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2012 A7 Prestige: B & O vs Bose

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Old 10-05-2011, 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted by 3PedalMINI
Actually, the saying goes "no highs no lows must be Bose"

Being in the industry b&o is just about the biggest rip off next to blose. Your paying for the name and the modern look of the system. Compare that with a set iof totems paired with parasound amp you just saved your self a cool 6k and they sound so much better then b&o

I'm an authorized dealer of bose systems and there is so much money in it it's hard not to push it, only compaired to b&o where with two systems sold it can buy me a nicely equipped a4 lol.

The amount of money Audi makes on the b&o is sickening, that's why they push it so hard. Industry article says estimates are between 750-1000%. When I was at the dealer I listened to the b&o, blose and symphony. I poped in an uncompressed cd of the eagles and Norah jones and listened. ( I have a trained ear) the best system by far was the Audi Symphony. Nice balanced lows and mids with clear highs (considering).

To be honest there really wasnt much difference between blose and b&o. Especially for 6 grand. The highs are more pronounced in the b&o system but that is because the tweeters are firing right at you rather then bouncing off the glass. So those cool pop up speakers do something,just not much for 6k

I wish in my Audi I had the ability to get the symphony but the prestige forces you to get blose. I am really disappointed with it and that is the one thing I miss from my q5.

Btw Audi only gives you the option to adjust lows and highs which is absolutely obsurd. Ask your self if $50 a month is worth the motorized pop up speakers because your honestly not getting much more then that.

Save the 50 bucks go with blose and install this. http://www.jbl.com/EN-US/Products/Pa....aspx?PID=MS-8 seriously what it does is phenomenal. This is what I'm doing and when the lease is up I'll just pop it out and put back to stock
This looks like a PITA to install in an A7, and I sure wouldn't want the cheesy display stuck on the dash somewhere. I like the idea, but I wish it were totally invisible.
Old 10-05-2011, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by mikesm559
This looks like a PITA to install in an A7, and I sure wouldn't want the cheesy display stuck on the dash somewhere. I like the idea, but I wish it were totally invisible.
I totally agree, but the thing is is really how often are you changing the settings on your audio system? once you have it dialed in your not really changing it except for the occasional tweaks.

Im putting my display in the glove box next to the 5 cd changer. No doubt it will be a PITA to install but as much as i drive and am in the car its worth it to not have my music totally ruined by Audi's/Boses sub par sound engineering group. Ive heard the difference it does for bose im kind of curious what it would do for B&O.
Old 10-05-2011, 10:42 AM
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I'm a musician and like my music. I listened to both systems before buying the car and the b&o has better imaging but not for $6,000. I went with the blose and will do the JBL processor.
Old 10-05-2011, 04:59 PM
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There is actually a bit of a difference between Bose and Bang & Olufsen. Whether the 6k is worth it is subjective. However the speaker components in the Bose are downright cheap. I (like yourself) have a previous period of many years working in the Mobile Electronics field. I have physically taken the amplifiers out in both systems and looked at the speaker quality of both systems. There is a huge difference. Also, the B&O systems in the B8 vehicles (A4 and A5) don't have the pop up tweeters but their highs are really very good. The complaint is in the subwoofer department of the A7, and I attempted to change out the 8" factory sub, but the enclosure is built for the most anemic looking sub I have ever seen. It appeared to be a mid range rather than a speaker that can produce frequencies under 60Hz and sadly won't fit a normal 8" sub with a standard sized magnet.

Originally Posted by 3PedalMINI
Actually, the saying goes "no highs no lows must be Bose"

Being in the industry b&o is just about the biggest rip off next to blose. Your paying for the name and the modern look of the system. Compare that with a set iof totems paired with parasound amp you just saved your self a cool 6k and they sound so much better then b&o

I'm an authorized dealer of bose systems and there is so much money in it it's hard not to push it, only compaired to b&o where with two systems sold it can buy me a nicely equipped a4 lol.

The amount of money Audi makes on the b&o is sickening, that's why they push it so hard. Industry article says estimates are between 750-1000%. When I was at the dealer I listened to the b&o, blose and symphony. I poped in an uncompressed cd of the eagles and Norah jones and listened. ( I have a trained ear) the best system by far was the Audi Symphony. Nice balanced lows and mids with clear highs (considering).

To be honest there really wasnt much difference between blose and b&o. Especially for 6 grand. The highs are more pronounced in the b&o system but that is because the tweeters are firing right at you rather then bouncing off the glass. So those cool pop up speakers do something,just not much for 6k

I wish in my Audi I had the ability to get the symphony but the prestige forces you to get blose. I am really disappointed with it and that is the one thing I miss from my q5.

Btw Audi only gives you the option to adjust lows and highs which is absolutely obsurd. Ask your self if $50 a month is worth the motorized pop up speakers because your honestly not getting much more then that.

Save the 50 bucks go with blose and install this. http://www.jbl.com/EN-US/Products/Pa....aspx?PID=MS-8 seriously what it does is phenomenal. This is what I'm doing and when the lease is up I'll just pop it out and put back to stock
Old 10-05-2011, 05:02 PM
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I have the amplifier mounted above the factory amp, using the factory bracket. What is great is that the battery location makes installation a snap. I already had a few subwoofers to try from my past S5 B&O projects, so it didn't cost me much. It should run about $4-500 for most people depending on amp brand/wattage. I prefer the new class Ds but they are unnecessary in this application.
Old 10-05-2011, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Quattrings
There is actually a bit of a difference between Bose and Bang & Olufsen. Whether the 6k is worth it is subjective. However the speaker components in the Bose are downright cheap. I (like yourself) have a previous period of many years working in the Mobile Electronics field. I have physically taken the amplifiers out in both systems and looked at the speaker quality of both systems. There is a huge difference. Also, the B&O systems in the B8 vehicles (A4 and A5) don't have the pop up tweeters but their highs are really very good. The complaint is in the subwoofer department of the A7, and I attempted to change out the 8" factory sub, but the enclosure is built for the most anemic looking sub I have ever seen. It appeared to be a mid range rather than a speaker that can produce frequencies under 60Hz and sadly won't fit a normal 8" sub with a standard sized magnet.
Are you referring to the B & O subwoofer or the Bose? I'm confused.
Old 10-05-2011, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Quattrings
I have the amplifier mounted above the factory amp, using the factory bracket. What is great is that the battery location makes installation a snap. I already had a few subwoofers to try from my past S5 B&O projects, so it didn't cost me much. It should run about $4-500 for most people depending on amp brand/wattage. I prefer the new class Ds but they are unnecessary in this application.
Thanks for the info. Any chance you could post pics?
Old 10-07-2011, 05:13 PM
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There is no reason to add such a system in our cars. I see that JBL add on being a whole big can of worms in any of Audi's later models, particularly the A6/7. The problem isn't the tuning and equalization settings of the sound but rather the inferior paper cone speakers and low amplifier output power. Audi's amplification system uses all digital optical inter-connections. It is tied into the Navigation and other main electronic components located in the cubby hold. So basically you would have to chop up the digital optical input connections and make it work (nearly impossible) and no car audio shop in their right mind would attempt it. The other option is you could wire the JBL add-on AFTER the factory Bose (or Bang & Olufsen amp) using the high-level amplified analog inputs on the JBL add-on which is in itself an extremely dirty signal and would have definite degrading of the factory sound quality signal to noise ratio and distortion values. Finally, the total output of the JBL add-on system is only 8 x 18watts, which is far lower than the power output of the factory system. This doesn't even include pulling interior panels apart to run the cabling through the dash to mount the display which is sure to clash with the clean interior and multimedia displays of these cars. I wouldn't go this route as I like to keep things clean and factory (no wire cutting or splicing of factory wires) but to each his own I guess...
Old 10-07-2011, 05:16 PM
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Definitely. I'll post back with a few pictures.
Old 10-08-2011, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Quattrings
Definitely. I'll post back with a few pictures.
I can't wait to see your set up!

Being that you're not that far from me, I would like to hear your setup, and pay you to hook my system up, if I like what I hear!!!

Last edited by lostnspace; 10-08-2011 at 06:26 PM. Reason: Missing information


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