LouisM27

Tried to go to the websites of the manufactures, and check their dealers. Focal makes great speakers and amps for cars. I have Focal Utopia Speakers for my house and I love it. That's the reason why I went for the B&O sound system.

LouisM27

Wow I'm loving the B&O sound system. You can appreciated the quality and how detailed the music sounds.

desant89

I own a Mercedes sl55 that has Hertz speaker, JL amps, JL subs etc and the latest Kenwood receiver. I spent over 6k on this system.

I also have a Mercedes GL with all Focal, and JL equipment in it.

I just bought a 2011 A8L. It does have the B&O in it. Now when I seen the cost (6300) I said I would never pay for that. However, of course I will take it in a CPO car. My point is that this is the clearest most clearly separated system I have ever heard. With the exception of Bass, this system definitely sounds better than my other two vehicles.

I have worked at a high end shop in Center City Philadelphia, and have been involved with many installations. I also had my current two systems installed by a well know South Jersey installer. Just stating this as I am no newbie to high end equipment in vehicles.

A 8

I am sure the B&O sound system sound better but don't fool yourself as to the quality of the source materials you have available (unless the newer A8's or B&O option have a different base system vs my 2010 model).
It does not do better than CD and DVD std format which is a limitation in itself no matter the quality of the rest of the system.
It does not play SACD or DVD-Audio, the best you will do is probably a 16/48 PCM track on some rare DVD's, the second best might be a DTS 16/48 track.
At home comparing a HD audio concert on sacd or bluray to a dvd or cd is in my opinion a big difference in dynamics, clarity, soundstage and overall engagement factor and that will not play in the car.

2001 S8

Uh...what...but I'm driving a car that came from the factory with a tape deck and 6 disc changer in the trunk. LOL

I guess I'll just have to settle for the sound of the 4.2 : )

BTW: I love reading the conversations on the three A8/S8 forums. Great stuff on these forums!

Kbrookings

I'm new here. Hello everyone. Will put a 2015 S8 on order in the next week or two, replacing my 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo. I too have the audiophile disease, like many on this board (Eggleston speakers, Krell Electronics, etc). I have the Burmester system in my Porsche, which is easily the best sound system I've heard in a car.

I will order the B&O regardless, but can anyone tell me if the current B&O system will play 5.1 Surround Sound DVD Audio? I've built up a nice collection of this source music format - and these discs in the Burmester system seems feels every bit as involving as my home system; which had made the $6500 upgrade cost of the Burmester system a bargain for me. So, will the B&O system support this format?

Maybe, since I'm going to include the B&O system anyhow - if t does not support DVD Audio please just lie to me and tell me it does so I will be happier in the 90 days of anticipation awaiting the car.

Thanks much,
Ken

A 8

I think its even worse than what I described earlier, I've played a bit more with mine and it seems to convert everything to dolby prologic. That means its a 2 channel source system with dolby prologic processing, and many amps and speakers so even if you have a nice DTS 5 channel track it will down convert to 2 channels and then apply dolby prologic.
If you are a audio freak than you know thats not the way to keep fidelity.

If the B&O system plays dvd audio or sacd you should have their logos wherever you put the disc or you should find it in the manual, there is a listing of formats on page 27-28 in the MMI Nav manual (german version).

BFN949

I'm hopefully getting my S8 with B&O speakers towards the end of this week. I've been to HDtracks.com and noticed that they offer downloads in numerous formats like AIFF, ALAC etc. Could you perhaps tell me which format you found to work with the Audi MMI system?
Also, which of the available Sample Rates do you use?
Thanks

subterFUSE

I would not bother purchasing music from HDTracks.com if you plan to use the MMI jukebox or SD cards as your source.

The MMI source units in my 2013 A8, 2013 S6, and wife's 2015 SQ5 are very limited in compatible audio formats.

The Jukebox will only play MP3 or AAC files.
AIFF, WAV, Apple Lossless and FLAC are not supported at all.

SD cards same as above.

In addition, the MMI does not support Gapless Playback. These are all huge limitations which are extremely disappointing.


If you use an iPod or iPhone with the AMI cable, you can play Apple Lossless up to 24 bit 48kHz. That would be the format of choice if you want to purchase high-res lossless audio from HDTracks.com

If you insist on using the MMI jukebox or SD cards, then you will do best to purchase the high quality versions and then convert them to 320k MP3 CBR in stereo. Make sure not to do VBR, or Joint Stereo. Never purchase from iTunes.

BFN949

Thanks you so much - you have saved me many hours of trial and error.