Would like to add amp (6x50) to Concert system with mb's in front and rear plus sub but keep stock receiver (for now). Getting different answer and approach from each installer I visited. None have ever done an A4. Some say their amps can accommodate different voltage, others want to install convertors. Tried archives but no definitive answer. So far Alpine, Extent and Precision seem like good choices. Comments appreciated.

You can tap the line-outs from your deck off the amplifier in the trunk and splice the wires into a set of RCA's (which your amp will/should accept as a normal input source). I'm not sure about the non-bose stereo's (do they have external amps in the trunk?) but in my particular A4, which is an early-98 with the $400 Bose stereo option, i went ahead and did the RCA plug route myself, after being dissapointed with the sound quality from the high/low converters. I'm sure a speaker-level input on any amp won't sound as good as using the low-level line outs from the deck. Pull out your deck and take a peek at the wiring schematic on the top of the deck (again, this is for early-98 builds, i have no experience with the later builds) to see if there's a line-out provided - if there is one, you can do it. <p>Try and search the archives, i wrote a huge post with wire colors and all that for my car - however, since you didn't leave a model year, i don't know if any of this will be any help. .. amp-wise, PPI, Soundstream, A/D/S are all good choices - I find Xtant to be a bit pricey and also external-size wise, kinda BIG. Good luck!<p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V<ul><li><a href="http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/speedway/8138">MY A4 page (only for newbies - i haven't updated in awhile!) =)</a></li></ul>

As part of my current stereo lineup, my xtant amp seems like one of the best investments so far. Don't know a whole lot about it except that it's won praise from several different installers that have looked at the system, including those that didn't sell it. It is claimed to be more efficient in producing power than other amps on the market,i.e, 65% of the power it uses gets converted to signal vs. 50% from other amps.<p>Different installers have tried different approaches to converters, (and there are different choices, so have them experiment), but all have told me that I'd be much better off going with a different deck. I'm holding out for one with red lighting..<p>Before you blow a lot on a completely new system you may want to read my post on my experiences with aftermarket stereo stuff in my A4. (Today)<p>Rich<br>'98 2.8Q sport