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Helix Soundbox Upgrade Information Post!

sadsac

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
South East
Hello,
I did install the switch. I shared the info in this thread in this post. Here's a photo of my install:

I rarely change it back to "Original" since I don't need to. But it's cool on the rare occasion when I want to demo the Helix upgrade to a friend or acquaintance.

I assume the demo switch plugs in to the helix box rather than behind the dash? I like the idea of it. TIA
 

Strange Mud

Autocross Champion
Location
Small Town CT
Car(s)
Assorted
Does it shut off helix and go back to the orig speakers with no sub or does it adjust the programming /dsp?
 

zech912

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix AZ
So i thought I was done when I did the Helix and the Focal ES130K, but I had an extra set of Focal Utopia 165 w-rc woofers, and rather than take a beating on ebay on these beauties, when I learned (from this site) that installing 6.5” speakers was a simple matter of right adaptor and that, furthermore, a company named CDT makes an awesome CNC machined version, it was settled. The result is tremendous. This foundation matches the door holes perfectly AND the Focal holes perfectly. Also, the Focal woofers are 2Ω , so the Helix amp powers them extremely well.
 

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So i thought I was done when I did the Helix and the Focal ES130K, but I had an extra set of Focal Utopia 165 w-rc woofers, and rather than take a beating on ebay on these beauties, when I learned (from this site) that installing 6.5” speakers was a simple matter of right adaptor and that, furthermore, a company named CDT makes an awesome CNC machined version, it was settled. The result is tremendous. This foundation matches the door holes perfectly AND the Focal holes perfectly. Also, the Focal woofers are 2Ω , so the Helix amp powers them extremely well.
Can you post the link for the adapters? Are they needed front and rear?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

zech912

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix AZ
Can you post the link for the adapters? Are they needed front and rear?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Well, I just did the fronts, i have not actually changed the rear speakers at all. I am guessing the rears would be the same, as stock they probably are.

Here is the link on Amazon. But if you google or startpage CDT FM-007, you will end up at their website and could order there as well.

https://www.amazon.com/CDT-Audio-FM...ywords=cdt+fm+007&qid=1567815702&s=car&sr=1-1
 

zech912

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix AZ
One thing, the mount/adaptors come with 7 holes, and the other three are unneeded. VWs only have four holes and that is plenty. but you need to buy four M4 bolts and nuts, 16mm bolt length, washers would be good also, for the mount to door on each speaker. (m4 bolts for speaker to mount are included in box.). doing it this way is much cleaner than just drilling metal screws into the door, like come with a lot of speakers.
 

MysticBlueX3

Ready to race!
Location
Bay Area
Just finished installing the wiring harness. It came with two extra sets of wires that were not part of the wiring harness. What are they for? Everything works and sounds fine without it. Here is a photo of the wires I’m talking about.



I followed the wiring instructions from this YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59bKOruoJys

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cinderbike

Ready to race!
Location
NV
Just finished installing the wiring harness. It came with two extra sets of wires that were not part of the wiring harness. What are they for? Everything works and sounds fine without it. Here is a photo of the wires I’m talking about.



I followed the wiring instructions from this YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59bKOruoJys

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Think those are for mk5/6 installs IIRC. Glad they include them as I broke one of those retaining clips and had to poach one from the adapter.
 

MysticBlueX3

Ready to race!
Location
Bay Area
Think those are for mk5/6 installs IIRC. Glad they include them as I broke one of those retaining clips and had to poach one from the adapter.



Thanks! It’s always worrisome when you finish an install and you have parts or screws left over. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

StealthGTI

Autocross Champion
Location
Newport News, VA
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Hello,

The reason I went away from the LC2i was because it seemed "throaty," really punching up the bass around 50-70 Hz. That could be the way Helix processes sound to maximize the output of its 6-inch subwoofers. I'm not sure. If were to try something different, I'd see how it sounds running the Helix subwoofer output directly into the high-level input of my amplifier, which has a 45-Hz boost function that may overcome the 50-70 Hz punch. For now, I'm leaving well enough alone. ;)

I decided to try the LC2i again so I could free some real estate in my trunk. Sure enough, the "throaty" punch was back. I don't know why I didn't think of this two years ago, but I adjusted the low-pass crossover on my add-on 500-watt amplifier to around 55-60 Hz. In short, I turned it downward in frequency until the "punch" disappeared. It works great now!

My subwoofer is now handling only one octave instead whatever Helix is outputting at the subwoofer jack. Helix does a good job of managing bass to the door speakers, so mid-bass is more than adequate. Now my sub is augmenting only the deepest of bass. Best yet, I'm able to increase the input to the amp a tad and give my remote control knob more of an affect on my sound. I'm pleased with the result and wish I had done this first.

Just wanted to share in case others contemplate upgrading to a larger sub with a more powerful amp.

Take Care,

Scott
 

StealthGTI

Autocross Champion
Location
Newport News, VA
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Oops!

Does it shut off helix and go back to the orig speakers with no sub or does it adjust the programming /dsp?

Sorry to have missed this, guys! I'm 99% certain that the Helix amp does not turn off, mostly because the speaker wires go into the amp, get processed, then come out to return to the speaker harness. Instead, I suspect that the demo unit switches a setting that commands the amp to bypass all processing. I can only speculate.

Also, I discovered that I lost sound when my starter battery was beginning to fail. The head unit remained running. So, I concluded that the Helix amp turns off below a voltage... no power to the amp = no sound. That's my logical conclusion that a powered-down amp doesn't default to a loop-back of the speaker outputs.

I hope that made sense. It's not 100% factual; instead, it's my thought on how it probably works based on my observations.
 

Strange Mud

Autocross Champion
Location
Small Town CT
Car(s)
Assorted
you may be right....thinking of the jumper plug you need when removing Sub.


btw, your vid/instructions was one I used for installing mine.


TY!


Jim
 
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