Hello 6speed,

I have a 2007 V8V with the premium audio system and voice-activated Bluetooth. When I'm listening to FM radio with Dolby PLII enabled, I notice that the rear speakers fade/cut in and out quite a bit, much to my irritation. There's no problem with the fronts, which leads me to rule out a Bluetooth issue.

I verified that this doesn't happen with the CD changer - audio sounds great! Only on FM, and only with the car in motion. If I come to a stop, a "current state" of sound (full, partial rear, no rear) is preserved until I go in motion. I feel like if the FM radio is not receiving a perfect signal, then the Dolby PLII processor has no idea what to do with it and drops/fades the rear channel. I've never had a car that drops audio channels with decreasing radio signal strength, only an increase/decrease in static.

Does anyone else experience this, or could this be an amp/head unit issue? I'm in the SF Bay Area, if anyone else is seeing the same thing.

Thanks!

I thought the surround sound doesn't work with over the air sources, only CD, etc? Look in your manual.

Why would this lead you to rule out Bluetooth as the source of the problem? I agree that it is probably not the issue, but not because of this--a Bluetooth problem should effect all of your inputs. I ask because I am having a similar problem, but across all sources and all Dolby modes.

same issue with FM but not really noticeable with CD

Works with all sources - I can hear the difference very clearly between full rear, partial rear, and no rear. It just feels related to the FM signal strength, although I have no way of proving it, and I believe I should be hearing static with signal loss, not a volume reduction or loss in the rear speakers. I'd heard the aerial-equipped Vantages had horrible radio reception anyways.

As to the Bluetooth issue, I had read about some issues with the 2007 Bluetooth wiring harness. It can corrode and cause the front speakers (since they're the only ones wired to BT) to drop out.

I guess my question should be: is anyone experiencing consistently good rear speaker volume/quality on FM radio with Dolby enabled on a 2006/7 V8V? More feedback is always welcome!

Is it confirmed that only the fronts are wired through? I would swear that ALL music audio cuts out when I get a phone call, which leads me to believe that the rears are wired in as well.

All the speakers do cut out for phone calls, but that's a function of the amp. The audio leads from the BT box only go to the front left and front right, and when the harness/wires corrode, they interfere with the speakers themselves, messing up any kind of audio coming out of them.

Well that's disheartening... I just ordered and paid for a new Bluetooth module in hopes that it would be the remedy.

I have a 2007 as well. The FM does cut out periodically from the rear speakers when Dolby is selected. If I take it off of Pro logic then everything is fine. I figure it is either a weak signal or the Pro Logic software. My CD and Bluetooth work fine.

People still listen to AM and FM radios?

Seems to be a case of "They all do that, sir!"

I'll just put FM on 3-channel and hook the Dension up to CD. Thanks for the feedback!

Ok, here's what manual says for the Premium 700W system....

"Dolby Surround Pro Logic II
Not available in Radio mode"

Interesting that the manual says that, but it's definitely in both the FM and CD menus, and improves the sound stage in FM mode when it's got a good signal.

Good to know that my radio/amp's not broken, though.

Well, it's not in my menu for radio sources. Are you sure? Sometimes we misremember...

It's not under AM, but definitely present for FM. I confirmed this morning that 3-channel isn't subject to the same issue.