Is Bose Worth It?

[VeeDubDan]

I'm currently window shopping for an S3 and one of the "must have" items I currently have is the car should have Bose. But this naturally limits my choice of cars.

So what do you think, is it really worth sticking out for the right car, with Bose? Does it really make a difference over the standard ICE? Or is the better option to upgrade at a later date with after market equipment? I'm not aiming for show standard ICE, I just want good quality sound.

Also I definately aiming for a facelift model, so what factory head units were available and which would you look for?

TIA
Dan

 

[madvw]

depends really.

are you after loud bassy music? are you planing to upgrade regardless? If yes to either dont bother.

 

[VeeDubDan]

depends really.

are you after loud bassy music? are you planing to upgrade regardless? If yes to either dont bother.

If the Bose setup is half decent I would be happy to leave it as is. Especially as I'm not too keen of changing the head unit as I'd like to keep it looking OEM. But if it's not that great I might end up upgrading, in which case there's no point holding out for a Bose car.

I like my tunes at a reasonable volume, but don't want or need glass shattering base etc. Just good quality/crisp sounds.

 

[madvw]

tbh, I was disapointed by the BOSE in mine. The bass is useless. Fine for mid bass, but total rhubarb for low frequencies.

 

[mattyboy199]

i agree with the above but you wont find a better system in car of that size as a factory fit option, so it doesnt cope very well with low frequencies thats only when your blasting it anyway turn the bass down a notch or the volume even.

 

[col6821]

VeeDubdan,
I've got a 2002 S3 in dolphin grey with an aftermarket Pioneer HU and 12" sub in the boot and it sounds so much better than the standard set-up, even with factory speakers.
The car will possibly be for sale in March, pm me for details if you're interested.

 

[ak_quattro454]

i replaced my bose almost immediately,
most aftermarket hu will be so much better. When i found my A3, the Bose was just a bonus. but i dont think its good enough for you to be considering as a must have in your s3.
spend a few quid and you can have a system giving you way better sound quality than a bose ever will.

 

[Boydie]

i was thinking of upgrading to Bose in my 8P but searched about and was basically told not to bother and not worth the hassle

if your wanting a decent system go aftermarket

this is what i have to put into my 8P

Becker Grand Prix head unit
Genesis Dual Mono
Genesis 4ch
Diamond 10" sub
Audiocontrol EQL
Focal KP2 components
Streetwires kit

it will blow your mind once compelte and i cant wait - **** bose lol

 

[VeeDubDan]

If you don't mind me asking, how much would an aftermarket spec of this sorts cost?

 

[Boydie]

well the becker HU is £299

it looks OEM and matches perfectly with the audi dash and its amazing for sound quality

the one im after is the grand prix which has built in bluetooth for your mobile and stores up to 25 numbers and names etc... you can get cheaper beckers without this function - the becker ipod connection works out at £60

i can get both for £320 fitted

the genesis amps are very expensive but mine are second hand - i still paid £600 for both - well over £1k new!

diamond sub - again 2nd hand but not used much - i think they retail over £300 got mine for £140

the EQL i got 2nd hand 3 years ago but now they are pretty cheap and perfect the sound 10 fold!

the focals i will be buying new and will sting me around £330 but they are amazing!

if your into your sounds like me thats an amazing system and will win sound off's once set up right but you can still do lots to your car without spending that amount of cash!

 

[ak_quattro454]

yeah i think boydie is after the ultimate system, going to be very expensive but it must sound amazing when all fitted together.

 

[Boydie]

its the same system that was in my mates ST focus bar the becker unit and he won an amatuer sound off at an event in scotland

so it should be good lol

 

[mattyboy199]

depends what your looking for filling your car with aftermarket stuff gives the impression you want some attention or you have something to prove. The Bose is simple & effective.

 

[MattS5]

Agreed. The Bose gives you something better than standard, without having to fill the boot with subs and an amp. (There isn't much of a boot anyway, let alone losing space to ICE).

 

[mattyboy199]

Agreed. The Bose gives you something better than standard, without having to fill the boot with subs and an amp. (There isn't much of a boot anyway, let alone losing space to ICE).

even more agreed

 

[Lovegroover]

I have always had aftermarket ICE, in all of my cars. But i have left the bose system in my S3. I think the sound quality is pretty darn good, but i have upgraded the sub to a 12" as the standard was a bit tired. It is now seriously loud if required and retains the quality throughout the volume range, it's too loud for me to TBH. I like the OEM look and i like the OEM features etc. like the way it doesn't turn off till the key is taken from the ignition barrel etc. I've kept mine also as when it comes to selling i think it's a good option for the car to have and one less thing to have to upgrade.

 

[SimonP]

I had the bose system in my first S3 and thought it was an expensive waste of time, in my second and current S3 I replaced the OEM standard system (which is even worse than the bose setup) with an Alpine MP3 capable head unit, focal speakers all round and an AndyMac stealth sub in the boot, which is a direct replacement for the OEM tupperware box in the rear cubby hole (see ICE forum for details). It's a whole world better.

Every time that I wonder if the effort was worth it, I listen to the bose setup in the family bus A4 and remember that it was!

In all seriousness though, look into any S3 regardless of the sound system, if it has Bose then you'll live with it just fine, if it doesn't then you can have a better system for not much money, just some time, effort and some swearing during the install ;-)

 

[Boydie]

depends what your looking for filling your car with aftermarket stuff gives the impression you want some attention or you have something to prove. The Bose is simple & effective.

i have nothing to prove - plain and simple, I love music

I have been brought up in a musical family and i can spot the tiniest imperfections in speakers, so for me perfection is cructial

I dont have my music loud, boom booming like the local chavs. when im driving through town or if i have passengers (unless they request it) the music is quiet and low

Also, with this system, I can enter competition sound offs and win money

dont worry about the space in the boot, when i was younger i had 2x12" subs, 2 boxes, 3 amps and an EQ in the boot of a clio lol

i have become used to a bigger boot now so a stealth build is a must and space will be kept!

 

[simch]

Personally I think the bose is pretty good, it will never play low frequencies it has two 5 inch woofers.....!? But it plays some very bright music, with good sound staging (if you turn the fader toward the front). It will also play plenty loud enough for everyday driving without any distortion. Yep, if you wan to hag about maccyd's stood away formt he car wiht it booming away and rattling its mirros, you will need something else. But it will play clear bright music to volumes well in excess of those that become a distration to you when driving, so it is not that bad.

I am considering an Andymac sub for mine, just to delve slightly deeper into the lower frequencies. But I can live with it jsut the way it is, the Bose seems to do a good job of being a decent quality system with an OEM feel to it.

Having said all this, its maybe not special enough to turn away a good car for, if it has it great, but if its the right car withouot it, I'd go for it anyway. As others have said you can fit some nice quality stuff for not too much cash.

 

[jamiekip]

I'm currently window shopping for an S3 and one of the "must have" items I currently have is the car should have Bose. But this naturally limits my choice of cars.

So what do you think, is it really worth sticking out for the right car, with Bose? Does it really make a difference over the standard ICE? Or is the better option to upgrade at a later date with after market equipment? I'm not aiming for show standard ICE, I just want good quality sound.

Also I definately aiming for a facelift model, so what factory head units were available and which would you look for?

TIA
Dan

When I was hunting for my old S3 I test drove loads some with, some with out. like you I had my 'wishlist' of what the car 'had' to have. I tested out sound systems on cars with and w/o Bose and to be honest, there is not a huge amount in it.
Like most have said, if you want really, REALLY good performance from your stereo, be it loudness or perfection, you'd have to upgrade, if you're after a sound system that gives good quality, then both will be OK, but for sure the BOSE system is a little better.
If I we're you, I wouldn't let the fact a car hasn't got BOSE put you off buying it. My view when I bought mine was it has to be absolutely mechanically perfect - any options it has are just a bonus.

Good luck, I know it's time consuming!!!

 

[VeeDubDan]

I'm now leaning towards Bose with an aftermarket upgrade to the speakers/sub. From eveyone's comments this probably is the best compromise for me.

Mind you if the "perfect" car came along without Bose I would probably go for it!

Now I just have to read up on which factory head units the facelift cars came with!?! I'm not keen on having a tape deck head unit at all, even if it does have an autochanger in the boot! Any advice would be great.

 

[madvw]

the options were:

6 CD autochanger - £400
Bose - £500
Chorus Radio/cass - Standard Equipment
Concert Radio + single CD - £200
Symphony radio/cassette/front loading 6CD - £465
Sat-nav (dis only) £1300
sat-nav (Naviplus RNS-D) - £2175
sat-nav + TV (naviplus RNS-D) £2880

 

[VeeDubDan]

the options were:

6 CD autochanger - £400
Bose - £500
Chorus Radio/cass - Standard Equipment
Concert Radio + single CD - £200
Symphony radio/cassette/front loading 6CD - £465
Sat-nav (dis only) £1300
sat-nav (Naviplus RNS-D) - £2175
sat-nav + TV (naviplus RNS-D) £2880

Thanks for the info. I'm assuming the Chorus and Concert were single DIN and the Symphony was double DIN? Is so what fills the gap in the dash when you have a single DIN headunit?

 

[madvw]

yes, they were single DIN, and the Symphony is double din.

Quite a bit of the centre console is different between single and double din models, for example, the climate controls are different between the two. On the single din model there is also a cubby hole in the bottom slot. The only way this would affect your decision to buy would be if you are planing to retro-fit a sat-nav - in which case having a double din already would save you some headaches and extra cost.

 

[AndyMac]

If you are going to upgrade bits of the system then definately don't go with the Bose upgrade as it makes it trickier.
Stick with the stock HU, upgrade the front components and add a stealth sub. This will give you the perfect balance of clear quality sound at reasonable volume (totally stealth) without needing to go with boot hogging ICE and all that that entails.

 

[VeeDubDan]

Forgive me as I'm a little rusty on ICE, but for example would a non Bose system head unit (Concert CD) be capable of supporting a sub and how would I do this?

Does the head unit have a direct output for a sub or would an amp have to be connected etc?

 

[madvw]

the bose system has a sub box with two drivers (if you can call them that) and an integrated amp. The Non-bose system has a sub enclosure with a single speaker and is still driven by a seperate amp.

IMO, its probably easier to add just a sub to a BOSE equipped car as you already have a connector you can tap into the L + R line outs and a remote on there ready for you - all you need then is a single power cable run down the car.

 

[mad max]

ive had bose in two of my audis now and think its a bit over rated best sound as standard ive experienced was in my old a6 2.7t.have to say if i had a must have list heated seats would be tops.nothing like keeping the ol crown jewels warm on a frosty morning.plus great watching passengers squirm about when they dont know why there bottom feels so warm

 

[ash_s3]

I made sure i bought an S3 with bose! What a waste of time!
From brand new id imagine it was pretty good but the cheap plastic bose sub box sounds so bad it rattles and vibrates like hell, one of the front speakers and one of the rears distort with high-ish frequencies. will eventualy be uprgading the lot but i definetly wouldnt go to any bother or pay extra for an S3 with the bose system.

Ash