B&O A4 vs S5 Sportback Comparison
08-11-2018, 12:07 PM
#31
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Surround encoded music discs
I’m one of a few people that has invested in surround music. I’ve got discs from just about every surround sound format that I enjoy listening to on my home audio system. I decided to experiment with these discs to see what the B&O system will play. Turns out, more than I thought.
DVD music disc - will play the disc, but because it has video content, the system won’t allow it to play while the car is moving. Treats it as a DVD-video disc.
DTS encoded CD - these work great. It’s recognized as an audio CD, so no problems when you shift out of park.
DVD audio disc - will play the disc, but because these discs have video content (menus), they won’t play when you shift out of park. Bummer.
Dual disc - These are double layer discs with CD encoding on one layer and Dolby Digital 5.1 on another layer. They work just fine. System sees the disc as an audio CD.
SACD with one encoding (stereo or multi-channel) - These are the most common SACDs and they work! Systems sees the disc as an audio CD. I wish I would have known this earlier, because I own many SACDs and a car is a perfectly controlled environment for surround music.
SACD with 2channel and multi-channel encodings - The system does not know how to handle the menu where you select to play stereo or surround, so it can’t do anything with these discs. States the format is unreadable. Bummer.
So, the system will play several surround music formats and, by the way, they sound great and have very good bass output. Dark Side of the Moon sounded really good with the low bass coming through.
I owned a 2006 Acura RL which had a Bose system that play DVD-audio discs. Loved that system. Good to know I’ve got surround music back with my A5.
DVD music disc - will play the disc, but because it has video content, the system won’t allow it to play while the car is moving. Treats it as a DVD-video disc.
DTS encoded CD - these work great. It’s recognized as an audio CD, so no problems when you shift out of park.
DVD audio disc - will play the disc, but because these discs have video content (menus), they won’t play when you shift out of park. Bummer.
Dual disc - These are double layer discs with CD encoding on one layer and Dolby Digital 5.1 on another layer. They work just fine. System sees the disc as an audio CD.
SACD with one encoding (stereo or multi-channel) - These are the most common SACDs and they work! Systems sees the disc as an audio CD. I wish I would have known this earlier, because I own many SACDs and a car is a perfectly controlled environment for surround music.
SACD with 2channel and multi-channel encodings - The system does not know how to handle the menu where you select to play stereo or surround, so it can’t do anything with these discs. States the format is unreadable. Bummer.
So, the system will play several surround music formats and, by the way, they sound great and have very good bass output. Dark Side of the Moon sounded really good with the low bass coming through.
I owned a 2006 Acura RL which had a Bose system that play DVD-audio discs. Loved that system. Good to know I’ve got surround music back with my A5.
08-11-2018, 12:48 PM
#32
Club AutoUnion
Thank you for posting this. 1 question - how does the system handle “hybrid SACD”
08-11-2018, 02:09 PM
#33
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Handles it just fine. It’s like a dual disc, but with an SACD track instead of a Dolby digital 5.1 track. Tested that with my copy of Blue Oyster Cult’s Secret Treaties which is a hybrid SACD.
08-11-2018, 02:17 PM
#34
Club AutoUnion
Thank You! Amazon, “hear” I Come!
08-11-2018, 07:26 PM
#36
AudiWorld Super User
If your car is brand new, it might take a while for the system to break in. My A4 sounded horrible when it was brand new but after it broke in, it sounded significantly better.
08-11-2018, 10:41 PM
#37
AudiWorld Member
08-12-2018, 02:52 PM
#38
AudiWorld Super User
08-12-2018, 07:58 PM
#39
AudiWorld Senior Member
I turn that Surround processing off. I don't need more digital processing of my music. I put the 3D on low otherwise the upper tweeters will not work and it raises the soundstage upwards. Unlike others here, I actually turn the treble up a two ticks from the middle on everything but FM HD radio which seems to run bright. I put the bass and subwoofer around 3 or 4 ticks above middle. I tend to like the bass hitting harder, but personal preference. I have an A5 coupe so the subwoofer is much stronger in my car. In a A5 SB loaner I had, I put the subwoofer up the entire way.
Repeating myself many times: the buzzing in this car from the bass drives me crazy. Also buzzing from just road texture too. Another round of looking into by the dealer.
Repeating myself many times: the buzzing in this car from the bass drives me crazy. Also buzzing from just road texture too. Another round of looking into by the dealer.
08-13-2018, 07:37 AM
#40
AudiWorld Senior Member
If they B&O amp is the same in all the S5 and it has enough power to drive a 10" sub on the coupe. Maybe all you have to do it get a 10" sub box for the trunk and just extend the wires from the current sub. I know the sub in the SB is a DVC but does anyone know if it's a 2 or 4 ohms?
Last edited by Wiz33; 08-13-2018 at 07:48 AM.
