R8 - streaming?

[ukwill]

Does the R8 support bluetooth audio streaming (from an iPhone)? (I'm a Spotify user).

ta

[Dr G]

I don't think even the brand new one does chap, RNS-E and RNS-E 3G cars certainly don't.

Only way I can think to add it would be with Kufatec's bluetooth module but the streaming audio quality is pretty poor. Later cars (09 on?) get a 3.5mm analogue in (centre console) that is probably the neatest/cheapest solution.

[ukwill]

Thanks for the info. I'm a tad surprised that Audi appear to have forgotten about this, considering it is their flagship car. I didn't know about the '09 onwards option so thanks for the heads up. The lack of it isn't necessarily a deal breaker, just a bit annoying.

[Dr G]

R8 is an older generation car in terms of ICE; it uses 'RNS-E' radio navigation which first came out in 2004. It shares its gadgets with cars like the TT, A3, Gallardo... The latest version of this has been tweaked but doesn't offer the range of entertainment features other models do.

The later cars use MMI (A4 2008>, A6 2005> etc.) which introduced DAB radio, properly integrated ipod connectivity etc.

It is possible in an earlier R8 to retrofit the latest '3G' RNS-E which gives is much faster in operation and supports AMI (ipod integration), 32GB SD cards and a few more bits besides:

http://www.vwcruise.com/Audi-RNS-E-Media-3G-System...

...which are nice features to have but still don't do A2DP streaming. A couple of the Parrot kits offer this feature but again I found the audio quality very poor.

[ukwill]

Thanks for the info Dr G. Is there a wired option that would allow me to drive the iPod/iPhone from the steering wheel / nav screen?

[Dr G]

And do it properly? A couple of the (cheaper) Dension kits do track info in the top of the DIS but it's not particularly useful.

Earlier cars you can do Alpine KCE-425i:

http://www.vwcruise.com/RNS-E-2G-Alpine-iPod-Kit.h...

Later (RNS-E 3G) cars you can retrofit AMI:

http://www.vwcruise.com/Audi-RNS-E-Media-3G-AMI-iP...

KCE-425i does not do steering wheel control but is fully integrated including video. AMI is integrated to the steering wheel but does not do video.

[ukwill]

Thanks again for the info.

[xto]

I had this problem, i was dissapointed to note that paying for the flagship model i was not able to stream music via blue tooth, especially as its a standard option in a kia picanto worth less thatn £8k!

Anyway fast forward money hours searching on how to do it etc... Easiest way is simple to buy a 3.5mm audio jack that fits into the apple connector in the middle compartment ( well its there on my v10 spyder)

xto

[AbeFroman]

Hey guys, figured I'd chip in here and update as took me a lot of effort to figure out what to do. On an 07 Gallardo with Nav, managed to use the same Dension Gateway as recommended for A4, A6, A8, R8. The RNS-E unit is same for the most part. The version I ordered - GBL3ai2. Both hard wired and bluetooth - so can use phone on bluetooth if you don't have factory, can hard wire play including spotify stream while charging, or if passenger wants to play music, can use the bluetooth a2dp. Great solution and keeps the factory fit look. Had been recommended AutoAudio in park royal as having a reputation for Lambos, but they could only suggest a new head unit. Balls to that. Bought from carcommunications.co.uk

[Hughesie]

I just used one of these for my R8.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/5fn/ViseeO-Tune2Air-WMA...

[akadk]

if you have AMI you can buy a bluetooth streaming unit which is plug and play