RCrumb

I have a 13 Q5 with the B&O and with my IPod pugged in the sound is outstanding. Radio and Sirius suck obviously. At home I have twin Carver power amps, Carver Pre, etc so high fidelity and sound quality are important to me. Perhaps the A3 sounds better, if so fantastic, but IMO my Q5 sounds very good. Just as info..

ser968

Sure! I installed this subwoofer:

Sound Ordnance B-8PTD 125-watt compact powered subwoofer at Crutchfield.com

Fairly inexpensive and very easy to install. I have virtually no installation skills, but after reading about it, I was able to get it done.
1. I tapped into the existing subwoofer speaker and used the line-level inputs
2. I grounded to the car's chasis - the battery and grounding point is just below - I'm using the same ground point.
3. I tapped the car's power to an empty slot on the car's battery
4. I tapped into the power outlet in the rear right side of the car for remote turn on. Note that the subwoofer line levels were not high enough to trigger this amp's power.
5. The subwoofer is wedged in the bottom compartment between the battery and the bumper wall - I don't have it screwed down, but it does not move because it is almost the exact width of that space (and it really has no where to go).

As I stated in my earlier post, I am very pleased with the car's sound. If I were going to to do again and I could find a good deal on it, I would maybe use this focal subwoofer instead as from what I understand the bass is much tighter through this sub.

Focal Integration IBus 20 Compact 75-watt powered 8" subwoofer at Crutchfield.com

ex-quattro PETE

Alpine also makes one that should fit in that space:
Alpine PWE-S8 Compact 120-watt powered 8" subwoofer at Crutchfield.com

And Kicker:
Kicker 11HS8 Hideaway? compact powered subwoofer: 150 watts and an 8" sub at Crutchfield.com

Before our Q5 arrived, I was seriously considering adding one of these. But when I finally heard the stock system (non B&O), I found the bass to be perfectly sufficient for normal listening, so I didn't bother with adding an aftermarket sub. Based on what others wrote in this thread, the B&O system is balanced differently and may need some help on the low end.

DanMontgomery

Ser968,

Can you share a picture of the installed Amp...when you get a chance.

Very interested in seeing it installed?

V/r
Dan

subterFUSE

We have the B&O in my wife's 2015 SQ5 which we just got a month ago.

I am planning a full system upgrade sometime in the next few months.


The current plans are:


mObridge DA1 preamp
Mosconi D2 80.6 DSP (amplifier + DSP combo)
Mosconi D2 500.1 mono amp (for subwoofer)
Illusion Audio C4Cx point-source coaxials (front speakers, on dash in corners)
Illusion Audio Carbon 8 midbass (front door, stock location)
Illusion Audio Carbon 12 subwoofer (tire well)



Very simple and straightforward, but will be a huge improvement for the sound.

ser968

Here is a down and dirty picture.

Saintsfanatik

Yeah...I'm going to have to add a "in my opinion" to that. To me, it's less than exhilarating, especially since it seems that they got B&O right in the other models.

subterFUSE

$850 option vs. $5900 option, however.

Saintsfanatik

I'm going to bet that there were updates to the B&O as well as MMI that made it so. Maybe they've gotten it right since 2009 (which is my year), and the '13 is the pig's ****. Perhaps I'll have to stop by the stealership and give a listen to one.

But, as of now, mine isn't impressive at all, whether on Siruis, or FM. The iPod is somewhat better--but then again, I set all my music to high quality, volume adjusted bitrates, so there's that.

Saintsfanatik

With the swap-out of the stock amp for the MOST-enabled amp and the speakers and other components, is there any Audi Component Protection f*&kery that you have to contend with, or is it just like installing a loopback adapter from the fibre ring aspect? Anything to avoid going back to the dealership.