Retrofitting BOSE

S3BeemerBeater

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I want to retrofit BOSE to my '01 S3 and although I know nothing about stereos/speakers etc, I know it's not going to be just a case of undoing a few screws and swapping speakers and speaker grills (if only).

So, has anyone any experience of how to do this with a Concert head-unit? And yes I know I could get better, but I want OEM equipment - I'm sad that way /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/froggie_red.gif
 
As Lees says it is a difficult job although not impossible, but the result is not worth the effort. You could get far better results with an aftermarket install and it will be easier.
All the speakers need to be changed, which is the easy bit, although you will need adapters for the rears as they are only 4" drivers.
The tricky bit is wiring in the amp. Your current system has the front speakers running off the HU and the rears and sub running off the tiny amp inside the sub.
The Bose system has all cabin speakers running off a 4 channel amp mounted in the offside cubbyhole in the boot, with the sub having its own amp inside the tupperware enclosure.
The wiring is completely different, so unless you have the full wiring loom with the system (unlikely) you will have to make up your own loom.
This will involve using the RCA adapter from the HU, running 2 sets of RCA leads to the boot, running a higher power cable to the boot for the amp and sub. You'll then have to solder all the new cables onto the amp connector, with a third set of RCA's (+power cable and remote on lead)ruunning to the Bose sub.
To fit the sub you need to strip out the rear speaker panel, boot lip panel and LHS boot trim panel.
You then need VAGCOM (or trip to Audi dealer) to reprogram your HU for the Bose settings.
With all that done the results will be disappointing.
A much better upgrade would be to replace cabin speakers with decent aftermarket units (there are plenty of options). Then install one of my 300w Stealth subs with a new Alpine amp driving the new sub and rear speakers and hidden behind the rear speaker panel. This will provide clear punchy bass, allow the HU bass setting to run at -2, which means you can drive the cabin speakers harder with no distortion, while keeping the OEM look.
This upgrade would cost about £400 including installation & reasonable Kenwood or Alpine cabin speakers and you will then have a decent system far better than the Bose upgrade which will involve less work. I have fitted this upgrade to a number of S3's with or without Bose, and the results are amazing. It also provides a good platform should you decide to get an aftermarket HU.
 
These are the Bose rear speakers, you can see that there is a ****** great gap between the speaker surround and the panel, thus speaker flapping in free air.
 
Wow - heavey duty wiring work!

Makes me hate the git who first ordered the car - whats the point of a sunroof (virtually unheard of on an S3) and cruise control (ditto!) without BOSE /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burningmad.gif !!!

Well there's something to think about - Thanks all for the info

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/froggie_red.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
SimonP said:
[ QUOTE ]
S3BeemerBeater said:
whats the point of ... cruise control (ditto!)


[/ QUOTE ]

I deliberately ordered cruise for mine and couldn't live without it, maybe you're just not driving yours far enough!

[/ QUOTE ]

I do Bournemouth to Glasgow return every two weeks - is that far enough for you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_roll.gif my point was matie who ordered the car got those two (cruise control is a license saver on certain speed camera roads!), both of which are 'must haves' for me, but was too tight to get BOSE!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/froggie_red.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
S3BeemerBeater said:
my point was matie who ordered the car got those two (cruise control is a license saver on certain speed camera roads!), both of which are 'must haves' for me, but was too tight to get BOSE!


[/ QUOTE ]

Ok fair point. I had bose on my first S3 and didn't order it on the current one as I thought it was poor value for money, ie. it sounds pretty poor to me, and was totally outclassed by the pioneer I had in the golf the car replaced. I've gone aftermarket now and it's a better option, albeit more hassle.

But got to hand it to you, sunroof over bose is a strange choice.
 
Andy,

can you fit that set up, or similar, in an '02 Avant ??
 
You could fit a similar setup to an A4 Avant, but I doubt the A3/S3 unit would fit, as it is a strange shape that matches that of the A3. There are stealth subs available for the A4, but not sure if they fit the Avant.
Check out: http://www.autoacoustics.com/sbo-aa4.htm
 
Thanks for the reply.

I will take a gander /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
AndyMac said:
This is the pin out for the Bose amp:

Spent quite some time looking for this.
But cant seem to see any pin outs ?
 
Yes the pics from the old site haven't made it to the new one
Here are the pinouts for the A3 Bose sub:
BosePinouts.jpg
 

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