Q-Svn

I know every time there’s mention of this there is a lot of interest so thought I would share... Personally I think the factory Bose setup sounds better without the sub!!! This should fix that!

I measured the stock sub enclosure with water and it holds approximately .7 cu ft and the port is tuned to about 39-40 hz. Should be a good fit for an Image Dynamics IDQ8 D-2.

The IDQ8 is about 4 7/8” deep so I had to remove some internal bracing below the magnet area and fab a 3/4” spacer.

I’ll be powering this via a Kicker Key500.1. The Key will restore the lost lower bass and is small enough to mount below the Bose amp.

I’ll post some RTA measurements when I get them. A few pics for now:

Dave_

I hope that works well and is applicable to a 2020 Q7 Prestige w/ Bose system which I'm not fond of. I can fab stuff out of wood, so if that's all of the fab needed, I could consider this upgrade. I look forward to your results and also learning what's required wiring-wise for installing the amp.

Q-Svn

Adapter ring was straight forward... 3/4” mdf is all it took and had to offset the the mounting screws. Came out perfect!

Now on to connecting the amp. Had a chance to look at the battery and typical German over engineering. JC it is positively the most complicated terminal connection I’ve seen. More to come....

mhoran89

500W even pushing an 8" sub will sound great! Can't wait for more details on this... a lot of us are hurting for some low end noise in these cars...

MoInEd

Well, my Q7 came with the basic (non-Bose) system and the sub on that seemed to be purchased from the dollar-store, it was a joke.
I purchased the following sub and amp:


and re-purposed an old speaker box for it so that fit in the area where the old sub box was located. The amp is placed under the 3rd row seats.
The nice thing about the amp is that it has auto-on feature: once there is signal to input it will automatically turn on and hence wont drain the battery. The result is quite good and very happy.

Q-Svn

Ok finished the install today and all I can say is “OMG!” I realize we’re only taking a single 8” but seriously wow. No RTA yet... maybe tomorrow.

The KEY500.1 was straight forward to install and setup. Little sucker does get hot enough to fry an egg on when pushing it hard but it hasn’t even hiccuped. Nice deep bass and plenty output. It actually blends really well and I feel like the Bose system now shines! Honestly. Stages well with good separation. The Bose door mid bass blends really well with the sub too. It sounds incredible now! Here’s some pictures... removing the door sill is a pain in the *** without the right tools!

You’re nemeses. Be prepared for most of these to stay attached in their slot.

Here’s a “special” tool I fabbed up and worked when the 90 degree hemostats didn’t.

Another picture of my “special” tool.

These are a must have and worked better than anything else I had 90% of the time.

Where I put the inline fuse. I just zip tied it to the loom that was there.

This is where I took power from for the amp via 8 gauge. Disconnect the ground first and reconnect last. The amp has auto sensing turn on so a remote turn on wasn’t needed. It seems to work fine.

Finished product. I’m well pleased.


Under the Bose amp is where I stashed the Key500.1. Completely out of the way.

fairmarketvalue

Q-Svn, I have a question about your new setup. Was the addition of the Key500.1 absolutely necessary to improve the sound of the Bose system? It would seem to be to be much simpler to just swap out the Bose subwoofer with a better quality one. Is that not a practical way to go?

Q-Svn

Previously as an experiment I hooked up a prefab JL 10” in it’s own enclosure and the output was weak. I’m not sure of the wattage the Bose amp sends to the sub but my guess is maybe 125ish.

I could have bought any amp but I chose the Key500.1 for several reasons but mostly for its built in processing. You see what Bose does with their systems is roll off the deeper bass with processing. This allows a cheaper speaker to be used and also cuts down on rattles and resonance that deeper bass causes in cars. I haven’t put an RTA on it yet but I will and it will be more obvious what I’m talking about. What’s unique about the Key is it has its own processing which restores the lower bass notes. It’s impressive. Again I need to put an RTA on it so you can see what I’m actually referencing. Other reasons are it’s small size, 1 ohm stable & auto sensing turn on (so no remote needed). Also a bass **** is available although I haven’t installed it yet.

So to answer your question, yes - positively!

RTA’s still to come.

quattro_rails

Nice upgrade! I was wondering if you could provide some info on:

• How you connected the line from the factory Bose amp to the new Key500.1 amp? Is it a straightforward 1 input wire that you just disconnect from the Bose amp and run it into the Key500.1 amp instead? So if it's an obvious question.
• Do you have details on removal of the Image Dynamics IDQ8 internal bracing below the magnet?
• Where did you secure the ground wire?
• How about the switched input?
• How did you secure the Key500.1 amp?

I noticed that the Image Dynamics website shows that they have shallow versions of the IDQS coming. Just curious if you consider those? Granted they're not available yet.

Q-Svn

* The Key uses the Bose sub speaker leads for inputs. I just tapped the speaker leads at the sub enclosure and ran that to the Key inputs. Didn't touch the Bose amp.
* To remove the internal sub enclosure bracing I used a razor knife and scored it several times and it broke off clean. In some spots where the plastic had been injected I used my Dremel. It was easy! There's a picture in my initial post.
* I secured the ground wire under the 3rd row seat. There are several threaded studs under there and I used one that I happened to have a nut lying around already to tighten it down.
* The Key uses signal sensing to turn off and on so a remote (switched) wire wasn't necessary. It gets the signal from the Bose sub leads I used for the input.
* I fabbed a mounting plate for the Key which goes under the Bose amp and fits nicely. I did have one oversight on this though... as you can see in the picture there are not enough threads left where the Bose amp is secured so I was not able to tighten it down. I'll have to find a Chicago screw to secure it but to be honest it nestles in there rather nicely so I don't feel like it's going anyplace.

The IDQS is available but it isn't going to have the same output as the IDQ. Look at the xmax numbers and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm sure you could do the IDQS and probably not have to remove any bracing from the enclosure. However we're only dealing with an 8" sub so I didn't want to give up any output. The hardest thing about the install was removing the door sill trim and running the power wire and even that wasn't that bad. It sounds like a whole different system after the upgrade! And one more thing - the easiest improvement you can make to the Bose system is quit listening to Sirius/XM! It's horrible! So much compression! Listen to CD/flash drive or even streaming and you'll hear what I mean. Hope I answered your questions.