Uprated stereos in 3.0 Quattro SE S-tronic cars

[hjr2000]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am thinking of purchasing a 2011 A6 3.0 Quattro S-tronic.

The example I took out for a test drive today had the standard stereo which didn't sound so good compared to the amazing sounding stereo I heard in a 2009 Le Mans edition A6 which I believe was a Bose stereo system.

Does anyone know whether A6 3.0 Quattro S-tronic vehicles with Bose sound systems are as rare as the trader claimed them to be or is it just a matter of hanging on for one as they're around and its just a matter of time until one comes up?

Thanks in anticipation of any help

 

[elan2s]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am thinking of purchasing a 2011 A6 3.0 Quattro S-tronic.

The example I took out for a test drive today had the standard stereo which didn't sound so good compared to the amazing sounding stereo I heard in a 2009 Le Mans edition A6 which I believe was a Bose stereo system.

Does anyone know whether A6 3.0 Quattro S-tronic vehicles with Bose sound systems are as rare as the trader claimed them to be or is it just a matter of hanging on for one as they're around and its just a matter of time until one comes up?

Thanks in anticipation of any help

Not sure they are that rare (it was standard in the Black Edition cars which are the equivalent of Le Mans Spec on the C6), however as you are looking at one of the earliest C7s then it may be possible that Bose was not available to be built into the very early cars. The C7 sound system seems to be very sensitive to settings so I would suggest you check/play with the settings on the car as it may be the previous owner had them set in a way that was not in line with your own preferences

 

[hjr2000]

Not sure they are that rare (it was standard in the Black Edition cars which are the equivalent of Le Mans Spec on the C6), however as you are looking at one of the earliest C7s then it may be possible that Bose was not available to be built into the very early cars. The C7 sound system seems to be very sensitive to settings so I would suggest you check/play with the settings on the car as it may be the previous owner had them set in a way that was not in line with your own preferences

Hi Elan2S,

Thanks very much for your reply.

The Bose sound system is available on 11 plate cars as there's an 11 plate 3.0 S-tronic Quattro on Autotrader with the system currently. Its out of my price range though unfortunately.

Good call on suggesting that the system on the car I tried might have had its settings tweaked, however I'm pretty sure the fidelity of the Bose system is head and shoulders above the standard. I'll definitely check the settings next time though, thanks.

 

[Scottk]

Wouldn't think the BOSE was rare but the B&O one is. £6300 option!

 

[elan2s]

Hi Elan2S,

Thanks very much for your reply.

The Bose sound system is available on 11 plate cars as there's an 11 plate 3.0 S-tronic Quattro on Autotrader with the system currently. Its out of my price range though unfortunately.

Good call on suggesting that the system on the car I tried might have had its settings tweaked, however I'm pretty sure the fidelity of the Bose system is head and shoulders above the standard. I'll definitely check the settings next time though, thanks.

I know Bose was available to spec from the start, my point was that sometimes not all options are available for build from day one so there may have been fewer around. However I suspect the trader is spinning you a bit of a yarn to get you to buy the car he has rather than wait/go else where to get the one you actually want. Be aware that if you get a car with MMI Plus and Bose then later versions of the MMI software included a fix to improve the quality of the sound. Think the fix is in software version in the 700s and above

 

[woollyjoe]

OK - the trader is telling the truth and the reason is because the Bose hifi upgrade is usually only optioned with Black Edition, and the black edition is always longer to market.

Bose is possible from the beginning, but most won't pay the money. People who order black edition do so for the whole package and saving.

 

[woollyjoe]

I would say that the difference is hugely subjective to Avant and Saloon models, even the A7....

Compared to the Standard hifi in the Saloon, the Saloon Bose sounds best over standard (very worth getting), then the A7 Bose and on the Avant, I was the least convinced it was so marginal versus the Saloon.

That is compared to the standard hifi. Basically a car is the worst place to listen to music because there is a lack of ability to deliver the airwaves without compromise and music depends heavily on sound staging from stereo channels. All of which is compromised in the car.

So, in short, the car makes the biggest difference to the sound quality and the Saloon offers the best place mainly because of the large woofer positioned on the rear parcel shelf with the glass angling the sound into the car. The boot in the A7 and Avant loses a lot of the bass.

The other difference I noticed with Bose is the enclosed modules in the doors which prevents sound leaking outside the car, and offering better clarity of bass. The tweeters are all very poor.

My favourite hifi upgrade is noise cancelling which I had in the RS7 bose hifi and not sure this was standard or not with A7 Bose, but was the biggest difference.

If it was the car you want, absolutely don't miss out on the car based upon hifi - they are all pants* and you can achieve much better by upgrading the tweeters and woofer in the car very easily and cheaply. If you are an audiophile, you will want to use your headphones anyway.

*sorry for saying "pants" - why on earth is the word cr@p censored?

 

[BahnStormer77]

The other thing to bear in mind is that although it's pretty mediocre, the standard stereo in the C7's seems a much fuller, ricker sound than the standard C6 which was really feeble, so I'm guessing not as many people were tempted with the upgrade... I know when I first tried out some C6's a few years ago, I was stunned at how big the difference was between the standard and the BOSE.... but ended up with an A4 (with BOSE).

When I came to test drive the A6's and A7's in 2012, I didn't have the pleasure of trying any with the B&O, but the difference between the BOSE and standard seemed a lot less... and B&O a LOT to add onto a car that I drive so little...