2014 S4 Non B&O Aftermarket Subwoofer and Amp Install
09-11-2016, 05:00 PM
#1
2014 S4 Non B&O Aftermarket Subwoofer and Amp Install
Hey everyone. I recently purchased a 2014 S4 with the non B&O sound system and wasn't really impressed with the sound, especially from the subwoofer... I checked out all kinds of forums for information on how to improve the sound and install an aftermarket sub and amp. I kind of pieced together my own setup from some of the different ideas that other people had done, so I figured that I'd share what I did with everyone! It has made it sound like a whole new system! Now I am able to properly adjust the treble, midrange and bass levels having the new sub and amp.
The Amp that I went with is the Alpine MRV-M500, the sub is an Alpine SWS-10D4 and I also installed an Alpine RUX-**** for remote bass level control. The Alpine amp has a speaker level input connector the eliminates the need for a line output converter which was nice!
Anyway, on with the install! I installed the amp on the panel that opens up on the left side of the trunk that has the existing system's amp in it. The amp fit perfectly on the panel. It's a nice spot to put it because it is totally out of the way, it's easily accessible and it is really convenient for running the wiring to it! I stacked up a few small washers under each of the mounting screws for the amp so that they wouldn't go right through to the outside of the panel.
Next, I located the wiring connection to the existing subwoofer. While reading some of the other forums etc, people were taking the panels off of the rear window deck and removing the rear pillar trim/panels in order to access the subwoofer wiring and run new wires. I didn't really feel like doing that, so I climbed into the trunk to have a look. I was able to reach into a square hole and undo the connector from the sub. I cut the connector off, making sure to leave enough wire so that if I ever remove the amp and sub I can reattach the connector and hook up the stock sub again. I plugged the connector back into the stock sub so that I don't end up misplacing it as well! I used the existing subwoofer wires for tying into the speaker level input connector that comes with the amp. The speaker level input connection eliminates the need for a remote turn-on lead from the head unit and senses when the stereo is powered up and shut off and it also eliminates the need for a line output converter, as the amp has it built into it. The white and yellow wire from the stock subwoofer is the positive wire and the brown and yellow wire is the negative. The speaker level input connector has 8 wires in it. You only need to use two of them. I used the green, which is a positive wire and the green/black which is the negative. I used about 7 feet of 16 gauge wire and soldered them to the stock sub wiring and put heat shrink tube over the connections. Then I ran the wire through corrugated plastic wire loom for protection. Next I ran the wire through the smaller rectangular slot by the stock sub and tie wrapped it along the top, back side of the trunk just above the opening into the back seat. There are some small holes in the metal which were perfect for tie wrapping the wire neatly in place. Next, I ran the wire behind the paneling at the top left corner of the trunk and down towards the amp. I tie wrapped the wires to the existing wiring harness. Next, I soldered the 16 gauge wires that I just mentioned to the speaker level input connector green (+) and green/black (-) wires, heat shrunk them and then connected the connector to the amp.
The next step was running the power and ground cables to the amp. I removed the spare tire and battery cover. Then I figured out how much wire I needed to get to the amp from the battery for the power connection. I installed an inline fuse to the positive cable and ran the wire along an existing wiring harness at the bottom of the spare tire compartment and then up to the left rear corner and then through an opening into the amp compartment. Next I ran the ground cable. There are two ground studs on the left side of the spare tire compartment. I used the one at the rear of the trunk as it lined up better with the positive cable that I just ran. I removed the acorn nut from the stud and then attached the ground cable terminal to the stud and ran the cable through the same opening as the positive cable up to the amp. Next I connected the cables to the amp and then hooked up the positive cable to the battery and tie wrapped the wires in place.
Next, I ran the speaker wire to the sub box. I ran the wire under the trunk floor paneling from the front corner of the opening of the amp compartment to the back side of the trunk and then came up with it right where the opening for the armrest is and then hooked it up to the sub and amp.
The final step was hooking up the remote bass control ****. I hooked it up in the center console. If you open up the center console there is a small square cover that you can pop out. I popped it out and then used a coat hanger to fish the wire up into the center console. Next, I took the Alpine RUX-**** apart, drilled a hole for the switch to go through, removed a couple of plastic tabs from the cover and then attached the RUX-**** to the cover. Then I attached the wire to the RUX-**** and put the cover back in place. Next I ran the wire under the driver's seat and then tucked it under the inner door frame paneling, under the left rear seat, under the left rear pilar paneling, then fished it down into the amp compartment and tie wrapped it to the existing wiring harness and hooked it up to the amp.
Now it was time to test it out! I turned the settings on the amp all down to zero and then adjusted everything with the music playing at high volume. I knew right away that it sounded 100% better! I did some fine tuning and adjusted all of the other levels. It sounded like a whole new system! I am very impressed with the way everything sounds now. The bass sounds amazing and the rest of the speakers are now set up properly as i didn't need to have them tuned for more bass. I would recommend this upgrade to anyone! I was thinking about replacing all of the speakers and adding another amp, but now that I have done this there is no need for it!
One last thing... Once it was all finished and set up, I went for a drive and when I accelerated I heard a big thump and something rolling around in the trunk... I stopped and had a look. It was the damn sub box rolling around. I went home and tried to figure out a way to anchor the box down in a way that didn't look like crap. At first I was just going to ratchet strap it down, but that looked like hell, so I scratched that idea. I folded down the armrest in the back seat and opened it up to the trunk and came up with a great idea! I took an old ratchet strap, cut off two pieces about 8" long give or take, removed the two torx screws that hold the armrest on and attached the bottoms of the straps to them and retightened. Then I screwed the tops of the straps to the back side of the sub box. Worked like a dream!
Sorry for such a long write up, but I figured this would help anyone that was thinking about doing something like this in the future! I know I had a hell of a time finding any information on the stereo systems in these cars! I hope that you found it useful! Here are some pics of the install.
The Amp that I went with is the Alpine MRV-M500, the sub is an Alpine SWS-10D4 and I also installed an Alpine RUX-**** for remote bass level control. The Alpine amp has a speaker level input connector the eliminates the need for a line output converter which was nice!
Anyway, on with the install! I installed the amp on the panel that opens up on the left side of the trunk that has the existing system's amp in it. The amp fit perfectly on the panel. It's a nice spot to put it because it is totally out of the way, it's easily accessible and it is really convenient for running the wiring to it! I stacked up a few small washers under each of the mounting screws for the amp so that they wouldn't go right through to the outside of the panel.
Next, I located the wiring connection to the existing subwoofer. While reading some of the other forums etc, people were taking the panels off of the rear window deck and removing the rear pillar trim/panels in order to access the subwoofer wiring and run new wires. I didn't really feel like doing that, so I climbed into the trunk to have a look. I was able to reach into a square hole and undo the connector from the sub. I cut the connector off, making sure to leave enough wire so that if I ever remove the amp and sub I can reattach the connector and hook up the stock sub again. I plugged the connector back into the stock sub so that I don't end up misplacing it as well! I used the existing subwoofer wires for tying into the speaker level input connector that comes with the amp. The speaker level input connection eliminates the need for a remote turn-on lead from the head unit and senses when the stereo is powered up and shut off and it also eliminates the need for a line output converter, as the amp has it built into it. The white and yellow wire from the stock subwoofer is the positive wire and the brown and yellow wire is the negative. The speaker level input connector has 8 wires in it. You only need to use two of them. I used the green, which is a positive wire and the green/black which is the negative. I used about 7 feet of 16 gauge wire and soldered them to the stock sub wiring and put heat shrink tube over the connections. Then I ran the wire through corrugated plastic wire loom for protection. Next I ran the wire through the smaller rectangular slot by the stock sub and tie wrapped it along the top, back side of the trunk just above the opening into the back seat. There are some small holes in the metal which were perfect for tie wrapping the wire neatly in place. Next, I ran the wire behind the paneling at the top left corner of the trunk and down towards the amp. I tie wrapped the wires to the existing wiring harness. Next, I soldered the 16 gauge wires that I just mentioned to the speaker level input connector green (+) and green/black (-) wires, heat shrunk them and then connected the connector to the amp.
The next step was running the power and ground cables to the amp. I removed the spare tire and battery cover. Then I figured out how much wire I needed to get to the amp from the battery for the power connection. I installed an inline fuse to the positive cable and ran the wire along an existing wiring harness at the bottom of the spare tire compartment and then up to the left rear corner and then through an opening into the amp compartment. Next I ran the ground cable. There are two ground studs on the left side of the spare tire compartment. I used the one at the rear of the trunk as it lined up better with the positive cable that I just ran. I removed the acorn nut from the stud and then attached the ground cable terminal to the stud and ran the cable through the same opening as the positive cable up to the amp. Next I connected the cables to the amp and then hooked up the positive cable to the battery and tie wrapped the wires in place.
Next, I ran the speaker wire to the sub box. I ran the wire under the trunk floor paneling from the front corner of the opening of the amp compartment to the back side of the trunk and then came up with it right where the opening for the armrest is and then hooked it up to the sub and amp.
The final step was hooking up the remote bass control ****. I hooked it up in the center console. If you open up the center console there is a small square cover that you can pop out. I popped it out and then used a coat hanger to fish the wire up into the center console. Next, I took the Alpine RUX-**** apart, drilled a hole for the switch to go through, removed a couple of plastic tabs from the cover and then attached the RUX-**** to the cover. Then I attached the wire to the RUX-**** and put the cover back in place. Next I ran the wire under the driver's seat and then tucked it under the inner door frame paneling, under the left rear seat, under the left rear pilar paneling, then fished it down into the amp compartment and tie wrapped it to the existing wiring harness and hooked it up to the amp.
Now it was time to test it out! I turned the settings on the amp all down to zero and then adjusted everything with the music playing at high volume. I knew right away that it sounded 100% better! I did some fine tuning and adjusted all of the other levels. It sounded like a whole new system! I am very impressed with the way everything sounds now. The bass sounds amazing and the rest of the speakers are now set up properly as i didn't need to have them tuned for more bass. I would recommend this upgrade to anyone! I was thinking about replacing all of the speakers and adding another amp, but now that I have done this there is no need for it!
One last thing... Once it was all finished and set up, I went for a drive and when I accelerated I heard a big thump and something rolling around in the trunk... I stopped and had a look. It was the damn sub box rolling around. I went home and tried to figure out a way to anchor the box down in a way that didn't look like crap. At first I was just going to ratchet strap it down, but that looked like hell, so I scratched that idea. I folded down the armrest in the back seat and opened it up to the trunk and came up with a great idea! I took an old ratchet strap, cut off two pieces about 8" long give or take, removed the two torx screws that hold the armrest on and attached the bottoms of the straps to them and retightened. Then I screwed the tops of the straps to the back side of the sub box. Worked like a dream!
Sorry for such a long write up, but I figured this would help anyone that was thinking about doing something like this in the future! I know I had a hell of a time finding any information on the stereo systems in these cars! I hope that you found it useful! Here are some pics of the install.
The following users liked this post:
littlejay_vw (12-15-2022)
09-11-2016, 06:00 PM
#3
Stock sub wiring. White/Yellow (+) Brown/Yellow (-)
New wiring from the stock sub wires running along the upper rear of the trunk to the left rear corner, fed behind the paneling and then down to the amp.
Inside view of the new wiring from the stock sub to the new amp.
New wiring from the stock sub wires are tied into the speaker level input connector on the left side of the amp ( Green wires ).
Power cable and fuse.
Ground cable and stud.
09-11-2016, 06:19 PM
#4
Power and ground cables running through opening in left rear corner of trunk into the amp compartment.
Center console bass control **** mounting location.
Bass control **** installed on cover from inside of the center console.
Bass control **** installed.
09-18-2020, 03:31 PM
#7
AudiWorld Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I know this is a really old thread, but it's the most complete wiring write I have found but have a question, well, 2
1 The factory amp is still sending power to the sub, as in, it hasn't been disconnected before the factory amp right?
So now it goes - signal from radio to amp, then to sub wires which are now connected to new amp :/
That's confusing me, can someone elaborate please
2 does the ground and power cable being next to each other cause interference?
Many thanks
Any help is much appreciated
1 The factory amp is still sending power to the sub, as in, it hasn't been disconnected before the factory amp right?
So now it goes - signal from radio to amp, then to sub wires which are now connected to new amp :/
That's confusing me, can someone elaborate please
2 does the ground and power cable being next to each other cause interference?
Many thanks
Any help is much appreciated
Trending Topics
09-19-2020, 02:36 AM
#8
AudiWorld Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not sure where my last reply went :/
I know this an old thread, but its the best write up by far
just have a question
Here it goes again
As I see it, you wire the stock sub wires to the amp, but they are already coming from the stock amp-
Effectively amplifying the amplifier signal
and there's no issues with this?
by the way, I have just ordered a MRV 500 on the back of this write- cant wait for it to arrive
many thanks-
I know this an old thread, but its the best write up by far
just have a question
Here it goes again
As I see it, you wire the stock sub wires to the amp, but they are already coming from the stock amp-
Effectively amplifying the amplifier signal
and there's no issues with this?
by the way, I have just ordered a MRV 500 on the back of this write- cant wait for it to arrive
many thanks-
09-19-2020, 05:09 AM
#9
Nice write up. There is a huge thread about upgrading the speakers and subwoofer in an A4/S4 located here:
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...upgrade-thread
The general consensus is that when you install a new subwoofer you should completely remove the old sub from the car. This involves removing the back deck cover, but it's not all that difficult to do. It's supposed to greatly improve the sound and allow the bass to be heard in the passenger compartment more clearly since you've now opened up the port in the deck panel by removing the old sub. I've been dragging my feet on upgrading the system in my 2014 A4 S-Line and finally got the bug to do it. I had installed an Alpine X701D-A4 head unit in my A4 a while back but haven't done anything with it since. I've been wanting to install the speakers and amps from my old system but the amp I have is massive (Phoenix Gold Ti800.4) and I wasn't sure how I wanted to mount it. I also have a Zapco 500M monoblock amp to power s 12" sub in a box that I built for it. I didn't really want a huge box in my trunk anymore so I ended up buying a custom fiberglass enclosure on ebay from a guy in Great Britain. It probably won't be here for another month or so, but I have a lot on my plate right now so I'm in no rush.
There are lots of options for upgrading the subwoofer in the A4/S4, but most of them involve using the speaker level outputs to the sub and running them through a Line Output Converter to drop the signal level to a line level input to feed an external amp. There's really no other option unless you swap out the head unit for one that has line level outputs, but the only aftermarket head unit that will work in this car is the aforementioned Alpine, which has been upgraded to a newer model (the X702D-A4). It integrates completely with the car's systems and allows you to use navigation and all steering wheel controls as well as monitoring car systems like tire pressure and oil level. It's got bluetooth for hands-free use of your cell phone and a USB port on the back so you can use flash drives or SD cards with an adapter. The best part is that it also works with flac files, unlike the Audi audio systems.
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...upgrade-thread
The general consensus is that when you install a new subwoofer you should completely remove the old sub from the car. This involves removing the back deck cover, but it's not all that difficult to do. It's supposed to greatly improve the sound and allow the bass to be heard in the passenger compartment more clearly since you've now opened up the port in the deck panel by removing the old sub. I've been dragging my feet on upgrading the system in my 2014 A4 S-Line and finally got the bug to do it. I had installed an Alpine X701D-A4 head unit in my A4 a while back but haven't done anything with it since. I've been wanting to install the speakers and amps from my old system but the amp I have is massive (Phoenix Gold Ti800.4) and I wasn't sure how I wanted to mount it. I also have a Zapco 500M monoblock amp to power s 12" sub in a box that I built for it. I didn't really want a huge box in my trunk anymore so I ended up buying a custom fiberglass enclosure on ebay from a guy in Great Britain. It probably won't be here for another month or so, but I have a lot on my plate right now so I'm in no rush.
There are lots of options for upgrading the subwoofer in the A4/S4, but most of them involve using the speaker level outputs to the sub and running them through a Line Output Converter to drop the signal level to a line level input to feed an external amp. There's really no other option unless you swap out the head unit for one that has line level outputs, but the only aftermarket head unit that will work in this car is the aforementioned Alpine, which has been upgraded to a newer model (the X702D-A4). It integrates completely with the car's systems and allows you to use navigation and all steering wheel controls as well as monitoring car systems like tire pressure and oil level. It's got bluetooth for hands-free use of your cell phone and a USB port on the back so you can use flash drives or SD cards with an adapter. The best part is that it also works with flac files, unlike the Audi audio systems.
09-20-2020, 03:11 AM
#10
AudiWorld Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Can anyone shed any light on my previous question
Maybe I misunderstand but wouldn't using the sub wires to connect to new amp, would technically be amplifying an already amplified signal
Is this an issue
As it is at the moment, I'm getting amp clipping, so would the above improve or exacerbate the clipping
Thanks
Maybe I misunderstand but wouldn't using the sub wires to connect to new amp, would technically be amplifying an already amplified signal
Is this an issue
As it is at the moment, I'm getting amp clipping, so would the above improve or exacerbate the clipping
Thanks