I've been wanting to upgrade the sound system in my 2009 Tiguan since I bought it (8 months ago), and I finally have the means to do so. I'm great with electronics in general, but pretty unfamiliar when it comes to car audio - I was hoping for some advice on the solution I've hobbled together.

Currently I've got the stock audio system with the basic AM/FM / CD player head unit. As far as I can tell, there are 8 speakers (haven't disassembled anything yet) - I'm planning to leave them in place for now. I'm not trying to go for the booming "rattle car apart" type sound, just enough to sound good with a fuller richer sound than I get now. With that said, here are the parts I'm currently looking at:

"Head Unit": iPad Mini 16GB Verizon LTE
-I've decided to eschew the traditional head unit for something a bit more... modern? I don't have a need for either CDs or AM/FM, a combination of Spotify / Pandora / my personal library will do just fine. Throw in built in navigation, a multitude of mapping / music apps, and the ability to do so much more, I felt this was a no brainer. I'm building the rest of the "system" around this.

-I knew I'd need some way to get the audio from the iPad to the amplifier, I'm hoping this is the right direction. I've seen some builds go this route, and it seems to have all the right things.

-This is completely foreign territory for me. I've never purchased an amplifier, so I'm just going on Amazon reviews, and price.

-Based on some threads / pages I've read, this kit seems to contain everything I need to power the amplifier safely. Is this something I should purchase in kit form? The largest concern I'm seeing is that the gauge of the wire be enough to support the amperage of the amplifier.

-Unfortunately my Tig has relatively little "trunk" space available, so short of building a custom box to house the sub and spare tire, this is the best I have come up with. Again, the reviews are pretty solid, but I just don't know if it's either overkill or not enough?

Questions I have:
-Are these even compatible? I know wiring this together isn't rocket science, but I know well enough that because you can hook two things together doesn't necessarily mean you should.
-Is it overkill or not enough? This is my biggest concern, especially with the sub and amp.
-I keep reading about the PAC audio replacement interface. I'm having difficulty determining if I truly need this device? Some pages mention it's required to even pass vehicle emissions, which makes no sense to me - as this is just a radio. Can anyone confirm?
-I'm planning to use , at least to get a 12v line for the iPad and Clarion EQ. Thoughts?

Build Plan:
I plan to remove the current head unit entirely. In it's place, I'm going to customize a Metra dash kit to fit the iPad. The Clarion EQ will be installed in the little "storage bay" beneath the A/C controls. The iPad audio out and the existing factory AUX-IN connection will be fed to the Clarion EQ input connections. I plan to use this to control overall system volume, select inputs, control sub volume and EQ. The Clarion EQ will then connect to the amplifier, which feeds the speakers and subwoofer.

It sounds straightforward when I type it all out, but I'm sure there's something I may be missing or not considering. ANY advice at all will be appreciated.

 

I have never heard a sub from rockford that I actually enjoyed. Try knukonceptz for wiring. How are you gonna control the on/off function for the ipad? or are you not bothered?


I would look into a double din android unit instead (you can use the wifi hotspot from your phone for the data). That way you do not need a clarion eq or any fabrication, plus it actually works well as a headunit.

 

I'm not sold on the amplifier choice. I would look at the JL XD amps - either a 400/4 and a 600/1 or start with a 600/6 and add a 600/1 at some point. If you want to stay with a single 5channel, the JL HD900/5 is a great amp but a little spendy.

 

I can attest to Rockford Subwoofers kind of sucking. Go with the P1000X5D (Whatever the mid-range 1000w RMS 5 channel Rockford is. It's not hugely powerful so I can only imagine it's baby brother being even less impressive)

 

The shop recently put in an Alpine MRX-V70 5ch amp and told me they were impressed with the jam it had. Another option to consider.

I've always liked the RF woofers I have had, but they have all been paper cone and not entry level.

 

Yeah.. All the Rockfords I've heard have been Punch series with the synthetic/plastic cone and it just doesn't have the magic that others have at a similar price point, was seriously tempted to try out their T Series though, but a bit pricy.. Ended up going with an Orion Pro series.

 

how are you moving the signal from the ipad to the rest of the system. I saw a VW CC with an ipad mini installed "as the head unit" but they actually had the factory stereo still installed in the car (it was hidden). All the ipad is is a hard drive and user interface, it doesnt have any decent processors needed to connect an amp and the rest of the system.

Also, if you want a clean system, you might want to look at new speakers. I can attest to the factory VW speakers being crap (unless you have the dynaudio upgrade).

i will also agree that fosgate subs are not my favorite either. I liked the Power DVC, but for its price there were better options.