B&O crackling noises

S

Scott

Registered User
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
1,294
Reaction score
126
Points
63
Location
Staffordshire
Hi,

Is anyone experiencing any crackling noises with their B&O speakers?

I can hear it at the front. Think it's the 25w centre speaker because if I move the sound from the front left to front right, I can still hear it, UNLESS it is both tweeters.

Scott
 
Hey Scott, nothing wrong here with my B&O system...take it to get checked out at dealer id say :)
 
Do you have the "base" (not sub) turned really high along with the volume?
Sounds like they are clipping.
 
97catalunya said:
Do you have the "base" (not sub) turned really high along with the volume?
Sounds like they are clipping.
Click to expand...

I do, but it's not really when it's bassy, that's ok
It still happens if I turn the bass and sub right the way down, and is emphasised if I turn the treble up full

I'm 90% sure it's the centre speaker. Just tried VCDS to see what useful speaker tests it has, but nothing very good really. Would have been great to test each speaker individually.

I will get it booked in at a dealer but means removing the tuning box (grr)

I will see if I can find an up to date version of Elsa and see what's involved with removing or at least disconnecting the centre speaker. I prefer to do stuff myself, or at least, check it out myself. I know I'll be careful - same can't be said for others!

Scott
 
If you do end up removing the grill from the dash, pics please.

I want to know whats involved or if cables already exist but the speaker if i want to upgrade the sound system one day.

Thanks
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scott
Schizophonic said:
If you do end up removing the grill from the dash, pics please.

I want to know whats involved or if cables already exist but the speaker if i want to upgrade the sound system one day.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If I do, I will upload some.

Scott
 
I have crackling issues with mine as do a few others in my thread.
Mines been to 2 dealers who can't fault it but it appears ours is doing it exactly the same, only treble and no bass
 
Yeah, crackling on treble on mine. Seems to be all speakers so I suspect the amp. Interested to see if anyone does produce a test surround sound DVD to try it.
 
Take a look at some of your DVD movies, if they have a THX label on them they often have THX test tone loops in the extra features.
 
Just a quick update on this, mine has got so bad that's it's going into Audi for a minimum of a week while they try a figure out what's wrong. All parts have to be ordered from Germany but they may need it longer.
The worst song so far which if any if you want to give it a try is
Carl Orff - carmina burana: o fortuna on volume 25 minimum.
It is absolutely terrible on my system, would be interesting to hear if it sounds bad on anyone else's.

Will keep everyone posted, it's going in at the beginning of April.
 
So are you guys saying that turning it up is definitely not recommended?I really wanted to test maximum base output when I get the car.Its the first thing i was excited to do..
 
danilotto said:
My brand new S3 8v has crackling sounds in the B&O mid-range speaker of the right door. Next wednesday I will have it replaced under warranty.

D.
Click to expand...

Did you guys allow burn in time for the speakers? The salesmen I had (he used to work in sound) said do not blast the speakers when you first get it otherwise they may crackle. He said allow a weeks worth of driving before fully blasting the system.
 
My A3 is nearly a year old and it's progressively getting worse.
It seems to be all tweeters at a high frequency range, like i say, try that song I mentioned because it really shows how bad they are in my car.
 
Chappy said:
Just a quick update on this, mine has got so bad that's it's going into Audi for a minimum of a week while they try a figure out what's wrong. All parts have to be ordered from Germany but they may need it longer.
The worst song so far which if any if you want to give it a try is
Carl Orff - carmina burana: o fortuna on volume 25 minimum.
It is absolutely terrible on my system, would be interesting to hear if it sounds bad on anyone else's.

Will keep everyone posted, it's going in at the beginning of April.
Click to expand...

Do you have B&O?

I'll download that song and try it.

I'll also see if I can video it....... I think it's getting worse.
 
Scott said:
Do you have B&O?

I'll download that song and try it.

I'll also see if I can video it....... I think it's getting worse.
Click to expand...

I do indeed Scott, Audi HQ told my dealer to put the EQ on the following settings

Treble -3
Sub +2
Bass +2
Gala -2
Surround - middle (forget how many bars there are)

They are obviously set from the middle point on the onscreen rotary dial mate, give it a try and see what you get.
I had it on volume 25, anything above that makes it worse

Cheers
 
audi upgrades
Just to make it a fair test, I bought the version from the Extreme Classics album from iTunes in highest quality streamed over Bluetooth from my iPhone with no adjustments to the EQ on the phone itself.
 
I don't have iTunes or an iPhone haha. But I've tried it and it does crackle similar to some of the other songs I've got. At 25 with the above settings, it's barely noticeable. >25 it gets progressively worse. The bass/sub doesn't seem to affect it (if anything, the bass hides the crackling!) but cranking the treble up makes it noticeably worse. I haven't been able to video it. I wish there was a way to disable a speaker at a time to help diagnose it, without ripping everything apart!
 
my normal settings are sub full, bass -2 from full, treble about middle, surround middle
 
Goodness me... I had to turn the sub DOWN. Talk about overblown bass with it up - or even on normal.... Yes, I'm used to bass - I have 2 x 15" woofers in my speakers - but they're properly damped and only go low when they are supposed to....

Crackling could either be damaged tweeters (they normally just let go and give you nothing rather than crackle) or it could just be distortion due to todays loudness wars....
 
This is not good. Glad I went for the Audi system now!
 
Quite simple consideration:

I wonder if, for Audis equipped with B&O, they made an acoustic treatment of the door cavity in order to dampen increased sound pressure from the back of the speakers. If they did not it (in order to save money), it is quite straightforward that B&O systems are more prone to trigger vibrations and other noises in the car. I suspect that this strong vibrations, if not well dampened, could also be, for prolonged listening sessions at high-volume, self-destructive for the speakers leading to that crackling noises (that can arise from the moving coil of the speaker partially stuck inside the magnet or from a damaged speaker suspension) and surely leads to loose parts inside the door that can rattle and make noise.

If the B&O is really 700W as they declare, it is not a joke to handle such a power also from a mechanical (i.e. speakers assembly to the car) point of view and it requires advanced design techniques in order to fit properly inside the car.

Did someone of you remove the inner door panel in order to check if the cavity inside is treated with dampening foam?

If they only swap basic speakers to B&O on the assembly line for cars with the option...it's a bit scary...
 
goodfella7 said:
Did you guys allow burn in time for the speakers? The salesmen I had (he used to work in sound) said do not blast the speakers when you first get it otherwise they may crackle. He said allow a weeks worth of driving before fully blasting the system.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Btw I am not used to listen to music at high-volumes in car. It started crackling also at volume 10-15 on the bar.
 
Mine is hopefully going in to the dealer next week to have this looked at too. I can't say its got any worse in the 12 months I've had it, but it certainly hasn't got better.

From what I can tell it seems to be all speakers, and I'm nearly convinced its a noisy amp. Definitely more evident on classical music, particularly quiet, high frequency sections when on 25+ on the volume.

Makes me wonder whether they considered the classical music listeners when they designed it.
 
mjcourtney said:
Mine is hopefully going in to the dealer next week to have this looked at too. I can't say its got any worse in the 12 months I've had it, but it certainly hasn't got better.

From what I can tell it seems to be all speakers, and I'm nearly convinced its a noisy amp. Definitely more evident on classical music, particularly quiet, high frequency sections when on 25+ on the volume.

Makes me wonder whether they considered the classical music listeners when they designed it.
Click to expand...

Agree with you, it's certainly only a select few songs with a very high frequency range.
The song I posted above has been the worse I've tried and all things I've considered lead to the amp.
I've even sat in the back and the tweeters in the rear pillars crackle as well as the 3 front speakers so to me that would indicate some problem other then the speakers.

On other music, it's a tremendous system! But as I listen to a wide range of songs, I'm sorry, but a costly extra should be able to handle any type of music. It's not like I listen to it on full every where I go.
 
Those of you who experience the issue, are you all streaming over Bluetooth? I had the same issue but I dont get if I put the music on the SD Card I have in the A3. Talked to the dealer briefly about it, and they blamed the bluetooth interface.. I basically concluded with the fact that they have no idea what they are talking about because there is obviously still something wrong, but in my case I just put most of my music on the sd card and it works quite well.
 
I've never streamed over bluetooth. All my music is on SD card at 320kbps - it crackles on this, and even CD playback. It's gotta be the amp.
 
Dropped my car into the dealers on Monday to have this issue looked at. They have diagnosed a faulty amp / control unit (they did say the part number but i have forgotten), and it is being replaced under warranty. However they are awaiting a technical report or input from Audi Germany.

I shall have to see if it does indeed fix the crackling issue!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scott
mjcourtney said:
Dropped my car into the dealers on Monday to have this issue looked at. They have diagnosed a faulty amp / control unit (they did say the part number but i have forgotten), and it is being replaced under warranty. However they are awaiting a technical report or input from Audi Germany.

I shall have to see if it does indeed fix the crackling issue!
Click to expand...

Great! Keep us updated! :)
 
audi upgrades
My one goes in 10th April crackling rear passenger speaker standard system dealer thinks it could be amp
 
Just spoke with the dealer again. Apparently it's not the amp they've replaced it's the "5F Convenience Module". Audi Technical seem to think this is causing / contributing towards sound quality issues.

Anyway, they've fitted the new unit but the whole thing is dead and can't be coded to the car for some unknown reason. From what I understand this has rather crippled the car until it's fixed as it's central to most of the functions. I now have slightly less confidence that this will fix the crackling issue.....
 
Ok mine has got progressively worse to the point where most things have crackling and so it needs to go in ASAP.
I will speak to the dealer tomorrow and try to work something out.
 
Good luck. Hoping to pick mine up tomorrow. The dealer are stating that the replacement convenience module has fixed the crackling... Believe it when I see / hear it.
 
Our A3 just back from dealers after 2 days. They fitted a new 5F module which the dealer says cost £3000?? Everything seems to be working fine at the moment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mjcourtney
pedro61163 said:
Our A3 just back from dealers after 2 days. They fitted a new 5F module which the dealer says cost £3000?? Everything seems to be working fine at the moment.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the same module they have changed on mine. So no crackling now then???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

a3_phil
B&O Crackling - How common?
Replies
77
Views
12K
veeeight
veeeight
R
B & O
Replies
28
Views
9K
RVP20
R
Richyboyp
B&O
Replies
24
Views
7K
Daveotto
Daveotto
T
B&O sub
Replies
18
Views
2K
toaophil
T
G
B&O issues
Replies
3
Views
1K
DJAlix
DJAlix
Top
Back