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The MoBridge works flawlessly in the A4/S4, but it does have limitations (such as Bluetooth) in the A6/S6, A7, and A8 models.
Enjoy your system, I appreciate quality components, and you have a nice setup!
Yes, different than A6/A7/A8.
In the B8/B8.5 MMI the (front) bluetooth mic's are connected into the back of the head unit, not the amp. On the B&O system the only mic's that are plugged into the amp are for "Gala" which compensates for speed and environmental noises. The parking sensors (front and rear) have completely separate (tiny) speakers that run off the parking module....one in the rear quarter and one under the dash.
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but there's some important updated information on the subject.
I have heard from someone who has recently tested a MoBridge DA1 in a Bose-equipped S6, and it appears to be working and not affecting the voice control or Bluetooth.
While it is absolutely true that the Audi Repair manual shows one of the microphones located in the center overhead console connects to the Bose amplifier, it now appears this microphone might not be 100% critical to the operation.
There are two other mics in the overhead console which connect to the Information Electronics Control Module. These mics would therefore remain functional when bypassing the Bose amplifier. I am not certain what the third microphone is for. Perhaps it's to compensate for background noise for the Bluetooth and Voice recognition?
These microphones should not be confused with the AudioPilot Noise Compensation system microphones which are located in the headliner, two in the center of the car and two in the rear. All 4 of those noise cancelling mics connect directly to the Bose amplifier, and are located in the center wiring harness on the Bose amp.
I am now planning to purchase a MoBridge DA1 for my car, and will report back with my results.
Adding some more useful information about the Bose system:
I was curious to learn more about the MMI Audio and Bose system, so I hooked up my computer and took some signal response measurements using Room EQ Wizard. (Really great software program, by the way)
The goal was to determine whether or not the MMI/Bose applied any Equalization to the audio signal. It is common for factory audio systems to have Equalization applied by the engineers when they tune the cars. If you want to use the factory signal to feed an aftermarket system, then it may be necessary to correct this "factory source equalization."
For the test, I used Room EQ Wizard (aka REW) to generate a sine wave sweep from 20Hz to 20kHz. I fed this signal into the car via the AMI cable. (I purchased an AMI cable with RCA Audio/Video inputs) I then routed the output from my processor back into my computer so that REW could measure it.
Then I ran the same test, but instead of sending the signal through the Audi I plugged it directly into the processor. This bypassed the MMI/Bose completely so I could compare the signal response.
These measurements are showing only what happens to the audio signal before it reaches the speakers. These are not acoustic measurements of the speakers.
Here are the measured results:
I will start by showing the measured response when plugged directly into the BitOne processor. This is the baseline.
Frequency response for signal routed directly into BitOne processor. No Input equalization is applied.
This is a fairly good input response. Nice and flat, with the obvious exception of the upper-end of the spectrum. But that can be fixed with some Input EQ.
I added some boost to the Input EQ and ran the same test a second time.
Here is the result:
Freq. response for signal routed directly into BitOne processor, with some Input EQ applied.
The Input EQ fixed some of the drop-off in the upper range.
Now let's take a look at what happened when the signal was routed through the MMI/Bose. This the the same sine wave sweep. Only difference is this signal gets passed through the Audi MMI/Bose system before going to the BitOne processor.
Response for signal passing through Audi MMI/Bose before BitOne processor. No factory de-equalization applied by the BitOne.
That's a lot of factory equalization.
Let's see what the BitOne can do to correct the response. I ran the BitOne setup and this time told it to "De-Equalize" the factory signal.
Here is the same test, after de-equalization is applied:
Signal via Audi MMI/Bose with BitOne de-equalization applied.
That's a little better. Notice the low end has been boosted and high end brought down some. But there's no way it's going to correct that huge dip in response at 200Hz. Here are the two MMI measurements together for comparison.
MMI/Bose with and without BitOne de-equalization applied.
I am very interested to see what happens when the MoBridge DA1 preamp is added. I'll report back on that in a few weeks when I have one. My hope is that this factory EQ is applied at the Bose amplifier, and not before. If that is the case, then the response should be flatter like the baseline test from the BitOne AUX input.
Last edited by subterFUSE; 08-05-2014 at 03:45 AM.
that is great info, and what a lot of people suspected would happen, tons of factory signal eq. I am scheduled to get my 2015 S6 at the end of august and it has the bose system so I am extremely interested in you findings to say the least, as I didnt go with the B&O system b/c i was convinced I could do a much better upgrade for same/less aftermarket. Please keep us updated when you get the new components installed
that is great info, and what a lot of people suspected would happen, tons of factory signal eq. I am scheduled to get my 2015 S6 at the end of august and it has the bose system so I am extremely interested in you findings to say the least, as I didnt go with the B&O system b/c i was convinced I could do a much better upgrade for same/less aftermarket. Please keep us updated when you get the new components installed
I should point out that while the response curve looks wacky, the sound quality on my system is still quite good. I didn't even notice issues until I actually put the measurement equipment on it.
I took two 1st place awards at a recent MECA / IASCA sound quality challenge.
So I don't think this should preclude anyone from upgrading the Bose system. It's just something I thought I should share.
Did you run RoomEQ Wizard through the speakers? The frequency response might self-correct through in-cabin interactions.
Yes, I have run speaker measurements but only on my aftermarket speakers. Not on the Bose speakers prior to install.
It was my speaker measurements that lead me to test the sources. I was seeing that sharp dip in response at 200Hz with my speakers and wanted to get to the bottom of it. When I tested the speakers while using the AUX input on the processor, the 200Hz dip went away. So I knew something was happening with the MMI/Bose signal.
Here are two measurements taken on my left midbass speaker. Microphone on stand in driver's seat at ear level.
Green line is the response when Audi MMI/Bose is used as the source.
Red line is for BitOne AUX input as source, bypassing MMI/Bose completely.
Notice they are almost identical, except for the sharp dip at 200Hz. That's from the Bose EQ.
Last edited by subterFUSE; 08-05-2014 at 09:35 AM.
04-11-2014, 08:21 AM
That's a lot of factory equalization.
