2017 A5 Soundsystem?

[thestore]

New A5 owners - how is the sound system? I'm moving from an A3 where the standard sound system was very poor. I'm connecting an S-line A5 coupe shortly which has the standard (Audi) sound system. Be good to get some feedback!

Thanks

 

[KBB]

Hi!

I can feel your pain, I had an A3 before and it was just an absolutely rubbish sound system. I'm afraid I can't advise you about the standard sound system, since I went for the B&O. I can tell tho, that this B&O is nothing like the one I had in the S8 years ago. I guess the price extra reflect the quality, B&O for A5/S5 is about 500 for the S8 is about 7000 extra.

 

[thestore]

@KBB thanks for the feedback. Prior to the 2014 A3 I had a 2007 A4 Cab with an absolutely fantastic sound system (BOSE I think). Between the A4 and A3 I drove a number of non-premium cars (Ford/Vaux/Nissan) on a temporary basis and they all had better sound systems than the A3! I'm hoping the A5 will at least be better than the A3...

 

[orcomma]

I have the standard *** and it's great, although the door cards vibrate with the deeper bass tones on my euro-house playlist... that's probably even worse in the beefier B+O system though!

 

[Buck]

@thestore I have the standard sound system and for me it sounds absolutely fine! When new it did sound "tight" but as the weeks have gone on the sound has progressed

A little fine tuning of the fader, treble and bass settings means I have the sound how I like and so far I'm not disappointed.

The coupe to sportback to cabriolet will all be slightly different but as a standard system I'm glad in hindsight that I didn't spend the extra on the premium.

 

[Quattro_]

B&O is good but definitely not as good as I was expecting. The standard one wouldn't be any good for me and the upgrade price isn't huge.

As touched on above, door card and speaker grille vibration is an issue.

 

[orcomma]

To be fair, the door card vibration is nowhere near as bad as in my previous BMW.

This is my first Audi and overall I'm mightily impressed, feeling a bit silly for all the previous vitriol I spouted against the four rings in my former life as a hardcore Bayerische fanboy.

I'm totally converted.

 

[R.A.G]

This is obviously all very subjective, but I agree that the *** isn't bad at all, it's far better than the standard systems I've had in BMW's and Merc's in the past, and very close in my opinion to the upgraded B&O in the current A4/5 range.

 

[thestore]

Thanks for the replies all. I believe in the A3 it went:

1) STandard SS
2) Audi SS
3) B&O SS

I'm hoping it will at least be a step up from the standard SS. Car arrives on Thursday so I will post my findings!

 

[thestore]

Car got delivered yesterday - the standard sound system is perfectly adequate and a lot better (and louder) than my A3 sound system. Not a patch on the my old A4 BOSE systems.

Does anyone know how easy it would be to retrofit a small sub-woofer to increase the bass?

 

[orcomma]

The *** in the A5 has two subwoofers already.

One in the centre of the dash beneath the windscreen, and (in the convertible) one in the back passenger side door pocket (instead of the door pocket). I think in the SB and Coupe the back subwoofer may be in the parcel shelf or spare wheel well.

 

[DickiePhitt]

I had an S3 with B&O fitted but refused to pay out for the upgrade on my leased S5. Absolutely no regrets, its at least as good. In any case its a car, not a concert hall, with all the attendant extrenuous noise.

 

[MadWill]

Hi guys, I'm new here.
I'm extremely happy with my new A5 Sportback, I've had it for a week now and I love it. S-Tronic gearbox is brilliant.
I do need to however express my disappointment regarding standard ***, where are those 10 speakers, because the sound that is being produced from those 10 speakers is really bad. It sound like cheap 2 speaker system, with very poor bass.
Previously I had Volvo XC60 (great car btw) but *** is no near as good as Volvo's 6 speaker standard system.
Does anyone know where that "subwoofer" is located?
Cheers

 

[KBB]

The sub should be located under the spare wheal, in the boot.

 

[CraigI]

Had my wife's car today and the sound system is hopeless, speaker vibration even with the bass down low.
My Renault has a better sound system.

 

[MadWill]

I need to find that sub as it looks like mine does not work :-(

 

[orcomma]

The front one is in the dashboard behind the centre MMI screen

The rear one depends on your bodytype - is it a SB/Coup/Cab?

 

[MadWill]

My one is SB, I can't believe there would be two subs, they either don't work or are made of paper or something.
Should there be a specific option for sub in MMI settings menu?
I can see only bass, treble, fader/balance and some others but no sub adjustment.

 

[R.A.G]

My one is SB, I can't believe there would be two subs, they either don't work or are made of paper or something.
Should there be a specific option for sub in MMI settings menu?
I can see only bass, treble, fader/balance and some others but no sub adjustment.

@MadWill

If you're an audiophile or have a high expectation of sound output/performance would it be outrageous to suggest you should have paid the money to upgrade the system to B&O?

As per comments above, most people accept the *** is a good compromise between quality and price. If you need more from the system there are upgrade options.

 

[MadWill]

@R.A.G

It is not that I'm an audiophile or have high expectations of the standard sound system, I simply compared the standard Volvo's 6 Speaker system without sub to the *** - which is 10 speakers incl. sub, and Audi's one isn't as good as Volvo's.
I simply made a wrong assumption, thinking 10 speakers should be good enough, well...
more is not always better ;-)

 

[R.A.G]

@R.A.G

It is not that I'm an audiophile or have high expectations of the standard sound system, I simply compared the standard Volvo's 6 Speaker system without sub to the *** - which is 10 speakers incl. sub, and Audi's one isn't as good as Volvo's.
I simply made a wrong assumption, thinking 10 speakers should be good enough, well...
more is not always better ;-)

Might sound strange but it seems to improve with time, either that or my ears got used to it lol.

I don't personally think it's that bad, to my ears it's considerably better than some standard systems I've had in the past, as previously mentioned though it's very subjective.

 

[MadWill]

I personally think (subjective opinion) the standard *** does not produce good bass, even when the bass is set to max, the rest is absolutely fine.

 

[Alva78]

I have recently had an a5 sline ultra on loan for a repair on the emissions on my a3 and it was from head office fully loaded with bang and olufson sound system.it was good on the dab radio but just ok on fm.my sd card was put in from my a3 and was incredible! a must purchase IMHO.The fuel economy for the 190 bhp diesel was better than my car very impressed and the 7 speed auto was just sooo good sorry to give it back.