Peter Ku

Well it seems like I finally got around to spend money on my car
I got my priorities down now
1. Audio
2. BBS wheels
3. suspension
4. Chip

so I need some help with the audio I went to a local audioshop with great reputation here in Birmingham, Alabama and asked them about my options (I have the Bose pkg)
so far all I could agree on is a panasonic 6CD changer, an amp and a JL stealthbox.. all for 1,5k with install and tax. Now I don't really know if the price is good or if the JL box fits in the first place? Can anybody comment on this?

Other than that I'm wondering what others did with their speakers,
my salesmen told me I would have to throw the entire system out,
the Bose amp, and all speakers since they are non standard. now I wonder how far this is true and what other people have done about that.

Also how did you get a new head unit to fit?

I'm thinking about an MB quart based solution which that dealer retails so anyone that fixed up their system in any way similar to this I would really appreciate a responce
thanks
Peter

George

After a lot of people telling me that Audi is particularly bad about warranty support if aftermarket electronics have been installed, I decided to leave the system in my hopefully-soon-will-arive S4 stock. Hopefully I'll be able to tolerate it.

Having had several competition-grade or actual competition systems in prior cars though, I can make a couple recommendations for you.

First off, don't skimp on the cost of the install. If you're not able to do it yourself, be willing to pay a lot of money to have a place to a top-notch install for you. I've seen way too many cars really screwed up by lousy installers -- and often in ways that you'll never know about until you try to take the aftermarket system out. Examples of this are cutting off stock connectors, using stock wiring for speakers (which are usually too small, and often involves cutting off the factory connectors, especially with Bose systems). I've seen broken internal structure in dashboards that cause rattles and squeaks that never go away. Broken clips on door panels, cut door framework, its all stuff I've seen done. With a car like the S4, you really want to know as much as you can about the installer. Ask to see photos of their premium installs. Ask about how they run wires through the car -- do they use tie downs, spaced every six inches, for example. That's a competition detail, but its indicative of someone who takes time to do things right.

Try to find a store that will let you audition components in your car. Its easy enough to run an amp and a stealthbox into your car so you can hear it as it would be in the car. I've always loved JL subs but I've never been impressed by the box. Spending a few hundred bucks on a custom box might give you better sound. Its sort of up to your taste, and thats why listening to the equipment in your car is important.

Same with component speakers. A good shop will often let you stick them in your car, not installed but placed generally near where they'd go. Give them a listen. Especially if you're talking about MB Quarts. I know a couple people who ended up hating them because of the titanium tweeters, which are often not nearly as harsh in a large store.

Talk to them about how they'll mount the equipment. How much modifications do you want to the interior of the car? The stock speakers are tiny, it'll take cutting to put anything decent in the stock locations. Do you want custom speaker pods? I can't remember how much room there was in the footwells for kickpanels. How are they going to mount the amps? Are you going to buy a pre-build amp rack? Custom built? Are you okay with them just screwing it into the sheet metal in your trunk?

The only other thing I'd recommend is watching out for the installer. Just because they win local awards and they advertise a lot, and things like that doesn't mean they're reputable. As with almost anything, the general public is stupid, and the most popular places to get stuff done is usually not the best places to get stuff done. I made that mistake once, and the place caused over a thousand dollars damage to my car.

You might want to ask about the shop's insurance and if they're bonded for example. Not many shops are, but thats a sign that they take things very seriously.

And ask them if they've installed in an S4 or A4 and ask for pictures or a reference from someone with an A4/S4 who's gotten work done by them. Absolutely don't let someone learn how to take apart the interior of an S4 on your car.

Good luck...

Another Drew

For me, I wanted better sound than the stock stereo but I also wanted to keep everything looking the same. I wanted practically no cutting or hole drilling at all. So here's what I got done. For the CD changer, buy it from rockvilleporscheaudi.com for $250 and plug it in directly to your current system.

1. Kept the stock head unit.
2. Custom sub box for a 10" sub. The stealthbox didn't appear stealth to me. It took up alot of space although the space it takes up is under the rear deck. It was just too visable. The box cost me $300 including the sub. It takes up about the size of a shoe box (ok, it's a little bigger than for shoes, more like heavy boots). But it sits in the far back corner so I can fold down either seat and the box doesn't get in the way. It also doesn't get in the way of the tie-downs. Plus, if I want to remove it, all I have to do is unplug it and voila!
Also, to keep the box from bouncing around inside the trunk, it's wedged in between the seatback and the amp I had installed. No brackets screwed anywhere!!!

3. An amp to drive the sub, and front and rear speakers. The front and rears are fed from front signals and the rear speakers are set 8dbs lower than the front. The rear signals are set to the amp so that I can control the volume of the bass with the fade control. How often do you play with the fade control anyways? You set it and leave it alone.

4. I replaced the front speakers with MB quarts. Too bright for some people, but they sound fine.

5. I'm having a switch installed so that I can switch the rear speakers on and off depending on if I have passengers in the rear. This was my only idea. Everything else I did was somebody else's ideas.

Drew

beerguy

What size speakers fit into the front doors? Why didn't you replace the rear speakers?

Thanks.

JoeC

My S4 has the bose. I've run an RTA analysis and completely removed and evaluated the front speakers, woofers, and power amplifier. I have the following comments:

1. I have been involved in audio and consumer electronics for more than 20 years and in that time I have never seen drivers of lesser quality than the bose supplied drivers. I changed mine in the front door (mr & tweeter using aftermarket OEM drivers from Madisound) and the difference in _Quality_ was dramatic. By quality I mean clarity, definition, and resolution. Imaging improved only slightly, if at all.

2. The power amplifier is a six channel low power package integrating 3 stereo power amps, switching bipolar power supply and electronic xo and equalizer. The power amps are IC amplifiers running I guess about no more than 15 WPC-RMS - I did not measure the power output but is a guess based upon the supply lines. I did measure the eq & xo frequency response per band. I haven't changed the amp yet - I will and will probably retain the eq-xo as I suspect that bose has properly eq'd the car (bose is a one trick pony with eq as the holy grail). I did run a RTA analysis any while not flat it was, at least smooth - but only after I changed the front drivers BTW as they have limited response below 100 Hz and above 2KHz ehibiting gaps at both ends.
3. I will not change the head unit - it doesn't seem to have any problems (except for the quirky frequency changing on FM) but more important is integrated with the driver display and I don't want to lose that.

I plan, as I get time to collect all of this and somewhere (perhaps in the FAQ's) post the changes I've made and the data collected.

Another Drew

5 1/4 fit the fronts without doing any cutting. I didn't change speakers in the back since the sound quality is fine for the rear passengers, and I don't want any sound coming from behind me when I'm in the car by myself. I want it to sound like the person singing is standing in front of me, not behind. That's why I'm getting a switch to turn off the rear speakers when I'm by myself.

Check through the archives. You'll find a lot of good information, although your search may be tedious.

Make sure you find a good installer. That's the most important thing.

beerguy

Thanks for the info. Which brand/model midrange and tweeter did you get and did they slide right into the existing spaces? Where is the amp located? Are there external inputs and outputs on the amp that will allow you to use the existing x-over/eq with additional amps? Please post a link to your data and details once you compile them.

Mucho appreciated.

JoeC

I have an S4 & A4. In the S4 I used a Vifa #P13HW104, 5.25" woofer-mr. This was a tight fit and I don't think I'd try that again. In my wife's A4 I used instead Madisound 5102R-4, 4.5" midrange. It sounds nearly as good as the Vifa, costs a lot less, and fits without too much of a problem. BTW, in both cases I did not use the Audi-Bose adapter but crafted my own.

I used in both cars the Vifa #D26NC05-06 tweeter. This tweeter is much smoother than the metal dome original unit. This was real worth the effort. BTW, I did not find any crossover caps going to this tweeter (e.g. the tweeter was running full range!) so I added 22uF in series to obtain a 2.2KHz -3db point. Note that I did not find a capacitor - I'll look more closely next time and I welcome any other input from others who may have discovered a xo cap.

The amp is in the trunk behind the cd changer. It is connected to the system by one large 25 pin connector. The xo, eq and amps are integrated into the one unit and getting at the eq-xo will require internal surgery. Replacing the amp-eq unit as a whole will require decoding all of the connections to the 25 pin connector. I did determine many of them but not all so next time I'll need to do some signal tracing with scope and DMM.