jazzmanjr

I'm leasing a 2017 A4 premier with the stock stereo system. What are my options for adding a subwoofer in a way that is reversible and non-destructive?

emmgee

I replaced all of my speakers in my A4 Premium because they sucked. Luckily I bought my A4 and didn't have to be concerned. I was thinking the other day about how bummed I would have been if I had to live with that for 3 or 4 lease years. So I feel bad for you.

I'll tell you what I did but it won't be reassuring to you. First of all, I didn't want to have a subwoofer in an enclosure. This is what my stereo dealer recommended because theoretically a real subwoofer requires an enclosure. That would be non-destructive in your case so you might consider it. You'd lose trunk space but when you turn in the car you could easily disconnect it.

I didn't need an earth-shattering subwoofer so I figured I would buy a good quality subwoofer and install it in the original stock subwoofer opening. After doing some web research I picked the Kicker 40CWD102 10" subwoofer. They did have to trim the opening a bit to install it. Also, the depth of the subwoofer was about twice as deep as the stock sub. I think it was the depth that was why the opening had to be widened. It's possible that other brands would be less deep and could fit right in.

My dealer also used Stinger Damping Sheet to keep the thin sheet metal deck from vibrating. A lot of A4 owners have had vibration issues with the stock sub. A beefier sub would have surely added to the vibrations.

I LOVE the new subwoofer. It has the right amount of punch and depth. The dealer thought they might have to install a separate amp and volume control to ensure a balanced sound. They decided not to do that and add it later if needed. It wasn't needed. The sound is really is good.

The slightest little downside is that the depth of the subwoofer slightly blocks the top of the trunk. If you have a big suitcase it might not fit on that side of the trunk. But after 9 months and a few trips, I've never had that problem. I guess I have small suitcases.

I might be tempted to just install the damn thing and hope when you turn in the car that the dealer looks the other way. After all, you'll be vastly improving the sound and the next owner a) will never know it isn't stock and b) they'll never take it back to the dealer and say "What's the matter with this subwoofer?"

If you do go ahead, I strongly recommend going to a locally-owned car stereo store with an owner/operator who has been doing this work for a long time and has seen all types of installations. They may charge a little more than Best Buy or similar but I feel that a real pro will do the best job for you.

jazzmanjr

Thanks for sharing this.

Yesterday I was shocked to discover that the car already has a subwoofer. This has got to be the worst subwoofer known to man. But I can confirm it is powerful enough to cause vibration issues. That thing needs to be shot.

It would be great if I could find a replacement that would fit without modification. There's an independent shop nearby, so I'll swing by and see what they think.

tommoran2

I have the Premium pkg also with the crappy sound system.

Is the existing sub located in the rear deck area ?

What speakers have you also replaced? Did you do this yourself.

sirfrancis

I wish I had the B&O system but I can honestly say the stock system sounds fine to me. I've heard worse, to say the stock system can't be tolerated I think is a little harsh.

But you do have some people who are serious audiophiles so to each is own.

tommoran2

Did you have this done or did you do the work yourself. Iam trying to figure out how to do this myself. What other components have you installed?

emmgee

Open the trunk and look on the left side. The speaker you see is considered the subwoofer – at least that's what I assumed it is.

I had a local, privately-owned car stereo dealer do it.

emmgee

The only thing I had done was speaker replacement. I looked into adding a separate amp but I was told that because the sound system uses fiber optics, they can't patch into it the way they can do with other cars. It made such an improvement that I'm reasonably happy. I do wish I had the B&O but it isn't available on the Premium – and I didn't want/need anything else in the Premium Plus.

emmgee

You're right – to each his own. I bought a white A4 – I'm sure some people don't like white. Good thing there is a choice of color. Unfortunately there is no choice of sound system at the Premium level. I wouldn't agree that you have to be a "serious audiophile" to consider the sound of the Premium's sound system to be pretty poor. But if you like it, good for you!

tommoran2

What speakers did you replace ? Front Doors ? Rear Doors? Front deck ?