ribeye

It's all a matter of your tastes. I Have the B&O as it came with my car. If after finding the car I wanted and they said for $950 we have the identical car with the B&O I would decline as I am not a audiophile. Good is good enough for me. I don't need excellent for my sound. Now in other areas, I would spend the money to get what I want. Mostly electronic features and safety features. But for others like the majority of the respondents in the thread, Sound is important to them so they would get it.

notmac1

Disappointed in B&O in fact I questioned the SA due to quality I was looking forward to wasn’t there. I found out to get the top end B&O system that it only available in the S8. My buddy’s Meridan system in his Ranger Rover kills the B&O but sorry to see it’s not available in all models.

My Macan I upgraded the subwoofer and the tweeters to Burmeister due to the Bose system being nothing special. I haven’t looked into upgrading the Audi due to it being the wife’s car but maybe there are opportunities available there as well. I guess if there was enough interest Audi would give another option for an individual premium audio system outside of adding their standard B&O to a package.

IMHO these are my thoughts and how each and everyones hears their choice of music is always personal. Another option is an aftermarket system. It’s all in the speakers and amplifier. If you don’t need the options included with the B&O system this would be a definite alternative. For $950.00 you can get some very nice additions to a stock Audi head unit.

Onelast thing make sure you have a good source. Streaming music via Bluetooth is no good. A direct connection via USB port is the only way. Also if judging your sys using Siris as a source is no good as well. The music is too compressed. Stream your music via a Tidal or Spotify account or WAV file for best results and quality test.

sethz

I am an audio engineer and in order for me to get my Audi, I had to sacrifice my audio in my car. The stock audio system is (to my ears) really average. I was in a loaner with the B&O and have been kicking myself that I didn't go further into debt. I will not make that mistake again!!! IN fact, over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was in conversations with my local dealership about upgrading. I told them I would be happy to upgrade, and that it had to have a B&O audio system in it. Needless to say, they didn't have one, and tried to get me into a Presitige with the Bose system. I almost went for it, and decided that good things will come if I wait. I am now someone who loves music and audio who barely has the sound system on in my current car!!!! Be glad you have it! Totally worth it!!!

ronsal

Sethz
According to the build sheet on both the 2020 Q5 and the SQ5 Prestige versions, the B & O IS the standard sound system.......The B & O is part of the upgrade to the Prestige package.

sethz

My local dealer was looking to upgrade me with an on lot 2019 Q7 so they quoted available stock during the Thanksgiving holiday sale. Believe me, when I have a bit more money, I think I will be upgrading to an E-Tron but it has to have the B&O sound system, or no deal! Gotta have THAT sound! It's THAT GOOD! I am serious!

notmac1

@sethz I would take a listen to the B&O in the car your looking at. I have upgraded speakers in my Macan with Burmeister tweeters and a Rockford Fosgate sub. When I got my wife’s 2018 SQ5 I was expecting some superior sound. I don’t think the Audi system in the SQ5 is any better than the Macan Bose to my ear in fact after the speaker upgrade I prefer the Macan.

I did find out after the fact the best quality B&O system is in the S8 so just saying it’s a B&O system doesn’t mean you getting the top end system they have avail. Let your ears be your judge regarding a stock system upgrade.

Weebl

I prefer my 08 BMW Logic 7 to the B&O

atoner

I ordered my 2019 SQ5 with the B&O on the advice of my neighbor who had a Q5 and figuring if I was going to order everything else top-of-the-line I might as well do likewise with the stereo. I do appreciate a good car stereo. I didn’t really compare stock vs B&O.

I am a bit disappointed in the bass. I want to be able to adjust the bass and subwoofer to get too much bass then back off. But on some songs I can’t get enough with both maxed out. I’ve read some posts that mention bass and I don’t think I’m missing a setting or are an over-the-top basshead. I do play bass guitar and appreciate that instrument in my music. My source is my iPhone music library and Spotify, certainly not audiophile grade but also likely not to blame for iffy bass. I have checked EQ on my phone.

The B&O seems accurate and to faithfully reproduce the music. It reminds me of some fancy-brand (Etymotic? Sennheiser?), highly regarded earphones I tried that were totally lacking in bass but which audiophiles raved about. The B&O bass is considerably better than those earphones but still leaves a little to be desired.

Spoken word podcasts are very clear.

The B&O is far superior to the factory stereo in my old 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagon. I had to turn down the bass in that vehicle to avoid distortion. That’s not a problem in the SQ5, but I would expect the same from the factory stereo on a vehicle costing twice as much.

I can get the volume with the B&O loud enough to hear music with the windows and sunroof open going 40 mph, and it still sounds pretty good over the wind noise. The VW couldn’t do that.

The Bose stereo in my wife’s 2017 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum is pretty good compared to the B&O. I’ve never really been a Bose fan, but it is a decent system compared to the B&O. Maybe it was just really good compared to the crap in my VW and our previous 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L.

Drexel

I'm driving a rental right now while I'm on vacation outside of Toronto, and my rental company "upgraded" me to a top-of-the-line Ford Fusion Tiitanium hybrid, supposedly fully loaded and with an upgraded stereo.

Believe me, when compared to the B&O setup in the Q5, the system in this Ford sounds like a Janky-*** 8-track on a 1982 radio-shack generic plastic no-name beige discount computer speaker.

I wouldn't normally spend $1,000 on an upgraded stereo, but consider how much time you spend in your car and the value you get from good music (sitting in traffic, enjoying a summer drive, drouning out the negative thoughts in your head after a long day at work, etc.), and it's a no-brainer...