B&O Speaker blown or parcel shelf rattle?
08-07-2016, 07:33 PM
#21
A8 B&O Rear Deck Center Sub Speaker Rattle
I have a 2011 A8 and the rear deck sub speaker started rattling a few months ago. It was so bad that I couldn't play the radio. I got no satisfaction from my dealer as the quoted cost to diagnose the problem was over $400.
So I finally got motivated to attack the speaker project and I think I found my problem. Maybe its the same issue you have. I removed the speaker from the rear deck as described below. I then took the speaker to a high end auto audio shop with the intention of having them test it to "confirm" that it was blown. To my surprise, they tech told me that the center dome on the speaker (he called it the dust cover) had come UNGLUED from the speaker cone. We believe that this was causing the horrible rattle in my speaker. If you carefully inspect the cone in the center of your speaker you can actually see if it has come detached from the cone. Touch the dust cover carefully and you will hear the rattle. You don't even need to remove the speaker from the deck to do this inspection.
I hope to have the speaker back this week and will reinstall it to make sure it works. The tech was nearly certain that this was the problem and his bill is less than $20.
To remove the rear center sub speaker: I carefully pried up the center rear deck speaker cover with a tiny screwdriver. The cover has a number of tabs that fit into slots on the decking. Pry it up very carefully/slowly and continue to work around the cover to get it to come up evenly.
Once the cover is off, use an allen wrench to remove the screws holding the speaker in the box. (extracting this speaker does not require removing the rear deck material, sunshade, or seats. And there is nothing to do in the trunk. It's actually very simple).
In order to get the speaker out of the rear deck, i needed to trim back the "cardboard" rear deck material about 1/2 inch at the rear. I used a sharp box cutter and trimmed the deck very carefully making sure that I did not cut the slots that hold the cover in place, or the speaker.
Once the opening was slightly enlarged, the speaker came out the top. Carefully disconnect the 2 wires. Use caution not to break the wire connector posts as the wire is clipped on tightly.
Good Luck
So I finally got motivated to attack the speaker project and I think I found my problem. Maybe its the same issue you have. I removed the speaker from the rear deck as described below. I then took the speaker to a high end auto audio shop with the intention of having them test it to "confirm" that it was blown. To my surprise, they tech told me that the center dome on the speaker (he called it the dust cover) had come UNGLUED from the speaker cone. We believe that this was causing the horrible rattle in my speaker. If you carefully inspect the cone in the center of your speaker you can actually see if it has come detached from the cone. Touch the dust cover carefully and you will hear the rattle. You don't even need to remove the speaker from the deck to do this inspection.
I hope to have the speaker back this week and will reinstall it to make sure it works. The tech was nearly certain that this was the problem and his bill is less than $20.
To remove the rear center sub speaker: I carefully pried up the center rear deck speaker cover with a tiny screwdriver. The cover has a number of tabs that fit into slots on the decking. Pry it up very carefully/slowly and continue to work around the cover to get it to come up evenly.
Once the cover is off, use an allen wrench to remove the screws holding the speaker in the box. (extracting this speaker does not require removing the rear deck material, sunshade, or seats. And there is nothing to do in the trunk. It's actually very simple).
In order to get the speaker out of the rear deck, i needed to trim back the "cardboard" rear deck material about 1/2 inch at the rear. I used a sharp box cutter and trimmed the deck very carefully making sure that I did not cut the slots that hold the cover in place, or the speaker.
Once the opening was slightly enlarged, the speaker came out the top. Carefully disconnect the 2 wires. Use caution not to break the wire connector posts as the wire is clipped on tightly.
Good Luck
The following 2 users liked this post by mdfa8:
markremi (02-08-2021),
Maxster4.2 (02-16-2024)
08-09-2016, 08:22 AM
#22
That too bad and disappointing. B&0 is the best sounding factory system on the market hands down. I have heard them all including the MERC 3D Burmester system system although the AMG's are now claiming to now offer B&O.
If it is a blown B&O you could try to contact B&O. tHing is its tough when it comes to audio. They will always claim the owner abused it. I dont think I ever listen to my B&o above vol setting 24. It sounds perfect for me at that level. My A8 warranty is almost up to and many warranties wont cover audio systems so I would hate for something to happen to a $6K system. Enjoy it while it lasts I guess. I hope you can resolve it without shelling out too much coin
If it is a blown B&O you could try to contact B&O. tHing is its tough when it comes to audio. They will always claim the owner abused it. I dont think I ever listen to my B&o above vol setting 24. It sounds perfect for me at that level. My A8 warranty is almost up to and many warranties wont cover audio systems so I would hate for something to happen to a $6K system. Enjoy it while it lasts I guess. I hope you can resolve it without shelling out too much coin
11-17-2016, 02:33 PM
#24
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I just bought an S3 with B & O system 1 week ago. I am experience similar rear deck rattling. Door speakers perform impressively at max volume but back deck makes sound like speaker grill rattles at loud bass.
I dont know how to even explain this to dealer.
I dont know how to even explain this to dealer.
11-17-2016, 02:41 PM
#25
AudiWorld Member
Why wouldn't you just take the rep out to the car and let him listen?
I'm sure he'd love to hear the system at max volume.
12-31-2016, 03:30 PM
#26
Was this with the B&O speakers or other? I have the same issue in my 2011 A8 with B&O.
I have a 2011 A8 and the rear deck sub speaker started rattling a few months ago. It was so bad that I couldn't play the radio. I got no satisfaction from my dealer as the quoted cost to diagnose the problem was over $400.
So I finally got motivated to attack the speaker project and I think I found my problem. Maybe its the same issue you have. I removed the speaker from the rear deck as described below. I then took the speaker to a high end auto audio shop with the intention of having them test it to "confirm" that it was blown. To my surprise, they tech told me that the center dome on the speaker (he called it the dust cover) had come UNGLUED from the speaker cone. We believe that this was causing the horrible rattle in my speaker. If you carefully inspect the cone in the center of your speaker you can actually see if it has come detached from the cone. Touch the dust cover carefully and you will hear the rattle. You don't even need to remove the speaker from the deck to do this inspection.
I hope to have the speaker back this week and will reinstall it to make sure it works. The tech was nearly certain that this was the problem and his bill is less than $20.
To remove the rear center sub speaker: I carefully pried up the center rear deck speaker cover with a tiny screwdriver. The cover has a number of tabs that fit into slots on the decking. Pry it up very carefully/slowly and continue to work around the cover to get it to come up evenly.
Once the cover is off, use an allen wrench to remove the screws holding the speaker in the box. (extracting this speaker does not require removing the rear deck material, sunshade, or seats. And there is nothing to do in the trunk. It's actually very simple).
In order to get the speaker out of the rear deck, i needed to trim back the "cardboard" rear deck material about 1/2 inch at the rear. I used a sharp box cutter and trimmed the deck very carefully making sure that I did not cut the slots that hold the cover in place, or the speaker.
Once the opening was slightly enlarged, the speaker came out the top. Carefully disconnect the 2 wires. Use caution not to break the wire connector posts as the wire is clipped on tightly.
Good Luck
So I finally got motivated to attack the speaker project and I think I found my problem. Maybe its the same issue you have. I removed the speaker from the rear deck as described below. I then took the speaker to a high end auto audio shop with the intention of having them test it to "confirm" that it was blown. To my surprise, they tech told me that the center dome on the speaker (he called it the dust cover) had come UNGLUED from the speaker cone. We believe that this was causing the horrible rattle in my speaker. If you carefully inspect the cone in the center of your speaker you can actually see if it has come detached from the cone. Touch the dust cover carefully and you will hear the rattle. You don't even need to remove the speaker from the deck to do this inspection.
I hope to have the speaker back this week and will reinstall it to make sure it works. The tech was nearly certain that this was the problem and his bill is less than $20.
To remove the rear center sub speaker: I carefully pried up the center rear deck speaker cover with a tiny screwdriver. The cover has a number of tabs that fit into slots on the decking. Pry it up very carefully/slowly and continue to work around the cover to get it to come up evenly.
Once the cover is off, use an allen wrench to remove the screws holding the speaker in the box. (extracting this speaker does not require removing the rear deck material, sunshade, or seats. And there is nothing to do in the trunk. It's actually very simple).
In order to get the speaker out of the rear deck, i needed to trim back the "cardboard" rear deck material about 1/2 inch at the rear. I used a sharp box cutter and trimmed the deck very carefully making sure that I did not cut the slots that hold the cover in place, or the speaker.
Once the opening was slightly enlarged, the speaker came out the top. Carefully disconnect the 2 wires. Use caution not to break the wire connector posts as the wire is clipped on tightly.
Good Luck
01-01-2017, 07:15 AM
#27
AudiWorld Senior Member
Not unusual for rear deck speakers to have voice coil dust covers come unglued. Usually indicates a car has been out in the sun or dry climate for quite a time. I am getting ready to replace the woofer foam on 2 sets of vintage JBL studio monitors which deteriorates over time even indoors and depending on replacement method, can require cutting back the dust cover and shimming the voice coil to keep it centered and then regluing the dust cover. About a 3 day process to do correctly and Elmer's won't do the job! Access directions have already been given by another poster.
01-04-2017, 05:24 AM
#28
My experience was similar, but not quite the same, so in case anyone has similar symptoms....
Just bought a 2011 A8 with B&O and rear entertainment system. The subwoofer would make a loud popping noise when volume was turned up past 6 or 7, suggesting that the speaker was blown.
I removed the subwoofer by removing the speaker cover carefully with a small flathead screwdriver. (The main clips are front left and front right, once those are free, the cover comes off easily) I then removed the 8 screws securing the sub to the speaker housing and after cutting away a half inch of the cardboard shelf towards the rear of the speaker, began to remove the speaker. The two spade connectors for the speaker wire were a little stubborn, but came loose after wiggling back and forth carefully.
The speaker looked to be in perfect condition. No tears, rubber diaphram / cone seemed good etc. I then connected the speaker to a regular home stereo amp (subwoofer output) and started playing back movies with a lot of bass. (explosions etc).... At first, I was getting the same popping noises, and then, all of a sudden, a really loud pop that made me jump and remove the wires from the speaker. I thought that maybe that was the final straw and the speaker was now completely shot..... So I turned the volume way down and receonnected the speaker. It still looked perfectly fine visually and there was no weird smell that would indicate that the coil burnt out etc. Strangely enough, the speaker seemed to be working much better. I slowly increase the volume to a point where the speaker was performing REALLY well.
At this stage I decided to put it back in the car to see if the amplifier made a difference (home vs car). The subwoofer performed perfectly and is back in working order.
The only thing I can think of is that the car sat on the lot for weeks in the cold... it is winter in the North East US after all and that something had seized up. Not sure what's in a speaker that can do that, but I digress.
All is well now! Strange, but true.
Just bought a 2011 A8 with B&O and rear entertainment system. The subwoofer would make a loud popping noise when volume was turned up past 6 or 7, suggesting that the speaker was blown.
I removed the subwoofer by removing the speaker cover carefully with a small flathead screwdriver. (The main clips are front left and front right, once those are free, the cover comes off easily) I then removed the 8 screws securing the sub to the speaker housing and after cutting away a half inch of the cardboard shelf towards the rear of the speaker, began to remove the speaker. The two spade connectors for the speaker wire were a little stubborn, but came loose after wiggling back and forth carefully.
The speaker looked to be in perfect condition. No tears, rubber diaphram / cone seemed good etc. I then connected the speaker to a regular home stereo amp (subwoofer output) and started playing back movies with a lot of bass. (explosions etc).... At first, I was getting the same popping noises, and then, all of a sudden, a really loud pop that made me jump and remove the wires from the speaker. I thought that maybe that was the final straw and the speaker was now completely shot..... So I turned the volume way down and receonnected the speaker. It still looked perfectly fine visually and there was no weird smell that would indicate that the coil burnt out etc. Strangely enough, the speaker seemed to be working much better. I slowly increase the volume to a point where the speaker was performing REALLY well.
At this stage I decided to put it back in the car to see if the amplifier made a difference (home vs car). The subwoofer performed perfectly and is back in working order.
The only thing I can think of is that the car sat on the lot for weeks in the cold... it is winter in the North East US after all and that something had seized up. Not sure what's in a speaker that can do that, but I digress.
All is well now! Strange, but true.
The following users liked this post:
markremi (02-08-2021)
01-14-2017, 06:54 PM
#29
Looks like my "fix" was temporary. I can still hear that the subwoofer isn't quite right. Does anyone have the specs for it so that I can replace it with something similar? I believe it's an 8" woofer, but is it 2ohms or 4ohm, single or dual coil and any idea on wattage?
01-14-2017, 07:24 PM
#30
AudiWorld Senior Member
If you have a DATS testing kit you can run a test on the factory sub and it will tell you the TS parameters. They cost $100, but if you are into DIY audio it's a useful tool to have.
