Page 1 of 2

Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:33 pm
by fozi.g
Evening men.

Apologies if this has been covered before but im finding the Bose audio while acceptable does not have the deep base I was expecting. To be honest I found the whole setup to be pretty underwhelming. I wanted to know if anyone has found a solution to this either by changing out subs or adding another amp with a sub like certain people have done with the S/RS7. Trouble I’m having is I can’t even find a speaker diagram on google so I’m kind of drawing a blank. I don’t want to add a box in the boot. I’d prefer it to look totally stock.

Thanks.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:13 am
by h4rvsingh
I have to agree with you - really disappointing! Following this as I will be interested to know if there is a relatively easy solution available without doing a whole new install

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:41 am
by dasquade
Can't really help on the sub issue, but in case you looking for some more refined highs, there are some replica b&o tweeters on ali express that are almost 99% identical to the oem b&o tweeters (almost sure they are equal in quality as some other reviewed and liked them).
More info here: https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthre ... -with-leds

You should be able to find some more audio upgrade info on audizine...

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:29 am
by MikeFish
I've discussed this loads in various threads.
Disconnect the centre dash speaker. I found this speaker really muddied the stereo imagery and was way too overpowering in comparison to the door speakers. Disconnecting it takes 2 mins and restores the imagery to how it should have been.
I've also added an amp in the boot under the false floor and added a sub in the boot. Makes a huge difference.
Play flac files from a hard drive / sd card and avoid mp3s if you are after the best quality sound.

If you have pre face-lift then upgrading amps is much easier and the signal can be kept in the digital domain right up to your processor or amps but the head unit doesn't play flac. If you have a face-lift car then you get flac compatibility but lose the usable digital signal and currently will have to amplify the output of the bose if you want more / better amplification.

I've done other bits too but they are still work in progress and make it sound worse in the long term plan of making it better.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:33 am
by harrier
I had the same thoughts as you Fozi. The solution was recommended by Jo and Anthony at Sextons, Portsmouth (I am lucky to have them not too far away from me as I have always found them to be excellent) was to have them fit a readily removable bass that sits in the boot. Problem solved and if I need all the boot or load carrying space it just unplugs!
JL Audio Bass.jpg
In case you are interested, as I didn't want Audi's expensive TV option of Comfort Seats and two redundant monitor screens in the back, they have also fitted a TV tuner and its two aerials so now the MMI screen can display FreeView, so I can either listen to or watch any number of TV channels, at a fraction of the cost.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:03 am
by fozi.g
So after the opinions above and a quick visit to my local audio company I’ve comissioned a small twin ported box to house 2 JL audio 8” W3’s. I’ll be powering this with a JL amp. The reason I wanted 8” subs and specifically these ones is they don’t need a lot of space to get the best out of them. And they sound amazing for the size. When you hear them running You’d swear it was a 12” in the boot. The size of the box will be relatively thin as it’s taking cues from the CP208LG twin 8 box built by JL which is 90x28x13cm. Mine will have a slightly larger footprint due to the wedge back I’ve requested so it’ll sit flush to the rear seats. Should have this up and running by next week so will keep you updated.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:53 pm
by Moonmonkey831
..

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:07 pm
by MikeFish
fozi.g wrote:
Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:03 am
So after the opinions above and a quick visit to my local audio company I’ve comissioned a small twin ported box to house 2 JL audio 8” W3’s. I’ll be powering this with a JL amp. The reason I wanted 8” subs and specifically these ones is they don’t need a lot of space to get the best out of them. And they sound amazing for the size. When you hear them running You’d swear it was a 12” in the boot. The size of the box will be relatively thin as it’s taking cues from the CP208LG twin 8 box built by JL which is 90x28x13cm. Mine will have a slightly larger footprint due to the wedge back I’ve requested so it’ll sit flush to the rear seats. Should have this up and running by next week so will keep you updated.
Don't forget to disconnect that awful centre speaker. Do it!

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:43 pm
by fozi.g
MikeFish wrote:
Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:07 pm
fozi.g wrote:
Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:03 am
So after the opinions above and a quick visit to my local audio company I’ve comissioned a small twin ported box to house 2 JL audio 8” W3’s. I’ll be powering this with a JL amp. The reason I wanted 8” subs and specifically these ones is they don’t need a lot of space to get the best out of them. And they sound amazing for the size. When you hear them running You’d swear it was a 12” in the boot. The size of the box will be relatively thin as it’s taking cues from the CP208LG twin 8 box built by JL which is 90x28x13cm. Mine will have a slightly larger footprint due to the wedge back I’ve requested so it’ll sit flush to the rear seats. Should have this up and running by next week so will keep you updated.
Don't forget to disconnect that awful centre speaker. Do it!
That was definitely one of the things on the list to do. I’m hoping to have it all done by next week.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:47 am
by fozi.g
Received pics of the box yesterday. It should be delivered today at some point.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:42 am
by h4rvsingh
Wow thats quite big, could you not have got away with a single sub? given that its not in an enclosed boot like a saloon.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:47 am
by fozi.g
A single sub was an option and I could of gone for a smaller enclosure too but this box is actually really slim. It will fit flush against the back seat. The complete depth is only 20cm at the base. The depth at top is 13cm. To put it into context it’s less than the depth of 2 coke cans. At its deepest point.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 4:42 pm
by fozi.g
Box arrived today and so I gave it a test without the subs to see if the size was ok. I’m very happy with the dimensions. It’s a very small box. Length wise it takes the width of the boot but I’m ok with that. My main concern was depth. I stuck a pack of fags next to it so you can compare the size.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 4:46 pm
by Eddie555
Are you expecting that box to stay in place when you traffic light launch? I think in hindsight you should have had the box wider side-side so the luggage braces could keep the box in situ.

Re: Bose audio upgrade?

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:37 pm
by MikeFish
Drop a couple of 8w7s in there!