B&O sound system. Bear with it

Vic20

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After moving from my 2005 8P with Bose to my 8Y with B&O just over a year ago I was initially very disappointed with the B&O system. It lacked punch or any clarity.

Now, a year on it is greatly improved to a level where I'd say it was a big step up from the Bose.

I did a bit of research on this and found that, like a new pair of shoes, speakers need to be worn in. This, in a new car can take quite a while


There is a wealth of audiophile information and opinions on this topic.
 
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Yes, and in the beginining (first month or so) the sliders didn't really do much to change the sound. Now every function / slider can change the sound. Only 'issue' is the plastic sub vent/port for the sub, some might hear a strange rattle sound on certain bass freqs (can't hear much from drivers seat) but with boot open at the boot, you might be able to hear it. Like proper hifi speakers, the front door speakers handle the lower frequencies (you can't hear much vocals or higher freq sounds), and the 4 dash mid-range and 2 tweeters handle most of the vocals and instruments lets say. Rear door 'mid-range' and tweeters handle all frequencies I guess. Personally I've tried to press my ear to the C-pillar speakers, but not sure if I hear much, then again I haven't got the surround or 3D effect to high, maybe that's what those do.

Maybe in the future someone with A3 B&O might even get their doors and boot 'sound insulated' with dynamat or similar, then it would be perfect!

Also the A3 B&O is probably is one of the longer bedding in systems and the change is drastic (for the better). Other cars I had, took maybe just a couple of weeks to sound its best, and then it doesn't get any better....not uncommon for some systems (even home systems) to bed in only after 100+ hrs of use.
 
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After moving from my 2005 8P with Bose to my 8Y with B&O just over a year ago I was initially very disappointed with the B&O system. It lacked punch or any clarity.

Now, a year on it is greatly improved to a level where I'd say it was a big step up from the Bose.

I did a bit of research on this and found that, like a new pair of shoes, speakers need to be worn in. This, in a new car can take quite a while


There is a wealth of audiophile information and opinions on this topic.
Thanks for sharing! Very interesting tip about putting the speakers against each other to cancel one another. This seems a bit difficult to achieve in a car though. Did you find any particular technique for running in the speakers easier to pull off in the 8Y?
 
Nope, guess the only tip as far as a car's installation is concerned is to know that it will get better with use!
 
I totally agree with all this. Speakers do need bedding in.
And I like the B&O system. It doesn't match my indoor hifi system by any stretch of the imagination but still very good for car audio.
If you need to find a differentiator between Skoda and Audi this is it. The Canton fitted to Skoda is inferior, with over-boosted higher frequencies (very bright) whereas the Audi B&O has a clear, more neutral and slightly warmer sound.
(All IMHO.)
 
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I totally agree with all this. Speakers do need bedding in.
And I like the B&O system. It doesn't match my indoor hifi system by any stretch of the imagination but still very good for car audio.
If you need to find a differentiator between Skoda and Audi this is it. The Canton fitted to Skoda is inferior, with over-boosted higher frequencies (very bright) whereas the Audi B&O has a clear, more neutral and slightly warmer sound.
(All IMHO.)
It's a strange one, my Mini hifi (not separates) at home costs less than B&O if it was added on its own to the A3, and only has total of '60watts' of power. Speakers are the 'same sized' as the front door speakers, guess they have more space to operate from a ridgid enclosure plus they are on stands, and sound much better despite needing the fill a larger space at home. Also I run CDs usually, and A3 these days don't even have those!
 
Wonder if anyone here had both the 8V's B&O and now the 8Y B&O for comparison. I read somewhere the previous gen one was superior, BUT, might be that the materials and sound insulation was better hence the sound might have been better.
 
on 8Y speakers just have audi logo , on 8V they have bang logo...
new its weaker also looks like cheaper made
 

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you are 2 geniuses :) brawo guys , I said speaker has only audi logo no door card...
take door card off and check what is on speaker
 
I had found the bass very underwhelming compared to other “premium” sound systems in cars, such as Meridian. At low volumes there was pretty much no bass for me, turning it up increased the bass, however, to get it how I like it, it made the door rattle worse.

I have found that when I biased the speakers to the rear (the dot is just behind the transmission hump on the MMI) the bass is much better at lower volumes and the sound is generally better with less speaker rattle, as it seems the front doors rattle more than the rear.

I am now 18 months in and the speakers do sound much better than the day I picked the car up!
 
you are 2 geniuses :) brawo guys , I said speaker has only audi logo no door card...
take door card off and check what is on speaker
Have you had the door cards off fir a look? I've had mine off to retrofit the Audi rings with the absence of puddle light fitment. It's an absolute ****** to pull off the speaker grille/bolt cover, not something I'm looking to repeat. I didn't study the speaker unit to see what was stamped on it, but it did look better than most I've seen.
 
you are 2 geniuses :) brawo guys , I said speaker has only audi logo no door card...
take door card off and check what is on speaker
Have you had the door cards off for a look? I've had mine off to retrofit the Audi rings with the absence of puddle light fitment. It's an absolute ****** to pull off the speaker grille/bolt cover, not something I'm looking to repeat. I didn't study the speaker unit to see what was stamped on it, but it did look better than most I've seen. Absolutely no sound insulation between door card and shell.
 
I think I saw somewhere where they dismantled parts the amp is Harman, sub is Alpine and the rest of speakers were labelled Foster... Nowhere did I see any B&O. At least Harman and Alpine ain't bad...
 
Have you had the door cards off for a look? I've had mine off to retrofit the Audi rings with the absence of puddle light fitment. It's an absolute ****** to pull off the speaker grille/bolt cover, not something I'm looking to repeat. I didn't study the speaker unit to see what was stamped on it, but it did look better than most I've seen. Absolutely no sound insulation between door card and shell.
No I swap mirrors with camera for 360 camera retrofit.
yes not easy you need special twizers , then its easy :)
 
you are 2 geniuses :) brawo guys , I said speaker has only audi logo no door card...
take door card off and check what is on speaker
May be you need to provide more detail instead of you expecting us to think that you ment the actual speaker
 
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Have you had the door cards off for a look? I've had mine off to retrofit the Audi rings with the absence of puddle light fitment. It's an absolute ****** to pull off the speaker grille/bolt cover, not something I'm looking to repeat. I didn't study the speaker unit to see what was stamped on it, but it did look better than most I've seen. Absolutely no sound insulation between door card and shell.
they are great
Screenshot 2023 05 08 at 21 50 40 Bst4U Auto Trim Removal Tool Set for Car Audio DVD and Nevig
 
I've just received my 8Y and the rear sub sort of makes farting noises at low volume!!! If you crank the sound you can't really hear it, is this the nom, or could the sub be loose?
Also, does anyone know what that white/cream cable is with the square silver foil thing on the end that sits behind that plastic cover piece?
 
I've just received my 8Y and the rear sub sort of makes farting noises at low volume!!! If you crank the sound you can't really hear it, is this the nom, or could the sub be loose?
Also, does anyone know what that white/cream cable is with the square silver foil thing on the end that sits behind that plastic cover piece?
Yea I had that, I brought it to the dealer and they told me where the sound was coming from. It's from the plastic bass (air) exit port that points downwards just in front of the exhaust box. The air it expelled from the sub, depending on the frequency, it may rattle the plastic trim. They even called me to ask me 'which songs does it do that.' subsequent dash cam footage (with audio) did indeed 'hear' the technician did playing those songs i mentioned at moderate level and probably faffing around in the boot area. They did not actually tell me that they sorted it, as the car was there mainly for software update, but this rattling has stopped, so maybe they did put some foam or insulation material there. If you can get under your car near the exhaust part, you can actually see that port.
 
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Can I ask an utterly dumb question, where exactly is the sub-woofer on an S3 with tech pack pro
 
Can I ask an utterly dumb question, where exactly is the sub-woofer on an S3 with tech pack pro
Well on my 2020 S3 it was on the left side in the boot behind a piece of plastic trim which tends to rattle on a lot of early cars - Was far better when it was in the spare wheel like the 8V
 
Is it better sound quality with surround turned off? I turned it off and it’s alot deeper and bassy now. With surround on it goes tinny
 
Is it better sound quality with surround turned off? I turned it off and it’s alot deeper and bassy now. With surround on it goes tinny
appreciate if you could share your settings
 
I find the sound to strong from the front dashboard speaker. Have tried adjusting the balance more to the rear however the front still sounds strong.
 
What’s the optimum sound settings? I find most Spotify songs are punchy bass and not very deep bass. When the dab radio comes on, the bass sounds deeper. Is that just Spotify? I have the audio quality on the highest setting so it should sound good. I have the treble,bass and subwoofer on plus 1. Surround off. What does everyone else have it on?
 
Do you run Spotify via bluetooth media app, or via Apple CarPlay / Android Auto? I've noticed the sound is much quieter if you use the media app, so there may be difference in quality also.
 
Do you run Spotify via bluetooth media app, or via Apple CarPlay / Android Auto? I've noticed the sound is much quieter if you use the media app, so there may be difference in quality also.
Apple CarPlay