Anandhan

I just got my Audi over the weekend and all I can say is B&O system is simply awesome. I had the Bose in my G35 and even though it was terrific , the B&O is simply in another league. I also have an MDX with the ELS sound system and the B&O system again is easily the better system. The thing to note with high end systems is that you simply cannot compare it with the boom boxes where the focus is only on Bass and lots of it . Good Audio systems should be judged by how well they reproduce the original sound and the B&O system is in my opinion one of the best systems out there.

Disclaimer : I don't listen to RAP or Hip Hop. I listen mostly to Rock and Pop songs and a lot of original Soundtracks.

joseaudi

Don't get me wrong. The system is superb. That's why I ordered it. I heard it before my purchase. But I am a hip hop bass head and wanted a little more bass. Actually not as much as i used to be, but nevertheless have these songs in my ipod. Along with electronic, coldplay, etc. pretty eclectic. The reproduction of sound is amazing. I told my wife i hear things in songs I've never heard before. Seats down it gives me that extra ummph I wanted. SO now I just want the same sound with seats up.
This system is better than Bose. And on a lease it's not that much I a difference in price so it was an easy decision.

av_audi

I just couldn't believe what I was reading so I had to go to the Audi site to confirm that a $6K audio system was being offered on a $50K car. OK, $57K for the Prestige, but even then we are looking at an Audio system that adds over 10% to the price tag of an already "expensive" car.

This is just plain ridiculous. With all the road noise and the super confined space that is the interior of a car, there is no way you can even aspire to audiophile sound. And I am not even mentioning lousy speaker placement and their excessive proximity to the listener. OK, I just did.

B&O is not even an audiophile company. Their products aim more at being artsy decoration than high-end audio. For $6K, I expect gigantic amps with capacitors so big that you can play very clean loud music for a few minutes after unplugging them. I expect full range speakers with super tight and very deep bass, and exceptional performance for highs and lows, even at loud volumes. I expect them to be build with fortress grade baffles that don't color sound, with high-end drivers driven by very strong magnets.

$6K is not even the price of the system. It is the price for an upgrade! This is hilarious.

tucalong

I'm really glad I came over this thread and got confirmation that the B&O option isn't worth it.
For me it wasn't really an option as the package costs $12k in Norway. Seems like there is someone that makes a lot of money on extras

MDKv4

Just to keep things in perspective: 6K is equivalent of a 2K AMP/Receiver + 4K for some very nice tower speakers from the likes of KEF/Paradigm/PSB/etc. for a home theater. Spend a little less on the speakers and you can squeeze in a 55" LED TV in there.

With that kind of opportunity cost it makes very little sense to go for the option. 6K is a ridiculous amount of money for the benefits offered on this package. They should drop the price to 2-3K and maybe it would be worth considering.

Barry626

You are 100% correct!
No way no how should a car sound system be more then $2000.00.
Frankly I listen to it and it's not all that for this kind of $.
If I hear one more time about people & their special hearing I'll throw up.
If there is special people with special hearing? enjoy you won't have it long!

Nutdotnet

I would have to disagree with this one. There is a huge Car Audio community who would share my sentiments.

Do I feel that a $6000 OEM system is worth it if it doesn't give you exactly what you want? No, but if it does....then go for it.

anandhan_subbiah

I agree as well. As an audiophile these speakers blow my mind away every time I listen to them. Another recommendation I would make is to push the surround sound to the max so you get the best output from the speakers. It has definitely worked for me.

psychodo

+1

Way too much for my tastes but if it floats your boat, so be it.

marsb007

In all fairness, I do not have an Audi, although I am soon to have an 2012 A6 which I'm getting instead of my Infiniti M37s.

As far as audio systems are concerned, I only heard the B&O system in the A6 I played around with... so unfortunately that's the extent of my knowledge amongst the different lines.

My Infiniti does come with the upgraded Bose system, and in all honesty it blows! It's got decent separation, decent highs (not great), but simply sucks on the lower end. The way that I've fixed it is with a mid-size subwoofer (10" is enough for most people), which feeds off the line for the factory sub (so I still retain control over frequency from the head unit). Downside is of course the lost trunk space...

My mom has the Mark Levinson in a LS460, and I have to say that even the bass response is decent for most applications. Sure, if you listen to a lot of rap and/or like your fellow drivers next to you to "feel" YOUR bass, then it's not for you, but for most folks, I do feel this system is more than adequate.

My dad's RR Ghost is in another ballpark altogether, and although I have no idea what manufacturer stocks that system, it is simply outstanding, and there are no pop up speakers or anything, then again, we are not comparing apples to apples due to the great variance in sticker price.

As for my future Audi, I have thought about the B&O system, but simply cannot justify the price difference. As some other people said already, $6-8K usually gets you the next higher up car, in this instance a BMW 550i (for me at least). Another way of thinking for me is that I extend the time it takes me to pay off the car by 6 months (assuming $1000 per month payment). Very not worth it in my opinion!

Then again, if anyone wants it and money is no object, by all means go ahead and get it. If you are also the type of person that obsesses about whether you should have bought the upgraded system, go ahead and do it, as it will likely save your sanity...

One last note... most of the large names in the industry, Bose, Mark Levinson, ELS, B&O, HK, etc., cost extra not because they deliver a significant improvement in quality, but because of marketing. IMHO, Bose simply sucks, but they marketed their brand to such an extent that people "perceive" them to be better, because, well... they're Bose. Technically speaking, they use inferior components, and generally the niche brands will blow them away for far less money (which is also true for their home theater counterparts).

To end this very long winded rant, everyone is different, and what might sound good to me might sound like flatulence to you... so, go hear it for yourself, and make the best decision that your pocket can handle!