MK4 MP3 Radio, with Volk-L Bluetooth Basic Handsfree

[JC@DouglasVW]

lets do this, i will be offering 1 set of parts (radio, harness and antenna cable) at $361.90 shipped
I want someones true and honest impressions of the radio install and the radio itself, so whoever wants to be the test dummy on a car that we don't own speak up and i will get you this awesome deal!!

only thing i ask is that it gets installed and tested asap

[xphiledan]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

lets do this, i will be offering 1 set of parts (radio, harness and antenna cable) at $361.90 shipped I want someones true and honest impressions of the radio install and the radio itself, so whoever wants to be the test dummy on a car that we don't own speak up and i will get you this awesome deal!! only thing i ask is that it gets installed and tested asap

i'll take it!

[JC@DouglasVW]

Quote, originally posted by xphiledan »

i'll take it!

got it, lets do this and now we can have an honest third parties opinion.

[xphiledan]

hopefully i can get it installed by the weekend, and i'll give everyone my impressions next week.

[dainese]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

They offer no specs on the bluetooth transfer

Oh, thats fine. I wasn't being difficult.

I was simply pointing out that people are whinging unecessarily, because bluetooth is not ideal for music (except maybe portable audio).

[JC@DouglasVW]

Quote, originally posted by dainese »

Oh, thats fine. I wasn't being difficult.

i was not trying to give you a bad answer, i just honestly don't know the answer and i doubt vw would either. The bluetooth is a cool feature and you are correct their is no way to make it sound perfect but it does still sound pretty good to me.

[xphiledan]

I don't think the quality issue with Bluetooth audio streaming has anything to do with the volk l unit itself. The reason why Bluetooth audio streaming on the iPhone is so bad has to do with how the audio is reencoded when it's sent back out. Read this link. It gives a good explantion:
http://www.wirelessaudioblog.com/archives/532

that being said. I will give my impressions later when I get it installed. I rip all my CDs at 320kpbs vbr and I have some flac/aac as well.

[Slampig]

this thing is pretty sick

[E Coded]

Quote, originally posted by xphiledan »

I don't think the quality issue with Bluetooth audio streaming has anything to do with the volk l unit itself. The reason why Bluetooth audio streaming on the iPhone is so bad has to do with how the audio is reencoded when it's sent back out. Read this link. It gives a good explantion: http://www.wirelessaudioblog.com/archives/532 that being said. I will give my impressions later when I get it installed. I rip all my CDs at 320kpbs vbr and I have some flac/aac as well.

Thanks for posting this link. I have read many posts in the apple discussion forums regard just this issue. It appears to be on apple's end and not on this stereo. I have tracked down a non apple A2DP device to verify this hypothesis. I will let everyone know what the outcome is when I get a chance to test it.

[xphiledan]

quick update, the volk-l was installed yesterday, and i'm very happy with it. ipod bluetooth streaming is not cd quality, but not terrible. it's definitely better than fm quality. mp3/wma feature works well either through cd or usb. look for a full review tonight in a new thread. feel free to post any questions here.

[Steve@Douglasvw]

Quote, originally posted by xphiledan »

quick update, the volk-l was installed yesterday, and i'm very happy with it. ipod bluetooth streaming is not cd quality, but not terrible. it's definitely better than fm quality. mp3/wma feature works well either through cd or usb. look for a full review tonight in a new thread. feel free to post any questions here.

Dan,
I haven't gotten a chance to play with mine yet...but does it display the song name when using the USB port or playing files from the iPhone?

[xphiledan]

it displays song title and artist when using mp3/wma through either cd or usb, to toggle between the 2 hit the INF button (upper left)

it will not display this information when using aux or bluetooth

[codyw912]

so can you play your ipod through the usb port? if so, does it also charge it/supply power to it?

[xphiledan]

only way to play the iPod is through the Aux port. USB port is for flash drives only.

my full review is here:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4609986

[the_journalist]

Just to clarify, for those folks with the Double-DIN head units watching this thread, the only difference between the monsoon and non-monsoon head unit is the monsoon logo on the casette tape door. I've been running a monsoon head unit in my non-monsoon car for two years now. I swapped it with a friend who was trading his car in due to the backlight being dead in mine. The non-monsoon unit worked perfectly in his car as well. So, it shouldn't matter if your car is monsoon equipped or not with the Volk-L. I don't know if this is the case with the single-DIN radios, but it most certainly is for the doubles.


Modified by the_journalist at 10:26 AM 10-17-2009

[JC@DouglasVW]

Quote, originally posted by the_journalist »

Just to clarify, for those folks with the Double-DIN head units watching this thread, the only difference between the monsoon and non-monsoon head unit is the monsoon logo on the casette tape door. I've been running a monsoon head unit in my non-monsoon car for two years now. I swapped it with a friend who was trading his car in due to the backlight being dead in mine. The non-monsoon unit worked perfectly in his car as well. So, it shouldn't matter if your car is monsoon equipped or not with the Volk-L. I don't know if this is the case with the single-DIN radios, but it most certainly is for the doubles. Modified by the_journalist at 10:26 AM 10-17-2009

Not all Monsoon radios say it on the face plate, Monsoon radios have external amps mounted inside the car and the Non-Monsoon radios have an internal amp inside the headunit. You should not be able to swap back and forth.

[the_journalist]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

Not all Monsoon radios say it on the face plate, Monsoon radios have external amps mounted inside the car and the Non-Monsoon radios have an internal amp inside the headunit. You should not be able to swap back and forth.

I'll bet you a shiny new Volk-L headunit that you can too. I'm completely aware of the fact that a monsoon system has a seperate amplifier in the trunk. However, the headunits themselves are the same. The double-DIN monsoon unit has an internal amplifier as well as the external. They CAN be swapped, and I've done just that.

[JC@DouglasVW]

Quote, originally posted by the_journalist »

I'll bet you a shiny new Volk-L headunit that you can too. I'm completely aware of the fact that a monsoon system has a seperate amplifier in the trunk. However, the headunits themselves are the same. The double-DIN monsoon unit has an internal amplifier as well as the external. They CAN be swapped, and I've done just that.

If it can be done i give you a big because i had no idea to be honest. Anyone local want to come in and get a special deal to see if this works?

[the_journalist]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

If it can be done i give you a big because i had no idea to be honest. Anyone local want to come in and get a special deal to see if this works?

I wasn't sure it would work until we tried it, and both cars were a simple plug in install without changing anything. I did recode both radios properly with a VAG-COM later on, but it didn't change the sound quality or the operation of either one. I initially thought maybe the soft coding would disable the internal amp when setup for a monsoon system, but it doesn't.
Based on that fact, I'm making the assumption that the Volk-L will likely work in either type of car without any issues. It's worth a shot at least.

[the brit]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

Not all Monsoon radios say it on the face plate, Monsoon radios have external amps mounted inside the car and the Non-Monsoon radios have an internal amp inside the headunit. You should not be able to swap back and forth.

My wife's '03 non amplified non Monsoon car has a DD Monsoon headunit, that was a plug and play replacement to the dead aftermarket headunit that came with the car. It plays quietly compared to my '02 Monsoon DD though i.e. she has to turn the volume up more to get the same volume.

HTH.

[JC@DouglasVW]

well i am willing to give a non-monsoon car a shot to see if the Bluetooth headunit is also internally amp'd. If anyone wants to try it out i am willing to work a deal including free installation.

[Loke]

This is AWESOME, hook me up! Exactly what I'm looking for. How do I buy it? Whats the shipping cost to Phoenix (85032)?

[Loke]

Quote, originally posted by the_journalist »

I'll bet you a shiny new Volk-L headunit that you can too. I'm completely aware of the fact that a monsoon system has a seperate amplifier in the trunk. However, the headunits themselves are the same. The double-DIN monsoon unit has an internal amplifier as well as the external. They CAN be swapped, and I've done just that.

The Monsoon amp's inputs are line-level. So you could input any line level source to it. It's just cleaner / louder than the head unit's amp.

[JC@DouglasVW]

Quote, originally posted by Loke »

This is AWESOME, hook me up! Exactly what I'm looking for. How do I buy it? Whats the shipping cost to Phoenix (85032)?

just email me name, address and phone number I will call you Monday for payment. Shipping will be $13 or under.

[Loke]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

just email me name, address and phone number I will call you Monday for payment. Shipping will be $13 or under.

Sent email to DouglasParts@Douglasautonet.com. Can't wait.

[Steve@Douglasvw]

Quote, originally posted by Loke »

Sent email to DouglasParts@Douglasautonet.com. Can't wait.

Jeff, don't forget the 3 hour time difference!

[JC@DouglasVW]

all pm's replied to, if i missed anyone shoot me another!!

[fuquar]

Quote, originally posted by JC@DouglasVW »

I don't have an external hard drive to try but i would think it would work no problem, you must have alot of music!!

I tried this with my current Pioneer radio and the USB didn't provide enough power for the hard drive, so I went and bought a 32GB flash drive. I'd love to be able to have access to all my music (90+ gigs) at any time.

[GTItraveler]

Corsair now has 128GB flash drives: http://www.electronista.com/ar...range/

[Steve@Douglasvw]

Quote, originally posted by GTItraveler »

Corsair now has 128GB flash drives: http://www.electronista.com/ar...range/

I have a 1GB that i got from my buddy like 8 months ago.

[GTItraveler]

Yes, but that is a 1 GB drive. This is 128 GB flash drive

[xphiledan]

Quote, originally posted by fuquar »

I tried this with my current Pioneer radio and the USB didn't provide enough power for the hard drive, so I went and bought a 32GB flash drive. I'd love to be able to have access to all my music (90+ gigs) at any time.

you can get this cable and a usb car charger to supply the >500mA the portable hard drive requires. i haven't confirmed this yet, but I'm pretty sure it will take a long time for the volk-l to scan through the entire hard drive and detect all the mp3's.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...70226


Modified by xphiledan at 10:21 AM 10-19-2009

[Steve@Douglasvw]

Quote, originally posted by GTItraveler »

Yes, but that is a 1 GB drive. This is 128 GB flash drive

OHHHHHHHHHH hahhaha yeah my bad!!
Though u said 128 MB...

But wow that is BIG for a flash drive

[huvGTI]

Has anyone tried using the bluetooth phone feature to take and make calls yet? I'd like to hear some impressions for how well it picks up your voice (I'm assuming it's a hands free type like in Acuras). Can you make calls clearly, even with a somewhat loud exhaust? Where's the mic where it picks up your voice? It feeds the call audio thru the speakers I'm guessing? TIA...

[Steve@Douglasvw]

Quote, originally posted by huvGTI »

Has anyone tried using the bluetooth phone feature to take and make calls yet? I'd like to hear some impressions for how well it picks up your voice (I'm assuming it's a hands free type like in Acuras). Can you make calls clearly, even with a somewhat loud exhaust? Where's the mic where it picks up your voice? It feeds the call audio thru the speakers I'm guessing? TIA...

Read Dan's full review here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4609986