At Bose system - Where's the bass?

Wippers

Wippers

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Hi Guys - I'm new to the forum having just bought an A7 Black Edition and wondered what everyones views were of the Bose sound system? I had the same system in my previous A6 which had far more bass than this one. Can you eak any more out of it?
 
Wippers said:
Hi Guys - I'm new to the forum having just bought an A7 Black Edition and wondered what everyones views were of the Bose sound system? I had the same system in my previous A6 which had far more bass than this one. Can you eak any more out of it?
Click to expand...

I take it you have gone into the sound settings and increased both the bass and subwoofer levels?
I am often told mine has too much by passengers sitting in the back of the car and end up leaving the audio levels at the default values.
 
Yes I've played around with what settings are available but disappointed with the sound. I like a decent amount of bass and some tracks sound fine but they are the ones I used to have to turn the bass down in the A6. Therefore I know the system can punch out the bass I want but it's as if I need about another 3-4 notches.
 
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Wippers said:
Nobody else had this issue with the Bose system?
Click to expand...

I hated the Bose system for this very reason. Whatever they put in the A7 is rubbish compared to the other Bose systems in the Audi lineup. Hated it so much that I sprung for the B&O.
 
The standard system on mine has subwoofer and Gala controls.
It can punch out as much bass as the B&O I had in the A5 although there isn't as much clarity on the mid and treble.

Not bad though, I'd expected much worse!
 
I've looked into putting a better sub in the boot but it's an expensive option as I think the Bose system can be a bit of a pain to plumb into. Also looked to replace the front door speakers but just too expensive.


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There is a saying....

No hi's, no lo's it must be BOSE!

I think the BOSE systems only work well in enclosed cabins, I've had it in A8/S8's and it was great, the Q7, A7, RS6 avant very wooly with a large cabin space.
 
I think the problem lies more with how Audi are using and fitting these Bose systems. It's evident they're treating it like a "one system fits all" the solution. Little to no time and money is being spent by audio engineers and acoustic specialists to properly develop the Bose system to work to itsax abilities in ALL of the Audi range.
The fact it can sound so great in some cars , and so sh*t in others is indicative of the lack of factory tuning, speaker size and placement adjustments needed that Audi just aren't doing.

I have encountered equally crap performance of the B&O in some Audi's too. Eg: the new TT. My Mrs has it and we both agree that it was a waste of money. It sounds nothing like the B&O in the A7 she had or in the A8 either.

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AllBlack-All7 said:
I have encountered equally **** performance of the B&O in some Audi's too. Eg: the new TT. My Mrs has it and we both agree that it was a waste of money. It sounds nothing like the B&O in the A7 she had or in the A8 either.

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Click to expand...

It's worth noting that there is a massive price difference between the B&O you find in the TT/A5 and the A6/7/8. I know that the system in the A7 had more than 300 hours spent IN THE CAR tuning the system by B&O engineers. It's a high end system and I assume the stats are similar for the A6 and A8 - whereas I actually heard a rumour that the other B&O systems Audi use are actually made by Philips. I was nowhere near satisfied with the bass response in my S5 with B&O. Very satisfied with the RS7 B&O. We have Bose in the A8L and it's decent for bass response.
 
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Bose system can be improved on and kept if wish. I upgrade the speakers for infinity items (correct ohm) and upgraded the bass box by removing the cone and amp and lining the box with sound deadening matt and spaying outside with deadening spray. i have much more bass and mid and clearer highs

i did also line a fair bit of the rear on my rs4 avant with matt and under rear seat. Plan to do doors when have time
 
TTE Si said:
Bose system can be improved on and kept if wish. I upgrade the speakers for infinity items (correct ohm) and upgraded the bass box by removing the cone and amp and lining the box with sound deadening matt and spaying outside with deadening spray. i have much more bass and mid and clearer highs

i did also line a fair bit of the rear on my rs4 avant with matt and under rear seat. Plan to do doors when have time
Click to expand...

Were these A7 upgrades? If so I'd be interested to see exactly what you did.


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RS4 B7 RNSE Bose B5 kit. But speakers are speakers.. Aftermarket items can massively improve the sound. bose cones are quite cheaply made really and little old skool, mine was card cone and foam damper i recall and pressed steel chassis i think. Did same with home speakers on high end AE Floor standers and improved the mid range as was lacking. New car speakers are alloy cast chassis and rubber damper and plastic or something cone

You need measure your speakers and look for like wise from a good speaker manufacturers. I found i could go a bigger cone in rear door cards.. i think cost me 150-200 £ all in
 
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Cheers for the info. I'll have to google and see how the speaker covers come off then see what can be upgraded. I assume you need to keep the ohms etc the same and the old ones?
 
Wippers said:
Cheers for the info. I'll have to google and see how the speaker covers come off then see what can be upgraded. I assume you need to keep the ohms etc the same and the old ones?
Click to expand...

you need remove whole door card id think as mount from rear normally and also to be sure depth of new will fit as upgrade normally have bigger magnets . Yes need stick to OHM as on removed
 
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Wippers said:
Hmmmm, this looks like it might be too big a job for me. Anyone in the Northwest UK who might do this for a price?
Click to expand...

Door cards are very easy once done before..3-4 screws and disconnect electrical connections and lift off. but understand if never tried
 
I can do screws and disconnect electricals but are there and special plastic clips or anything? Don't want to snap anything as the cars only a couple of months old.


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I have just put an upgraded subwoofer into my S7, in effect replacing the Bose woofer which is underwhelming for what is supposed to be a premium sound system.

I looked at a number of options, including replacing the the Bose speaker within the OEM enclosure and adding a separate amplifier just for the subwoofer.

I removed the bass enclosure and visited my local car audi dealer for advice.

After he picked himself up off the floor, crying with laughter and asking how anyone can seriously consider a thin plastic subwoofer to be a premium product, he removed the Bose sub from the enclosure and compared it to one of his stock subs. The difference was night and day, and the cheap parts used in the Bose construction was clear to see (made in China, say no more...)

After further discussion we agreed replacing the sub into the stock Bose enclosure would not reap any benefits, and may actually worsen the situation due to the cheap material used in the enclosure construction we agreed on a separate quality subwoofer and enclosure, that included an integrated amplifier.

I don't use the S7 to haul stuff around, so the boot area is normally pretty clean and empty, but as I didn't want a huge sub enclosure taking over the boot, settled on a compact 8" quality sub and box with integrated amp.

I did the install myself - it was very simple. Power and speaker level input (from the original Bose speaker) Took about an hour all in.

The overall sound of the system has significantly improved, and Im very happy with the results.

I could have spent a shedload of money on stripping out speakers and installing crossovers and multiple amps. Instead I spent under £500 and have a radically improved system that Im now much happier with :hearnoevil:

Pics of the original Bose speaker and enclosure and the new Sub below.

20160802 170249 20160805 141926 20160805 141957
 
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RAF_S7 said:
I have just put an upgraded subwoofer into my S7, in effect replacing the Bose woofer which is underwhelming for what is supposed to be a premium sound system.

I looked at a number of options, including replacing the the Bose speaker within the OEM enclosure and adding a separate amplifier just for the subwoofer.

I removed the bass enclosure and visited my local car audi dealer for advice.

After he picked himself up off the floor, crying with laughter and asking how anyone can seriously consider a thin plastic subwoofer to be a premium product, he removed the Bose sub from the enclosure and compared it to one of his stock subs. The difference was night and day, and the cheap parts used in the Bose construction was clear to see (made in China, say no more...)

After further discussion we agreed replacing the sub into the stock Bose enclosure would not reap any benefits, and may actually worsen the situation due to the cheap material used in the enclosure construction we agreed on a separate quality subwoofer and enclosure, that included an integrated amplifier.

I don't use the S7 to haul stuff around, so the boot area is normally pretty clean and empty, but as I didn't want a huge sub enclosure taking over the boot, settled on a compact 8" quality sub and box with integrated amp.

I did the install myself - it was very simple. Power and speaker level input (from the original Bose speaker) Took about an hour all in.

The overall sound of the system has significantly improved, and Im very happy with the results.

I could have spent a shedload of money on stripping out speakers and installing crossovers and multiple amps. Instead I spent under £500 and have a radically improved system that Im now much happier with :hearnoevil:

Pics of the original Bose speaker and enclosure and the new Sub below.

View attachment 98961 View attachment 98962 View attachment 98963
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I was thinking of doing as I didn't want to throw silly money at a car I may only have for 2-3 years. As a complete novice I have no idea how to wire up this sort of thing or where to get the sub from. Do you have any info (or if you're anywhere near Cheshire and want some beer tokens :) )?
 
I am also underwhelmed by the Bose Bass. Anyone recently successfully tweaked their car system recently?
 
Audio is a big priority for me and I should have tested the car fully. I fell for the Bose name. Oh well. Might consider an exchange in a couple of years time.
 
Kashee said:
Audio is a big priority for me and I should have tested the car fully. I fell for the Bose name. Oh well. Might consider an exchange in a couple of years time.
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. I was exactly the same. If you look at the sub under the boot shelf you'll see why there's no base, it's tiny and feels cheap. Someone on here has put a sub and amp in the back but it looks lot of hassle.
 
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Agree with everything said here, I'm really unimpressed with the Bose system in my A7. In fact the standard set up I had in my old A6 was better than this. I've never really rated Bose equipment in general though. Overpriced for what it is, yet people seem drawn to it for some unknown reason.
 
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Wippers said:
I feel your pain. I was exactly the same. If you look at the sub under the boot shelf you'll see why there's no base, it's tiny and feels cheap. Someone on here has put a sub and amp in the back but it looks lot of hassle.
Click to expand...

I have decided to go down the sub/amp route. Plan is to replace the existing sub and power it with its dedicated amp. Thinking of JL sub/amp.

I have also noted that the bass sounds better when using high quality files running from the Jukebox/USB flash drive or even mobile device attached via Auxiliary. I was using an old iPod Touch and the bass was coming out poor.
 
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