Which sound system?

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seadoo180

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Hello,

Picked up a new A3 2.0 TDI s-tronic last weekend, trading in my bmw m135, it was a stock car I went for so the spec was the spec.

Officially it has the basic sound system, however reading the threads on the 2 upgrade options it appears the "audi sound system" upgrade gives you a sub and a central dash speaker... I'm pretty sure mine has the basic system but it does have the mid dash speaker grill, is it basically just empty inside? or if it exists does that mean it has a speaker/functioning?

I don't think I have the sub I the boot (middle of the spare wheel?) so I guess the speaker in the dash is just empty?

Pleasantly surprised by the sound anyway so was curious if it was the upgrade or not... better than the standard system on the bmw.

Thanks!
 
seadoo180 said:
Hello,

Picked up a new A3 2.0 TDI s-tronic last weekend, trading in my bmw m135, it was a stock car I went for so the spec was the spec.

Officially it has the basic sound system, however reading the threads on the 2 upgrade options it appears the "audi sound system" upgrade gives you a sub and a central dash speaker... I'm pretty sure mine has the basic system but it does have the mid dash speaker grill, is it basically just empty inside? or if it exists does that mean it has a speaker/functioning?

I don't think I have the sub I the boot (middle of the spare wheel?) so I guess the speaker in the dash is just empty?

Pleasantly surprised by the sound anyway so was curious if it was the upgrade or not... better than the standard system on the bmw.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

According to the ETKA Parts catalogue the standard sound system has no speaker under the centre dash grill. It is only the Audi Sound System and the B+O Sound system that have a speaker fitted in this location. It is the same with the centre of the space-saver spare. The *** and B+O have a sub but the standard system has nothing.

I had a listen to the standard system in a demonstrator I drove yesterday and found it quite acceptable for the amount of time I will be listening.
 
The giveaway will be the sub - If there isn't one in the middle of the spare wheel, you have the standard system.
 
Thanks guys, so the speaker grill in the center is there regardless in all models of audio spec (just there's no speaker in there for the base system...), thought i'd check as the BMW didnt have the speaker grill at all on the base system (i.e. different dash).

Re: selling the m135, bit of a serial car changer, work as a consultant was posted in london so the car was a weekend toy (trains during the week) but now I have a new customer and im doing 80-90 miles a day the car was a manual and alot of stop start and tbh i could never use the potential of the car. Fancied swapping to audi (been BMW for last 5 years or so) so i justified it with getting something that will do double the mpg, more relaxing and easy to drive in the congested commute. Really happy with the car so far, the bmw was a bit special though particularly that the drive train :) - i had to tick that box
 
Re: selling the m135, bit of a serial car changer, work as a consultant was posted in london so the car was a weekend toy (trains during the week) but now I have a new customer and im doing 80-90 miles a day the car was a manual and alot of stop start and tbh i could never use the potential of the car. Fancied swapping to audi (been BMW for last 5 years or so) so i justified it with getting something that will do double the mpg, more relaxing and easy to drive in the congested commute. Really happy with the car so far, the bmw was a bit special though particularly that the drive train :) - i had to tick that box
Click to expand...

Yep the BMW 3 litre 6cyl is definitely a special engine. I had an e46 M3 and the engine was a masterpiece. I actually went into Sytners BMW in Nottingham yesterday after I picked my car up from Audi (it's across the road) to enquire about the new M3 and M235i. The salesman I spoke to said I was the 1st person to enquire about the M3! He said he's driven it and the engine is epic which I can quite imagine. He took my details and said when they've got one in he'll bring it to me to have a go in it! Think the M3 might be a few years away yet though as it's nearly £70k with a few toys. But I'll be interested to see what the M235i is like.
 
h5djr said:
I had a listen to the standard system in a demonstrator I drove yesterday and found it quite acceptable for the amount of time I will be listening.
Click to expand...

Agreed, although the sound is lacking in some 'presence' it is fine for me too...
 
Yeah the sound is pretty good on the standard system a couple of notches up on the bmw so with the central speaker grill i thought id bagged myself an upgrade that wasnt on the advertised spec - ah well!
 
Sorry by the way I seem to have hijacked the thread talking about BMW's!
I've got B&O but all the A3's I've seen have got the centre speaker grill. Don't think they could be bothered to design 2 different dashboards!!
 
Theres huges discounts available on the m135 ~18%, which makes it a genuine performance bargain if you go the right dealer not so much on the m235 - its broadly the same car few tweaks and looks better but is a good few k more list and less discount.

Cant help but think they have taken a few customers away from the full blooded m cars as these do maybe 80-90% for substantially less initial outlay and also running costs (no servicing m tax).
 
I enquired about an M135 a while ago before I ordered my S3 but there was no deal to be had. To get the payments similar to what I was paying on my last S3 they wanted £8k off me!! There was no way I was putting that kind of cash into a depreciating asset.

They had a 5 door in the showroom yesterday in grey which did look pretty good to be honest, but I still think it's a bit of an awkward shape, no where near as good looking as the S3. I think the M235 will be pretty good though especially as you can option a mechanical LSD. Definitely a summer car though, BMW's are shocking at the slightest hint of bad weather!
 
seadoo180 said:
Hello,

Picked up a new A3 2.0 TDI s-tronic last weekend, trading in my bmw m135, it was a stock car I went for so the spec was the spec.

Officially it has the basic sound system, however reading the threads on the 2 upgrade options it appears the "audi sound system" upgrade gives you a sub and a central dash speaker... I'm pretty sure mine has the basic system but it does have the mid dash speaker grill, is it basically just empty inside? or if it exists does that mean it has a speaker/functioning?

I don't think I have the sub I the boot (middle of the spare wheel?) so I guess the speaker in the dash is just empty?

Pleasantly surprised by the sound anyway so was curious if it was the upgrade or not... better than the standard system on the bmw.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

As Cemerson says, the presence (or absence) of a sub-woofer in the spare wheel in the boot will be a giveaway. Ditto for the upgraded sound system having a separated setting for sub-woofer volume in "Sound Settings" in the MMI.

Whilst the speaker grille on the dashboard is present in all models, there is a very simple way to tell if there is a speaker behind it:

1. Turn stereo volume up to about 30% with one hand on the dashboard plastic close to the instrument cluster. As the dashboard plastic is soft and good quality, you may/may not be able to feel the vibrations. Ideally, set volume so that you just lose the ability to feel the vibrations as the dashboard plastic damps the vibrations really well.

2. Now, put your hand on the centre speaker grille. If you can feel much more vibration then you have the centre speaker. If not, then you don't.

John.
 
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