Bose in all S3s

[ben_turbo1]

Hi Guys,
Been out the scene for a couple of years while I set up my business and I've forgotten all the "Knowledge" I once had.
Do all S3 8ls come with the Bose stereo as standard?
Thanks in advance,
Ben

 

[jojo]

No, BOSE is an optional extra.

 

[ben_turbo1]

Thanks JOJO, is it worth looking out for a car with Bose or is it just a nice thing to have but not missed too much when you don't have it?

I had bose in my old S4 and wasn't that impressed with it, have also got the Bose twin sub in my A3 tdi daily driver that is pretty punchy. Not sure how its wired up in my A3 as it was in there when I got the car and the rest of the system isn't bose.

 

[Andy_S3]

General consensus on here mate is to get one without Bose and upgrade from standard, the Bose is slightly better than standard, but is a pain to upgrade apparently!

 

[mattyboy199]

i think BOSE is ideal, no messing about with aftermarket rubbish. its all there ready to go. Ok its not the better quality ever or the loudest but certainly does the job.

 

[alijames]

To be honest not a lot of difference, as they are both pretty poor as standard. I would get one with a Symphony double-Din HU with either Bose or non-Bose, then replace the factory sub with an AndyMac Stealth sub.

http://www.dizzythedog.com/index.php?f=data_audi_a3_stealth_sub&a=0

The best single upgrade you can do.

Later on if needed, you can always upgrade the cabin speakers, but it takes some woodwork to make a difference.

Cheers,

 

[golf]

The standard speakers in the S3 are probably the worst I've ever heard considering it's a fairly modern car which is supposed to be top of the range. The Bose ones are pretty poor too, a lot of crackling and distortion can be heard if the volume is slightly high.

I'd go with an aftermarket set of speakers from someone like Focal.

 

[jojo]

With regards to BOSE, I think it really depends on how serious you take your music. I personally thought the BOSE setup was fantastic when I purchased it 8 years ago, especially compared to what I had owned in the past.

 

[MintyS3]

The BOSE setup isnt that bad in comparrison to some budget stereos found in cars.

Im happy enough with it but ofcoarse it could be better.

 

[ben_turbo1]

Ok thanks guys, well I'm looking to buy an S3 at the moment so will not worry too much if the one I find doesn't have bose.
Years ago I had a facelift black a3 1.8ts that I was very close to getting the andymac set up for so i think this time around I will go for that as I plan to making the S3 a keeper.

 

[jojo]

If you plan to go the Andymac route, I recommend you find a BOSE equipped car, as you retaine the BOSE amp which powers the 4 car speakers. Without BOSE, you will need to use a 4 channel amp so you can power the rear speakers seperately, as the standard sub woofer has the rear speaker feeds built in.

 

[Ian W]

With regards to BOSE, I think it really depends on how serious you take your music. I personally thought the BOSE setup was fantastic when I purchased it 8 years ago, especially compared to what I had owned in the past.

Same here, don't feel i need to upgrade tbh. Does the job well enough

 

[Craig A]

I recently had a problem with m multi changer which went wrong. It was £150 to repair or £200 to replace. The problem ive found with the Bose is its an amplified system so you can just exchange the head unit to a single disc. Cables need to be run from the headunit to the opposite side to the amp. I like the Bose system but some of you are right its a pain to upgrade,

 

[1animal1]

the none Bose isnt a simple upgrade either...the rears and bin are powered off the HU via a crappy amp in the boot and so you have to run lines from the front of the car to fit an aftermarket HU.....also the double din you may struggle finding a facia adaptor adequate to do the job neatly

 

[thegoal007]

sorry, but I had to jump into this thread and add my comments.

Bose - sorry but in the audi S3 it gives them a bad name.

I would love to rip it all out and sell it to some mug who wants to give his S3 an upgrade, but sadly it's all too much effort and too many modifications to fit a new and better one. Then there's the problem of the electrician not putting a panel back on properly or something loose making a noise somewhere or a speaker failing to work at some point in the very near future, etc

I now regularly listen to the engine sounds instead - not that I drive much these days.

 

[golf]

I now regularly listen to the engine sounds instead - not that I drive much these days.

I agree with everything you've said except this part.

The engine sounds?! It's a 4 cylinder 1.8 that sounds like a hairdryer, unless you have some awesome induction noises?

 

[Kunit]

My s3 has Bose but without Bose grilles or Bose displayed on headunit, could be better but for standard equipment it's pretty good and saves kevving it up

 

[thegoal007]

Hey golf,

No big induction - purely standard.

To me when I accelerate and push those little revs it's sweet music to my ears.

 

[AndyMac]

My s3 has Bose but without Bose grilles or Bose displayed on headunit, could be better but for standard equipment it's pretty good and saves kevving it up

Yes but it's not standard equipment it's an optional £500 upgrade!

 

[thegoal007]

oops, I stand corrected.

Mine is not quite completely standard.

I do also have a sunroof and an armrest - which I think are non-standard.

£500 stereo upgrade - what a waste of money !

 

[jojo]

£500 stereo upgrade - what a waste of money !

Only to the person who purchased the car brand new, it was free when I got it.

 

[morgan306]

I'm quite pleased with my Bose stereo.
It's never going to impress the chavs up at McDonalds but I find it very clear and crisp.

 

[thegoal007]

I'm quite pleased with my Bose stereo.
It's never going to impress the chavs up at McDonalds but I find it very clear and crisp.

Well that's really odd you should say that because
a. I'm not pleased at all
b. I agree it's clear and crisp sound

But really lacks punch/power/depth , and no it's not to impress the chavs, but it's for my enjoyment.

 

[AndyMac]

You need a stealth sub!

 

[mattyboy199]

I'm quite pleased with my Bose stereo.
It's never going to impress the chavs up at McDonalds but I find it very clear and crisp.

I agree i dunno what you lot are all on about the Bose system is far greater than most stereo systems are in standard form. Most cars you dont even get a bose or premium sound system option.

 

[AndyMac]

Well when you love your music and you know how good it can sound, even on an inexpensive system, the Bose "upgrade" in the A3 is just a complete let down. If it was the standard system then it's passable, but to call it an upgrade is a joke. Listen to the DynAudio system in a Volvo C70, now that's a superb system upgrade, proving there really is no excuse. Or if you're happy with Bose then definately do not as it will demonstrate what is achievable and ruin your Bose experience.
It seems to be particularly bad on the A3 (and the new A3) for some reason. I've listened to Bose systems in the A4 and the Cayenne and they are far superior, so no idea why they did such a shockingly poor job on the A3 or why they would put their name to it, probably Audi squeezing their budget or something.

 

[golf]

I agree Andy, I can't believe Bose were involved with the development of the upgrade on the S3, more likely they just let Audi use their name. The bog standard 10 speaker system in my A4 sounds ****** good considering it's standard equipment.

We have a Bang & Olufsen system in the A5 and that sounds brilliant in comparison.

 

[jojo]

Well when you love your music and you know how good it can sound, even on an inexpensive system, the Bose "upgrade" in the A3 is just a complete let down. If it was the standard system then it's passable, but to call it an upgrade is a joke. Listen to the DynAudio system in a Volvo C70, now that's a superb system upgrade, proving there really is no excuse. Or if you're happy with Bose then definately do not as it will demonstrate what is achievable and ruin your Bose experience.
It seems to be particularly bad on the A3 (and the new A3) for some reason. I've listened to Bose systems in the A4 and the Cayenne and they are far superior, so no idea why they did such a shockingly poor job on the A3 or why they would put their name to it, probably Audi squeezing their budget or something.

Whilst I don't disagree whith what you are saying Andy, the Bose system was developed in 1999 or possibly before, which is well over ten years ago! Not to mention it was certainly an improvement over the standard setup from the factory.

Obviously, with it being a digital age, and every one hooking up their i-pods to their sound systems today, the game has moved on, and in car entertainment is part of the developement programme for all modern cars being produced today.

 

[AndyMac]

the DynAudio system was first in the C70 in '97, so still no excuse, and I think the Bose upgrade in the current A3 is even worse.

 

[Fast,not furious]

This sub sounds like (excuse the pun) just what i'm looking for. How much is it Andy? ...and whereabouts are you?

I'm not sure about doing the install myself,would rather pay for it to be done right!

 

[AndyMac]

In Southampton, so can't be too far from you. I'll PM prices.

 

[kachnak]

Hello, where is possible find parameters of s3 bose speakers? 2 or 4 ohm?power MAX, RMS and front,rear size of speakers.
Thank you

 

[alijames]

All are 2ohm, 4". <25W rating, but iirc the fronts seem slightly beefier than the rears, but still cr*p. The front tweeters are the same nokia ones as on non-Bose. Any 1" tweeters should fit fine.

Both front and back use plastic adaptors to allow the 4" drivers to fit into the standard non-Bose mountings, which are ~5.25" front and ~6.5" rear.

Cheers,

 

[kachnak]

Thank you, so when I buy non original 1din radio with Speaker Impedance 4Ohm ~ 8Ohm , there can be some problems?

 

[AndyMac]

On Bose all the speakers are separately amped so the impedance doesn't matter when changing the HU. However you will need an adapter to hook up the amp wiring to standard RCA's if going aftermarket. There are also issues with popping when using an aftermarket HU, depends what HU you go for.

 

[kachnak]

Thank you, and where is amplifier for reproductors located? I found only amplifier for sub near rear left light.

 

[AndyMac]

The cabin amp is on right side of boot, the amp for the sub is inside the tupperware sub. There is no amp on the left side.

 

[kachnak]

Hello, can you check my two photos and say some comments if is it good solution?
I need replace radio headunit by new, but I am not sure if my solution is good.

Thank you

i do not know why is on the brawn connector two wires, if there is AMP on right side boot. or this amp is only for rear speakers? I do not hear my speakers yet, because I bought car without radio code.

 

[AndyMac]

The 2 wires are for your centre speaker as they couldn't be ***** to wire this back to the Bose amp. The only issue you might get using the PC9-404 harness adapter is popping from the Bose amp. This will depend on the HU you choose. Personally I would go for the Becker GP. It plugs straight in, no adapters needed apart from the aerial amp adapter, no popping issues and matches the dash perfectly. It's a quality unit as well.

 

[kachnak]

Thank you. If I undesrstand there is some centre speaker? And where is located centre speaker? I will remove bose SUB because I have another amplifier and ground zero sub. I only do not know how to connect front door and rear speakers.