Upgrading factory 'Audi Audio' DIY

[Adarshji]

I am afraid I can't help. Audi audio system is connected in one network with MMI and other car systems not only via CAN wiring but also via optical fibres. Q7 4M is like computer on wheels and as I saw in wiring diagrams this whole audio network is very complicated. Also, I have never done any audio upgrade in Q7. It is also not fully clear for me what you intend to do: change speakers, instal new or additional amplifier, add CD player? Change or add the speakers is relatively easy as long as you want to use the speakers which fit to original retainers, have the same resistance and you don't have to do extra wiring to car amplifier. Further upgrade is much more complicated even if you want to use the second hand original Audi parts: Component Protection, coding, connection with other car systems, etc. I am assuming that your knowledge in this area allows you to do such a project but I am sorry I can't help you more. Perhaps Anemeth will know more than me in this topic.

Hi Retom, Anemeth, I sincerely appreciate your counsel. I have mellowed down my ambitions . I did put in a 8 inch kicker sub but it is not pushing enough power, which makes me think I need to add an external amp. So, now my plan is two fold - add an amp for sub and replace all the door speakers + side tweeters. Have already bought an alpine sub as well as old stock speakers from eBay to extract plastic moldings/ flanges from. Wish me luck!

[anemeth]

No, you cannot get it with a hot gun. This is one piece moulded plastic speaker, you cannot take it apart without destroying it. I used saw and dremel. Yes, I used silicon based glue on the plastic lip, no I did not need to trim the speaker. But make sure the edge of the cone of the speaker is not fauled by the speaker grill. You will see what I mean when you get the used speaker.

[Retom]

Hi Retom, Anemeth, I sincerely appreciate your counsel. I have mellowed down my ambitions . I did put in a 8 inch kicker sub but it is not pushing enough power, which makes me think I need to add an external amp. So, now my plan is two fold - add an amp for sub and replace all the door speakers + side tweeters. Have already bought an alpine sub as well as old stock speakers from eBay to extract plastic moldings/ flanges from. Wish me luck!

You can also try to add central tweeter in the dash connecting it directly to the central, existing mid tone speaker. From the wiring diagram it seems it should work.
Good luck!

[Adarshji]

Hey guys, I am back with an update. Finally got around installing a mono amp and a 12 inch sub-woofer. I tried borrowing from and building on everybody's install - so thanks to all of you for your guidance along the way! Here are the steps I took and the finished product. For context, I have a 2019 Audi Q7 3.0T with basic sound (not BOSE).


1) Ran a hot wire from battery in passenger foot-well to the boot area. Took out four trims - the trim below the passenger side doors (it is one piece from front passenger side door to the rear passenger side door), pillar C trim next to the 3rd row power buttons, wall trim in the boot that has a cup holder on the passenger side and finally the trim with silver face-plate that locks the hatch

Used Rockville RWK41 4 Gauge Complete Car Amp Wiring Installation Wire Kit w/RCA's

2) Used one of the two bolts below the trim that locks the hatch for ground purposes

3) Bought a pre-fabricated box from Amazon for subwoofer. It fit perfectly with an inch above the speaker for clearance

12" Single Sealed Slim

4) Bought a pioneer 12 inch subwoofer

TS-A3000LS4 - 12" Shallow-Mount Subwoofer with 1,500 Watts Max. Power | Pioneer Electronics USA

5) Bought alpine S-A60 mono amp with a remote bass control knob

Mono Power Amplifier - 1 x 600W @ 2 Ohms - Alpine - S-A60M

6) Ran the wire for remote control knob alongside of the power cable to the front passenger side, then routed it to center console by hiding it below the glove box. Used double sided tape to mount the knob next to the media control knob built into the dash

7) Used foam pads on all sides of sub-woofer box to avoid trim rub

8) Fine tuned gain/ crossover and bass boost settings, and that's it

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[Adarshji]

Hey Guys, I am back with additional update. I managed to upgrade all four door woofers and four tweeters. Only thing remaining is the center speaker, which I am going to tackle in the coming weeks. The sound is immensely better - thanks to Retom and Anemeth for all their guidance along the way!

Woofers

1) Bought Focal ISU 200 and ISU 165 as replacement woofers
2) Took out the door panels and removed original speakers
3) Using a Stanley knife and a pair of clippers, cut out the old speaker cone as well as widened the diameter of the mounting surface (this was a painful process, my thumb hurt for a few days, LOL)
4) Soldered focal crossovers to speakers and the factory socket in the factory speaker frame
5) Used silicone adhesive to glue speaker to the mounting surface of the factory speaker frame

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[Adarshji]

Tweeters

1) Used focal tweeters that came with ISU 165 and ISU 200
2) Removed the three dash grills (two end tweeters, one center) as well as two grills in pillar B's (two rear tweeters). Happy to report that I didn't manage to break any grills
3) Unscrewed factory tweeters. Used a Stanley knife to cut out dash Audi tweeters from their plastic mounts. No surgery was required to remove the rear tweeters (they are simply clipped in place)
4) Silicone glued focal tweeters to salvaged plastic mounts from front dash tweeters. For rear tweeters, no cutting was required. I was able to simply glue focal tweeters to the plastic mounts that Audi tweeters were clipped to
5) Cut out wire sockets from Audi tweeters and soldered crossover wires from focals to them

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[Adarshji]

Hi Retom, Anemeth, need your quick guidance. I am trying to replace the central speaker and have managed to take the grill out without breaking any clips. Is there a way I can remove the grill frame as well (see pic below)? I would like to remove the plastic frame that has one bolt on it, if possible. I removed the bolt but couldn't pull the frame out, and was afraid it might break so left it in. The speaker I have in mind for center has a big magnet and may not fit in the molded space at the bottom without some cutting or widening of the cup. Thanks.

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[Retom]

Hi Retom, Anemeth, need your quick guidance. I am trying to replace the central speaker and have managed to take the grill out without breaking any clips. Is there a way I can remove the grill frame as well (see pic below)? I would like to remove the plastic frame that has one bolt on it, if possible. I removed the bolt but couldn't pull the frame out, and was afraid it might break so left it in. The speaker I have in mind for center has a big magnet and may not fit in the molded space at the bottom without some cutting or widening of the cup. Thanks.

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Congratulations! Great upgrade. Focal produces excellent high-end speakers. The enclosed below should help.

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[Adarshji]

thanks Retom, sincerely appreciate the instructions! I will give it a try this coming weekend!

[Adarshji]

Congratulations! Great upgrade. Focal produces excellent high-end speakers. The enclosed below should help.

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Hi Retom, do you happen to have the speaker wiring diagram for 2019 q7 stock (non bose, non B&O) stereo system? When I was swapping my speakers, I treated pin 2 as positive throughout. The rear factory tweeters had a capacitor soldered to pin 2, so should have been okay. The front factory tweeters had a capacitor soldered to pin 1 (negative per my interpretation), so I am wondering if I did the right thing by soldering focal's bass blocker to pin 2 or should I have reversed the wiring and used pin 1 instead. Thanks much!