B&O speakers in Avant vs saloon

[AZO1]

Audi info states that A4 B&O sound system has14 high performance speakers
I'm just wondering whether this differs in the Avant compared to the saloon given the absence of a 'rear parcel shelf'?
Thanks



On order: A4 Avant 2.0TFSI S line, metallic, Nav + AMI + cruise (= new tech pack) B&O, DAB, Parking Plus, valcona leather, Phone prep low, interior light pack

[tiago_ribeiro]

I'm also waiting for a B&O equipped Avant, and I've exchanged some emails with B&O customer care trying to understand the differences to the Saloon version.

Basically the configuration is the same except for the following:


the rear speakers are located in the D-column;
the subwoofer is located on the excess space for the spare tire (when choosing the tyre mobility kit instead of a space tyre)


Tiago

[AZO1]

Thanks Tiago

It makes sense for rear speakers to be located in D-column.
Just wondering about sub-woofer location if space saving tyre (default?) present.
At least it sounds as if Avant is not 'short-changed' on speakers compared to saloon, so sound quality should still be good.

[tiago_ribeiro]

According to B&O, you can only choose this option if you choose not to have the spare tyre...

Tiago

[ScottyUK]

A guy on Audiworld asked B&O about the saloon & Avant differences and he got some great info
:

Sedan Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear Door & Parcel shelf:
25mm tweeters + 168mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range + 200mm "free-air" subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle (like the A5)


Avant Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear door and "D" pillar:
25mm tweeters + 165mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range

Luggage compartment:
A 165 mm subwoofer in an 11L bass reflex ported cabinet placed within the excess space of the spare tyre.


Amplifiers (for both Sedan and Avant):
Five 25 watt Class-A/B amplifiers for tweeters, mid-range and centre driver
Two 40 watt Class A/B amplifiers for rear woofers
Two 75 watt Class D amplifiers for front bass drivers
One 150 watt Class D amplifier for the subwoofer



Specifically regarding the subwoofer differences:


The Limo (sedan) has a 'free-air' subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle. The A5 uses the same principle.

The Avant does not have a parcel shelf so we opted for a subwoofer in a ported cabinet. The only difference in performance is below 30Hz where the subwoofer port starts to roll off. This will make little difference to the listening experience for 2 reasons : 1. Most music contains very little information below 30 Hz. 2. This frequency area is masked by background noise while driving. The Q5 uses the same principle.

Of course it is possible to put a subwoofer in a sealed cabinet but the loudspeaker itself needs to be very large (as in the A8 / Q7). A ported cabinet can achieve good SPL at low frequency with a relatively smaller loudspeaker.


Furthermore, B&O also told me that:


Both cars are tuned individually as each car is unique. Further there are usually two tunings per car as a car with fabric seats and no sunroof will differ from one with leather and sunroof.

[Jop]

A guy on Audiworld asked B&O about the saloon & Avant differences and he got some great info
:

Sedan Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear Door & Parcel shelf:
25mm tweeters + 168mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range + 200mm "free-air" subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle (like the A5)


Avant Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear door and "D" pillar:
25mm tweeters + 165mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range

Luggage compartment:
A 165 mm subwoofer in an 11L bass reflex ported cabinet placed within the excess space of the spare tyre.


Amplifiers (for both Sedan and Avant):
Five 25 watt Class-A/B amplifiers for tweeters, mid-range and centre driver
Two 40 watt Class A/B amplifiers for rear woofers
Two 75 watt Class D amplifiers for front bass drivers
One 150 watt Class D amplifier for the subwoofer



Specifically regarding the subwoofer differences:


The Limo (sedan) has a 'free-air' subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle. The A5 uses the same principle.

The Avant does not have a parcel shelf so we opted for a subwoofer in a ported cabinet. The only difference in performance is below 30Hz where the subwoofer port starts to roll off. This will make little difference to the listening experience for 2 reasons : 1. Most music contains very little information below 30 Hz. 2. This frequency area is masked by background noise while driving. The Q5 uses the same principle.

Of course it is possible to put a subwoofer in a sealed cabinet but the loudspeaker itself needs to be very large (as in the A8 / Q7). A ported cabinet can achieve good SPL at low frequency with a relatively smaller loudspeaker.


Furthermore, B&O also told me that:


Both cars are tuned individually as each car is unique. Further there are usually two tunings per car as a car with fabric seats and no sunroof will differ from one with leather and sunroof.



Excellent info there scottyuk.
I can confirm that the bass unit is located underneath the spare wheel in the boot in my b&o avant.

[r99ljh]

Hi there all,
i opted for the B&O system in my car and although the sound quality is excellent i was a bit dissappointed by the plastic grill covers on the top speakers/tweeters in the rear doors,just looks so cheap when you see that all the other main visible speakers have that lovely looking (ive got the B&O system) chrome B&O surround on them. Is it just me or does anyone else feel short changed by these tacky looking grills?

[BMWBig6]

A guy on Audiworld asked B&O about the saloon & Avant differences and he got some great info

Thanks ScottyUK! I'm that "guy" and you saved me the trouble of finding my old post! :beerchug:

[ScottyUK]

Thanks ScottyUK! I'm that "guy" and you saved me the trouble of finding my old post! :beerchug:

When I started looking at B8's I went through as much info/forum pages as I could. On AW I think I went back through 30 pages of threads!! :o

It's such excellent information, I just had to spread the word. :D

Glad to see you over here in the same way I'm over there ;)

:beerchug:

[wrightee]

Please could someone who has an Avant and the B&0 pack tell me where the sub is located? The device under my spare wheel looks like a battery of some sort, not a sub woofer as noted by JOP.

Many thanks,

Mark

[ScottyUK]

I'll let you know tomorrow when I get mine :biglaugh:

[Jop]

sub woofer is most defiantly in with the spare wheel. - There is a battery in there too (always wondered where that was)

I have a space saver wheel , one of them thin things. I didn't spec a space saver thats just what I got.

My car keeps getting stolen of late (by the wife) when she decides I can have it back I will take a picture and post it

[Jop]

here we go....

here's the spare wheel
http://gallery.me.com/jonpaul99/100180/IMG_0070.jpg?derivative=medium&source=web.jpg&type=medium&ver=12380069280001

and here is the subwoofer,
http://gallery.me.com/jonpaul99/100180/IMG_0071.jpg?derivative=medium&source=web.jpg&type=medium&ver=12380069060001
its the black U shaped box that fills the rest of the cavity
- you can see the battery in the middle there

(sorry about the poor quality pics, low light and the iphone camera is notoriously bad in low light)

[wrightee]

Thanks for that Jop. I'll compare it to mine.

Cheers.

[Pauls898]

On the A4 Saloon 3.0TDI Q SE, how do you make the subwooffer come to life. Why I'm playing my B&O system I can't seem to detect any bass coming from the rear parcel shelf, it all appears to be coming from the front doors? Looking inside the boot up under the parcel shelf I can't see a bass speaker? unless its hiden in between the top and bottom layers of the parcel shelf, all I can see is what looks like a round grill from inside the boot?

[mkc]

You sure that thats the Sub? In the Saloon if you take the boot liner out so you can see the body work and the spare wheel there is a Sub sized whole that has been covered up. I can only imagine that thats where it is on the Avant given you have no parcel shelf. Ill take a photo

[avant_adam]

I always thought (perhaps incorrectly) that the human ear struggles to identify the direction of low frequency noise (sub 200 Hz) and therefore it is not so relevant where the noise source is in the car because you will not locate it, merely hear it. The reverse is true of high frequencies and hence why tweeters in the right place can make suce a huge difference to the sound stage.


My avant has the sub under the spare thing and it rocks.

[ScottyUK]

Yep that's where the B & O sub lives in the Avant. It's a U shaped black box under the spare wheel.

[Pauls898]

Thanks, but I had the impression in the saloon it was mounted on the parcel shelf under the rear window? there appears to be an 8 inch hole there, and it states on the B&O web site its a 220mm Free Air Subwooffer what ever "Free air" means?

On another topic, can you adjust the sat nav verbal instruction to mute the music when she's talking, bacause at the moment the directions are masked by the music playing, which isn't very good? My kenwood sat nav used to mute the music down slightly so you could hear the instructions?

[mkc]

The speaker sub on the saloon is under the parcel shelf.......its behind a grill of sorts. Free air means that its attached to a board/parcel shelf and the boot acts as the enclosure. Other types are ported boxes and non ported/sealed boxes but these are mostly found in home hifi enclosures or boy racer type installations with bass speakers in boxes in the boot.

[ScottyUK]

This may help :

"Sedan Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear Door & Parcel shelf:
25mm tweeters + 168mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range + 200mm "free-air" subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle (like the A5)


Avant Technical specifications

Front door & Front/Centre loudspeaker:
Two 25 mm tweeters
70mm full-range (centre)
80mm mid-range +200mm woofers

Rear door and "D" pillar:
25mm tweeters + 165mm woofers
Two 80mm full-range

Luggage compartment:
A 165 mm subwoofer in an 11L bass reflex ported cabinet placed within the excess space of the spare tyre.


Amplifiers (for both Sedan and Avant):
Five 25 watt Class-A/B amplifiers for tweeters, mid-range and centre driver
Two 40 watt Class A/B amplifiers for rear woofers
Two 75 watt Class D amplifiers for front bass drivers
One 150 watt Class D amplifier for the subwoofer



Specifically regarding the subwoofer differences:


The Limo (sedan) has a 'free-air' subwoofer that uses the parcel shelf as a baffle. The A5 uses the same principle.

The Avant does not have a parcel shelf so we opted for a subwoofer in a ported cabinet. The only difference in performance is below 30Hz where the subwoofer port starts to roll off. This will make little difference to the listening experience for 2 reasons : 1. Most music contains very little information below 30 Hz. 2. This frequency area is masked by background noise while driving. The Q5 uses the same principle.

Of course it is possible to put a subwoofer in a sealed cabinet but the loudspeaker itself needs to be very large (as in the A8 / Q7). A ported cabinet can achieve good SPL at low frequency with a relatively smaller loudspeaker.


Furthermore, B&O also told me that:


Both cars are tuned individually as each car is unique. Further there are usually two tunings per car as a car with fabric seats and no sunroof will differ from one with leather and sunroof. "

Courtesy of BMWBig6

[rd1]

Pauls898
go to media- sound ( bottom right) volume settings and then set the radio to zero or low when the sat nav guidance is operating.
Hope I remember that correctly and that it works for you.:D
Roger

[Pauls898]

So thanks for that, its just I just got this new car Audi A4 Q SE 3.0TDI fitted with B&O

It says in the manual that if you have B&O fitted theres no adjustment for the sub? I like my bass but can't hear anything coming from this grill in the back, do I have to have it up loud before it starts to do something?

On anothe note I sorted out the sat nav volume, but now I find I don't seen to have the setting for the radio clock ajustment showing up to correct the time display? Do I have to be tuned to a radio station that supports radio clock transmissions for this option to be displayed?
Yhanks sorry about all the questions lol

[piwo]

Yep that's where the B & O sub lives in the Avant. It's a U shaped black box under the spare wheel.

B&O subwoofer in A4 Avant 8K

[piwo]

B&O Subwoofer 8K9035382A

[ScottyUK]

Have you had to swap yours out or do you have the pics for some other reason?