Monsoon

[Thunder]

I just bought a new 04 golf with monsoon audio system in it. Does anyone
know anything about their products. heard of their products?

[Filmophile]

I dealt with a Monsoon system in my 02' GTi, what kind of information
are you looking for?

Thunder wrote:
> I just bought a new 04 golf with monsoon audio system in it. Does anyone
> know anything about their products. heard of their products?

[Thunder]

well, i'm looking at replacing the tape player that's in it now with a
clarion dxz765mp deck and i was wondering what these speakers are like. I
kinda was wondering if anyone uses these with subs? Or should an
aftermarket speaker be an option?

Basically i was just looking for opinions on the brand and what, if anyone
was using their speakers with?


"Thunder" > wrote in message
...
>I just bought a new 04 golf with monsoon audio system in it. Does anyone
>know anything about their products. heard of their products?
>
>
>

[Filmophile]

Like most factory systems, the Monsson setup uses a proprietary EQ
built into the deck to balance the speakers properly. I replaced my
deck before purchasing new speakers and was surprised at how poor the
sound quality became after the switch despite having a deck worth
almost $600 with an advanced EQ system in it. If you really want to
change the deck for some reason, you're going to want new speakers.

There are two primary problems with replacing the speakers in MKIV VWs:
1. The mid-range drivers are installed into the doors using a hard
plastic mounting device that needs to be semi-broken before the
speakers can be removed, so you'd better be sure you want to get rid of
them before you take them out.

2. The tweeter mounts, especially up front, are extremely shallow. I
purchased a 2-way Dynaudio system for my car and the tweeter pods in
the sail panels needed to be modfied to fit the tweets. I love the way
the system sounds but frankly, I've never been 100% happy with the mods
that we needed to make.

Alpine's Type-S SPS171A speaker system will fit in the front doors
without modification and are nice speakers, get a mtaching pair for the
rear and you'll have pretty decent sound quality without breaking the
bank. Keep in mind that any aftermarket speaker speaker is going to
need an aftermarket amp to be properly driven.

If I were in your position and not looking to spend a ton of cash, I'd
keep the factory deck. You can send the signal out of the factory unit
to a JL Audio CleanSweep CL441-dsp
(http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79)
which will neturalize and correct the factory EQ signal. Send the
signal from the CleanSweep to an aftermarket amp to power your new
speakers and you'll have a high-quality sound system. You'll save the
cash the deck would have cost and retain the factory look and easy
control scheme.

Thunder wrote:
> well, i'm looking at replacing the tape player that's in it now with a
> clarion dxz765mp deck and i was wondering what these speakers are like. I
> kinda was wondering if anyone uses these with subs? Or should an
> aftermarket speaker be an option?
>
> Basically i was just looking for opinions on the brand and what, if anyone
> was using their speakers with?
>
>
> "Thunder" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I just bought a new 04 golf with monsoon audio system in it. Does anyone
> >know anything about their products. heard of their products?
> >
> >
> >

[RG]

"Filmophile" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Like most factory systems, the Monsson setup uses a proprietary EQ
> built into the deck to balance the speakers properly. I replaced my
> deck before purchasing new speakers and was surprised at how poor the
> sound quality became after the switch despite having a deck worth
> almost $600 with an advanced EQ system in it. If you really want to
> change the deck for some reason, you're going to want new speakers.

That is exactly the OPPOSITE of what I found in my wife's '03 Jetta. Merely
replacing the Monsoon HU with a Blaupunkt Heidelberg resulted in an
incredible increase in sound quality. So much so that I opted to leave the
Monsoon speakers in place. As far as proprietary EQ in the deck itself, I
kind of doubt it. In fact, I believe that the Monsoon and standard deck are
identical. The outboard Monsoon "amp" uses active crossovers with modest
output wattage, but if wired correctly to an aftermarket deck sounds pretty
good. The non- Monsoon setup, however, does not fare so well as it does not
use the outboard amp/crossover.

> There are two primary problems with replacing the speakers in MKIV VWs:
> 1. The mid-range drivers are installed into the doors using a hard
> plastic mounting device that needs to be semi-broken before the
> speakers can be removed, so you'd better be sure you want to get rid of
> them before you take them out.

You don't have to break them. They are merely riveted in and it is very easy
to just drill out the rivets.


> Alpine's Type-S SPS171A speaker system will fit in the front doors
> without modification and are nice speakers, get a mtaching pair for the
> rear and you'll have pretty decent sound quality without breaking the
> bank. Keep in mind that any aftermarket speaker speaker is going to
> need an aftermarket amp to be properly driven.

Just about any speaker up to an 8" or so mid will fit. But they should be
mounted to at least a 1.5" MDF spacer as if they are mounted directly to the
door they will be recessed way to far in from the inside door panel,
resulting in degraded sound. The factory Monsoon speakers are already on an
integral spacer some 2" thick.


> If I were in your position and not looking to spend a ton of cash, I'd
> keep the factory deck. You can send the signal out of the factory unit
> to a JL Audio CleanSweep CL441-dsp
> (http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79)
> which will neturalize and correct the factory EQ signal. Send the
> signal from the CleanSweep to an aftermarket amp to power your new
> speakers and you'll have a high-quality sound system. You'll save the
> cash the deck would have cost and retain the factory look and easy
> control scheme.

Actually, the factory Monsoon deck is by far the weakest link in the system.
IMO, it should be the first to go if one were looking to upgrade sound
quality.

- RG

[Filmophile]

>That is exactly the OPPOSITE of what I found in my wife's '03 Jetta. Merely
> replacing the Monsoon HU with a Blaupunkt Heidelberg resulted in an
> incredible increase in sound quality. So much so that I opted to leave the
> Monsoon speakers in place. As far as proprietary EQ in the deck itself, I
> kind of doubt it. In fact, I believe that the Monsoon and standard deck are
> identical. The outboard Monsoon "amp" uses active crossovers with modest
> output wattage, but if wired correctly to an aftermarket deck sounds pretty
> good. The non- Monsoon setup, however, does not fare so well as it does not
> use the outboard amp/crossover.

The specialized crossover in the amp is in this case effectively the
same as using the specalized EQ - it's two different means to the same
end. It's why the switch of headunit had such a profound effect on my
system's sound quality.

>> Just about any speaker up to an 8" or so mid will fit. But they should be
> mounted to at least a 1.5" MDF spacer as if they are mounted directly to the
> door they will be recessed way to far in from the inside door panel,
> resulting in degraded sound. The factory Monsoon speakers are already on an
> integral spacer some 2" thick.

The mids aren't the problem, the tweets are. The sail panels in MKIV
platform Golfs and Jettas simply won't hold anything thicker than the
Monsoon units unless modifications are made - the Alpine tweets in that
Type S system will fit without modification.

>> Actually, the factory Monsoon deck is by far the weakest link in the system.
> IMO, it should be the first to go if one were looking to upgrade sound
> quality.

You need to take a look at that cleensweep unit, it's processor will
take care of making the factory deck's signal more than adequate for
mating to any amp. I know someone using it in a 2005 Jetta GLi with a
Pioneer Premier amp and REV series components. It sounds as good as any
compareable system I've heard with an aftermarket deck and it also
allows for simple bass, mid and treble adjustments without needing to
deal with the complexity of a deck's EQ system.