B&O Sound System Sucks
 

Does anyone agree with me that the upgraded B&O sound system sucks? I'm wondering if it is just a licensing deal where Audi gets to put the "Bang and Olufsen" name on the sound system when they aren't really anything special.

Both of my older Volvos (S60 and S40) had better sound systems and weren't even the upgraded versions. Just drove a 2018 Mazda 3 rental that also had a better sound system.

My issues with it are that just about every speaker buzzes/rattles and lacks proper bass. Turning up the subwoofer and bass a little bit improves the bass but also just amplifies the buzzing and rattling. I know Audi sometimes fixes these issues by adding material around the speakers, but I doubt I would be able to complain about the entire system and see if they can stop the rattling on every door panel.

It just lacks a feeling of fullness and tightness in the sound. I've thought about installing a subwoofer in the trunk which I've heard would help quite a bit, but I would still be annoyed by all the door panel noise.

Does anyone have any suggestions or solutions?

I thought the B8.5 had a better system, even though the subwoofer was a dog and I swapped it out. But it was an $800 option: that's peanuts in the world of audio.

This generation is pretty good for the price. You're going to need to stick some rubber shock tape around grills, especially subwoofer on rear deck, to stop rattles. Now my B8.5 I had to pop off almost every door and shove rubber shock mounts. Every door buzzed with certain bass notes. Ever listen to a Range Rover with Meridian? They tend to rattle too. So it's not just Audi. But I agree other car companies do a better job.

I found after a few weeks the bass opened up. I tend to listen medium-loud, keep most controls at 12' o'clock, with 3D at medium. Sounds decent enough. I still want to swap a better subwoofer in, but it's sufficient for now.

The first A4 I test drove was the base model with the base sound system, and I thought it was awful. The B&O sound system was a significant improvement over the base, so in comparison it is excellent, but in my experience comparing it to other vehicles, not so much.

Can't say I have lots experience with high end audio systems. To my ears, B&O sound system in B9 A4 is fantastic especially the clarity. I feel my other cars (Honda and Lexus) sound sucks now.

At first i was expecting more from the B&O, but with some padding on the rear deck subwoofer, and it breaking in, I'm in love, I think any factory set with over 500w will vibrate causing rattle, I think to b9 B&O produced some of the best clarity with good highs and lows. Every satisfied.

The highs are way too high.

Mids are virtually non-existent

Sub is underwhelming but that's to be expected

What's really missing is an advanced equalizer menu to tweak it to your liking.

Agreed. What are your thoughts on the 3D / Surround settings? Those seem gimmicky to me and make the sound quality worse IMO.

I'm going to agree with the B&O being underwhelming. It doesn't help in my case that I am mostly listening to satellite radio...

Compared to, say, the Lexicon system in a 2009 Hyundai Genesis (my dad had one of those...), the B&O is very underwhelming. But really, it's the base system on 2 of the 3 trims in the US market, I don't think it's really marketed as anything spectacularly fancy. Not like the $6000 (CAD) standalone B&O options on the A8...

It is better than the midlevel BMW stereo that was standard on my 2014 428i. The US version got an upgraded stereo that was put together by Harman Kardon. I thought it was okay for a base stereo, but the branded premium HK stereo was much better from when I listened to it. Clarity was much better.

From what I have read on here, the base stereo is pretty horrific and shameful. So unless you just listen to AM or talk radio, the B&O is a must. That said, I think B&O is one of these companies that market better than what they actually produce. It is how I feel about Bose as well. For me that the stereo causes so much buzzing is a big negative - shouldn't be the case on an upgraded stereo. I also think the coupe buyers have it better since we get a 10" woofer in the deck and the sportback gets a small 6.5" in the spare tire.

I don't get any rattles or anything and I think when tweaked it sounds very good. I posted some suggested settings in another thread that could make a difference:

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud.../#post24995802

I think 3D set at the lowest level is important since the system won't use all the speakers with it turned down but IMO it sounds too hollow set any higher than that. Some find that changing the Focus setting to Rear helps -- I don't like that setting to so I don't know why that seems to help for some.

For my part I think there is definitely a major issue with the rattles. Some base tones will set off the worst rattles i've seen in a car. While other tones will produce a clean sound.

My other issue is the front door speaker, again these have a serious issue with some base frequencies and just sound like pure crap.

Ideally i would like to upgrade the front door speakers and rattle-proof the rear deck and front doors.

Just a bunch of flashiness that gets old after a few minutes. More people need to listen to live concert hall or jazz club music before being deceived by those "features" -- or by what they perceive to be a lack of bass. Live music does not rattle the furniture.

B&O produces excellent quality products with great sound quality. The real B&O out there do produce well. The problem with these "B&O" speakers in our automotive is that they are not made by B&O anymore, but by Harmon Kardon. HK bought out the automotive share of from B&O. The B&O system you can purchase for the Q7 for instance (a whooping $5000 upgrade+) is what a real B&O should sound like.

The low quality "B&O" in the A4 has more to do with HK. Bose on the other hand, is just terrible, period. They are nothing but a marketing genius.

Yeah SiriusXM is compressed hard. Maybe comparable to a 96kbps mp3. And they give more bandwidth to more popular stations - so some stations sound even worse. Cymbals and high hats sound more like warbling white noise than anything else.

I agree: problem is a car is a terrible acoustic space. That's why B&O is doing lots of DSP gimmicks - trying to make it more immersive. I'm fine with it.

So what's everyone's recommended settings for everything? Treble, bass, 3D surround, focus, etc?

I mostly settled on zeroing out treble/bass/sub (12 o'clock), Focus All, 3D medium, and 12 o'clock surround. I tend to listen about 50-60% volume, anything lower and the bass gets thin.

I still think Driver focus in the B8.5 was way better. And with the subwoofer swap I did it was sexy. But I'm happy enough with these settings.

I've been listening more and playing around with the settings more and I'm basically content with it now.

I think the system does well when the volume is cranked up.

I have treble and bass at 1 and 2 o'clock, subwoofer maxed out, Focus All, Fader set so the line is just touching the back seats, Surround 1 or 2 clicks above zero, and 3D Low

To me it's great!

I just tweaked the settings and its perfect. The 3D surround is awesome.

Play around the settings and understand how to tweak them. If you have your bass at max and highs at max then of course it will sound garbage etc etc

Just getting out of a Q5 Prem Plus with B&O, I did notice that the A4 system lacks some clarity, soundstage, and depth in comparison. I've fiddled with the settings but just can't quite get it there. Particularly annoyed that the fader doesn't really do anything except reduce the volume -- the rear speakers are tiny. But overall it's not terrible, just not totally outstanding.

I have experienced no rattles to date at moderately high volumes, so perhaps you are dealing with defective factory install? I think this system is on par with other systems at this price segment. I think it sounds better than the A6 Bose for sure, and is par with say the Acura ELS systems. I agree with others here that the 3D EFFECT needs to be turned on (I prefer low) to activate all the speakers in the A pillar. Without doing this the sound stage is too far forward and feels like the sound is buried deep in the dashboard. I turn the SURROUND effect off because I do feel like this causes some artifacts and I don't really need my music to sound like it's coming from all directions.

My limited impressions as a perspective new A4 buyer. Audi/B&O seems to have placed a huge premium on volume at the trade off, perhaps, of sound quality. It plays without distortion very loudly and if one likes that kind of thing that would be a big plus. However if you are more of an audiophile the sound reproduction may be lacking. IMHO the system lacks a certain warmth and is too forward in it's presentation and sounds a bit brittle to me.

That being said speakers take some time to break in (48ish hours at medium volume) so what I was hearing may not be what one experiences longer term.

So i discovered something interesting with a recent loaner, the 2018 model has a separate control to adjust sub woofer, but the 2017 does not. as far as i can tell they both have the exact same sound system, and same woofer in the deck, but he 2018 has way more bass because you can adjust the sub separate. anyone have any ideas on how to alter the older models so we can have sub woofer control?

I have a MY2017 and I have a separate subwoofer control. I think it has to do with the MMI firmware version but I imagine it does make a difference in the overall sound if you have one to tweak or not.

What software version do you have ?

I find the B&O system quite good....I can only compare the sound quality to a Lexus NX and a Honda Civic.
Now that it's summer I just open the 2 front windows and turn up my music really loud (yes i'm one of those guys, I love how the bass/subwoofer feels when it's turnt up)
Got to show it off :p

I feel that you can make it sound good for the front, or you can make it sound good for the backseat, but not quite both. The front speakers are more treble-heavy while the rear ones are more treble-light. It would be be awesome if we could adjust the bass and treble individually for front and rear.

It's 0918.

B&O Sound System Sucks
 

I just leased an A5 Sportback Prestige with the B&O system and already regret it. It sounds horrible. The highs are tinny and harsh. The midrange is nearly non-existent, and the bass is boomy. Overall it is fatiguing to listen too. I’ve tried every possible adjustment that the MMI allows but nothing can make it better.

I’m going to contact the dealer in hopes that there is a software update that fixes this. If not I’ll regret leasing this car for the next 36 months!

Honestly, I couldn't disagree more, this sound system is the best I've heard in a car. I think you need to turn down the 3d effect to 1/4 , set surround to low. I have my bass at 75% trble at 60ish. What kind of music are you playing ?

I agree, best I have heard so far and I have had 2 Q5's, and older Lexus RX and a Porsche Macan. I like music, used to have a fairly high end home system and I don't think I'm tone deaf yet. Now, of course there are better stock systems out there, but for someone to say their Audi B&O system is that bad that there are regrets leasing the car, sounds like there just may be a problem with his particular unit.

I had the dealer look at the rear panel buzzing from the subwoofer. Just took the car home so I think it is better, but not perfect so we shall see if it is the 3rd-party Dynamat install next if it isn't improved enough. They got rid of an awful rattle in the passenger door though near the speaker housing.

I have turned up the treble to about 1pm, the bass to about 2pm and the subwoofer to about 3pm. I have 3D set to low so it at least uses the upper speaker and I think I have surround off or the lowest setting. Don't need too much digital processing of the music.

Hi, Just bought a 2018 Q7 and can't agree more! The Bose system sucks! Did you do anything to fix it?