DO I have BOSE ?

L

lgooch

Well-Known Member
VCDS Map User
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
1,417
Reaction score
241
Points
63
Location
East Manchester In the Hills !
I have an A3 Sportback Sport with lots and lots of factory extras on it. (07 Plate)

I was giving the car a good detail today and was vaccing out the boot with the stereo on. I stuck my head in the boot and the bass was really intense and seemed to be coming from the nearside panel in the boot area.

I have the Symphony II+ stereo which is a 6 CD Changer (MP3) but none of the speakers have the little bose badges on them.

Does anyone know if you have a sub, you must have BOSE or did Audi do a non BOSE system which came with a sub in the boot.
I havent peeled off the panel yet as it looks a swine to remove, but there is definitely something back there.

I must say it does sound pretty good, albeit the wife moans that it defeaning our little one !
 
I was under the impression that you could have a sub without BOSE.
 
Pii said:
I was under the impression that you could have a sub without BOSE.
Click to expand...

same here, and am pretty suer tehy would have bose on the speaker covers

when you crank up the music, can you hear music coming out of teh center of the dash as the bose has a speaker there as well?
 
Pii said:
I was under the impression that you could have a sub without BOSE.
Click to expand...

Honest ?

If you can then thats another extra someones paid for on the car without me knowing before I bought it - BONUS !

I suppose I need to lift the trim out of the boot and take a peek !
 
Don't all A3's have a sub in the boot? Bose is just an upgrade, slightly better sub??
 
I think the Symphony with inbuilt 6 CD changer model definately came with the extra rear speakers and the sub but none of which are BOSE without a further upgrade.
 
Pii said:
I think the Symphony with inbuilt 6 CD changer model definately came with the extra rear speakers and the sub but none of which are BOSE without a further upgrade.
Click to expand...
to be honest - If this is not BOSE, then why bother. I think it sounds excellent. Far far better than my mk5 golf. the stereo in that is shoot compared to the audi
 
Unless you get the really low spec A3, all of them come with a sub! Mine has the low spec single DIN concert and it comes with sub.

Also if you have BOSE, it will say so on the stereos LCD display when you turn it on.
 
ALL A3's sold in the states have a sub. There are two types of sub: BOSE and non-BOSE.

Since I hod that BOSE's slogan should not be "Better sound through research". but instead "Better profits through marketing", I don't care for the BOSE system. You'll never find BOSE equipment in an even halfway-decent recording studio, for example.

Nobody spent any extra... the concert 2+ drives front speakers, and the rear speakers and sub are handled by a
separate amplifier pack. That's how it came from the factory.

If you had a BLOWS system, it would say so on the radio screen on power-up. In addition, the speaker grilles would also announce the fact.

Keith
 
VWAddict said:
If you had a BLOWS system, it would say so on the radio screen on power-up. In addition, the speaker grilles would also announce the fact.

Keith
Click to expand...
The svc people at the dealer knocked one of my grill's Bose logo loose the last time I was there. Should I go back to get it fixed so that I could keep up my car's BLOWSE status, thus its resale value?
 
BOSE won't necessaily show BOSE on the stereo guys. My one didn't but I read here that it's just coding on vagcom.

LWNY I would get them to fix it - irrespective of the quality it is still a feature of the car you wish to resell.
 
Pii said:
LWNY I would get them to fix it - irrespective of the quality it is still a feature of the car you wish to resell.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that is the least of the prob, I saw some light keying on my hood, keying around the key area in the driver's door and some small paint chips (let alone the grease mark in my car, steering wheel and spilled drinks by the ashtray area).
 
if you don't have BOSE then it's no great loss tbh. i've had it in both my cars and as a no-work-required sound system it's ok. but if you want good sound it doesn't matter when you have BOSE or not cos you'll be changing the whole lot anyway.
 
Where is this so called sub located in the rear of the a3? i have a 53 plate single din concert sport model.. will my a3 have a bass speaker?
 
In the boot - passenger side covered by carpet. Turn up the volume, open the boot and put your hand onto the side wall to see if there is any pressure. If you cant feel or hear anything then you don't have it.
 
Pii said:
In the boot - passenger side covered by carpet. Turn up the volume, open the boot and put your hand onto the side wall to see if there is any pressure. If you cant feel or hear anything then you don't have it.
Click to expand...
But it is more likely your speaker is broken or disconnected. I haven't seen an A3 8P without a bass speaker in the back...

jungleman said:
same here, and am pretty suer tehy would have bose on the speaker covers

when you crank up the music, can you hear music coming out of teh center of the dash as the bose has a speaker there as well?
Click to expand...
I don't have Bose, but I have the center speaker in the dash... :)
 
Seems like I may have opened a can of worms !

You dont need to feel the side of the car inside the boot. Just stick your head in, youll know if you have a working sub as the bass just reverberates
 
That thing is the side of the trunk is not a subwoofer, but a submidrange. But for the brits that are content with 6" woofers in their main speakers, they probably wouldn't be missing much.
 
I think BOSE is a very good system, at least in the A3. I would buy it again.
In order to find out which extras your A3 has, open the boot, lift the liner. You will find a sticker with a lot of codes, which indicate which extras your car came out of the factory with.
 
Its mostly down to the head unit. I had a symphony II and it was superb with BOSE but after changing to an RNSE the sound quality is very poor compared to the symphony. And yes i did wire the BOSE back in with the RNSE. Peoploe are quick to blame BOSE for sound quality but if you have an rnse then the sound quality is never going to be as good as a Symphony what ever your amp set up.
 
GConn said:
I think BOSE is a very good system, at least in the A3. I would buy it again.
In order to find out which extras your A3 has, open the boot, lift the liner. You will find a sticker with a lot of codes, which indicate which extras your car came out of the factory with.
Click to expand...

I can't find a code for Bose. Mine has it, I have the speaker logos and the Bose pin into the back of my Concert II+ but I've put all my codes into:

http://igorweb.org/equidec/Default.aspx

And they all seem to be recognised but none as Bose.
 
I'll try out your link later in the afternoon when I go home, as I have BOSE too.
 
paddy said:
Its mostly down to the head unit. I had a symphony II and it was superb with BOSE but after changing to an RNSE the sound quality is very poor compared to the symphony. And yes i did wire the BOSE back in with the RNSE. Peoploe are quick to blame BOSE for sound quality but if you have an rnse then the sound quality is never going to be as good as a Symphony what ever your amp set up.
Click to expand...

I think the Symphony II+ without the BOSE sounds excellent. Best standard stereo I have heard in a car that doesnt cost over 30K
 
paddy said:
Peoploe are quick to blame BOSE for sound quality but if you have an rnse then the sound quality is never going to be as good as a Symphony what ever your amp set up.
Click to expand...
I too have converted from Symphony to RNS-E, and I have to disagree completely with your statement.

I think that LWNY also converted to RNS-E; along with several others... You're the ONLY person I've ever encountered who makes this assertion.

Keith
 
I did convert from Symphony II to RNS-E, can't say sound quality change is much better. Its like saying Bose Accoustic Mass sounds better than their clock radio. The only major thing I noticed is that Audiopilot sound modification on the RNS-E was more noticeable.
 
I have just gone from a Symphony to RNSe Bose set up and quite frankly the non Bose system in my other A3 sounds miles better.

The BOSE just sounds so flat. No real huge bass or treble.
 
My 2011 BE has Bose and it's pretty cack. I've even started to consider it might be faulty, but these sorts of qualititive judgements ould be impossible to demonstrate to a dealer.

Speaker distortion listening to speech, weak bass and muddy trebles.

I have said before on here, my 2009 E90 3 series had the standard business edition stereo and it was 100% better than the A3 Bose.
 
The Governor said:
My 2011 BE has Bose and it's pretty cack. I've even started to consider it might be faulty, but these sorts of qualititive judgements ould be impossible to demonstrate to a dealer.

Speaker distortion listening to speech, weak bass and muddy trebles.

I have said before on here, my 2009 E90 3 series had the standard business edition stereo and it was 100% better than the A3 Bose.
Click to expand...

Definately sounds like a problem.

I had the stock BMW system on my 2010 320 with Professional Nav just a few month back and the sound quality was very poor compared to the BOSE I have now on a 2012 S3. It distorted like hell when cranked up, however the rest of the system (Hard drive, Nav etc..) was fantastic and made the RNSE seem prehistoric.

Im sure the A3/S3 BOSE isnt the best out there but it is appreciably better than a stock 3 series system and indeed previous MK5 Golf Gtis with stock systems I have owned.

The only `similar` thing I can compare it to is an A5 with B&O and that was very good, although not to the point where my BOSE system sounded poo when I got back into the car.

Paul
 
I have no faith that something as subtle as sound quality will be possible to appreciate, my experience of techs is that they can't even diagnose the most obvious of faults, let alone sound quality issues!
 
lgooch said:
I have just gone from a Symphony to RNSe Bose set up and quite frankly the non Bose system in my other A3 sounds miles better.

The BOSE just sounds so flat. No real huge bass or treble.
Click to expand...

What year is your car?
 
The Governor said:
I have no faith that something as subtle as sound quality will be possible to appreciate, my experience of techs is that they can't even diagnose the most obvious of faults, let alone sound quality issues!
Click to expand...


"...they all do that Sir..."
 
Goochy lad, the Bose in my BE has lots of bass. seems weird all of the RSNe/Bose issue, its like a black art science that no one understands :think:
 
Very happy with the volume & quality of my BOSE system. As an OEM fitment it's one of the best I've heard. Those that say it sounds 'Flat' either haven't adjusted the basic 3 band EQ (on a Concert II+), are playing poor quality media or maybe there's an issue with it.

It may not be after-market - shake the neighbourhood - Boom Box loud, but it's more than enough for high levels & quality Treble & deep rumbling Bass.
 
VWAddict said:
Since I hod that BOSE's slogan should not be "Better sound through research". but instead "Better profits through marketing", I don't care for the BOSE system. You'll never find BOSE equipment in an even halfway-decent recording studio, for example.
Click to expand...

You'll never find anyone trying to record an album in an Audi A3, either. Horses for courses and all that.
 
Artimus said:
Very happy with the volume & quality of my BOSE system. As an OEM fitment it's one of the best I've heard. Those that say it sounds 'Flat' either haven't adjusted the basic 3 band EQ (on a Concert II+), are playing poor quality media or maybe there's an issue with it.

It may not be after-market - shake the neighbourhood - Boom Box loud, but it's more than enough for high levels & quality Treble & deep rumbling Bass.
Click to expand...

I have adjusted mine, and my sources are a minimum of 256k MP3's delivered via AUX or the CD. I don't listen to drum 'n' bass, more like Elbow, Starsailor, Seth Lakeman, in other words music where dynamic range is more important than when listening to dance music.

Mine definitely cannot handle that sort of music very well, as I also said, listening Radio 4 can be a bit raspy at times, depending on who is talking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Do I have bluetooth !
Replies
17
Views
10K
Lukeyb
Lukeyb
Phil-1
Do I have Bluetooth?
Replies
4
Views
905
Phil-1
Phil-1
Gourlay1990
Do I have Bluetooth?
Replies
12
Views
1K
NHN
NHN
T
Do I have DIS?
Replies
19
Views
2K
Ash187
Ash187
T
Do I have AMI? :-)
Replies
3
Views
1K
NHN
NHN
Top
Back