jdong

So I ended up getting the B&O Advanced Sound System because I spend most of my time listening to music. And while the Bose system is definitely quite good and on par with the premium sound systems in my old cars, the B&O's audio clarity simply blew the others away. But enough raving about the B&O system, I'm preaching to the choir.

I've been skipping "Movie" mode because all the literature says it's for watching movies in the car. Except... I recently tried it on music and absolutely loved it. The "Movie" mode attempts to isolate the voices to the center channels, much like how a movie's surround track gets encoded. As a result, you get an effect that sounds like there's a singer performing where the MMI screen is. This also lets you crank up the "Surround" effect as much as you wish, without the voice getting so wide that it sounds like you're underwater.


I'm sure there's audiophiles out there who offended by what I've just described .

soslower

i'll try this later. I hope i get the results as you. I usually don't have anything in HD to really utilize the sound system. I stream through my iphone (itune radio, pandora).

jdong

I honestly do the same. I listen to music from my phone over bluetooth the most. But even then, the clarity is subtly better when parked, but the improvement over the Bose is dramatic when you're traveling 70mph on imperfect pavement.

snagitseven

I've tried all the modes with my B&O but for most music I prefer setting the focus to the "Front" mode. I've found it gives me the best bass response, dynamic range and stereo separation. I also set the balance grid to slightly left of center and level to the back of the seat cushion. My bass is set at 4 o'clock, treble at 3 o'clock and surround at 1 o'clock. We all hear differently and fortunately, Audi provides variable settings to accommodate individual preference. There's there's no one size that fits all.

iBetterDoNow

Today, I tried 'Movie" mode and it seems better than 'All" with the music I play. Thanks for sharing your finding.

jdong

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone! Indeed I find the Front mode also sounds pretty nice. Indeed, everyone's preferences are different and I'm glad that Audi provides us with the ability to customize sound systems.

There's always that little effect that changes one's perception of a sound system from good to great. Never hurts to play with the settings a bit!

in2dwww

I had B&O in the A4 and I now have Bose in the A6. I think that both systems are adequate, but I think the focal point options and surround settings are just providing too much choice. It would be nice to have a sound system that didn't allow users to fret over every setting. That being said, I think the Bose in the A6 is better when the surround is set to 3/5 through 3/4 rather than the default 1/2. Movie mode, which I have tried in an A6 w/ B&O, is nice for movies, but I wish it could be a setting reserved in MMI just for DVD media sources. The way they have it now, one setting applies to all audio. My 2006 Mercedes Harmon/Kardon had settings for each audio input, and once I dialed that in, I never had to make changes.

If they are going to give choices to fiddle with audio, I do wish the MMI could have sound settings for each audio source.

Call me old, call me an audio snob, I just think a system should be good on its own.

Having said all that, I have yet to hear the B&W in the Jag XJ or the Name in the Bentley and the Burmeister in the MB S-class. I'll bet they have a plethora of settings too.

soslower

I tried movie, it was a good improvement. Considering I had it set to rear LOLLLL I really don't pay attention to the radio and I hardly even have it on. You don't need much bass or treble when you only listen to CNBC or CNN.

jdong

And I thought I was bad for buying the $5900 sound option to listen to pop / hip hop HD radio.... ;-)