S3/A3 Sportback Bose system
Discussion
Picked up my new S3 Sportback last week. The car has Bose and I had the DVD Navigation system retro fitted by the dealer, as the original car was specced without any nav.
I have also got an 2007 A6 with DVD nav but without Bose.
Thing is the Bose system in the S3 really lacks any bass - even with the bass setting on full, unless you really turn it loud. The A6 is far better despite it not having any fancy speaker upgrades.
Is this normal, maybe just because it is a smaller car? Or is it possible that due to being a retro fit nav system something is 'missing' somewhere?
Anybody made any mods to improve it without resorting to ripping out what was basically an expensive option in the 1st place??
Thanks for advice.
I have also got an 2007 A6 with DVD nav but without Bose.
Thing is the Bose system in the S3 really lacks any bass - even with the bass setting on full, unless you really turn it loud. The A6 is far better despite it not having any fancy speaker upgrades.
Is this normal, maybe just because it is a smaller car? Or is it possible that due to being a retro fit nav system something is 'missing' somewhere?
Anybody made any mods to improve it without resorting to ripping out what was basically an expensive option in the 1st place??
Thanks for advice.
I used to have a Bose equipped Sportback and to be honest it wasn't that good, better than standard but hardly earth shattering and my main gripe was always the lack of bass. I think the bigger Audi's tend to get a better Bose setup, my current A4 Cab which also has Bose will all bar shake it self to pieces when turned up loud 
thinks he may have wasted his money here and should have gone for aftermarketI have just bought a 2005 A3 sportback that has the Bose 9 speaker upgrade. It has the same Symphony head unit, but when you switch it on it should say BOSE if the upgrade is activated, so it outputs to the external power amps.
Mine sounds OK to me, but I also have the Bose 9-speaker system in my Mazda RX8, which does sound better than the A3 system. When you look at the A3 speakers, they are much smaller than in the RX8. I suspect the bigger Audi's may have larger speakers too.
Mine sounds OK to me, but I also have the Bose 9-speaker system in my Mazda RX8, which does sound better than the A3 system. When you look at the A3 speakers, they are much smaller than in the RX8. I suspect the bigger Audi's may have larger speakers too.
Dr G said:
What a strange thing to say! :s
The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
Well on the A6 I paid £500 for the DVD navigation upgrade. This gave me a great sounding system with a variable level subwoofer, a fully integrated DVD navigation system AND included the 6CD changer all of which could read MP3 discs. The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
On the A3 I paid £1615 for the DVD Nav PLUS another £430 for Bose PLUS another £315 for the 6CD - so £2360 for a dashboard mounted DVD system with no bass? Doesn't seem great value??
I just think if I had thrown £2360 at an after market system I would have had something a lot more impressive.
jonlwright said:
Dr G said:
What a strange thing to say! :s
The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
Well on the A6 I paid £500 for the DVD navigation upgrade. This gave me a great sounding system with a variable level subwoofer, a fully integrated DVD navigation system AND included the 6CD changer all of which could read MP3 discs. The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
On the A3 I paid £1615 for the DVD Nav PLUS another £430 for Bose PLUS another £315 for the 6CD - so £2360 for a dashboard mounted DVD system with no bass? Doesn't seem great value??
I just think if I had thrown £2360 at an after market system I would have had something a lot more impressive.
VAG1 said:
jonlwright said:
Dr G said:
What a strange thing to say! :s
The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
Well on the A6 I paid £500 for the DVD navigation upgrade. This gave me a great sounding system with a variable level subwoofer, a fully integrated DVD navigation system AND included the 6CD changer all of which could read MP3 discs. The Bose setup on these is good rather than great - I guess it depends what you expect from the system. It is afterall nowhere near as expensive as the best aftermarket kit.
On the A3 I paid £1615 for the DVD Nav PLUS another £430 for Bose PLUS another £315 for the 6CD - so £2360 for a dashboard mounted DVD system with no bass? Doesn't seem great value??
I just think if I had thrown £2360 at an after market system I would have had something a lot more impressive.
Have heard this about the bose systems. My a4 has a sub in the boot standard fit and has real depth. Read a thread somehwere a while back started by a chap he had an a4 cab which he replaced with same model but newer which he had the bose system fitted to and said the original was better than the bose upgrade.
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