Hi, have a VW T5, 2011 camper which is great and we use a lot. Currently has an android head unit of which I cant find any manufacturer/details for. It has Agama car launcher. And then we have door panel speakers and that’s it.

I pulled the head unit out and it has loads of RCA plugs, and then the option of plugging the existing VW speakers in which is what is currently in place., albeit we don’t have any dash speakers installed.

We only want music from the head unit. The radio on it is pretty sketchy, but the bluetooth link to my phone is remarkably good sound out of the doors. However, I’d like to boost it a bit for a fuller sound. Nothing high end nor booming, just ‘fuller’ (if that makes sense).

So what to do? Are these sensible thoughts, and practical / doable:

1) just add dash speakers – altho suspect this would be a v modest improvement

2) upgrade the door speakers – but they sound pretty good to me currently so better to add to these?

3) add a sub woofer – if yes, then where best to situate this? (we’ve 2 separate seats up front; have a leisure battery under the passenger seat, heater under driver’s). And crucially, does it just plug into the head unit plugs and play alongside the vw door speaker?

4) buy something like this https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/vw-t5-1-t6-pioneer-under-seat-active-subwoofer-and-500w-door-upgrade-speaker-kit.html And if so, is this an easy ‘plug in’ to existing head unit plugs and disregard the VW plug/adaptor?

5) other? Spoke to a shop, they were v nice, but they suggested the minimum spend to improve it would be c.£850 which I can’t spend!

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

5) other?

Is this whilst driving or parked up?
I’m guessing since you say door speakers its parked up… in which case you could sound insulate the front cab if its not already and perhaps add new speakers at the same time.

YMMV etc. but I couldn’t hear the sound properly on FULL when driving in my master… and after sound and thermal insulation it’s perfectly good at 50%

Obviously this gives lots of benefits not to do with the head unit (my primary reason) but I was amazed how much difference it made and so scrapped plans to upgrade the head unit (as it’s used similar to yours)

if they are anything like the door speakers in my 2005 t5, the stock VW ones are awful and had pretty much disintegrated in mine. Door cards aren’t too hard to get off and plug in a new set. you might need to drill out some rivets and replace with nuts. I’ve got a small set of tweeters as stock in the dash. not wired separately to the head unit so must split off somewhere behind the dash.

Hiya, listening to music whilst driving 99% of the time.

I think the guy who converted it did a reasonably good job of insulation, but appreciate a van’s noisy per se. I’ll have a look at removing the door card to check the speaker there, but it sounds better than I’d expect so suspect it might’ve been upgraded at some point.

The sub woofer option slightly complicated by no space under our seats, plus we have dogs in the van 90% of the time, so don’t want too much booming at floor level!!!

Wonder if a sensible first step is to replace and add door/dash speakers and see???

I’d the door speakers are the standard ones replace them.

If it were me.

Check the doors for speaker upgrade & sound deadening material like dynamat etc.

If neither have been done that’s part of step 1, the other part is to take out the head unit again & identify the rca connectors, you want to understand what pre-out connections you have front l&r, rear l&r, sub out are usual.

Step 2 would be to add a small amplifier to feed the door speakers.

3 would be thinking about sub &/or dashboard speakers.

5) other? Spoke to a shop, they were v nice, but they suggested the minimum spend to improve it would be c.£850 which I can’t spend!

Speak to another shop.

Similar to above, but if it was me:

1) start with replacement front door / dash speakers, combined with sound deadening front doors

Then, if you want further improvement:

2) Add an all-in-one underseat slimline sub unit thingy

Then, if you still want further improvement:

3) small amp on the front speakers

Sound deadening: Dodo Mat HEX is a cheaper alternative to Dynamat. You don’t need blanket coverage.

Speakers: replace what’s there with ‘component’ speakers where the woofer (for mids) is separate to the tweeter (for the highs). Mids in the doors, tweeters at base of the windscreen pillars. Also, look for speakers with a high sensitively – these work well with lower power input straight from the headunit, i.e. you don’t need to amp them. Something like Hertz Dieci DSK are +93dB/Spl (I don’t know what diameter a T5 needs though).

I did the above to my 2004 T5 back in the day along with a 10″ sub built into an enclosure within my kitchen/furniture. Van long gone from me though.

I got a bit carried away with my current Transit Custom: replacement component speakers, 2 x amps, 2 x 12″ subs, and a LOC/DSP (Line Out Controller / Digital Sound Processor) to allow me to keep the standard headunit. Looks standard with everything hidden from sight. Total cost <£750 but a lot of my own time. Sound quality now is superb and it’s not about the BOOM despite 2 x subs. Slight (OK, total) overkill for my needs but sounds great.

And +1 to this:

Speak to another shop.

Decent component speakers: £95 I paid for Hertz Dieci DSK 170.3s
Sound deadening: £35
Speaker wire: £15

Then if you feel the need, an underseat slimline sub will be easily <£150.

Small amp for front speakers: £110 (Vibe are OK – sneered at by audio community but good enough for most

For a T5, I’d definitely speak to Skipton Car Audio. I fitted a set of their Phoenix Gold door speakers + dash tweeters a few years back and the difference was huge vs standard. Sound deadening the doors etc made a massive difference too.

Aus

Hiya, listening to music whilst driving 99% of the time.

I think the guy who converted it did a reasonably good job of insulation, but appreciate a van’s noisy per se. I’ll have a look at removing the door card to check the speaker there, but it sounds better than I’d expect so suspect it might’ve been upgraded at some point.

My cab is fully insulated from the roof to the floor to the doors… (as is the rear of the van)
Dodo bitmumen low freq and 12mm thermal/high freq foam (and where room the recycled plastic bottle fibre)

I appreciate the VW probably starts off better than the Renault… but its completely transformational for driving relaxation.
Coombe Valley campers did a YouTube (in the last month) on a VW… so worth checking that out.

I guess the point here is it’s IMHO a better solution than a bigger and badder stereo to try and drown out the sound (when you’re sleeping as well)

sneered at by audio community but good enough for most

sound good to my ignorance. You’re in vehicle, not a recording studio in a basement, no point going crazy.

Brilliant, thanks all.

So confirms my plan to:

1) pull door cards and add sound insulation material

2) upgrade door speaker and add dash speaker (thanks for the tips), sounds like SCR are worth chatting too

I’m assuming if I buy a VW T5 upgrade ‘kit’, then it’s pretty much plug and play as per the current door speakers i.e. nothing connected to the head unit’s RCA connectors, but simply plugging into the VW adaptor junction box?

Suspect that’ll probably do a fine / good enough job. Not sure I’ll be in a11y’s league though – v impressive!

Hi all, just to check …

I have an aftermarket head unit, which has a plug & play adaptor to it, with my current door speakers plugged in. Presumably I can/could:

1) door speakers – remove old ones and simply plug in the new ones, and if the supplied plug is not compatible, solder the current speaker wires to the new speaker connections

2) I have no dash tweeters, so I’ll need to run wiring from the plug & play (there are currently tweeter wires coiled behind the head unit), and plug / solder to the tweeters

So I could simply buy speakers, with no wiring/loom/adaptors/cross over stuff and I’ll be OK, or not…?!

Cheers

The sub woofer option….. plus we have dogs in the van 90% of the time

🤔 Somewhere in there…

1) door speakers – remove old ones and simply plug in the new ones, and if the supplied plug is not compatible, solder the current speaker wires to the new speaker connections

Door speakers you’ll need to drill out the rivets and get a rivet gun to replace them. Seem to remember mine being dirt cheap from B&Q. If buying one of the SCR kits, they’re proper plug and play – no soldering etc. Just tell the guys what you have now (head unit make etc) and they’ll make you a plug and play loom.

2) I have no dash tweeters, so I’ll need to run wiring from the plug & play (there are currently tweeter wires coiled behind the head unit), and plug / solder to the tweeters

Correct. Again, the plug and play kit will include wiring and crossovers. The glove box unbolts and slides out making access to the passenger side dead easy. Bit more involved getting across to the drivers side but can do it by removing the trim on the end of the dash (hidden when you shut the door) and feeding the wiring straight through on a straightened coat hanger and then up to the top of the dash.

This is what I fitted – few hours to get it done and the difference is night and day. Makes you realise how crap the standard setup is: https://www.skiptoncarradio.com/phoenix-gold-17cm-plug-and-play-kit–vw-transporter-speaker-upgrade-t5–t51-14721-p.asp