Anyone got BOSE??

[chrisash32]

that they don't want anymore???

I am after retrofitting BOSE into my A4.. I am after a full donor system from a B6 Avant including the loom.
I don't need the head unit as i believe i can just enable BOSE on my current on in VAG-COM.

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated!
Just drop me a PM!

Thanks in advance!

Cheers
Chris

 

[chrisash32]

Anyone???

If not the full system, does anyone know where i can get the loom from? I am in talks over a set of speakers the moment.


Cheers
Chris

 

[no_idea]

I have got a brand new sub enclosure with amp if it is any good to you. It the the later silver amp with audio pilot.

 

[chrisash32]

I have got a brand new sub enclosure with amp if it is any good to you. It the the later silver amp with audio pilot.

PM Sent!

 

[Nutkin]

why not upgrade to something a bit better? be a bit cheaper too id think.

 

[chrisash32]

why not upgrade to something a bit better? be a bit cheaper too id think.

Not OEM though is it....

 

[dannyFR+tdi]

I dont rate the bose personally, can get much better bits of kit

 

[Kostas]

I dont rate the bose personally, can get much better bits of kit

can you specify why you don't rate bose and give some examples of much better bits cos i was thinking about bose upgrade

chrisash32 at what stage is your upgrade what you managed to get hold off and whats missing also prices i must admit i'm with you about OEM

 

[Nutkin]

can you specify why you don't rate bose and give some examples of much better bits cos i was thinking about bose upgrade

chrisash32 at what stage is your upgrade what you managed to get hold off and whats missing also prices i must admit i'm with you about OEM

BOSE for me lacks any form of life to the music, Its very detailed but very clinical sounding which is great if you like classical music or radio 4. I like Rock, I like my iron maiden and i like my guitar solos and with the bose it just sounds aweful there is no depth to bass at all.

If it was my retrofit I'd whack a set of these in the front

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/dls-r6a.html

Run them off this
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/genesis-profile-2.html


If you want to mess about with subs and such Id go for a 4 channel version of the Genesis amp and throw in a JL sub

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jl-audio-8w3v3.html


My current Setup waiting for me to fit is a JL W6 with genesis amps and some A/D/S/ Speakers, The speakers are my personal favourites and took me a while to track them down. Last set sold in 2006 for about 900 dollars a set, then they stopped making them.


Its all about the quality for this install but as said above for the price of BOSE you can get so much better.

 

[AndyMac]

Yes totally agree with Nutkin, you're just wasting your time and money retrofitting something most perople can't wait to get rid of. Bose is at best average and considering the amount of work in retrofitting you would be far better going aftermarket. You'll need to run all new wiring, power & all the speakers as well as changing all the speakers and installing the amp. The result is something that sounds just slightly better than what you have already and is then far harder to upgrade once you've realised your mistake.
Some people will disagree and are very happy with their Bose system, however this is purely because they either only listen to classical music or have never heard anything better, one of the benefits of blissful ignorance.
No idea what OEM has to do with it, a decent system is completely hidden.

 

[Kostas]

that looks very tempting thanks for shining some light on me how about back doors is it not necessary to upgrade and does it effect a practicality off my avant i don't really want to see aftermarket upgrade i just want to hear it

 

[AndyMac]

I wouldn't bother with the rears. Concentrate on the fronts and the sub. Here's my stealth sub fitted to our Avant:

 

[Kostas]

nice makes me wonder whats in the other side how much wires would cost me also don't want to change head unit cos it fits nice in there or is it a must must

 

[AndyMac]

Stock HU is fine, just snip the Bose EQ wire on the back and regain all the highs and lows that Bose deny you. Run the amp for the sub off the rear pre-outs and the fronts off the HU or go with a 4channel amp and run the fronts from the other 2 channels.
The amp fits in the other side, here's the original Alpine I installed and then upgraded to a Genisys, far warmer and more musical:

 

[Nutkin]

personaly i would change the HU, stock is fine, but the DAC in it is poor quality. but i can understand if you dont want to be mucking about. I believe the RNS-E is better. but again Pricey!


I have an Alpine 103BT. I'll snap a pic for you in a min.

 

[chrisash32]

i do like how this thread has developed... Keep the info and pics coming guys!!

Ultimately i would love to hear an improved setup!!

 

[AndyMac]

I went with a Blaupunkt Woodstock as I wanted built in DAB:

 

[Nutkin]

i do like how this thread has developed... Keep the info and pics coming guys!!

Ultimately i would love to hear an improved setup!!

Where abouts do you live mine should be finnished after the easter holidays .

if your near by guildford you can come down and hear it at a No Rice meet

 

[chrisash32]

Where abouts do you live mine should be finnished after the easter holidays .

if your near by guildford you can come down and hear it at a No Rice meet

South manchester... Not that close loll!

 

[Kostas]

personaly i would change the HU, stock is fine, but the DAC in it is poor quality. but i can understand if you dont want to be mucking about. I believe the RNS-E is better. but again Pricey!


I have an Alpine 103BT. I'll snap a pic for you in a min.

how about that pic ?

 

[chrisash32]

i am still leaning towards BOSE... i have been offered the full system very cheap...

 

[scott b]

do non bose systems come with the little sub and amp in the rear quater?

 

[chrisash32]

do non bose systems come with the little sub and amp in the rear quater?

mine does, yep!

 

[Kostas]

i am still leaning towards BOSE... i have been offered the full system very cheap...

how much is cheap?

 

[Kostas]

do non bose systems come with the little sub and amp in the rear quater?

mine does too

 

[scott b]

cheers

 

[chrisash32]

how much is cheap?

less than £200...

 

[lionyo]

I have four bose speakers If you need them?

 

[Kostas]

less than £200...

thats an absolute bargain hows about instalation at what stage you are
where did you get it from was it brakers or privat?

 

[crazy88]

I wouldn't bother with the rears. Concentrate on the fronts and the sub. Here's my stealth sub fitted to our Avant:

I'm confused...I'm sure that compartment on my car is full of control modules?!? What might they be? I may be wrong, as i have only had the car a few months and hardly drive it as i get the train to work, lol

Did you make the enclosure yourself, and what size sub is that? I am really missing my sub, and may follow your advice for a better set up. I like how you have the amp in the other side too! I think I need to get spending on a sound system.

 

[Nutkin]

my compartment like that has a holder in it. :s

 

[crazy88]

my compartment like that has a holder in it. :s

Yeah, mine might be something like that, lol. to be honest, i can't really remember, but tonight i'm going to get pics of both sides and see if you people can tell me what they are. I really want better sound in the car!!

 

[J7USS]

I agree with Nutkin and Andy on this one.

Though the Bose sounds decent, its nothin compared to when you rig in your own set up. It all depends how far you want to go with the Sound quality. I used to think the Bose would do the job but after a few weeks it was doing my head in not having the Punch I usually have in my cars.

The bose does look neat and tidy but OEM or not, if the sound aint good enough, its got to go!!
I listen to a wide range of music from Chilled to Funky House, reggae to Old skool Garage (im still quite young you know,lol) so I was lackin in the Bass department and the Treble was rubbish.
All I did was RIp out the Double din bose, replaced with a Pioneer headunit (a pic to follow) that I can hook up a hard drive to, I now run all my Mp3's from a 100gb tiny hard drive plugged into the rear of the stereo hidden behind the Unit.

I then traced and identified the wires for the Speakers that Plug into the Bose amp at the rear for all the door speakers. Instead of laying fresh wire , I used the existing, I just eliminated the Bose amp and went directly to the headunit via the drivers side floor trim. I then changed all 4 main door speaker and the 4 Tweeters for a complete Cerwin Vega componant setup.Made sure they were all connected correctly and that section was complete. Lastly I fitted a Cerwin Vega Amp and 12" Sub unit in the rear and ran the remote wire and Power cable via the passenger side with an inline fuse included for the power to go straight to the battery. Thats it.

Now I can FEEL my music instead of just hear the music.
Theres alot of haters when it comes to Subs etc but these things need to be done to get your own desired sound. Some will say, "chav" bla bla but its nothing to do with that, its tuning it up to your own taste.So if its Bose you want and not fussed about how far you want to go with sound quality then go for it.

Keeping the OEM look had nothing to do with it when it came to getting the sound I required - I wasnt thinking about what it would look like if someone popped their head in and the only difference you can see is the headunit anyway, everything else is how it was, hidden!

 

[crazy88]

Just as a guide J7USS, how much did your CERWIN VEGA speakers set you back, got a model number? I like sound, but don't know what's good as i have not really looked into anything like this recently. Plus I dn't wanna pay mega bucks, as I just don't drive it enough to justify it.

I still don't know what to do though regarding the HU as I like the OEM look of that too, and find that many aftermarket HU's look awful. But the the phrase "You don't look at the mantelpiece when poking the fire" springs to mind...

 

[AndyMac]

my compartment like that has a holder in it. :s

Yes, so did mine. You just remove the rear panel and cut out the back of the cubbyhole. You can do this really neatly so that if you wanna go back to stock you can easily hotglue it back in place.
I made the enclosure and the sub is a JL Audio 6.5" sub (as I use them in my A3 stealth subs) but you could easily fit the 8" version as per this B5 Avant I did last year:

 

[crazy88]

Yes, so did mine. You just remove the rear panel and cut out the back of the cubbyhole. You can do this really neatly so that if you wanna go back to stock you can easily hotglue it back in place.
I made the enclosure and the sub is a JL Audio 6.5" sub (as I use them in my A3 stealth subs) but you could easily fit the 8" version as per this B5 Avant I did last year:

Dude, that post is brilliant!!! Thanks for the pic, and explanation too. I think i now have a project, yipee! I will have to get my ambient lights in first, and new washer jets on first, but an audio setup is next on the list. Just on a side note, did you say that it was possible to keep the stock HU and still have an amp and sub?

 

[J7USS]

Just as a guide J7USS, how much did your CERWIN VEGA speakers set you back, got a model number? I like sound, but don't know what's good as i have not really looked into anything like this recently. Plus I dn't wanna pay mega bucks, as I just don't drive it enough to justify it.

I still don't know what to do though regarding the HU as I like the OEM look of that too, and find that many aftermarket HU's look awful. But the the phrase "You don't look at the mantelpiece when poking the fire" springs to mind...

I cant remember the exact model numbers of the components as ive had these for several years aswell as the older Cerwin Sub but I updated my 12" sub to a Stroker series last year. Ugly looking but sound heavy when pumping
...and you can blast them up vErY loud without distortion (which is what I like on my Loooonng boring Journeys in the summer)

Even without the Sub the components do a great job!sooooo much clearer and crisper than Bose. Ive even put a Cerwin component setup in my Van.

The cost at the time was £200 for 4+4 components (mids/tweeters) and the Stroker I paid £185 ex display.
Headunit I got for £115 couple yrs ago (without the screen) :

The Cerwin Amp cost around £100 ex display.

OEM if you aint to fussed about how far you want to push your sound but if its anything a little more serious you looking for then the OEM headunit will need taking out!!

 

[chrisash32]

wow thanks for the post!

i need to hear a BOSE system... and also a custom system... then make my mind up!
I have not paid for my BOSE kit yet... its just there for when i want it..

If i can do the whole setup "hidden" i would be happy...

Head unit is another thing i need to discuss... I have been given a brand new double din Fujitsu navi / dvd / mp3 touch screen system...
So it would seem pointless me getting an RNS-E, but i don't know, OEM is a big thing for me...

Hence why i think i need to see and play with the two types of system...

Where you guys with the custom systems based?

Cheers!
Chris

 

[J7USS]

Im in Leicester, about 1hr 30mins from you...
There must be someone close by to you on here though!

 

[chrisash32]

if i find the model number of this head unit, (its in the loft) will someone let me know if its upto spec for a custom setup?
I have a 1000w 12 inch FLI sub speaker in the shed from my old car which would need an amp and an enclosure... but i am not sure if thats too big for the side wall in the A4...