I.C.E. upgrade A3

[drew67]

Hi there. Just become the proud owner of an A3 Quattro with Bose and the 6 CD changer. Not impressed with the sound and won't play MP3 discs. I am considering putting my Alpine 7893 unit from my previous car in and was wondering about the following:

• Does anyone have any images of a single DIN unit in an A3 with a fascia adaptor
• Will the head unit by itself make much difference to the sound quality.
• Could I just change the speakers and run them off the head unit as its 4x 50w
• If not I've had these two upgrades suggested depending on what I wanted to spend and wondered what people thought

1. 6.5 Rainbow components in the front, 5.25 Rainbow coaxial in rear,Dynamat, Alpine 4 ch amp and active sub hidden in boot to replace Bose amp and sub or
2. As above but change 6.5's and amp to Genesis

This is all very new to me and any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[Eeef]

Don't think you can use any other headunit on the BOSE system. The car will need a complete (audio) rewire if you want to change the speakers as the Audi uses CANBUS for combined power/signal.

Enjoy.

 

[drew67]

I've found this adaptor will this not work

caraudiodirect.co.uk/audi-active-wiring-adaptor-p-2490.html

 

[timps]

Will the head unit by itself make much difference to the sound quality.

No because the bose system uses an external amp to power all the speakers.
You can connect an aftermarket head unit to it, but it will not improve the sound and still require some wiring to be done.

Could I just change the speakers and run them off the head unit as its 4x 50w

Not without bypassing the bose amp first.


Rainbow, Alpine, Genesis are all very good makes and you will not be disappointed which ever you choose.
Current thinking for good sound at the moment: good components in the front and a decent sub in the rear and forget about rear speakers that play vocals or high notes because they ruin the front-stage stereo effect.

 

[emzino]

I've got BOSE in my 8P and was wondering, where could I find the amplifier?

 

[Boydie]

hey mate - i have completely changed my sounds in my car

i am running:

Becker Grand Prix head unit with blue tooth phone and ipod
Focal KP2 6.5" comps
Audio Control EQL
Genesis 4ch
Genesis Dual mono
Diamond 10"
Streetwires wiring 0guage wiring kit along with ZN650 and 350 rca's

car is dynamatted and custom bootbuild and tweeter pods directed at my face

you will not need to bother with rear coaxials - mine are out and the sound quality is unreal! for the money you may have set aside for coaxials i would definately buy an EQ

rainbow are good and i would definately power them by genesis!!

but i cannot fault my Focals - they are unreal!

you will not get many at all on this site who have completely changed their sound system so if you have any more queries, pm me and ill try my best to help you out!

 

[Boydie]

I've got BOSE in my 8P and was wondering, where could I find the amplifier?

there is an amp on the sub its self located on the passenger side of the boot behind the panel

as far as i know the amp for the rear speakers is near the glove box :S that i am not 100% sure about though!

the front speaker are driven by the headunit and are made by blaupunkt (spelling) unless they are bose of course!

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

I've got BOSE in my 8P and was wondering, where could I find the amplifier?

It is behind the offside rear panel in the boot, right in the back corner.

I will be starting my 8P install this weekend. I have bought the genuine Audi 1Din adapter which matches the rest of the dash perfectly.

I will be installing my Focal Utopia front componants and I have a pair of 6.5" Subs that I am intending to run IB in the rear speaker locations.

the HU is an Alpine DVA-9861Ri (Alpine Full Speed) which will feed an Alpine PXA-H600 processor (via AI-NET and optical) which will feed an Alpine PDX-1-1000 (Subs) and PDX-4-150 (Bi-Amp the focals).

So let the fun begin, I also have a load of sound deadning to install as well as MDF speaker rings, aerial amp power adapter etc.

One downside is that my Parrot carkit will no longer be run through the HU so I will have to find somewhere to install a speaker, I may try using what will become a defunct centre speaker.

My aim is to install the system so that I can revert back to the Bose system if/when I sell it.

Paul

 

[Boydie]

my install: http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=38802&highlight=ice

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

there is an amp on the sub its self located on the passenger side of the boot behind the panel

as far as i know the amp for the rear speakers is near the glove box :S that i am not 100% sure about though!

the front speaker are driven by the headunit and are made by blaupunkt (spelling) unless they are bose of course!

That is the non-Bose setup. The Bose setup has a small 5 channel amp behind the offside rear boot panel, right back in the corner near the rear light cluster.

Non-Bose the HU runs the fronts and the sub amp runs the sub and rear speakers.

Paul

 

[Boydie]

thanks jazz - my system wasnt bose, i just presumed it was similar!

 

[emzino]

Thanks for clearing that up guys, i'm gonna have a sniff around my boot in abit

 

[Matt]

Am I going to be seriously dissappointed when I get my A3 with Bose then? My current car I have a mix of Alpine & Genesis kit geared more towards SQ although it is pretty loud (enough for me anyway)

 

[rich1068]

Having a guess I'd say yes if you're used to quality aftermarket stuff. However, I'm used to OEM and I like the Bose. It seems to suit house/trance rather well.

:edit:

And I'm 38

 

[Boydie]

coming from an SQ set up i think you will be disappointed but i had the standard audi concert2 in mine and i was happy enough with it for the time being so bose must be good enough!

 

[emzino]

Am I going to be seriously dissappointed when I get my A3 with Bose then? My current car I have a mix of Alpine & Genesis kit geared more towards SQ although it is pretty loud (enough for me anyway)

I got BOSE in my 8P and it is nothing short of stunning!

I guarentee you, you will not be dissapointed so don't dismiss it just yet. I love it everytime and feel lucky that I got BOSE in my one.

Little story. Friend of mines also got a 2.0TDI, 04 plate, Akoya Silver without BOSE and it just doesn't even come close!
He recently got hit from the rear and gave it in to get fixed under warranty, they gave him a 07 plate BMW 320d and even that has nothing like the clear and clarity of the BOSE system. The deep bass is simply lovely

Sure an aftermarket would do just as good but I could easily fit a sub and end that

 

[Amchlolor]

You get much better bass from a non-Bose set up at lower listening levels.
My A4 wasn't Bose and neither is my colleagues 8P Fsi A3 that I drive semi-regularly.
Anything up to around 8-10 and the standard set-up whups Bose.
Over that and up to around 15/16,Bose is much better than standard.
Louder than 16 and I find the sound deteriorates rapidly into a right muddy mess that makes you wince.
It's pretty good for an OEM set up though.
Even basic aftermarket set ups will kick Bose's **** though.
I've had Golf's that had little more than a good headunit and some 6x9's whacked into the rear shelf that would make my Bose sound awful.
I can't be bothered with all that these days though,so Bose is the best alternative/compromise.