Audi A6 (C6) Avant power amp and speaker upgrade

[Andrew Turner]

Hi guys.

I'm a bit of an audio geek and would like to upgrade the system in my A6 with MMI Basic, and am wondering what the best way to go about it is. What does the bose system consist of and is it possible to retro fit into my car? How good is the Bose system, and is there any other options anyone could recommend? I want to keep it all factory looking, so need speakers that will fit the existing enclosures, and i do not have the room for a huge sub box to replace the factory sub, as the back is mostly full of bikes.

Also, short of upgrading to MMI High (which i am considering in the future), What is the cheapest way of getting an auxiliary input with USB, and getting the Bluetooth working and controllable from the MMI?

Cheers,

Andy.

[Brycie]

In my boy racer days I used to be obsessed with bass that you could hear a mile off. Now that I've mellowed a little, I have to say that although you won't hear the BOSE system from a mile off, it does produce a nice full, rich sound in terns of bass and clarity. I'm happy with it, but I'm sure I've seen some negative comments about it - do a search for BOSE & you should get some other opinions.

If you are lucky you may be able to find someone nearby with BOSE who would let you bring a couple of CDs and try them out in their car. Hint hint, nudge nudge Kent based fellow forum members!

On the retrofit and other questions though, I'm afraid I can't help but hopefully someone who can help will be along soon. The weekend's always a little quiet, so try bumping this message back up to the top on Monday early evening.

[Guest 2]

Iirc the Basic system doesn't have an amp at all.

BOSE is hard to fit - amps wiring microphones subwoofers and different speakers.

The standard Basic+ and High has sufficient speakers and provide a good sound even up loud but it's no where near as good as BOSE.

That's if BOSE is even compatible with Basic.

[Andrew Turner]

Bah! Well if that is the case Chris, it looks like i'll have to go with the speaker level amp route, but i know nothing about those as always used line level in the past. Will have to do some research. I will start by upgrading the speakers first anyway, so could do that and see what i think. Any recommendations anyone? as there are 3 speakers in each door, i'm guessing it@s a propper 3 way system? I assume you have to remove the door cards to get at the speakers? I've had a go at pulling one of the grills off but they seem pretty well fixed in.

One thing i would definitely like to change is the sub and amp, as the standard one has a very narrow frequency range and sounds very boomy, i bet it doesn't go down lower than 80hz. Is it possible to fit the bose sub without messing with the wiring? What would be cool is if i can utilize my old Vibe 10" sub which has a 400 watt powered amp, but i'm guessing it's too big for the available space? I haven't even found the sub yet, anyone know where it it?

[mjerome]

Hi Andy,

I've actually just upgraded the system in my A6. I too wanted speakers to fit in the stock locations etc. I ended up replacing the fronts with Phoenix Gold and rears with Rockford Fosgate. A Rockford Fosgate 12" subwoofer has also been installed under the rear floor, in the spare wheel well. The spare wheel is still in there but the boot floor was replaced with a matching carpeted one as they've had to drill holes to allow the bass sounds through!

Two small "mini" Rockford Fosgate amps have been installed in the left hand side panel above the sat nav cd player / stock amp.

The system is completed hidden from view and still allows me to use the car as was intended (loading bikes into it too as it happens). The MMI interface has not been affected at all.

The sounds....well...what a difference!!. Fantastic is all I can say. The fronts / mids do not distort, even at max volume and there's never been a point where I've had to turn the volume down due to ear fatigue. To top it off the kick from the 12" sub is sublime. It really adds a punch to the music - alot more than the standard sub could ever handle.

I'll take some photos if people are interested.

[Andrew Turner]

Hey Jerome. Only just seen this. Pictures would be awsome if That's OK. I don't even know how to get the door cards off yet, so any other info you can give me would be most appreciated. What size speakers fit and how deep? How are the amps connected, speaker or line level? Also I believe my subs are in the front doors, how would I wire the sub in. I love the idea of putting the sub in the wheel well. I assume it just sits in there so it's easily removable for when you get a flat? Can you still adjust your sub level via the MMI?

[Brycie]

How about this one? My mate works for a company that's just fitted the Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer into the boot of an A6 spare wheel well.



Here's the custom boot floor panel they fitted to protect it ('it' being the P2D212).



I'm just wondering if the one my mate did was actually on mjerome's car - what a wierd coincidence if it was!

[bops6]

I`m also interested in this although I already have the Bose system, I`d be interested in upgrading the speakers and maybe the amp as well. In my earlier years I used to be very much into the ICE scene but that was more than 10 years ago and i`m now completely out of touch with it so don`t know what would be required.

[mjerome]

A weird coincidence it is then as that is my car!! . Saves me taking some photos!

It's actually getting an upgrade in a few weeks using Jehnart door builds coupled with 8 Punch 6.5" midrange and 2 4" tweeters to replace the current Focal 3 way "upgraded" speakers. It's also having a MOST pre-amp fitted which will allow the original amp to be completely bypassed. Currently the original amp has to be used to supply line in from the speaker to the new amps which isn't ideal as it's not allowing the amps to do their jobs properly. It's being installed by Gavin at G7 Sounds in Newbury. He really knows his stuff and I can't recommend his services highly enough. I'm going to be there at the install so I can take some piccies while I'm there - unless Brycie takes them on my behalf first!

[Andrew Turner]

That's a freaky coincidence Jerome! Your sub enclosure looks perfect and exactly what i would like to do to mine. Do you know how the shop built the enclosure? I'm thinking i might be able to do something similar made from fiberglass, i've had some experience working with it before. How is your sub connected to the system? I already have a 10" 400 watt Vibe powered sub but it has line level inputs, i am guessing it would have to be connected via speaker level inputs? I have recently discovered that my car has MMI Basic Plus, so i have a DSP behind the left rear boot panel and subwoofers in the front doors, are the subs powered from the DSP, or are there separate amps in both front doors?
Also, what size are the mids? I have a pair of 16cm Vibe 2 way speakers and 13cm Pioneer TSE1390's. The plan is to sort the sub and swap out the mid's first, then once the subs in the doors are of no further use fit some 3 way speakers, and then fit a new amp.
If you are gonna be there when your new install is done, any info on how it is currently hooked up and how they fit the new amp/s and some pics would be appreciated

Oh and dose anyone know how to get the door cards off? I've done a search but couldn't find anything on the C6, and they don't appear to do a Haynes workshop manual for it either

A weird coincidence it is then as that is my car!! . Saves me taking some photos!

It's actually getting an upgrade in a few weeks using Jehnart door builds coupled with 8 Punch 6.5" midrange and 2 4" tweeters to replace the current Focal 3 way "upgraded" speakers. It's also having a MOST pre-amp fitted which will allow the original amp to be completely bypassed. Currently the original amp has to be used to supply line in from the speaker to the new amps which isn't ideal as it's not allowing the amps to do their jobs properly. It's being installed by Gavin at G7 Sounds in Newbury. He really knows his stuff and I can't recommend his services highly enough. I'm going to be there at the install so I can take some piccies while I'm there - unless Brycie takes them on my behalf first!