Chief#16

Just bought a 2012 A6. Love it! It's an unbelievable car. I traded in my '04 A6 and have no regrets.

The only thing I liked better about my old A6 is the Bose stereo. It had a lot more sound coming from the speakers in the doors. In the new one, it seems like all the sound is coming from the dash. I adjusted the surround level, but that didn't help. Any other adjustment suggestions?

wuk

check to see if you have the most up to date MMI version, or at least something in the 600's...I believe I have v609 in my 2013 A6. I remember reading somewhere that if you have a version in the 500's it "limits" the bose and that newer updates make it sound better. I'm happy with the Bose system, but not blown away by it.

jdong

I tried out an A6 with the Bose and was not terribly impressed with it, coming from a 2013 BMW 3 series with the HK premium sound package.

I ended up getting the B&O sound, which was better but probably not $6000 better honestly.

Bose is kind of known for their boomy bass and fake surround sound effects, which I am actually a fan of for casual music listening. They didn't seem to do that with this car, for better or worse.

freshlysqueezed

MMI version 715.2 or later fixes a lot of the Bose sound quality people usually complain about. I used to compare my Bose system pre 715.2 update to my 2005 Honda accord.

With the update it is on par or even better than the Infinti G37 Bose system.

ASN21

Good thing I'm not an audiophile, because the system sounds great to me. I would never spend $6k to upgrade a audio system.

wuk

can we just roll into a dealership and get the update or does there need to be a "serviceable" reason to get the update? i'd like to get the most out of Bose...

RobC

Based on my own experience of asking for the update (not to improve Bose quality since I have B&O), the service advisor just needs a reasonable justification to enter into the system. You can probably just tell him you think your Bose audio doesn't sound good and that you've been told there's an update to address that.

A6ninja

I called my dealer about this exact issue last week. Explained my bose sounds terrible and that my MMI version is in the 500s. Asked if I could bring it in for an MMI update. He told me that I would need a "legitimate" reason to bring in it to update the MMI. He said "poor sound" doesn't qualify. He then promptly quoted me several hundred dollars to do the update.

This was LAS VEGAS AUDI - Their service department has a terrible reputation around town so I wasn't surprised they pulled this tactic. My next purchase will be from the other Audi dealer across town.

Richard Solomon

Read thread(s) of MMI issues, note which ones apply to you {cough} and call that other Audi dealer to schedule a service appointment to fix them.

A6ninja

THAT is a great idea. Thanks!