Keep an aftermarket HU or revert back to proper Audi unit?

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davenportmb

Member
Hi Guys - this is my first post. I bought my first A2 last weekend and all the information that I've read on this forum has been incredible. You guys clearly know your stuff - which is good for me as I need to plunder your expertise!

My A2 is a 2001 Y-reg SE TDi 75. The previous owner had fitted an aftermarket Kenwood head unit but, unfortunately, they didn't do a very good job.

I've got the three issues commonly faced by people on this forum when upgrading their HU:

  1. The aerial has a pathetically weak signal - likely hasn't been wired for phantom power.
  2. There’s no switched live so the HU is constantly powered on.
  3. Rear speakers haven’t been connected.
I like having the 3.5mm audio in as it means I can plug in my phone and play music but I don’t like the three problems above.

Would it more cost effective to a) fix the existing set-up, or b) revert back to a standard A2 Concert CD/Radio and fit a plug-and-play aftermarket kit that would still allow me to connect my phone via a 3.5mm audio-in?

Sadly, I’m not an electrician so if I kept the Kenwood HU I would probably need to pay someone to fix the above three issues.

Also, I wouldn't mind switching back to a Concert, but I’m put off by the fact that sourcing one seems to be difficult - I haven’t been able to find one anywhere! Anyone know roughly how much they go for when they are available? Does the price depend on whether the unit comes with a code?

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions.
 
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davenportmb said:
Hi Guys - this is my first post. I bought my first A2 last weekend and all the information that I've read on this forum has been incredible. You guys clearly know your stuff - which is good for me as I need to plunder your expertise!

My A2 is a 2001 Y-reg SE TDi 75. The previous owner had fitted an aftermarket Kenwood head unit but, unfortunately, they didn't do a very good job.

I've got the three issues commonly faced by people on this forum when upgrading their HU:

  1. The aerial has a pathetically weak signal - likely hasn't been wired for phantom power.
  2. There’s no switched live so the HU is constantly powered on.
  3. Rear speakers haven’t been connected.
I like having the 3.5mm audio in as it means I can plug in my phone and play music but I don’t like the three problems above.

Would it more cost effective to a) fix the existing set-up, or b) revert back to a standard A2 Concert CD/Radio and fit a plug-and-play aftermarket kit that would still allow me to connect my phone via a 3.5mm audio-in?

Sadly, I’m not an electrician so if I kept the Kenwood HU I would probably need to pay someone to fix the above three issues.

Also, I wouldn't mind switching back to a Concert, but I’m put off by the fact that sourcing one seems to be difficult - I haven’t been able to find one anywhere! Anyone know roughly how much they go for when they are available? Does the price depend on whether the unit comes with a code?

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions.
Click to expand...

I would revert to the Audi HU and buy a MP3 connector / adapter.

Keep an eye on eBay, they come up from time to time and you might get one at a reasonable value.

The quality of the sound from the Audi unit is exceptional (in my view) even without BOSE (but with it !!! WOW!!!)

The aftermarket, non-Audi head units never seem to suit the dash and to me they can look out of place (apart from any members on here who have done an excellent job, of course :) ).

Just my view!

And WELCOME!!!!

Steve B
 
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I have a Kenwood BT-92SD in my car, since it had a crappy blaupunkt when I bought it. I love the features it has. Like bluetooth calling and audio. It's got some nice magic sound enhancers (which I usually hate) that does quite a good job in my car with only front speakers. I bought it mainly because of BT and the possibility to set the colour of the display and buttons, so I can get it to match the other buttons in the dash. And it was quite cheap. But as Birchall points out, it doesn't look as good as an original stereo.

The Audi loom doesn't seem to have the switched live, so I soldered a cable to the ACC unit and connected it to the proper place in the loom.
 
Thanks very much for your advice, guys. I think that if I can use an Audi HU with a 3.5mm jack then that should do the job. Now I just need to buy one! I'd rather have a Concert because of the CD player. Will any A2 Concert fit in my 2001 A2? Or do I need one from a specific model year?
 
Hi,

as you have a 2001 car, its is a "pre CAN bus" car and would have originally come with the single knob Concert (1) head unit.
To use the later Concert 2 unit with the built in CD player you will need to add a "CAN bus emulator" to make it compatible.
The A2 dash is the same size as the TT and A6 models of the same era so you can use a second hand radio from one of those. Watch out as the A3 Concert 2 looks similar but has a slightly larger front panel and won't fit in the opening.
I fitted a Concert 2 (originally from an A6) and an X-Carlink interface to a friend's A2. The X-Carlink provides USB/SD Card MP3 media and a line in jack socket. He also has the optional Bluetooth interface with remote microphone for hands free phone calls. The box is quite small and can be mounted in the glove box instead of the coin holder so it doesn't use up any space. The X-Carlink connects to the CD changer port on the head unit and emulates a CD Changer. You can still use an external CD changer and does work with the Concert 2 with its internal CD (it supports both internal and external CDs). http://www.xcarlink.co.uk/product.php?productid=11&cat=4&page=1

regards

Andrew
 
Just to add to the above, it might be likely that the rear speakers don't work because they're not there, or if they are there that they're not connected correctly to the Blaupunkt out-board rear speakers amp.
 
It depends what your goals are in terms of sound. If you prefer more power IMHO aftermarket is way to go.
I like more powerful sound so I went for Pioneer which fits in nicely (has same light color scheme - red/white), comes with front 3.5mm Aux In, USB port and twice as much power as standard.
To preserve speakers from bass punch and avoid distortion at higher volume, I've set high pass filter for door speakers at ~80Hz, which is just a setting the radio already has and added 12" subwoofer in the boot with low pass filter at 100Hz.
Compared to Bose (it was in the A3), I have more bass coming from the back and more aggressive sound, keeping equalizer flat at all time.
To connect rear speakers extra wiring is needed, from behind the dash to under seat, if as Dan said they are there.
Good thing with the A2 is rear positioned battery, which makes installing an additional amp for subwoofer a lot easier.
Sorry if I've made your decision more complicated, but as you will (or already have) see the A2 is very nice car to drive and also this great community inspires one to mod.
As much as I like the car, I've thought on selling it few months ago because of it's few issues, it went through bit of repairs, all god now and .... weeell bought new wheels yesterday, switching 15 to 17" :D.
So, for me sound upgrade is one more thing to make driving even more fun.

Cheers,
Neo
 
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