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Helix Soundbox Upgrade Information Post!

jasonh8806

New member
Location
Ohio
I installed the Helix Soundbox tonight and I was testing it out and had a question. I was noticing that only one of the speakers in the box seemed to be driven and the other appeared to be passive. Is this the case for all of them or is one of my speakers not functioning properly? I did some searches on google and in the forum and was unsuccessful at finding anything regarding this but if I just missed it, please direct me to the info.

Any info is greatly appreciated!

Upon further review, it may have been the songs I played but I confirmed that both speakers are being powered it just seems like one is moving more than the other in terms of excursion. I look forward to seeing what it will sound like after I get the dongle to program it!
 

cinderbike

Ready to race!
Location
NV
Getting ready to install today. Watched that YT video at least a dozen times.

Question - When feeding the wire through the trim and pulling the slack into the trunk, I assume I want to leave enough slack behind the MIB2 unit in case I ever need to remove it, yes? How do I do that? Guesstimate?
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
Getting ready to install today. Watched that YT video at least a dozen times.

Question - When feeding the wire through the trim and pulling the slack into the trunk, I assume I want to leave enough slack behind the MIB2 unit in case I ever need to remove it, yes? How do I do that? Guesstimate?

You won't be able to leave TOO much slack, there is only so much space back there, but if you leave enough to plug/unplug the connections with the unit hanging out and the MIB unit still slots back into place you're good to go.
 

cinderbike

Ready to race!
Location
NV
Did as you said and have maybe 8” of extra in the trunk, worked out great.

Stupid question: how do I know I did it correctly and also don’t have a defective unit? Green light on amp is on and I can feel base from it so I figure I’m golden?
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
Did as you said and have maybe 8” of extra in the trunk, worked out great.

Stupid question: how do I know I did it correctly and also don’t have a defective unit? Green light on amp is on and I can feel base from it so I figure I’m golden?

If sound comes out of your speakers and bass from the sub, you did it. Because all the harness does is loop the speaker output from the MIB up front, through the Helix, and then back up front to the harness for the speaker outputs, as long as that chain is unbroken it's working.

If the helix wasn't working in some way, you might have no sound at all. Now get that thing programmed!
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
So i need advice:

000051419B: 630CAD
5G0 035 621: 413CAD

Its then $57CAD for install (and programming).
Whats the difference between the 2 models? Which would you recommend?
Your second part number looks to be the replacement fender sub that goes in the spare tire of a GTI. If you don't have a fender system that's not going to be what you want.

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk
 

DenaliTim

New member
Location
Bay Area
2019 SE that I just did the install. Took about 2 hrs and that was reviewing the YouTube install video to make sure that I was doing it correctly.
I actually found using 2 paper clips work best to remove the wires from the block. Sounds great and looking forward to tuning it! Thanks for putting this together which made it so much easier to install.
 

zech912

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix AZ
adding my experience to this question. i decided to go with the Focal ES130K because the door speakers are straight fitment swap and the tweeters are minor adjustment. the ohms are direct match, and the power on the Helix is not far at all from the Focal RMS. I confirmed with Helix that the power is fine with these speakers prior and Helix actually stated they believed the Focals would be a good match. Combined with the dongle programming, I am very pleased. most impressive: the tweeters. The new Focal M shaped tweeter is vast improvement over the oem VW speaker and even over the prior generation Focal inverted dome, which i found a little too “bright” in my other system. The M is very smooth, clear, detailed, pleasant. now the system is all set for a nice long life. It was not that expensive overall, and is far better than the Fender, in my view.

what I just did: added bass blockers to the Focal woofers. My ears were bothered by the fact that the Focal door speakers were getting sub frequencies that they did not handle well. Spoke to Helix, they stated the stock door speakers were actually better able to handle sub frequencies because they were built with full range, no sub, in mind. The Focal ES 130K crossovers do not crossover the low end frequencies, only the tweeter to woofer. anyway, bass blockers are now installed and system is way better yet, correcting not solely the woofers not handling the lows well, the woofers are also way better with their own frequencies now that they are free to focus on them. The system is just right for not-too-expensive really really good audio. again, extremely impressed with the Focal tweeters, they are a vast upgrade.
 

Ven

New member
Location
GWN
Wow, you guys are so right about this thing needing reprogramming. It's terrible! Just finished my install 20 minutes ago. Muddy and shrill. Worst audio combo ever haha. Patiently waiting for the rental dongle........
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
what I just did: added bass blockers to the Focal woofers. My ears were bothered by the fact that the Focal door speakers were getting sub frequencies that they did not handle well. Spoke to Helix, they stated the stock door speakers were actually better able to handle sub frequencies because they were built with full range, no sub, in mind. The Focal ES 130K crossovers do not crossover the low end frequencies, only the tweeter to woofer. anyway, bass blockers are now installed and system is way better yet, correcting not solely the woofers not handling the lows well, the woofers are also way better with their own frequencies now that they are free to focus on them. The system is just right for not-too-expensive really really good audio. again, extremely impressed with the Focal tweeters, they are a vast upgrade.

Good info! What frequency did you go with on the blockers? 150hz or so?

I'm a little surprised that the helix doesn't direct 150hz and below to the sub on it's own through a crossover, but I suppose if they knew the doors could perform they would continue using them to some degree.
 

zech912

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix AZ
Good info! What frequency did you go with on the blockers? 150hz or so?

I'm a little surprised that the helix doesn't direct 150hz and below to the sub on it's own through a crossover, but I suppose if they knew the doors could perform they would continue using them to some degree.

yes, 150hz, I learned a great deal while studying this and 150 proved just right. I actually got the Crutchfield version, already set, but I understand that I could have bought capacitors and built my own for a bit cheaper. (but the Crutchfields were only approx $17.00 shipped). and yes, according to Helix, they have no bass blocking in the amp or DSP. I agree, a little surprising, because the sound is clearly better with the sub handling the lows by itself.
 

cinderbike

Ready to race!
Location
NV
I just programmed my car (code 57) last night. I'm not sure if I had to program to something else and then to 57 like others suggest but I did it anyway just to make sure.

Wow. Yeah, these don't come pre-programmed. Way more bass now, sound is much less bright/harsh and the soundstage actually sounds correct now. Before, I could almost make out each speaker location.

I might even need to turn the mid/bass down a tad, it's almost too warm now. But it sounds 100x better.
 

SuperFlyGuy

New member
Location
Melbourne, FL
Car(s)
2019 CFB Rabbit
I was hoping some Of you would post Images of your Helix Sub installed with the Spare still installed as well. Looking to do this Sub Install and replace Factory Speakers with Focal Speakers in a 2019 Rabbit Edition. I’ve read all the Posts and would like to Thank all that have provided info for this Project.
 
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