2022 VW Multivan T6.1 – New Processor Audio System
We’ve worked on a similar car before. The result was an excellent audio system; the owner of that VW Multivan is now a regular customer and guest. We also improved the sound in his other VW. You’ll find a description of that project at the end of this article.
But as it turns out, the new T6.1 has significant differences in the factory audio system, and not for the better. So, for us, the task became more complicated. But first things first.
The owner of this minivan occasionally needs to transport cargo, so it was important to come up with a solution for a full-size subwoofer that would allow it to be hidden away from the trunk. There was also a desire to fully soundproof the interior of the VW Multivan T6.1. And, of course, music must play.
Disadvantages of the new VW Multivan T6.1:
- The interior is empty and loud, but it’s not particularly comfortable. This car simply begs for soundproofing.
- No more three-way speakers up front. The manufacturer removed the midrange speaker from the doors. Instead of a 20 cm midbass speaker, there’s now room for a 16 cm speaker.
Advantages of the new VW Multivan T6.1:
- This car does not have a second battery (as was the case in our previous T6 project), this allows us to place all the amplifiers with greater freedom.
- There, under the seats, they found a place for a subwoofer.
So, what did we offer the owner of a 2022 VW Multivan T6.1? A 7-speaker audio system with a processor. A front speaker system, a rear speaker system, and a subwoofer. Plus, a remote control for the subwoofer’s volume.
Let’s go!
Let’s start with what we saw after disassembling the minivan. We found a bare body and Chinese cardboard speakers in their original locations. Nothing of interest was found. Here are a few photos:
The factory tweeter. There’s nothing wrong with it being made in China. Many great products are made in China. The downside is the primitive design of the factory speaker.
All factory speakers, even those in premium systems, are selected by the manufacturer based on the lowest price and appropriate size.
Small pieces of factory vibration insulation on the floor of the Multivan:
Where there was room left for the speaker, that’s where they put it. We’re glad they at least left 16 cm of space. They could have gone as far as 13 cm, and that would have been a real disaster.
Soundproofing the VW Multivan T6.1
Traditionally, we use materials from the Ukrainian manufacturer Acoustics for noise and vibration insulation.
Audio processor and amplifier for the VW Multivan T6.1
We used only two devices for this project: an audio processor with a built-in four-channel amplifier Helix M Four DSP (four channels were given to the front channel) + a four-channel amplifier Ground Zero Mini Four (two channels were given to the rear speakers, two channels to the subwoofer via a bridged connection).
We placed two amplifiers under the driver’s seat, securing them to a podium we made ourselves.
The end result is beautiful! Compact, invisible, and most importantly, the processor and amplifiers are the heart of the audio system!
Acoustics for the VW Multivan T6.1
Most importantly, we decided to use a full-range speaker instead of a tweeter. This is an effective way to improve the sound when a three-way system isn’t feasible. Mounting the full-range speaker into the Multivan’s speaker rack took a bit of fiddling, but it worked!
How it was:
How it became:
For this car, in the future, we will choose a wide-band tire with a shallow landing depth, for example, from the Italian brand PHD.
Focal Flax midbass speakers are installed up front. These speakers feature a flax cone and sound magical. They’re one of our top favorites.
For the rear, we chose Italian PHD CF 6.1 C coaxial speakers with a natural, bassy and deep sound.
Under-seat subwoofer for VW Multivan T6.1
This is the most interesting and creative part of this project. You might ask, why didn’t we use a ready-made solution for a minivan when there are so many of them? Yes, we could have installed an under-seat subwoofer and gotten a boomy hum instead of rich bass. We could have waited a long time for a high-quality ready-made solution from a reputable brand, but we only had a week to do everything.
So we decided to build a subwoofer enclosure ourselves, elegantly placing it under one of the front seats in a niche we had available.
The speaker we chose was amazing! Handmade in Italy, a top-of-the-line model with a Kevlar cone from the Italian brand PHD. We could only fit a small speaker, just 20 cm in size, so it was important to choose the best option. The enclosure volume for the PHD Studio 8.1 subwoofer speaker was 9.5 liters.
As you can see below, the subwoofer enclosure (and the speaker is quite heavy) is securely mounted to the seat bracket. Keeping the wires organized was a bit of a challenge, but we managed.
This is what the installed enclosure with the PHD subwoofer looks like from the side. You can see the gap between the speaker grille and the floor. Overall, this is a great spot for concealed subwoofer installation in the VW Multivan T6.1.
That’s how this project turned out. We managed to combine a minimal budget with very good sound quality. The war forced us to explore opportunities and experiment with equipment to minimize budgets without compromising quality.
We seem to be doing a great job of it!
