Bang and Olufsen demo

[CrypticMG]

Hi all,

As the title says really.. I am looking to purchase a FL S line Sportback within the next few weeks and really toying with the idea of adding the B&O sound system to my specification. The one thing that is bugging me is the fact that I have never heard the system audio in 'real-life'. I would say I am big on my music and a good speaker system is something that I would like if the option is there.

I am just a bit wary of adding a £750 option without never actually hearing the improvement over the standard system or the *** for £255. I am just wondering how those with the B&O decided to add the kit, did you listen to the system, what is the best way to do this? I visited my local dealership and they didn't have a car on the grounds with the system installed.. How would other dealerships act if I was to visit just to listen to the sound on the system to see if its worth the extra ££... Any ideas??

 

[G--Man]

Are you adding either the Reverse parking sensors or Heated front seats? If so you could add the Comfort and sound pack for £995 which includes both of these plus the B&O.

 

[CrypticMG]

Are you adding either the Reverse parking sensors or Heated front seats? If so you could add the Comfort and sound pack for £995 which includes both of these plus the B&O.

Sorry, yeah - I will be adding the B&O through the comfort and sound pack for £995, but really of that package if I feel that the B&O is not worth the extra money I would only add the rear parking sensors which on their own are £425, as I am not fussed about heated seats.. This would then still leave me £325 better off (£750 B&O - £425 Rear sensors)

 

[G--Man]

If you're adding the rear parking sensors then it's only costing £570 and you get the heated seats for free. For my uneducated ears and hearing from other people the B&O Sound system is well worth it!

 

[CrypticMG]

Yeah... To be fair the comfort and sound pack makes those options very appealing as parking sensors in my opinion are a must with the Mrs driving the car (Ha ha)


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[RichardT]

You go to a dealer and say you are ready to order but need to hear the sound system first. They must be able to get a car over to try.
If not - how far is it to the next dealer?

I did this when buying my car. I wanted to try an A3 1.4 s-tronic. My local dealer said they could get one by the next Saturday. FridY evening they called and said they couldn't get the A3 but had an A1 with same engine and gearbox. It's just the same they said. I said no - get tell me when you have an A3 and I'll come and try it.
Never called so I went to another dealer and drove and ordered the car within 10 days!!

 

[Satory]

Sorry, yeah - I will be adding the B&O through the comfort and sound pack for £995, but really of that package if I feel that the B&O is not worth the extra money I would only add the rear parking sensors which on their own are £425, as I am not fussed about heated seats.. This would then still leave me £325 better off (£750 B&O - £425 Rear sensors)

For the sake of £325 I'd just get the B&O. It's nothing special tbh but it is a very popular option so you'll thank yourself when you come to re-sell.

 

[David83S3]

If you love music ...GET IT!! Its rather special .....I will always spec it now.

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[CraigI]

The B&O in the 8v is very good.
Best stereo system I've had in a car, and much better than the B&O in my wife's S5.

 

[aperry]

I have the B&O system, and while I think the sound quality is great and worth the money, on some music I get the dreaded "static" sound that has been reported here in other threads. For me this tends to be most prevalent with bluetooth streaming, so if you do get a chance to demo the B&O system then I would highly recommend testing out bluetooth. I personally feel the static/crackle problem is a slap in the face for people who paid this much for a sound upgrade.

(edit: mine is a 2015 A3, and I don't know if the problem exists on all models/variants)

 

[jaypers777]

It's great and I'm glad I have it. I've heard the standard system which is only really ok for background music and talk shows etc. Never heard the ***.

 

[azibux1]

Is there any real fix or definite cause for the crackle? Only seems to affect some people...

 

[Simon L]

B&O is insanely good in the 8V, if you spend any time at all listening to your own music spec it.

Mine's a 2015 (MY16) and although I only use bluetooth when my daughter wants to bang her tunes off her iphone there's absolutely no snap, crackle and pops here. Have also tried it on my Galaxy S6 and no issues there either.

 

[CrypticMG]

This decision is becoming even easier to make haha! Thanks for all the positive reviews, I think I will phone around a few places tomorrow see if anyone has an A3 with a B&O installed, they shouldn't have an issue in me wanting a demo should they?


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[David83S3]

Of course not .....just go in and try it out. Thats what showrooms are for

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[rajeevx5]

B&O system is amazing, when the car is new it doesn't sound as great, its like you have to "break the speakers in". after around 20 or so hours of it being at a moderate volume it sounds amazing. So you may not be that impressed if you demo it with a dealer as you will most likely get a demo in a brand new car which hasnt had its volume moderately loud for a few hours.

 

[aperry]

Is there any real fix or definite cause for the crackle? Only seems to affect some people...

As far as I can tell there's no fix, at least none that I can find in the various threads that I've found on the topic. Apparently Audi is ignoring the complaints, and went so far as to tell one person the crackle is "just a characteristic of the stereo" and it's "operating as designed". This is adding insult to injury in my opinion.

I just wanted the OP to be aware of it. On another site someone provided this test file that you can use to easily reproduce the problem (via SD card or Bluetooth at volume 25 or above): https://www.dropbox.com/s/heyawa8b59itr4z/750hz.wav?dl=0

When the crackle is not present, this sound system is magnificent. Apparently you can re-sample your music to 48KHz to avoid the problem, but that's not reasonable for most people, and not even possible with some music sources.

I have not contacted Audi about this yet, but I am considering it. I doubt they'll fix it, but perhaps they'll compensate somehow.

 

[azibux1]

As far as I can tell there's no fix, at least none that I can find in the various threads that I've found on the topic. Apparently Audi is ignoring the complaints, and went so far as to tell one person the crackle is "just a characteristic of the stereo" and it's "operating as designed". This is adding insult to injury in my opinion.

I just wanted the OP to be aware of it. On another site someone provided this test file that you can use to easily reproduce the problem (via SD card or Bluetooth at volume 25 or above): https://www.dropbox.com/s/heyawa8b59itr4z/750hz.wav?dl=0

When the crackle is not present, this sound system is magnificent. Apparently you can re-sample your music to 48KHz to avoid the problem, but that's not reasonable for most people, and not even possible with some music sources.

I have not contacted Audi about this yet, but I am considering it. I doubt they'll fix it, but perhaps they'll compensate somehow.

Thanks for the info!! Good to know!

 

[CrypticMG]

Interesting to hear about all this. I wonder if the issue if MMI related / module / software will be fixed on the FL... Something to wait and see on at least


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[thegingerone]

The B&O is decent at best. Like you I'm big into my audio. I used to work as an Audio Installer for a company here in Northern Ireland. I had a full JL Audio system in my TT running off an Alpine source. The B&O you tweek the system a little to suit for your tastes and music and there is just about enough sub base to keep me satisfied. Had I been keeping the car for a time I would change it but I'm happy enough for now. As has already been stated it's worth adding as an option for resale desirability alone. I wouldn't consider buying an Audi without B&O/Bose.

 

[Dan_G]

Another vote for B&O here.

Currently in a new A4 loan car and the sound is utterly fantastic.

Tracks I have listened to 100 times in my non B&O car have come alive! It's an absolute pleasure and brought a grin to my face the first time I put it on.

Next car will have it for sure - expensive option but I'd pay £1 everytime I heard it....

That said, the new A4 is pretty great all round TBH.

Apart from the price which is a huge step up from the B8....

I fear that the S4 Avant (which I am waiting for) will be 10% higher than the last one....

 

[gibboson8]

I think it's more than 'decent at best'. Wouldn't dream of settling for anything less going forward now. It's a brilliant system, you'll love it.

 

[thegingerone]

I think it's more than 'decent at best'. Wouldn't dream of settling for anything less going forward now. It's a brilliant system, you'll love it.

Don't get me wrong it was an absolute prerequisite when I started looking for my S3 and nothing less than B&O would do. I'm just used to more adjustment and power with my previous systems. The flip side being that you couldn't take a standard car to any audio installer and do better for the price of the upgrade.