wootloops

Hi All,

I recently purchased a 2016 S3 Prestige, CPO from a local dealer. Absolutely love the car. However, there is one thing that is driving me nuts and it's the well known issue with the B&O sound system in the car.

For those who are not familiar with the issue: The MMI system (poorly) upsamples media with a 44.1khz sample rate to the native 48khz sample rate of the B&O amplifier before sending it over the MOST bus. This causes "aliasing" in the sound, which manifests as a crackling static sound, as if you are listening to a vinyl record player. It is most noticeable over bluetooth and SD card sources, during specific moments in songs, usually during intros or other quiet parts. It can be easily heard if you play a test tone in the 500hz-1khz range. The issue does not seem to happen on FM radio or SiriusXM satellite radio, or if you can feed the MMI a 48khz audio file. Bluetooth streaming is the worst but it also happens over hard-wired connections such as the AMI port, or SD cards.

Some people say that Audi has confirmed that this is expected behavior and have no plans to fix this on 2015-2016 model year vehicles. I have heard RUMORS that this may be resolved in 2017 or newer vehicles with the updated MMI system (with Carplay/Andriod Auto) but I have not confirmed that yet.

I am honestly extremely disappointed that such an expensive factory audio system can have such a huge issue and Audi is reluctant to do anything about it.

My questions are:

• Has anyone had any luck with Audi or their dealer addressing this issue?
• Is there any kind of firmware update for the MMI system that I have not heard about that may resolve this? All of the posts I've read are over a year or two old.
• Is it confirmed if this is resolved in the 2017+ MMI system? If so, would retrofitting the new MIB2 unit in the glove box resolve the issue on 2015-2016 cars?

Thanks in advance for the input.

Larsmate

I have the new MIB2 unit and I defo don't hear any crackling and I'm 90% listening to various quality MP3's on SD cards.

Timmay

As an owner of a 2017 S3 I have never had any issues with the B&O audio and I listen almost exclusively to MP3 music loaded onto my SD cards. In fact, it's probably the best sounding system I've ever had in a car along with my previous S4 that was also equipped with B&O. I was not even aware of this issue.

m7md24

I have the same problem, they have changed the full subwoofer but still it back again and now I'm waiting for some other parts to be changed

gamegenie

I had this issue and got it addressed back in 2015.
The Audi dealer had to replace a component in the MMI that was the culprit and it took a while for them to get the specific part because it had to come from Germany.
Take your car to dealer, and have them look into it. Mine was bad to the point, the crackling pop escalated to me losing audio from each speaker except for the center speaker.

m7md24

For my issue is that the crackling noise is where the subwoofer at the rear where I can hear the crackling noise. For now, all my speakers are working perfectly well

Fist Fix: add some tapes

Second Fix: Changed the Subwoofer

Third fix: I guess they will change the full rare panel

So let's see how it goes

arU4ic

I had this in my 2015, particularly when the window was open (I explain in a different thread), in the 2018 it's gone, maybe the guy that got my '15 is having the issue now, hope not.

Peter Vee

Very familiar this issue; I posted some time back about. To duplicate, I can plug in my iPhone via AMI cable, play a song, and then blow into the microphone located near the sunroof control. Apparently, there is some sort of feedback loop. Especially annoying since we've all upgraded to B&O for better sound (not sure this only affects B&O). Concerning when driving with an elevated volume and windows down when a gust of wind blows. Sounds like you're about to blow a speaker. That said, I just had to have two of my door speakers replaced.

r_sherrer29

I have a 2015 A3 with B&O and have had mine into Audi Ann Arbor twice now for the same issue. They check it, tell me nope they can't hear it or replicate it, and push me away. The second time I sat in the car with them, literally pointed out the sound and was told their ears aren't good enough to hear it. Mine seems to be coming from my tweeter area up front. I have debated on just ordering different tweeters and trying to replace them myself. It has become annoying on every drive.

MacSound

I have the same issue with my newly purchased used 2015 S3 non B&O. My warranty dies next month.
My issue only comes out of the passenger side front speaker. Audi tried swapping the speaker, it's still there
and actually seemed to get worse.
Brought it back and they kept my car for two more days then said they heard it at first but then couldn't hear it later but said they spent several hours with it.... Yeah Sure, I said let me show you.. oh.our techs have left for the day
you will have to bring it back.
I got in the car at the dealership and started it to the usual snap crackles. It is pretty random, sometimes it does it and sometimes not but it happens more often than not. The system itself sounds fine.
If I hit a pot whole I get a loud pop sound out of the same speaker. I am an audio engineer so of corse it drives me nuts. I think it's just a loose connection somewhere.
If I tap the door or the media player in the glove box nothin happens. If I leave the volume at one notch above 0 I can hear hiss crackle out of the same speaker only.
So will post here if they fix it. My guess is they wont as they are mechanics not car audio installers. In the mean time Im going to find where the amp is and play with
the connections a bit.
If I find a fix I will post here or if Audi fixes it. They did give me a new battery under warranty which was surprising as it dies three days after I got the car.