airbus9

Even CDs not sounding great. I wonder if it has to do with poor cabin sound isolation rather than Bose itself...though I dont have those numbers (C&D runs tests on that , in decibels, wonder if anyone has that info)...

McGyver

no, there are a few others

Nicht ein A4

but I used to turn it down and open the windows to listen to the engine most of the time anyway.

It is not bad, just not great. Even the upgraded system in my E90M3 is not great, although it does sound better than the RS4 did.

ELEVENS

And I'm a hopelessly obsessed audiophile. What you have to realize is a car's environment (electrical, temperature, background noise, acoustics, position of the listeners relative to the speakers) is incredibly harsh and all wrong for the accurate reproduction of recorded performances. With that in mind, the RS4 audio system is perfect for it's intended purpose. For serious listening, you need a high end home system. It just ain't going to happen in a car.

Unless you like "thumper music". But that isn't accurately reproduced sound. It's sound made-up (colored).

larryV

I'm an audiophile as well and although I realize I can never approach the sonics I get at home, at least all the other systems in other cars I've had were far more successful at this attempt than the Bose in the RS4. That includes the HK systems in my AMGs and M5, the no-name "premium" system in my M3, and even in my sister's Acura TL. From all sources, CD playback, FM, Sirius, the dynamic range in the RS4's Bose was clearly limited compared to other cars. I even recall the Bose in my B5 S4 to be superior in this regard, though overall that system sucked as well.

One redeeming feature that the RS4 did have was the SD card slots for MP3's. Somehow I liked these. This made up a little for having an incredibly crappy iPod implementation and lackluster sonics.

greatwhiteshark

...and this is exactly why the display/marketing team at Bose create standalone cases at Electronic stores, so they can't be immediately compared to other, cheaper, better sound systems.

Tekk

Do I REALLLLLLLLLLY care that much? No. The engine sountrack is a good substitute

brianja

The bose was bad. I ripped the entire thing out in the first 6 months.

VerrÜckt

It's pretty decent in the Q7.

RS Maniac

It is very subpar, to say the least. A simple replacement with MB Quart speakers will do wonder to the sound if you want to keep it in a low budget. The base is the worst part though, pretty cheap, the subwoofer mod some people have done here is a worthy one!

Luckily I have my Milltek to deaden the sound of the lousy BOSE speakers ;-o)