my friend's stock systems.

unprogrammed it was definitely an improvement in the low-end (though not perfect, a little mushy and uneven) and the stereo image was much more noticeable. the upper-mids weren't as harsh as i thought they would be, but were very fatiguing at higher volumes on the highway.

programming evened out and increased the bass response in my situation. the upper-mids were tamed at higher volumes. coming from a recording studio background i'm very satisfied in the balance that's achieved here.