I'm not a crazed audiophile, but I can definitely tell that there seems to be something missing (or too prevalent) in the Bose stereo sound... to me, it seems like the highs are too high... I've heard some people mention that it's missing a lot of mid-range sound... so basically, when people decide to upgrade their Bose systems, what part of the system do most people upgrade to get better sound? I typically listen to top40/pop and quite a bit of rap and hip-hop. Also, if you upgrade some of the speakers, do the aftermarket speakers fit nicely in place of the Bose speakers? I don't want to ruin the seamless look of the interior if I were to upgrade the sound... thanks for any help!

I ordered Bose for MY2k, to get extra speakers.
But we have Bose on my wife's car(Not Audi) & I've always thought the sound on my pickup's standard system sounds better. I assumed I must
be wrong & would give it another shot. Anyone
happy with Bose. Anyone Not??

As an audiophile-ish person I can tell you that if you had 10 people in the same listening environment and listening to the same music, I would say about half of those people would hear something different than the others did. Each person has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to music. When you go to buy home equipment you have to audition the equipment and see if you like what you hear. The same goes with the stereo speakers you buy. If you just buy them without listening you may not like them. With car stereo systems we are at the mercy of the engineer who designed the system. We don't get the choice to pick and choose the system for our car and can only say yes or no to an upgrade. Personally, I like the Bose concert system in my A4. I've spent YEARS and lots of money on aftermarket systems and even though I have had some really good systems in my cars, the Bose, for what it costs, is a really good system and I'm glad I bought it. Yes, the bass is a little muddy and there is at times a little too much midrange but overall I think it's a very good system. I'm just tired of all the hassles with an aftermarket system and just wanted a car with some good tunes….Maybe I'm getting old! :)

The reputation of bose among most audiophiles is very low. Just recently, I have become interested in Home A/V, and frequently visit sites such as www.audioreview.com. I regularly see many posts telling of the cheap mass market quality of bose and how they are all hype and no product. Many of these posts come from people who take apart the speakers, have very good component systems of their own, etc. I bet 90% of the people on the site would say that Bose is not a good speaker manufacturer, and merely preys on peoples ignorance.
But having said that, like NickS said, to each his own. Some may like it, some may not. The bad reputation is merely the impression I have gotten after reading many many posts from different people on various audio sites.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide.

pk

I am NOT an advocate of Bose equipment. I would never buy them for anything in the home. I think that they are over hyped, over priced and not worth the cash as far as home audio equipment goes. I was simply saying that the only option we get in the A4 is the Bose upgrade and that the upgrade is a good one over the standard unit and a compromise with the aftermarket.

On a side note, I have an NAD T770 and it is worth every penny. I was also looking at the B&K but was too much money for me. I would HIGHLY recommend going to listen to it! Here is a link for some good reviews....

http://www.nadelectronics.com/Reviews/T770-399.html<ul><li><a href="http://www.nadelectronics.com/Receiver/T770.html">http://www.nadelectronics.com/Receiver/T770.html</a</li></ul>

There are a lot more compromises that we have to make where car audio is concerned, one of which is how much we want to tear our cars apart, another is whether we want to lose the stock appearance. But the most important thing to remember is that the only opinion that matters is yours. Listen to the systems yourself, you make not hear a difference (why spend extra money then?), you may hear a difference but not like it (again why spend the money?), or you may hear a difference and love it (well worth the extra money), OR you may not hear a difference, but want to impress people who don't know any better (go for it, it's your money.

The cardinal rule for hi end audio is LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. Everyone has different biases, prefers different types of music, focuses on a different part of the music, and has different hearing (it changes throughout life based on all sorts of factors). Listen, pick something that sounds good to you, and enjoy. OK, I'm cutting myself off before I get any further off topic.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

It's pretty clear from Amar Bose's interviews that he's greatly concerned with speaker placement, angle, and distance to listener, and that's primarily what you get when you buy the Bose system. I also suspect, though I can't prove it, that the equalization curve of the system is designed to help compensate for road noise. I find that I play music at much lower volumes than I did in my Honda because the Audi interior is much quieter. Having said that, it's no secret that the actual speakers are nothing special.

I find that frequent large adjustments of both bass and treble are necessary depending on the kind of music and the source (radio, tape, CD). I don't have a problem with that -- it means I can always get it to sound good to my ears.

I get so tired of people asking "Should I buy Bose?" and "What's the best color?"

As you point out - the best stereo is the one that YOU like best. Same with color.

One more thing...

A good system to you is one that doesn't cause listening fatigue (assuming you don't have it cranked to ear-bleed levels.) I don't consider my-self an audiophile but I have frequently auditioned and used some extravagant home systems. The common thread between the best systems is that it sounds natural and un-tired. This doesn't help your decision on wether to get Bose or not. But keep this thought in mind. In the end, it doesn't matter much what a spectrum analyzer sez nor does it matter how much you spent on a system. My personal oppinion is the Bose system is decent. I didn't have to mess with the interior and I'm glad with the choice.