B9 Audi Sound System vs B&O

tekmo

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Did anyone have an opportunity to listen to Audi Sound System 10 Speaker in B9 A4 yet? Wanted to see if anyone has any opinions on it.

B&O is not available as a stand alone option in Canada and requires a $4,000 upgrade to Technik package. I know B&O is good, but hoping that Audi Sound System will not disappoint.
 
I've not heard but the Audi salesmen I've spoken to that went to the launch in Germany, say the standard 10 speaker set up is fantastic!

The B&O speaker set up is a £750 option on the S line model here in the UK. I've decided not to go for it on the one I'm ordering, instead going to spend the money on other options.
 
Yeah, I'd agree with that. I didn't come away thinking the system sounded bad at all, I think only the subtle bass elements that the B&O system is so good at producing were missing. Everything else sounded very good!
 
I had another test of an S line at the weekend and gave the standard 10 speaker system a good testing.
I can say it's fantastic!!! A lot better than my already good standard setup in my b8.

If you heard it, there is no way you would splash out on the ridiculously expensive B&O set up!
 
My test car was a saloon with B&O and I didn't think it sounded as good as the B&O in my current Avant.
I understand the Avant has a subwoofer but not the saloon.

I might go and try the Audi one before I commit as B&O is expensive.
 
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My test car was a saloon with B&O and I didn't think it sounded as good as the B&O in my current Avant.
I understand the Avant has a subwoofer but not the saloon.

I might go and try the Audi one before I commit as B&O is expensive.
Are you sure that the A4 hasn't a woofer under the rear parcel shelf like the A3 saloon has. I have seen pictures of it there but didn't know if it was for the Audio system or the B&O
 
Has anyone tried a car with and without the B&O?

I've tried the standard S line 10 speaker set up and it's excellent!!! I like a quality speaker set up and it's devotedly good enough for me. I certainly won't be paying extra for the B&O set up and instead spec'd other extras.
 
Are you sure that the A4 hasn't a woofer under the rear parcel shelf like the A3 saloon has. I have seen pictures of it there but didn't know if it was for the Audio system or the B&O

My B8.5 had the woofer in the parcel shelf, can't imagine that they'd do away with it for the B9!
 
The bass was nothing like as good as in my B8.5 Avant, I assumed it was due to lack of subwoofer.
Definitely worth comparing the standard sound system to the B&O as I wasn't blown away by the latter.
 
My B8.5 had the woofer in the parcel shelf, can't imagine that they'd do away with it for the B9!
They haven't as it is still there, not sure about the sound of the *** in my courtesy car yet, need to play with the settings but I thought it would have more bass than the standard setup in my A3...
 
Hi All

I've got the b9 2.0 TDI S-Line which has the 'Audi Soundsystem' (The one up from the standard system but not the B&O System). I thought this would suffice as it has 10 speakers and a subwoofer but if I'm honest, it's pretty poor. Even after tweaking the sound settings (all you get is one setting for 'bass' and one for 'treble' by the way) it still sounds cheap. I've got the bass turned up to almost maximum but the subwoofer has no oomph in it whatsoever. Unless you sit in the rear of the car and the sub seems to be too dominant. I'm loathed to even call it a subwoofer tbh.
The treble/hi hats coming through the smaller speakers is fine, and I've turned the treble down a little bit to take the edge off it, but the mids are lacking and the bass is certainly lacking.

On the plus side, the MMI interface is pretty sweet, with DAB, Bluetooth, SD Card, USB stick etc - and all the controls on the console and steering wheel work well.

If you're thinking of buying and like to hear your music on a decent system, I'd definitely invest in the B&O. And if I could go back in time, I'd go B&O. Oh well, 4 years until I can change it for a new one!

My previous car was a BMW E46 330D Sport with the Harman Kardon soundsystem. I have to say the Harman Kardon ****** all over this 'Audi Soundsystem'. I miss it :grumpy:
 
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It's good to hear an owner review the sound system.
I've just opted for the standard set up which I thought was pretty good in the S line. Although it was only a 24hr demo so I didn't have a lot of time with it.
The B&O system is a hell of a price though!

On a separate issue, how else are you finding your car junglemusic?
 
If you've ordered the S-Line, you'll get the Audi Soundsystem as standard.
I've been looking at options for getting the B&O system retrofitted but so far I've seen quotes of around £2500 so I'm going to just stick with what I've got. I think it's £750 as an option extra out of the factory - well worth it IMO (with hindsight).

Otherwise I'm liking the car so far. Still getting to grips with all the gadgets and it needs a good clean already, but I'm impressed with it. It's so much quieter than my previous BMW (albeit that had a 2.9l engine), is so smooth and comfortable and looks the business, too.
Even with the extra large fuel tank, though, it still seems quite small. But that's just nitpicking.
 
Another subjective thread, If you like your music it's probably well worth the investment. If you want a little radio/background music whilst driving probs not. At £750 no ones opinion matters apart from yours after testing both.
 
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All good discussion. One thing I would say is options are invariably much more expensive to retrofit as this shows. My flat bottom steering wheel was a £100 option but they cost way more than this to retrofit. So pick carefully all you B9-ers. :)
 
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I like my music so maybe it's something I really need to consider. I see the description mentions the B&O speakers light up as well?

Junglemusic, did you go for the 190 TDi?
What's the mpg like?
How do you find the performance?

Thanks in advance.
 
Incidentally, has anybody tested the 10 speaker standard speakers AND the B&O speakers and can compare both back to back?
 
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Incidentally, has anybody tested the 10 speaker standard speakers AND the B&O speakers and can compare both back to back?
The 14 speaker B&O system setup in the B8 model is fantastic as I'm sure you would agree to mate. I can't see how any Audi 'basic' system would be as nearly as good even in the new B9 guise. It is one of those options that should always be at the the top of the list unless you have an RS4 engine to listen to :whistle2:
 
The 14 speaker B&O system setup in the B8 model is fantastic as I'm sure you would agree to mate. I can't see how any Audi 'basic' system would be as nearly as good even in the new B9 guise. It is one of those options that should always be at the the top of the list unless you have an RS4 engine to listen to :whistle2:

Stop it!!! Your going to make me splash out more money!!! Ha ha
 
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I never heard the B&O in the the B8. I had the Bose in my S3 and it was good but I was lead to believe the B&O was even better.
 
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I would not describe the sound system as basic compared to the setup in my a3 as anything with a bass speaker should give you more. However I didn't rate the system in the a4 as being any better than the 'basic', non bass speaker, than the one in my a3..
 
Some say that the B&O systems need to be set up properly to get the most out of them, which is a shame as most test drive systems more than likely wont have been.
It reminds me of the old argument about HD tvs. It was said if you couldn't see a large improvement then it wasn't set up properly.

Will need a few new owners to play around and confirm this
 
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I like my music so maybe it's something I really need to consider. I see the description mentions the B&O speakers light up as well?

Junglemusic, did you go for the 190 TDi?
What's the mpg like?
How do you find the performance?

Thanks in advance.

No I went for the 150ps. Getting around 50-55mpg so far, based mostly on shorter journeys daily with a couple of long trips thrown in.
Performance is adequate and kind of what I expected for a 2-litre modern TDI engine. It's not got as much grunt as my old 330d but it's more than enough to overtake or get up some speed when you need it.
 
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I must say the Audi Sound System is pretty rubbish. Need to sit down the weekend and play with the settings because with the default settings it's so flat

Hate to imagine what the basic set up sounds like...
 
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I heard the B&O system in a B9 today. I didn't notice it being amazingly better than the standard set up although I only tested it via the radio. I was amazed at how many speakers there were though!!!! 3 on the pillar alone!!!
 
I guess with the b&o you need to tune it correctly etc , a demonstration won't be sufficient to make a judgement imo
 
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I have the 10 speaker Audi sound system and must say I don't think it is that great. It doesn't pack much base. My precious A3 had the Bose system which was pretty impressive.

It does me fine though as it is just background noise for me.
 
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Well I have finally been able to listen to the standard S line and B&O systems. The standard S line speakers seem good enough and would seem good enough for most people. The B&O Speakers are really good when you put the bass up and you can really feel it!

Are the B&O speakers worth the extra? I'm not so sure. It's hard to judge.
 
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Well I have finally been able to listen to the standard S line and B&O systems. The standard S line speakers seem good enough and would seem good enough for most people. The B&O Speakers are really good when you put the bass up and you can really feel it!

Are the B&O speakers worth the extra? I'm not so sure. It's hard to judge.

Going through the same dilemma myself just now, I've not ticked the b&o option despite buying the top of range system on all previous cars and having 4 grands worth of hi if in my house (i.e. I like my music).

The £750 seems like just a bit too much for me this time as really trying to keep the sensible hat on and spend most of the budget on things that I'll appreciate but also see some money out of at the end of the term (e.g. 3.0 & Quattro).

I don't doubt the b&o is better but the *** seemed ok and think I'll end up sticking with it. Just have to keep reminding myself it's another £750 to play with next time round :)
 
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After having my car for just over 2 weeks now I have to say I am now more than happy with the Audi Sound System. In the first instance I was a little unsure, but after playing with the setting a little it does the job that I need. The base isn't ground breaking but definitely sufficient for every day use. The quality is very clear with no distortion.
 
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I've got the standard system in my B8 S line and I've never had any issues with it.
I did have the Bose system in my S3 previously and that was great and my all account the B&O system is a lot better than that.

What I did not was the B&O did appear to be slot more powerful and the base could be out up so the whole car (and me) were shaking and there was no distortion in the sound. Granted nobody really has their base up that high normally.
 
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I own a B9 with B&O system and I'm not amazed by it. It lacks the strong base from the woofer, somehow overall the sound seems a bit artificial. I completely don't understand that all 3d sound hype. All it seems to do is adding echo to every song which on the long run feels weird and not natural.

In A6 and Audi Sound System I could separately adjust the woofer. In My Golf MK7 I can adjust the middle tones. On B9 only the base and trebbles can be adjusted and that's just not enough on such expensive sound system...
 
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Having had a chance to get used to my car for a few days I have to say that I am actually really impressed with the Audi Sound System set-up. I have tried it out with a whole range of music styles and think it sounds really good. I know that audio set-ups are often a love-hate kind of thing but I certainly have no complaints!
 
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Just to add my tuppence worth, while I have a lot of music in my library and sometimes listen to it, I largely listen to the radio as its the best way to keep up to date with new music and be entertained by some very funny DJs. So to me having the ultimate sound system isn't as important as having ....eg heated seats ....on a chilly morning!

I did upgrade my A3 to the Audi sound system three years ago (about €350 I think) and the *** comes as standard on all Irish B9 spec models (as does twin leather on SE models) ... We do have to pay extra for 3 zone climate though!

Anyway back to sound, I did find the B9 and A3 *** quite impressive and more than adequate for my needs....when you throw in all the competing sounds Eg road and engine noise, conversation, etc it seems hard to justify the extra for B&O......having read the comments here in favour though.....I'm now a little bit afraid to sound test it ...in case I want it!!
 
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As I've said above, I've heard both. The B&O was very bass heavy but sounded good. As did the *** which even though it wasn't set up properly, sounded really good as well. But I haven't lived with them and that was only a short test.

I've just gone with the *** as I've never had any complaints with the *** in my B8 and I love my music!
 
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I had the chance to drive a bit today with B9 with standard speaker system. It was terrible, completely flat, no base at all...
 
I would imagine that the system would require more setting up to get the best out of it. That's the problem when you have a test drive, you simply don't get long with the system to fully test it.

The only people who can really review it, are those that have lived with it for some time.
 
Well overall you are right, however this was really basic system (not Audi Sound System) and it only had trebble and base to adjust (both maxed out).