Upgrading from Bose in 8L S3

1. If your system is Bose factoy fit it should have the Bose pin identified on the diagram on the HU, however I guess the HU could have been swapped out due to volume issue which plagues all Concert units. The Bose pin is shown below, but you should hear quite a dramatic difference in both bass and treble when snipping the wire.

2. & 3. If going aftermarket with the HU then replace all speakers and bypass the Bose amp. No one I know of has had a good experience trying to get better sound from the A3/S3 Bose system by just upgrading the HU, and the process is plagued with problems like interference & popping.
When replacing the front components you must replace the tweeters as they are shockingly bad. They aren't even Bose. They are the same shyte Nokia/Isophon crap used on the non-Bose system. Most 2 way components come with 1" tweeters that simply pop into the stock locations, if smaller then just wrap them in doublesided foam tape.
The issue with the fronts is the main driver depth which can only be about 55mm, so ensure they are slim units. Most companies do these like Rainbow 230slx's or the cheaper Hertz Dieci DSK 130's, which should fit nicely even with the thicker MDF adapters (recommended). The flimsy plastic Autoleads adapters are only good to use as a template for MDF ones and are to be avoided.
4. Replacing the sub is a must, and yes the feeble Alpine unit won't give you much unless you have it strapped to your ****.
If you do nothing else then the stealth sub is the best single upgrade as it not only provides tight punchy bass, but also relieves the cabin speakers from trying to produce anything approaching mid bass.
The stealth sub includes Alpine T505 300wrms amp hidden behind the rear speaker panel, 18mm MDF enclosure replacing the tupperware unit, JL Audio 6.5" sub and 40amp power cable & RCA, fully fitted (4 hours) = £340.
You can also sell the Bose sub on ebay for around £70.
I'd go with this wraparound fascia adapter rather than the 2 part units which never fit properly.
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/facia-adaptor-p-4444.html

Thats the point, you don't need any wiring adapters, just a standard ISO speaker loom (£2.99 from Halfrauds or Maplins) in order to plug into the new HU and 10m or speaker wire to run back to the Bose amp to pick up the fronts & rears. The Blaupunkt unit uses the same bizarre pre-out plug as the stock Audi HU, so if you do upgrade the sub you'll need the Blaupunkt 6ch RCA adapter to give you standard RCA's for the amp. The 4ch version only gives you front & rears, the 6ch gives you a sub out.
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blaupunkt-preout-cable-p-5469.html

I'm doing some planning for the sub install.

Going down a different route at the moment than the usual as I want to get some more punch. Looking at a custom fibreglass box fittin the lh rear corner, using the current sub/stacker location. Will extend out to be in line with the rear hatch opening, so only minor boot space loss.

Will be flush mounting the amp on this.

My calcluations indicate that I should have enough room to run a decent 10' sub whilst maintaining a factory look.

I'm interested in fitting a 2 channel, or mono amp to power a sub in the boot.
I want to remove the Bose sub, as it keeps distorting under certain music, and put an amp in its place to power a new sub I'll place in the boot.

Does anyone know where can I take the feed from for the amplifier to power the sub?

You'll need to run a power cable, but everything else can be taken off the Bose sub plug:

Thanks a lot Andy.

Is this the plug that goes straight into the current Bose Sub?

Yes the black one with a pink clip.

Sorry for digging this one up again....
2 things: I have an S4 with bose and i think it has had a replacement stereo. It needs another new one as the display is on the way out but anyway....
I've tried cutting the "bose wire" to improve the sound as indicated in post 2 on this thread, but i didn't notice any difference. Could it be different in my car?.... here is the diagram on the top of my stereo:



Is there anoter wire I should cut. It still says "BOSE" when I turn the stero on, should this sto if I cut the correct wire?.

Second thing.... I have a Bluetooth car kit that was installed by the previous owner that works fine but the mute wire is not connected. I think it it earth switched from the kit but on the stereo there is 2 mute connectors! Which should I use?
Thanks in advance!

The Bose on the display of the HU means nothing, it can be turnd on or off using VAGCOM regardless of whether you have Bose fitted or not.
The Bose EQ wire is the GA (GALA - speed sensitive volume on non Bose equipped vehicles) wire on the diagram above.
If you didn't notice any difference then I'd suspect you don't have a Bose sysem but the replacement HU was from a Bose equipped car which is why the VAGCOM setting is there.
Easiest way to tell, as you have the HU out, is to see if you have a brown front speaker ISO connector on the Audi HU wiring loom. If you do then it is not a Bose system as Bose are fuly amplified and don't run any speakers directly from the HU.

OK doke, Ive snipped the right one then.... I do have a brown Connector but only 2 pins are connected. There are two thin blue and two thin brown cables that seem to be connected to the "LF" pins, but thats it. I disconnected the brown plug altogether and the stereo still sounds ok, plus its got bose written on all the speaker covers... so im guessing it is the bose... This time however I did notice a better bass and treble responce. Before I had the terble cranked right up in attempt to hear the front tweeters but found myself having to turn it down to plus one, so either It didnt work straight away ir i had cotton wool in my ears!!!

ANy idea on the mute? just try either?

You do have to turn the HU off once you've snipped the wire for the change in EQ to take effect. But it should make quite a difference - it's not a subtle difference.
The mute is usually always on the big red plug, so I'd start there.

AndyMac said:

1. If your system is Bose factoy fit it should have the Bose pin identified on the diagram on the HU, however I guess the HU could have been swapped out due to volume issue which plagues all Concert units. The Bose pin is shown below, but you should hear quite a dramatic difference in both bass and treble when snipping the wire.

2. & 3. If going aftermarket with the HU then replace all speakers and bypass the Bose amp. No one I know of has had a good experience trying to get better sound from the A3/S3 Bose system by just upgrading the HU, and the process is plagued with problems like interference & popping.
When replacing the front components you must replace the tweeters as they are shockingly bad. They aren't even Bose. They are the same shyte Nokia/Isophon **** used on the non-Bose system. Most 2 way components come with 1" tweeters that simply pop into the stock locations, if smaller then just wrap them in doublesided foam tape.
The issue with the fronts is the main driver depth which can only be about 55mm, so ensure they are slim units. Most companies do these like Rainbow 230slx's or the cheaper Hertz Dieci DSK 130's, which should fit nicely even with the thicker MDF adapters (recommended). The flimsy plastic Autoleads adapters are only good to use as a template for MDF ones and are to be avoided.
4. Replacing the sub is a must, and yes the feeble Alpine unit won't give you much unless you have it strapped to your ****.
If you do nothing else then the stealth sub is the best single upgrade as it not only provides tight punchy bass, but also relieves the cabin speakers from trying to produce anything approaching mid bass.
The stealth sub includes Alpine T505 300wrms amp hidden behind the rear speaker panel, 18mm MDF enclosure replacing the tupperware unit, JL Audio 6.5" sub and 40amp power cable & RCA, fully fitted (4 hours) = £340.
You can also sell the Bose sub on ebay for around £70.
I'd go with this wraparound fascia adapter rather than the 2 part units which never fit properly.
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/facia-adaptor-p-4444.html

Click to expand...

Hey Andy, are you still selling these stealth subs for the S3 mate ?

good afternoon,
I understand unfortunately that andy mac passed away.....
is anyone selling his stealth sub setups for the s3 8l ?
or can anyone provide me with the wiring diagram and I can do it myself from here !!
corfu, Greece !!!

and secondly guys......
if I go the whole hog and replace the entire stereo system including HU, speakers, sub and amplifier (I have them all from a previous car)
what adapter harness do I need ?
a simple iso adapter or because I have the bose system does it have to be a bose to iso adapter ?

I have found them both on ebay just wondering which one like I said, - if I go the long winded route and replace everything !!

has anyone actually stripped out the bose system in their 8l a3 ?
its a ball ache trying to figure out what to do
is their a wiring harness adapter I can simply order to install my own headunit .....
I am not interested in keeping any wires for the bose amp or sub as I have my own amplifier and speakers ready to fit
I want to get rid of the whole lot and start fresh
first things first though.... stereo harness adapter, I have the symphony unit bose........