Added the bang and olufsen sub to the standard sound system

[C2 DTN]

The mod is complete.

I removed the mmi unit and glovebox to gain access to the wiring and tapped into the rear left and right channels and a 12v supply behind the fusebox and run the wiring through to the boot.

Connected the high level inputs to a 200w jbl amp which fits nicely at the side of the spare wheel. Tapped into the accessory socket live in the boot which is ignition live to turn the amp on and off and then ran the wires from the amp to the dual coil B&O sub. Also had to get the longer nut and bolt that holds the spare down as the standard one is too short to hold the sub down.

The result........ ****** AWESOME.

total cost £200, should have added *** at order but I didn't so this has worked out really well.

@JordanQuattro thanks for the help sourcing the Audi parts.

 

[Dobby]

pics? where did you put the sub?

 

[C2 DTN]

the sub is the Audi one that fits inside the spare wheel. Will sort some pics shortly.

 

[Dobby]

nice! how did you get it so cheap then, would love to do it myself

 

[C2 DTN]

The sub isn't that expensive, RRP is about £90. Amp was £80, then some assorted wire and connectors

 

[paulk]

I have one in the wheel but it isn't B and O ?

If this a upgrade

 

[C2 DTN]

*** is a 40w 2ohm sub, connected by 2 wires.

B&O Is a 100w+100w 8ohm dual coil connected by 4 wires.

You can't swap them as the wiring is different and the standard *** amp won't drive it. But anything is possible if you add an amp etc

 

[Dobby]

so how do you find the quality? and really its only 90, thats very surprising...

 

[paulk]

shame I cant just upgrade but it sounds ok for now cheers

 

[C2 DTN]

so how do you find the quality? and really its only 90, thats very surprising...

Quality is spot on, totally happy with it now. The price on the sub is a bargain.

 

[C2 DTN]

The Scary bit was pulling the car apart to wire into the MMI wiring

The amp, right hand side of boot, next to spare wheel

The sub, installed in the spare wheel.

 

[JordanQuattro]

nice! how did you get it so cheap then, would love to do it myself

He's got connections like me that get staff discount on Audi parts

Looks very smart mate, glad I could have been of assistance!

 

[Schizophonic]

Good work on the install. Where are you based C2 DTN?

 

[C2 DTN]

I'm in Leeds, West Yorkshire

 

[Schizophonic]

I'm in Leeds, West Yorkshire

I wouldn't mind testing how it sounds, I have the standard sound and want to upgrade to B&O one day (if someone knows how to do it)
I wouldn't mind paying for the parts and asking someone to install the speakers, sub and amp if someone knows how to do it.

 

[C2 DTN]

I looked for ages on a B&O retrofit and looked so complicated. I'm sure someone will figure it out soon but it's likely to be about £2k.

You're welcome to have a listen to mine, I'm certainly not craving a B&O upgrade anymore. Ok it's probably not as good, but it's a massive improvement over stock

 

[Schizophonic]

I'm all the way in Northampton, wont be an afternoons drive lol.
Do you mind if i take your number and whatsapp you a couple of questions? looks like we've had the same thought process on sound upgrades

 

[h1r4]

exactly what I want to do!

I've sent you a pm mate...

If you could , could you do a step by step guide?

 

[C2 DTN]

A step by step is a bit of a tall order, there was quite a bit of involvement. There is also quite alot of trim to remove in the car which kind of removes by force, but just the right ammount. I dont want people to blame me when they break things because i said how to do it.

 

[h1r4]

Ok fair enough mate. Thanks anyway.

 

[cuke2u]

It's a good guide and well done for attempting it. I would have thought though the result would be all bass as there is little top end in the standard setup..

 

[C2 DTN]

It's a good guide and well done for attempting it. I would have thought though the result would be all bass as there is little top end in the standard setup..

I would have said the standard system is all top end with no bass, hence the addition of the sub. The clarity is excellent in standard form, its just lacking in punch.

 

[Rob2k68]

Good work !!!!

Do you get the sub level control in the MMI now ?

 

[C2 DTN]

No, because its on the rear channels.

Level is set manually at the amp.

You can make small adjustments to the bass on the MMI, but you dont want the car speakers handling too much bass else it cuts the volume.

 

[h1r4]

Hi , sorry another query...

Where exactly are the left and right rear channels on the mmi so I don't go mad looking for it... I'm new to all this audio stuff..

Thanks

 

[C2 DTN]

Do a search on it, and you will find the wiring diagram with all the colours.

 

[cuke2u]

I would have said the standard system is all top end with no bass, hence the addition of the sub. The clarity is excellent in standard form, its just lacking in punch.

No tweeters mean no top end, all you are doing is making the range go lower so it needs to be balanced with more top end. Fine for all bass lovers I guess but I wonder if tweeters can also be fitted.

 

[C2 DTN]

It has got tweeters though !

*** adds a sub and a centre.

The tweeters are there on the standard system

 

[Jassyo06]

Well done really good work but Surely there is more to the B&O than the sub?..=Surround sound processing,DTS/DOLBY 5.1 Upgraded speakers,not really into ICE more of a home cinema buff.

 

[rajeevx5]

What i did was enable the subwoofer channel on the mmi using vcds and wired that channel to my amp and then subwoofer. if you want i could help you with this as this changes the factory eq to a system with a subwoofer and adds a subwoofer control in the sound settings. I wouldn't advise tapping off the rear channels as this may damage your onboard mmi amp eventually due to a decrease in impedance (resistance) as you wired it in paralel, which increases the operating temperature of the mmi unit. What I did to avoid this is directly connect the channels to the amplifier and effectively "half amplified" the system by amplifying the front speakers and amplyifing the subwoofer channel directly. High level inputs are usually designed to be connected to directly not connected paralell of an existing channel. In your case what i would do as you already have a 2 channel sub, is activate the subwoofer channel on your mmi unit and wire the amp to the subwoofer channel. This would prevent any damage to your mmi system as you are making a direct connection between the high level input and mmi

 

[C2 DTN]

I thought I had read in one of your other threads that the subwoofer pin on the standard MMI is not functional ? Have you now found a way round this?

If you could let me have the VCDS instructions I'll look into it

 

[rajeevx5]

I thought I had read in one of your other threads that the subwoofer pin on the standard MMI is not functional ? Have you now found a way round this?

If you could let me have the VCDS instructions I'll look into it

At that time i couldn't find a way round it, but then i found out there is a way of activating this on the Long Coding of the 5F unit:
Byte 11 Sound Systerm.
- 01 - Sound system with internal amp (Base system & Audi sound system ***)
- 02 - B&O Sound system with external amp
Bytes 04/05 Sound System Channels
- 00 00 - B&O channels are managed by the external amp so they are not coded on the HU
- FF 0A - Channel configuration for the Audi sound system (***)
- FF 00 - Channel configuration for the Base system
To activate the subwoofer pin what you would do is change the code FF00 to FF0A, after doing this turn your ignition off and then on again. Then connect to the 5F unit again and scan for faults, if you get a fault which says subwoofer channel open circuit and centre speaker open circuit you know that the pins are now live. Then you can go wire up the amp to the subwoofer channel Also the subwoofer control should appear on the MMI sound menus but some people have trouble with this.

 

[C2 DTN]

Cheers, I'll have a look at that. Did you add the centre speaker to yours too ?

 

[C2 DTN]

Oh, and can you get the pins to add to the quad lock connector for the sub pins?

 

[rajeevx5]

I haven't added one as such yet so I am getting an open circuit fault for my centre speaker, I may add one soon

 

[rajeevx5]

And I didn't add pins to the quad lock connector, what I did was buy a parrot kit adaptor cable for the 8v/golf 7 which is basically a quad lock extender with an iso connector male on one side and ISO connector female on the other, I just connected these together and cut the wires that I needed. After cutting each wire that I need I crimped a wire on to them and then routed it down to the back

 

[veeeight]

^ But you haven't got the Standard 5F unit, have you -

- you upgraded your 5F unit to Tech Pack?

 

[rajeevx5]

^ But you haven't got the Standard 5F unit, have you -

- you upgraded your 5F unit to Tech Pack?

Yes correct but that was after i had upgraded the sound system. On the standard 5F unit the coding was the same to enable the subwoofer channel and centre speaker channel.

 

[veeeight]

I can't see how the standard 5F unit has the correct amp drivers within it to drive an upgraded sound system (which has increased power).

There are at least 9 different variants of 5F units all different !

What we need is someone with the standard 5F unit non *** non B&O that can enable those pins with VCDS to see if not only if the sub pins get enabled, but if it will actually drive a sub without an external amp. I doubt it.

 

[rajeevx5]

I can't see how the standard 5F unit has the correct amp drivers within it to drive an upgraded sound system (which has increased power).

There are at least 7 different variants of 5F units all different !

What we need is someone with the standard 5F unit non *** non B&O that can enable those pins with VCDS to see if not only if the sub pins get enabled, but if it will actually drive a sub without an external amp. I doubt it.

This is what i thought, but after some research i saw the variations for 5F units are:
Tech Pack with connect with MOST BUS (for b&o amp)
Tech Pack with MOST BUS
Standard Nav SD MMI Radio with MOST BUS - this is the standard one supplied in uk even if your car doesn't come with nav or b&o (all cars in the uk come with nav prep)
Standard Nav SD MMI Radio without MOST BUS - Not available in the UK
Non Nav MMI Radio with MOST BUS (This unit contains one SD card slot)- This is not available in the UK
Non Nav MMI Radio without MOST BUS- Not available in the UK
Non MMI (Audi Radio)- This unit doesnt contain a colour screen but instead looks like this

Also the 5F units in the golf 7 and skoda octavia are exactly the same just loaded with different software and different screen and input setups