Are 'old' New Beetle stereos and 'new' New Beetle steroes cross-compatable?

[xlifeguardx]

I'm thinking maybe if I called some junkyards (my dad already called a few) I could get the stock stereo from a New Beetle that perhaps was totaled in a crash which has a CD player and AUX jack and just put it in my '98. As far as I can see, they look exactly the same (old and new), but was wondering if anyone knows if their dimensions and whatnot are the same so that if I went that route it would fit in my car.

[Crazy_MoFo]

They are compatible to a certain extent. Though, if you have a none monsoon stereo and you get a monsoon stereo you won't get any sound out of it unless you do a certain tweak using Vag-Com, one of the members did it. But with out that tweak you'd have to buy the RCA preout plug that connects to the stereo and hook that up to an amp so you can get sound out of it. Other than that they're compatible as far as I know.

[scarabY2k]

I'm sorry I don't know. The title of this thread just struck me funny. Kinda reminded me of when Coke changed the formula back in the 80's and changed it back. The verbage was New Coke and Old Coke.

Well I thought it was funny

are you set on buying OEM? You might be able to get a good unit from Circuit City/Best Buy with more features. Stuff like SAT ready iPod ready, stuff like that.

[xlifeguardx]

I just placed my order for an aftermarket Pioneer DEH-P4900iB stereo. None of the junkyards had any old ones for me. haha.

[FallinApartBoy]

Originally Posted by Crazy_MoFo

They are compatible to a certain extent. Though, if you have a none monsoon stereo and you get a monsoon stereo you won't get any sound out of it unless you do a certain tweak using Vag-Com, one of the members did it. But with out that tweak you'd have to buy the RCA preout plug that connects to the stereo and hook that up to an amp so you can get sound out of it. Other than that they're compatible as far as I know.

why does everyone start that rumor? the monsoon stereo sounds just fine in a non-monsoon car. ask me i have one. i put a monsoon in my non-monsoon car a month or so ago and it sounded 10x better than the non monsoon even though everyone said it wouldnt work. it works. no adapting. no cutting. just plugged it in.

[JetPuf]

I put a monsoon into my non monsoon car. Without the amp, the sound was weak. I wired the amp up to the existing speakers, and the sound is BETTER then a factory monsoon.

Unless you either change the coding, or something, the monsoon factory headunit does not produce really any wattage, which is why it's always paired with an amp.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

a monsoon deck runs LOW LEVEL outputs because they are to be amplified by an external amplifier. anyone who has installed a monsoon deck with no other changes in the system and has gotten louder sound did not install a monsoon deck.

[FallinApartBoy]

i have a monsoon deck. at least it says MONSOON every time i turn the power on. no other mods are done to the audio. sounds 10x better than the stock head unit. and i drive an 01. not really sure where you guys get your info from but as far as i know the amp would be made to power mostly the subwoofers in cars and maybe a little to the speakers. but every head unit i have ever seen puts out enough watts to power just fine. someone get me a wiring diagram of the amp and something that tells me that the monsoon puts off low wattage and then come listen to my radio and we will talk.

[FallinApartBoy]

ok here is the wiring diagram to the radio

http://newbeetle.org/forums/attachme...2&d=1129088804

it does say that every speaker goes to the amp. but it also says that the wiring to the back of the radios are the same. so if i have a non-monsoon wiring harness going into a monsoon radio then it would wire it like a non-monsoon because i didnt change the way it was wired. now someone find me something that tells me that the monsoons have no watts coming from them and maybe i will think about believing one of you considering i have a monsoon radio in my car.

[JetPuf]

I dont have a data sheet on the radio. but I too did a monsoon conversion, initially wanted to see what it sounded like without the amp, it worked, you're right there, and you may find the sound to be acceptable, however I do not find the unamplified sound to be as rich as a non-monsoon system, or an ampped system.

[scarabY2k]

Interesting stuff on the Monsoon/non-Monsoon. The big question for me is, can anybody get any decent AM reception?!?!

[FallinApartBoy]

not big into AM but here we go. anyone try holding scan and upping your start vol? i didnt have to but it will make your stereo louder. mine sounds a lot better than my non-monsoon ever did. i tried taking a video with my phone but it totally just sucked so it wasnt worth it.

[scarabY2k]

Don't worry about the AM crack. It's a running problem/complaint/joke here on the org. The recepiton is Ex-Lax quality.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Originally Posted by FallinApartBoy

i have a monsoon deck. at least it says MONSOON every time i turn the power on. no other mods are done to the audio. sounds 10x better than the stock head unit. and i drive an 01. not really sure where you guys get your info from but as far as i know the amp would be made to power mostly the subwoofers in cars and maybe a little to the speakers. but every head unit i have ever seen puts out enough watts to power just fine. someone get me a wiring diagram of the amp and something that tells me that the monsoon puts off low wattage and then come listen to my radio and we will talk.

I get my information from INSTALLING systems into CARS, both monsoon and non-monsoon. Maybe it's your ear or you don't realize you are turning up the volume that loud. The monsoon deck is NOT meant to power a SUB, the concept behind it is that an amp that is not built into the deck will give better performance than a standard deck power (it does due to being a bigger processor since it does not have to share space and heat constraints with the deck). The monsoon amp being a "pre-amp" source delivers incoming signal to the amp (in a stock monsoon car) at a lower level). To simplify this for you, remove a stock monsoon deck.... install an aftermarket deck with amplification in the deck (like most aftermarket decks have). When you do this, the sound will start to distort at what would normally be a very low level for the deck. The reason it does this is because the aftermarket deck is throwing around 15 watts input and then the amp is further amplifying this signal. Seeing as how you know so much I am sure you know they actually make a small lil box that wires inline with the deck power out so you can reduce the signal so that you can install an aftermarket deck without removing or wiring around the factory amp.


Once again I know this BECAUSE I have ACTUALLY DONE IT. BTW can't really show you a "wiring diagram" since what you would really be looking for is deck output of a monsoon vs. a non-monsoon. Also you may want to look at the amplification of the amp that comes in a monsoon car. Once again all speakers are amplified by the monsoon amp (8 speakers usually in a VW), no subwoofer, seperates up front and in the rear.


Seriously, maybe your ear is hearing something or you have some magical monsoon deck, but the signals just don't work that way.

[FallinApartBoy]

im telling you that i have a monsoon deck in my non monsoon car. i have a vortex blue which were only made in 2000-2001 so im pretty sure NONE of them came with a monsoon. since my radio says MONSOON everytime i turn the car on im pretty sure its actually a monsoon. and ive had multiple systems in cars and know how to wire them. im not saying that the monsoon sounds better than an aftermarket head unit but it does sound better than a non-monsoon. try putting one back inside your car and holding the scan button. the first option to pop up is the start volume. this is what gives it the power and is probably turned down in a monsoon car so it doesnt blow the speakers with an external amp. but i have never seen anyone make a headunit that has so low output it will not work without an external amp. im pretty sure that i have tried this also and thats why i have a monsoon in my car now. and im also pretty sure your getting mad because the fact that i figured it out and you couldnt. and i did list the wiring diagram to BOTH of them above. they have the same outputs. but overall i just believe that the starting volume is what controls how loud the starting volume is and believe that it is lower on a monsoon because of the fact that it has an external amp. and i also believe that just because someone on here cant install a monsoon headunit into there non-monsoon car that they should tell them that it doesnt work. because obviously in some cases (maybe not all) it does work and does sound better.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

like myself and a few other people said..... IT CAN BE DONE, but you WILL NOT have the same output. I believe I said it and someone else did too, you can TURN the deck up.... which is what you just said you did. Starting volume can be adjusted on any newish VW deck. What you did is turn up the starting volume on the deck to make it equal to what you would have gotten outta the stock deck. Does not make the deck "better" like I said before it is ALL perception in your listening style and what you like to hear.

In the end, even if you are 100% correct and "figured it out" the deck wouldn't sound any better. You are basing your belief on the deck "sounding better" on the fact that the only difference is the starting volume. If this is the truth maybe you think it sounds better because you see the monsoon every time you turn it on. Once again I am saying you MAY be right, but if you are you are arguing against your original post that it "sounds" better.



Okay now lets get to actual experience...... if the deck wasn't meant to amplify the signal that loud (assuming the decks are not the same exact deck) you will see clipping and distortion sooner running a monsoon deck without the external amplifier. Once again this goes back to your ear and how you listen to your music. Believe it or not everyone that knows how to install a system and has been doing it for years has a good ear or can tune what they have. I am by no means an IASCA competitor or anything, but I have seen people who have been installing systems for 10+ years and they setup sounds like garbage because they don't set it up properly for the equipment they have and the music they listen to (ohh BTW, they think it sounds just fine).

So back to the point, the decks are at least some what different. I said this in my last post and I will say again, take a non-monsoon deck and put it into a monsoon car and SQ goes down.... doesn't have to do with the quality of the monsoon deck, has to do with the fact that you must send a lower signal into the amp. If what you are saying is 100% correct then the monsoon deck would have less volume control than a non-monsoon deck. For example, in a monsoon car a Pioneer deck will start to clip or distor the speakers at MAYBE 10 or 11. When properly installed you get well above 20, almost 40 with my tuned setup in a non-moonsoon car. The 10 or 11 properly tuned sounds okay but when the inputs are reduced you get much more depth of sound because of the range of output you can now control. In the end the starting volume of a deck has nothing to do with its minimum and maximum output. So your argument leaves you there..... either the decks are exactly the same and your ears are hearing things, or they are not.

One last time I take all this back to how you listen to your music and what you listen to. Maybe you never turn it up, maybe you are one of those people that turn the bass all the way up, maybe you listen to music with no to very little bass. I dunno any of this, I do know that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the deck to sound better and offer the same signal range. The deck COULD sound the same, if as you hypothesized the difference is in the starting volume then the decks would be THE SAME, not BETTER.

BTW, this has nothing to do with getting mad. I am trying to explain to you the concept of what you are trying to tell me and everyone else. I personally don't believe you "figured" anything out but maybe how to make a monsoon deck work with your preferences.

[JetPuf]

Originally Posted by FallinApartBoy

im telling you that i have a monsoon deck in my non monsoon car. i have a vortex blue which were only made in 2000-2001 so im pretty sure NONE of them came with a monsoon. since my radio says MONSOON everytime i turn the car on im pretty sure its actually a monsoon. and ive had multiple systems in cars and know how to wire them. im not saying that the monsoon sounds better than an aftermarket head unit but it does sound better than a non-monsoon. try putting one back inside your car and holding the scan button. the first option to pop up is the start volume. this is what gives it the power and is probably turned down in a monsoon car so it doesnt blow the speakers with an external amp. but i have never seen anyone make a headunit that has so low output it will not work without an external amp. im pretty sure that i have tried this also and thats why i have a monsoon in my car now. and im also pretty sure your getting mad because the fact that i figured it out and you couldnt. and i did list the wiring diagram to BOTH of them above. they have the same outputs. but overall i just believe that the starting volume is what controls how loud the starting volume is and believe that it is lower on a monsoon because of the fact that it has an external amp. and i also believe that just because someone on here cant install a monsoon headunit into there non-monsoon car that they should tell them that it doesnt work. because obviously in some cases (maybe not all) it does work and does sound better.

Changing the startup volume simply is that, it's a limit that you can set, so that if you have it cranked up when you shut the car off, it turns it down for you. it has nothing to do with setting exactly how loud the stereo can be turned up.

[FallinApartBoy]

i was saying that trying to make you feel better about not being able to get one installed right in your car. if you want to deny it thats up to you.

[JetPuf]

I dont think you're quite getting what we're getting at.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Originally Posted by FallinApartBoy

i was saying that trying to make you feel better about not being able to get one installed right in your car. if you want to deny it thats up to you.

I know it was a long post, but did you read it????

Originally Posted by JetPuf

I dont think you're quite getting what we're getting at.

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