Upgrading factory 'Audi Audio' DIY

**Rjudgey** · 29-03-2020,10:45 PM

Anyone tested what ohms the stock speakers are? I'm looking to do some work on my std Audi audio system as well I've read through this whole thread and going a slightly more difficult route of building up some MDF between the gaps of the top of the bass box next to the speaker lead socket and to the top left, I'll then sandwich a baffle board of 12mm MDF across the top of it and cut out a hole for a Morel 8.5" low profile subwoofer which I have back in the day I was last into this kinda stuff about 20 years ago lol! I've also got some Dynaudio 6.5 inch components I'm keen to use and prepared to buy 8" for the front doors as well. But after doing some digging around I've looked at both the BOSE and B&O options tbh are both pretty pathetic for the money in terms of quality of drivers I guess the money went into the amp and the tweaking of the DSP to make it sound half decent as most the drivers in both systems look like their worth a fiver each! I found something quite interesting though VW touareg had a Dynaudio optional upgrade these speakers are far better than anything else available and the 8" drivers look pretty much identical in size and fitment to the std units, their readily available on Ebay for £60ish each, they do 8" front and 6.5" rears only issue I see is if the std ohms are 4ohm these are all rated at 2ohms as they have them labelled 2 ohms, seems odd that H&K and Dynaudio seem to run things at 2ohms and most the car audio world is at 4ohms. Anyway going to start with the woofer upgrade first and take it from there. Anyway below is pic of what I'm intending on using in the bass box and the VW Dynaudio 8" driver.
VW Dynaudio.jpg

MW265-3D-274x293.jpg

**anemeth** · 30-03-2020,02:34 PM

As I mentioned, the speakers are 4 ohm, except the tweeter in the dashboard which is 8 ohm. This is for plain Audi music option. I do not know the speakers for the Bose and B&O options. I do not have the speakers or the car anymore as I switched to e-tron.

**Adarshji** · 22-05-2020,01:13 PM

Hi Wolek, Anemeth, would you happen to have guides on how to open up the dash on Q7 and replace the front center and two front side treble speakers please? I would like to attempt replacing those if possible. Thanks much!

**anemeth** · 22-05-2020,01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Adarshji

Hi Wolek, Anemeth, would you happen to have guides on how to open up the dash on Q7 and replace the front center and two front side treble speakers please? I would like to attempt replacing those if possible. Thanks much!

Front side: you have to gently wedge plastic tool (a wedge tool) under the front side of the grill (closer to you) and lift the grill. Use plastic tool only. The grill is "snap-on" type. Two screws hold the speaker in place, just unscrew them and lift the speaker. You need a very short screwdriver as the windscreen is in the way. The connector is on the bottom of the speaker, discconect it.

Center: I have not taken this out, but I recon, it should be very similar to remove to the front side speaker.

**Adarshji** · 22-05-2020,02:10 PM

Thank you Anemeth for your fantastically swift response. Will report back my success or worse if I run into any issues 😁

**Retom** · 23-05-2020,12:46 AM

Originally Posted by Adarshji

Thank you Anemeth for your fantastically swift response. Will report back my success or worse if I run into any issues 

Removal of center is very similar to side speakers. Start from front left side with wedge plastic tool. As I remember center grill has 8 clips. Be very careful: it is very easy to break these clips. Pry the grill around to gently release these clips. Don't pull it at an angle because you will break the clips. The speaker handle is attached with 1 bolt. You will see it when you remove the grill.

**Adarshji** · 23-05-2020,03:39 AM

Thank you Retom, super helpful. I will try it tomorrow just to see if I am even capable of upgrading the dash speakers, lol.

Quick question for you and Anemeth: you think replacing most speakers (sub, doors, dash etc) would bring the sound quality back up to an enjoyable level or would one have to change the 'amp' to truly get enjoyable sound?

If latter would either of you know where the amp is and if there is a no line-out then how can one work around that constraint? Is there is speaker that carries full frequency spectrum and can be tapped as an input source to an aftermarket amp?

Sorry for too many questions, trying to figure out the best path to generate enjoyable music in 2019 base q7 here. Thanks much!

**anemeth** · 23-05-2020,08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Adarshji

Quick question for you and Anemeth: you think replacing most speakers (sub, doors, dash etc) would bring the sound quality back up to an enjoyable level or would one have to change the 'amp' to truly get enjoyable sound?

If latter would either of you know where the amp is and if there is a no line-out then how can one work around that constraint? Is there is speaker that carries full frequency spectrum and can be tapped as an input source to an aftermarket amp?

Replacing the speaker, you get much better sound, but for me the main problem was the location of the dash speaker. You will not get "line-of-sight" for those, they push the sound to the windscreen, not towards you. If you want to stay with factroy look, any other option is to get B&O speaker which cost a fortune. I think speaker quality upgrade is much better than amp upgrade. Also change the sub speaker as well, for that a separate amp is an option.

The amp is integrated to the infotainment unit which is in the glove compartment, there is no line out. I do not think that to replace the main amp is a DYI job, I would go for a professional audio shop for that. Yes the speaker output can be tapped for aftermarket amp, but you need 5 amps (left+right, front+rear, sub).

**Adarshji** · 23-05-2020,02:12 PM

Thanks Anemeth, Ok, so upgrading or adding amps is out of question 😁 speaker upgrade it is.

I will swap out the sub and four door speakers, but would like to check, should I also look into changing the three dashboard speakers (is it even possible without going the B&O route) and/or the two pillar B speakers? Don't want to go overboard ripping up the panels and just want to focus on what will truly make a noticeable difference. What's your guidance?

Lastly, my sub is 2 ohm, so bought a 8 inch kicker 2 ohm single coil 200 rms sub. Do you think power wise it could cause an issue? I will measure ohms for all other speakers but could benefit from your guidance on the max power rating I should consider for all other speakers - I know the amp pushes out 195watts rms but I don't know the breakout by channel. Thanks much!

**anemeth** · 23-05-2020,02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Adarshji

should I also look into changing the three dashboard speakers (is it even possible without going the B&O route) and/or the two pillar B speakers?

I did not changed B pillar speaker or central speaker, I just changed front door, back door and dash speakers plus the sub. You can see in this topic what I did with the door and dash speaker and the sub. I would not worry about the rating if you changed the Audi speaker to a good quality speaker, the Audi ones are little plastic ones, your new speakers should take the power better. Although I would try to match impedance, to make sure that the factory amp is not pulling to much amper to drive the speakers.