raaizin

How bad is the base radio? I know the Bang Olufsen is much better but here is my situation. I have a 2018 Prem+ which is not recognizing the key intermittently and is currently at the dealer waiting for a control module coming from Germany. I was supposed to leave for Florida on January 29 would return March 2. I have no faith that the part will arrive on time and the fix will work. Looking to trade it but only see base radio's.

toomanymc

I have a 2018 with the premium B&O system and my buddy has the exact same car but with the base system.

is the B&O better, yes it is and it’s worth the upgrade but do I really care when I’m in my friends car? Nope, only real difference is less low end due to the missing sub. Honestly for me it would not be a deal breaker. I mostly listen to podcasts or streaming radio in the car so a high end sound system only gets you so far

dcaf

How much do you love your music?

The base radio is fine, for many it's perfectly good for listening to some pop music or streamed music. As mentioned by toomanymc, not a lot of low end.

The B&O will make people who enjoy listening to their favorite band play a guitar riff, or get lost in some great EDM/Trance music, happier people.

If you live for your music, you'll want to upgrade both options to something that meets all your standing wave, frequency spectrum, and THD requirements :-).

I rented a 2020 Q5 via Silvercar last December with the base radio, so good chance to compare vs my 2020 Q5 with the B&O. It's was noticeably different, but fine for what it was. I did miss my B&O, the richness of the sound, the more complete lows, it is better.

hammergjh

I've been an audiophile ever since I could afford to be one. I've built out stereo systems in numerous cars back in the day. As you all know a moving car is not an ideal listening environment. Tire noise, engine noise, wind, traffic sounds, etc. The base stereo is pretty damned good. The sub under the rear deck provides plenty of punch. I'm happy with my system, could it be better? Of course. Depends on your willingness to rip the car apart and spend $$ for degrees of improvement. It also depends on how much clarity and volume you want or can tolerate to overcome this compromised listening environment.

gary135r

Sometimes this site can be a double edged sword. On one thread you have people praising the virtues of the B&O system, and down the page you see 93 comments on how problematic the B&O system is with pops and crackles, (sounds like a cereal). I asked myself yesterday whether I should step away from this Q5 board for a while because I want to experience my new vehicle without being swayed by the multitude of issues that pop up on here. I know it's helpful to get inputs from like Q5 owners when there is a problem, but I find myself thinking about preemptive problems with my vehicle sometimes when I read some of these threads. Overall, AudiWorld has been a big help, but I think I need a break now that I've made my purchase. I say that, but I'll probably still lurk around.

raaizin

When I went to dealer that is servicing my car they had no new Audi's in their inventory and they are a large dealership. I trade it in on a 2019CPO with 17k miles (my car was a 2018 with 30k miles) with B&O with 13k less miles and almost 2 1/2 years warranty more than mine. I am happy with the outcome considering the vehicle shortage.

GeriatricSQ5Guy

I'm just glad I bought my car a year ago not long before the supply of new cars became an issue.

Wires

I love the sound of our B&O. My BMW has the H&K premium sound which sounds like complete junk. But as Gary135r said, 50% of the people will tell you that the B&O sounds like crap. I'm thinking they want some chest stabbing bass which you won't get.

Best advice: Go to a dealer lot, and test both to see what you like. Otherwise, the mileage you read on the web will vary drastically....

Harplayr

As a musician sound is important to me, but not so much in a car with it's ambient noise. That said I'm very happy with the B&O system that came with my 2022 Q5 PP. While I didn't think the base system was bad for a base system, I found the B&O to be better than HK and Some other premium systems I've had in other cars once I made some adjustments. I haven't experienced any of the issues some have described like popping.

I find it to have a nicely balanced flat profile with a pretty good soundstage. If you're wanting massive sub-bass that'll rattle the windows of houses a block away...this system is not for you. You can certainly do better aftermarket, but for a premium stock system I'm happy with it.

As noted by others, sound is subjective. If at all possible take a listen to it first.

Iain_B

Before we ordered my SQ5 I was undecided on the B&O system so we went to a local dealer and tried out two Q5s back to back, one with the B&O and one without. The B&O system sounded better to me.