Swapping sound system how difficult?

[Elkman]

Hey fellow Volvo owners/enthusiasts.

Unfortunately my trusty v50 which I've had for almost 3 years and spent a lot of money on sorting out has probably met it's match after an incident where I lost traction and hit the kerb of an island crossing going around 50mph. Both near side wheels are cracked and the suspension is cream crackered.

Given it's age and mileage vs the likely cost of repair, it will almost certainly be a write-off and the cost to repair out of pocket will be about the same as getting another v50 second hand unless I can source some used parts, but even then I'm probably only going to save a few hundred and the cost of repair will still be over half the value of the car.

Anyhow, went to see a v50 r-design 2.0d, body work looked mint, alloys only had a few scuffs. She drove well but brake fluid was low as the message flashed up a few times during the drive. Didn't get to stretch her legs out as there wasn't much fuel in the tank. Only problems are that the service history stops around 5 years ago and that the sound system is not the high performance one in my current v50. If I end up scrapping my v50, how hard would it be to swap out the bog standard system for the high performance one? My current v50 is a pre-facelift while this potential replacement is a post facelift 08 plate.

[Missing Lincs]

Hello Elkman

I looked into upgrading from basic to a system with separate amp and whilst I'm sure it can be done I ended up going after-market as the Volvo route looked way too involved.

With the basic system all the speaker wiring is from the amp in the centre console. The better systems have a separate amp behind the rear side panel. I couldn't find any wiring in place for alternatives and the wiring diagrams suggest that wiring harnesses are different.

To add complication, the 'wiring' is actually a mixture of optical, digital and analogue plus software is needed to code new units to the car. Yes, I'm sure the extra wiring can be done with access to the correct parts, even then you're looking at a trip to a Volvo dealer to get your new install working.

In the end I went after-market with the Bluepower HU. Possible not the best decision as this unit still doesn't work properly and support is non-existent.

If you really want the better sound system, my advice would be to find a car that already has it from the factory.

[iainmd]

You could build a successful spacecraft more easily than modding the totally over-complicated (Volvo) and under-performing (Basic/Performance) sound system.

If you get a car with Performance Sound the best thing you can do is add the tweeters to the rear doors as the wiring is already there but that's about where it ends unless you've got deep pockets and are prepared for a very involved exercise. Having had both Performance and High Performance systems before there is a noticeable improvement in the High Performance system but they are both complete mince by comparison to the Harmon Kardon system I had in my 3 series. The sound systems are, for me, the weakest points of P1 Volvos.

[T5R92011]

Originally Posted by iainmd

You could build a successful spacecraft more easily than modding the totally over-complicated (Volvo) and under-performing (Basic/Performance) sound system.

If you get a car with Performance Sound the best thing you can do is add the tweeters to the rear doors as the wiring is already there but that's about where it ends unless you've got deep pockets and are prepared for a very involved exercise. Having had both Performance and High Performance systems before there is a noticeable improvement in the High Performance system but they are both complete mince by comparison to the Harmon Kardon system I had in my 3 series. The sound systems are, for me, the weakest points of P1 Volvos.

It would be interesting to hear the P1's full premium sound... I've had the basic and high performance in previous S40s.... and I have the midrange stereo in my V70, which sounds ok but lacks bass.

However, my previous S60 had the full fat 13 speaker dolby pro-logic and that thing sounded bloody awesome. Though hear that the P1 premium steros didnt sound as good as the bigger old Volvos.

[Elkman]

So in summary, it's a pain in the arse.

Real shame as I rather liked the high performance sound from my v50, certainly better then the Bose sound system in my Audi even after I added a sub to it.

So my options are either add a sub to the regular non performance system which would be easier then actually stripping out and replacing with the high performance one. I could take out the sub from my Audi and put in the Volvo but how difficult would that be as the Halfords guys won't even touch a waterfall console.

Or pay for a buggy and overpriced touch screen head unit (admittedly I was really interested in those blue power units at first). But wouldn't that still sound the same as you'd still be using the same amp setup unless the unit has it's own amps?

There's a guy near me who drives a black v50 and he managed to add an aftermarket Pioneer touchscreen head unit to his high performance system. He cut the waterfall console to fit and it looked really neat and flush with his carbon fibre finish. We had a chat while parked at the local Morriosons, didn't get his number but said he was regularly on the v50 facebook page. Sound familiar to anyone on here? Might see if he's up for a project

Otherwise I skip on this bargain v50 2.0d r-design and look for one that already has the high performance sound. Is there a higher spec sound like super ultra high performance or something?

[Elkman]

Originally Posted by iainmd

You could build a successful spacecraft more easily than modding the totally over-complicated (Volvo) and under-performing (Basic/Performance) sound system.

If you get a car with Performance Sound the best thing you can do is add the tweeters to the rear doors as the wiring is already there but that's about where it ends unless you've got deep pockets and are prepared for a very involved exercise. Having had both Performance and High Performance systems before there is a noticeable improvement in the High Performance system but they are both complete mince by comparison to the Harmon Kardon system I had in my 3 series. The sound systems are, for me, the weakest points of P1 Volvos.

Pretty sure mine already has those tweeters in the rear door as I can certainly hear them and see them, there's 2 grills on each rear door, one near the foot rest and one small round one below the window sill. I'm guessing Volvo re-classified the sound system tiers so High Performance was the highest spec pre-facelift and then downgraded it post-facelift or something like that?

Either way I'm quite keen on getting this v50 r-design even though the service history is patchy and the lame sound system will do my head in after a while. More opinions would be appreciated.

[iainmd]

Originally Posted by Elkman

Pretty sure mine already has those tweeters in the rear door as I can certainly hear them and see them, there's 2 grills on each rear door, one near the foot rest and one small round one below the window sill. I'm guessing Volvo re-classified the sound system tiers so High Performance was the highest spec pre-facelift and then downgraded it post-
facelift or something like that?

They all had 3 tiers of sound system....

Pre-facelift cars had Performance/High Performance/Premium
Post-facelift cars had Performance/High Performance/Dynaudio

Performance (displays only a picture of your car when you turn the headunit on) has only drivers in the rear doors, no tweeters. You'll see a grille but there's nothing behind it unless someone has already retrofitted them. Our 2009 has Performance and I retrofitted them. There was nothing behind the upper grilles.

High performance adds rear tweeters with upgraded speakers all-round and an amp in the boot.

Premium/Dynaudio added a sub in the boot and a centre dash speaker with Dolby surround sound with a better amp and speakers.

Details are easily found if you google the brochure for your model year many of which are on volvoclub.org.uk