A8L/S8 B&O Alternative for an Audiophil
06-10-2016, 07:43 AM
#31
AudiWorld Member
I'm having an all Focal system put into my 2016 A8L right now. 3-way components up front, 2-way components in rear with a 6 channel Focal amp. We are not doing a sub at this time. I don't want a thumping, vibrating trunk type of sound, just good clear full range sound. We'll see how it turns out. Using an Audison BitOne DSP off the Bose amp.
dblang, and others, can you chime in and tell us what parts or components you have used and prices you have paid for such? Much appreciated guys.
06-10-2016, 08:56 AM
#32
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Upgrade Speakers only
I would also be interested in hearing some suggested upgrades for just the factory speakers. I don't want to go "all out", because I will only be keeping the car for a year... but if I could spend a little money on some better speakers (even just for the front) it may be worth it.
06-11-2016, 07:48 AM
#33
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im disappointing with the factory bose system
but its difficult to find an all in one product that will give me what i wish , i used alpine f1 products in my old vehicles but unfortunately they have there own proprietary input which isnt compatible with most
what i would like to see is a single box which connects to the most system and gives me what id like
multi channel , crossover control with high and low pass with adjustable slopes and alignments
multi channel time alignment
multi channel equalisation both graphic and parametric
programmable noise limiter
rta function
when someone makes all this one one box i will quite happily buy it , but for now i have had enough of buying separate boxes to do one thing or another
my choice of speakers would also be focal .... ive been running them for twenty years and have had opportunity to travel the world and listen to some of the worlds best car audio systems
however without good installation you are simply wasting money if you think you can simply swap speakers and make that much of an improvement
but its difficult to find an all in one product that will give me what i wish , i used alpine f1 products in my old vehicles but unfortunately they have there own proprietary input which isnt compatible with most
what i would like to see is a single box which connects to the most system and gives me what id like
multi channel , crossover control with high and low pass with adjustable slopes and alignments
multi channel time alignment
multi channel equalisation both graphic and parametric
programmable noise limiter
rta function
when someone makes all this one one box i will quite happily buy it , but for now i have had enough of buying separate boxes to do one thing or another
my choice of speakers would also be focal .... ive been running them for twenty years and have had opportunity to travel the world and listen to some of the worlds best car audio systems
however without good installation you are simply wasting money if you think you can simply swap speakers and make that much of an improvement
06-11-2016, 08:08 AM
#34
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im disappointing with the factory bose system
but its difficult to find an all in one product that will give me what i wish , i used alpine f1 products in my old vehicles but unfortunately they have there own proprietary input which isnt compatible with most
what i would like to see is a single box which connects to the most system and gives me what id like
multi channel , crossover control with high and low pass with adjustable slopes and alignments
multi channel time alignment
multi channel equalisation both graphic and parametric
programmable noise limiter
rta function
when someone makes all this one one box i will quite happily buy it , but for now i have had enough of buying separate boxes to do one thing or another
my choice of speakers would also be focal .... ive been running them for twenty years and have had opportunity to travel the world and listen to some of the worlds best car audio systems
however without good installation you are simply wasting money if you think you can simply swap speakers and make that much of an improvement
but its difficult to find an all in one product that will give me what i wish , i used alpine f1 products in my old vehicles but unfortunately they have there own proprietary input which isnt compatible with most
what i would like to see is a single box which connects to the most system and gives me what id like
multi channel , crossover control with high and low pass with adjustable slopes and alignments
multi channel time alignment
multi channel equalisation both graphic and parametric
programmable noise limiter
rta function
when someone makes all this one one box i will quite happily buy it , but for now i have had enough of buying separate boxes to do one thing or another
my choice of speakers would also be focal .... ive been running them for twenty years and have had opportunity to travel the world and listen to some of the worlds best car audio systems
however without good installation you are simply wasting money if you think you can simply swap speakers and make that much of an improvement
http://www.mobridge.us/products/most-da3-dsp-professional
Also, to everyone that wants to "upgrade" the speakers only, understand that the bose speakers aren't really the problem in the system. If you ran the factory bose speakers without the factory bose amp (aftermarket processor and amps) I guarantee you would be blown away at the upgrade in sound quality.
That's not to say that the B&O speaker aren't better, or that high end speaker are unnecessary. But the factory bose speakers aren't the true source of poor sound quality in the A8.
06-12-2016, 06:30 AM
#35
AudiWorld Senior Member
The mObridge DA3 is essentially a DA1 with a DSP added to it.
However, their DSP is somewhat limited when compared to products like the Helix DSP Pro (which is the current top-dog car audio processor).
Take a look at my system map below. The red lines are all Optical digital connections. My signal stays in the digital realm until it leaves the DSP for the amps.
Also, when it comes to upgrading speakers on the Bose or B&O system there is basically no point in doing that unless you upgrade your amps and processing. The Bose and B&O amps are also DSP units, and they are tuned especially for their matching speakers. Toss in different speakers and try to run them from the OEM amp and you'll never get it tuned correctly because you can't control the OEM tuning and the new speakers will be completely different.
However, their DSP is somewhat limited when compared to products like the Helix DSP Pro (which is the current top-dog car audio processor).
Take a look at my system map below. The red lines are all Optical digital connections. My signal stays in the digital realm until it leaves the DSP for the amps.
Also, when it comes to upgrading speakers on the Bose or B&O system there is basically no point in doing that unless you upgrade your amps and processing. The Bose and B&O amps are also DSP units, and they are tuned especially for their matching speakers. Toss in different speakers and try to run them from the OEM amp and you'll never get it tuned correctly because you can't control the OEM tuning and the new speakers will be completely different.
Last edited by subterFUSE; 06-12-2016 at 06:32 AM.
06-13-2016, 08:24 PM
#36
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So, with that being said... what's the least amount someone could spend to upgrade the Bose system and have it be worth the effort? Including speakers, amps, DSP, etc.
06-15-2016, 12:27 PM
#37
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Also, to everyone that wants to "upgrade" the speakers only, understand that the bose speakers aren't really the problem in the system. If you ran the factory bose speakers without the factory bose amp (aftermarket processor and amps) I guarantee you would be blown away at the upgrade in sound quality.
I don't want to go through the hassle of upgrading the speakers. Ideally, I was looking to buy the 12tw3-d4 shallow sub to replace the Bose one in the boot/trunk. I would also buy an amp (recommendations welcome) as I don't think I can JUST buy a replacement sub (please correct if I'm wrong).
Would this improve both the speaker sound quality AND the bass?
06-16-2016, 06:06 AM
#38
Here's the bass and midrange drivers in the front door.
Here's the layout under the cover. This was during the wiring.
I've had my new system now for a week. I love it. The Focal's really pound if you ask them to. Without a new sub, it doesn't plummet to the lowest frequencies but I knew this and the bass is more than adequate. Whole system was around $6k installed. I did have to loose my spare tire to have space to install the equipment without reducing trunk size. Everything is installed under the lift up trunk cover.
06-30-2016, 08:08 AM
#39
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I purchased a 2015 A8 4.0 with the Bose system about a month ago. It was a screaming deal, and was a great looking car. However, the cruise stopped working, so I took it to the Audi dealer. They found all kinds of things wrong with the electrical system and said the previous owner had done all kinds of things to the car. I returned it to the place I purchased it and found a PRESTINE 2015 A8L 4.0 in white (my preferred color).
This second car has the B&O system (which is what the 2013 W12 I drove for a year had as well). However, I can tell you the B&O in this car compared to the W12 is 100 times better. There is no comparison to the Bose system, nor to the B&O that was in the 2013 W12. I'm not sure what changes they made (amp, software, speakers, etc) in a few years, but this system is pretty amazing.
This second car has the B&O system (which is what the 2013 W12 I drove for a year had as well). However, I can tell you the B&O in this car compared to the W12 is 100 times better. There is no comparison to the Bose system, nor to the B&O that was in the 2013 W12. I'm not sure what changes they made (amp, software, speakers, etc) in a few years, but this system is pretty amazing.
10-20-2019, 02:49 PM
#40
Any update? Zombie post (back from the dead)
Ok, so I know this is an ANCIENT thread, so please forgive me for reviving it, but it seems this question has never been definitively answered. Currently mObridge still does not list any of their units as compatible with the D4. Has anyone here actually gotten it to work (or any other solution)? One general question about how mObridge works... I understand it connects to the MOST system and completely bypasses the factory amp, but does it have an adapter that connects to the speaker output harness from the OEM BOSE amp (to connect the output of the aftermarket amps to)?
If you have gotten this to work and would not mind sharing details, I would love as much specifics as possible (same if you tried something that did not work).
Thanks in advance!
If you have gotten this to work and would not mind sharing details, I would love as much specifics as possible (same if you tried something that did not work).
Thanks in advance!