Newbie: Bose Concert

Moro Anis

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Hi, picked up my 54 180 quattro Coupe on Friday and have spent the last few days getting to know and enjoy her. What a fantastic car!

Ive got a Bose Concert single slot CD fitted. Am I right in thinking it has the addition of an amp and should have plenty of quality sounds? The reason I ask is although it has plenty of clarity/volume it has no bass and sounds very "tinny". I only just discovered there are 2 speakers in the back (can't hear anything from them). Is this normal or is something amiss?
 
Have you checked the fader? If there's no sound from teh rear, it may be the fader set all the way to the front or it may mean the speakers have been disconnected.

The Bose system does have an amp, yes BUT it not the bassiest system in the world. I have it in my A3 (picked it up yesterday!) and I've heard much better. That said, it's not bad.
 
I checked the fader first of all. According to the Concert manual that came with the car the Coupe doesn't have a fader, only the Roadster does. There is no fader on the HU menus just L/R balance.
 
All Concerts have a fader, or do you think they made a special HU just for the Roadster?
You should have 4 buttons round the volume knob, top left is FAD - front/rear fader.
 
Hi Andy,
Thought we cracked it then, so just went out and checked. I have FM and AM butons top left and right respectively and CD RDS below. I've just read another threads on here and mine is a Concert 11. Sorry if I mislead you.
 
I just checked mine out and you're absolutely right, "FADER is not supported on the Coupe with Bose, only the roadster", so apologies.
This is the most bizarre thing I've come across with Audi audio, and as you can imagine that's up against some pretty stiff competition.
I've just had a play with my Concert 2 on the bench and the front lineouts don't work with the fader. If you use the HU's internal front amp (non Bose config) then it works fine, if you use front & rear pre-outs with a seperate amp then the fader control is still there but doesn't fade to front properly.
Since it seems the front fading is not supported then I doubt this is the problem, as the signal to the rears can't be faded.
So if the fronts are working then so must the rears.
I'd pull the HU first and check the wiring all looks intact as many cars have had aftermarket stereos fitted and then slam the OEM kit back in when it's time to sell and do a half ***** job about it.
Are you sure it has Bose?
If it was a non Bose system then it could be they just forgot to hook up the rear amp. Just because it says Bose on the HU diplay doesn't mean anything as you can switch that on/off with VAGCOM.
Have a look at the rear of the HU and if you have a brown speaker plug in the back then it's a non Bose system. Then check that the yellow mini ISO is connected in the top slot, as this is the feed to the rear/sub amp.
Here's the layout of the Bose system:
bose_coupe.jpg
 
Hi Andy,
My speaker layout is as your pictured coupe. The 6.5 wide range speakers in the doors have Bose on the grill. Can't remember about the others.
I tried to feel if there was a loose connection at the back but you can't gain access from behind with the HU in situ. Do you really need special tools to extract the HU or is there a way round it? You mention Bose and non Bose config, is it switchable?
I have registered the fault with the Audi dealership and they said they would have a look at it but if it's simple I'd rather sort it than feel a twot when I get there through something obvious.
Many thanks for your continued support. It's much appreciated.
 
If it's still under warranty then let Audi sort it out, nothing is simple or obvious on Audi audio.
 
Fair do's but can I get the HU out without special tools to check the plug first?
 
Ok Andy, dealership it is!
Thanks again for your time and help. I'll let you know the eventual outcome.
 
Hi Andy,
Went to dealers today to get stereo checked out.
First they told me it was working correctly and they'd even tried a new HU to confirm it.
I told them to look again, so the master techician took a look. He confirmed there was a problem and took the car back in the workshop. Sometime later he told me the amp had gone. A new one is on its way and should be fitted next Friday. I'll let you know if it works.
 
New amp fitted today (foc) and all appears well. Thanks for all your help.
 

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