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Hi All - I have recently purchased a B7 RS4. Love every aspect of the car with the exception of the BOSE sound system which frankly is rubbish. I had a Q7 previously which didn't even have the BOSE upgrade and it was much better than this system. Does anyone know of any upgrades available or recommendations? My local car hifi 'experts' don't want to touch it.

jpnaylor wrote:Hi All - I have recently purchased a B7 RS4. Love every aspect of the car with the exception of the BOSE sound system which frankly is rubbish. I had a Q7 previously which didn't even have the BOSE upgrade and it was much better than this system. Does anyone know of any upgrades available or recommendations? My local car hifi 'experts' don't want to touch it.

I'd go to some proper car hifi 'experts' then.....I've looked into this and anyone who knows what they are talking about should be able to give you a bit more boom!

I agree though, it is not what you would expect from a high end system in a high end car...

What's the issue with BOSE, OK for me in my Avant for the times I use it. And anyway, do you really need a top notch system when you have one of the best engines in the world 8 inches in front of you with a engine note to die for. Listen to that instead!

I do and have fitted a full Milltek non res which has completely transformed the sound. However when it rains I need to put the windows up and turn my attention to the stereo, which is when it annoys me. I can live with it but thought some one might have ideas how to improve it. I guess I was expecting more when Audis own stereo is far superior to the supposed upgraded BOSE system.

its not brilliant.wasnt very good in my 997 either...just a brand exercise i reckon

chorley car audio do a package for the car..google em, the blokes called chris and knows what he's on about.

Hi JP,
Congrats on the purchase.
I've used a company in Wigan, Lancashire called K&M Acoustics.
Its a superb place and the guys are very knowledgable, polite and tidy.
If they cant satisffy your requirements I dont know who will.
Maybe have a browse at their site.
Enjoy.

dibbs26 wrote:Hi JP,
Congrats on the purchase.
I've used a company in Wigan, Lancashire called K&M Acoustics.
Its a superb place and the guys are very knowledgable, polite and tidy.
If they cant satisffy your requirements I dont know who will.
Maybe have a browse at their site.
Enjoy.

They did the multimedia install into my RS6 which consisted of head rest monitors, DVD player & PS2, all could run independant with wireless headsets etc. It was an amzing install & these guys really do knwo their stuff.

Maybe its the music I listen to, or my untrained ear, but I don't mind the BOSE system at all, and would say, having listened to other Audi stereos (non BOSE) and been in others cars with supposedly upgraded stereos, its not bad at all.

Having said that, a third party company's audio solution will obviously be a lot better, although they are not cheap and don't expect it to get the money back when you sell the car... although you could remove it i suppose

klauster wrote:Maybe its the music I listen to, or my untrained ear, but I don't mind the BOSE system at all, and would say, having listened to other Audi stereos (non BOSE) and been in others cars with supposedly upgraded stereos, its not bad at all.

Having said that, a third party company's audio solution will obviously be a lot better, although they are not cheap and don't expect it to get the money back when you sell the car... although you could remove it i suppose

I agree, when I had my TT it too had the Bose upgrade and my mate who also owns one didn't. A world of difference between them, so he spent £2k on a new system and although it is much louder, the sound quality is not as good.

The RS sound system is better than the TT's (as expected) but tbh I did think before I bought it that it would be a lot better (which it isn't). The biggest difference I noticed was the clarity, much better in the RS and obviously a little more base due to the sub. If I were to improve anything, it would be to get a larger sub, although I don't really want to mess around with it.

I would be interested to hear what the fellas that have had their sound system upgraded have got?

This is my sub mod DIY
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthrea ... ost4119648

Totally agree, I've also got a Q7 with Bose, it far better, it has a large sub mounted inside the spare in the boot, sounds great, however V8, roof down sounds even better

Thanks for the info. I actually went there today, prior to reading your response! They do seem to know what they are talking about, however they recommended the base box in the boot, which I would like to avoid if possible.
Cheers
J-P

Thanks Jonathan - Just spoke to Chris and he really does seem to know what he's talking about. Just waiting for the quote...
Cheers
Jean-Pierre

I have a 10" jl audio W7 sub and 1000 wat amp in the boot, and it is absolutly the clearest audio. The Bose speakers are so clear and the sub adds that extra bump. Everytime I turn it up I enjoy hearing it same with my friends. Iv had many people say it's the cleanest system and the Bose speakers are excellent with my sub

I came out of a Mk5 R32...now that stereo was crap.....so in comparison the Bose is great. I had Bose in a Boxster S previous to the golf and I'd say it was slightly better than the RS.....but the space the stereo has to fill in RS vs. two seater may have an effect?

It's certainly not bad enough to want to upgrade IMHO. I listen to all sorts of music and it depends on the quality - CD is much better quality than MP3s for example and I use 320kbps for MP3s.

Mark