nate

is it easy to change the rear speakers in a 96 A4 Q non-bose system?

TGB

I completed a swap of the stock to MB Quart with no trouble. I fabricated my own mount so I did not require the MB Quart adapters. They do sit a little higher than the stock speakers, however, they still fit under the rear deck cover.<p>You will also need an amplifier to power the rears. I converted the line level inputs that go to the stock rear speakers to RCAs and plugged them into my Alpine V12. I ran dedicated power from the battery to the amplifier. Not easy, but a must. Everything seems to work well.<p>I removed the rear speakers using the following procedure:<p>1) Fold down the rear seats.<p>2) If you have the child seat anchor installed, you will have to remove it. It is located in the center of the rear deck cover. The plastic cover snaps upward and off from the front and there is one obvious bolt that affixes the bracket to the rear deck.<p>3) There are three clips that affix the rear deck cover to the rear deck. They are located in the, for lack of a better word, 'tube' in the rear deck which runs across the width of the car and is right behind where the rear seats rest when in the upright position. The clips are accessable from the bottom through access points in the tube. I used the handle of a screwdriver to pop them out.<p>4) You must also disconnect the cable that powers the rear brake light. It is located directly under the rear brake light and snaps out of its socket easily.<p>5) Once the clips are released, I like to fold in the seatbelt guides which are affixed to the rear deck cover. They pivot inward, toward the centre of the car. It saves them from getting tangled up.<p>6) Once all of the above is complete, the rear deck cover will slide out. With the stock speakers, I had no issues with clearance. With the MB Quarts, they were a little higher than the stocks so I usually extend my arm under the cover in the center to keep it pressed up against the rear window so I do not pucture on of the speakers while removing or replacing the cover.<p>7) To keep the rear deck cover out of the way while working on the speakers, I stretch the seat belts out enough so I can place the rear deck cover between the headrest of the folded-down rear seats and the back of the front seats. I then tuck the seat belts under the rear seats for easy entry and exit.<p>This is from memory and I did it a while ago so I apologize if there are any mistakes. It is very straight forward.<p>TGB 1.8T qMS