Bang & Olufsen in an A3

this setup is in a a8 i think, so poss be able to retro fit into a a3, but you'd need to cut your dash!
 
I thought you could get that on the A3 as an (expensive) optional extra
 
Lovely mod, looks cool & bet sounds great, I like seeing these things as it inspires me to think outside the box & do things like this, kudos to them I say.

However if I was adding that system to my A3 I would be doing sound proofing etc the works, as a system like that would only get its best potential from a well proofed car IMHO, 8P's are a little bit noisy on the road IMHO, but love the raising speakers, boys toys huh guys lol.
 
The sound quality doesnt interest me, mine sounds fine but the motorised speakers? That I want!

I have seen this in a dealer in a nasty beige coloured A8, The door speaker covers look like bin lids with B&O on them!
 
audi upgrades
Looks like a pair of nipples getting excited :) I like!!!!
 
That's sweet LOL! Mind you, you could be worried at 1st that you were gonna get zapped by some security device!
 
im sure there will be set's on ebay from lithuania ...the guy who sell's all the stolen rnse's speak to him he will get you a set ...let's fund the next crime wave ..lol
 
Hmm....part of me wants to like this, but if their car stereos are anything like their TVs then I wouldn't touch it with a very large stick, B&O is overpriced flash crap for people with with more money than knowledge of what they are buying.

The other part is liking the amount of gadget points you could get for having pop-up dash speakers though!
 
Audi didn't just go to the stereo shop, pick up some off the shelf B&O stereo and install it in their car. These premium brand stereos has been custom tuned for each car, so salvaging parts from one car and putting it into another will not necessarily make it sound good.
 
I'd like Audi to do a better quality set up than the Bose. A B&O for the A3 would be good.
 
Friend of mine has B&O in his A5.
It sounds great, but my average Joe ears didnt pick out any obvious difference between that and my BOSE.

Im sure its technically `better`butI can only assume the difference is subtle?? One for the audiophiles maybe.

Cheers
Paul
 
Jo Sharp said:
I'd like Audi to do a better quality set up than the Bose. A B&O for the A3 would be good.
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There's plenty of high quality aftermarket options for those after a serious install. Admittedly without the speakers raising from the dash...
 
I'd prefer to see a high quality quality hifi manufacturer giving it a go not those that put style before function, somebody like Naim or Linn.

But like Pete says, I reckon you could achieve much better results from say Alpine or Pionee who both produce a top end HU with no frills just top quality sound and have been making car hifi for years.
 
N8 said:
So BOSE for the win then Nick?
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Well I'm not sure about that, but at least it's descreet, if I could be bothered I'd rip mine out and start all over to be honest, but not sure I can be bothered this time. I will just get my hifi kicks at home from now on I think.
 
The Bang & Olufsen is available in every Audi model apart from the A3 and A6 a shame really and I definitely would of thought that they would of put it in the A6.

I work for Bang & Olufsen so I actually know how much work goes into making the systems for the car, its absolutely incredible the testing that they do.

As for Beanoirs comment, a lot of people share his view about it being overpriced and no quality etc. I deal with these people everyday and most people that come in to our store with that view usually ending up wanting a piece of our equipment or actually realising that there is a reason for the price that makes sense. When was the last time you went in to a Bang & Olufsen shop??
 
Well i did an online config for an A3 last week and B&O was an optional extra then ?
 
You bet !! i could buy 3 Micra's for that !!:lmfao: thanks for asking ! I needed to get that of my chest.
 
And i was wrong....B&O wasnt an option so apologies all round :sorry:
 
I saw a sound off on a TV show some time ago, and the OEM system that came out top was VW's Dynaudio.

Dynaudio are a Danish manufacturer who came to prominence in the UK back in the 90's when they secured a deal with Audio T hi-fi stores to supplier their home audio ranges (Audience & the next model up - can't remember name). Their range has since evolved to include AV equipment, and some very high end loudspeakers like the Confidence and Consequence.

About 2 years ago they replaced Roberts as the monitor loudspeaker of choice at the BBC, and shortly afterwards VW adopted them to provide their audio speaker systems.

Personally out of the 3, and because I'm biased (I have their 7.1 system at home), I would choose them over the B&O / Bose. The B&O is trick, but I find the sound of B&O kit slickly lacking in involvement and a tad sterile. Beautifully designed and automated, but not what it used to be.

I've never understood the need for 2 tier offering at Audi (Bose for the scummers and B&O for the exec barges). What is all that about?
 
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Tbh, I'm over the moon with my BOSE, its because I have a sportback I have more speakers, so every S3 owner whos sat in mine agree mine sounds better, but I am looking to soundproof my car just to get the most out of it. I would like to hear B&O though.
 
Im sure they compared bose and bang and olufson on 5th gear the bang and olufson was much better but is expensive , i would like that in my car its awesome i think the way it raises out of the dash is a geek's dream .lol
 
Clarkson made a comment that B&O was just rebadged Phillips gear, is that true or false, or even slightly false?
 
JohnS3 said:
Clarkson made a comment that B&O was just rebadged Phillips gear, is that true or false, or even slightly false?
Click to expand...

Well B&O are owned by Philips. B&O therefore use the Philips supply chain so yeah to some extent, B&O stuff does contain Philips parts but its obviously higher end so i wouldnt go as far as saying its "rebadged" because thats a lie!
 
Bang & Olufsen has never been owned by Philips and definately isn't today. There are no Phillips parts in their products and in fact Pioneer, Bower & Wilkins, Alpine, Rotel and others all using Bang & Olufsen ICEPower amplification.

Yes the prices are high but there are reasons for this. There are currently two main screen manufacturers to date, Samsung for LCD's and Panasonic for Plasmas so B&O use those companies retrospectively, however the screens that are used are not available for any other televisions only Bang & Olufsen ones and of course the screen is not everythig there is the speakers, the integration to control 3rd party products, distribute audio and video around the house etc etc all built in to one beautiful looking screen.

Saying that B&O is a rebadged Phillips is like saying that Lambo is a rebadged Audi, even though there are shared components the end result is completely different.

I don't mean to preach but I was the same as a lot of peoples views on B&O but I 110% see the value in the stuff now and would buy it everytime beacuase of its quality.

Just read these reviews on the two latest TV's from B&O to see what someone who is not bias thinks!! lol

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?misc=search&subaction=showfull&id=1263826711

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1266502570

Rant Over :icon_thumright:
 
audi upgrades
I'm with A1 NLF, quality gear but you're gonna have to pay for it. And, as above, in an A8 or poss A6 I can imagine B&O is awesome but in an A3 is it just overkill

I'm currently installing the rising speaker mounts into my A3 dash but I'm not installing the B&O tweeters I'm putting one of these in each http://italpoint.com/store/images/redbull1.jpg

Great mod though. :hubbahubba:
 
beanoir said:
I'd prefer to see a high quality quality hifi manufacturer giving it a go not those that put style before function, somebody like Naim or Linn.

But like Pete says, I reckon you could achieve much better results from say Alpine or Pionee who both produce a top end HU with no frills just top quality sound and have been making car hifi for years.
Click to expand...
The McLaren will have a Meridian designed stereo in its upcoming car. Not sure if it will utilize their DSP technology for 'room correction' or soundstage realignment via Trifield or Ambisonic processing. Will never know how it will sound compared to my gears.

There are many rebadged brand here in the US, with the proliferation of car stereos by Mark Levinson, Lexicon, JBL, Harman Kardon. But in actuality, they are all the same stereo since Harman international owns them all. I mean I don't hear the Mark Levinson stuff describing the technology in their stereo in any way near what is in their home stereo unit. It is probably nothing more than a rebadged Harman Kardon/JBL unit. Even BMW or such with Lexicon and its Logic7 processing is not a big deal given that once Harman bought Lexicon, they threw the Logic7 processing on their low end HK receivers.
 
So given the oppertunity, disregarding price, would you opt for the B&O over BOSE? Or would you opt for somthing like a high end Alpine uniit or the like?
 
These units are customized for each vehicle, attenuating its freq spectrum based on the reflectivity or liveliness of the car they are in, plus, they have noise compensation built in, either reducing the dynamic range so the low level sound rises above the noise floor or just general increase in volume level. They put a bit of fine tuning for each vehicle since they will be selling many of these units.

The drop in units usually are not customized for each vehicle unless you go to a installer with experience on these things.

That is why companies like Blose, a brand that gets laughed off in the home audio world, is so popular in the car market. They provide the facilities and ability to mass customize generic stereos for a given car.
 
The reason I don't think much of B&O kit is because of my experience of ownership, I bought one of the televisions, had it for 4 months and realised that it was overpriced rubbish, and I have to admit it was down to me being sucked in by the salesmen they employ in their strores.

I replaced the television after taking it back and demanding my money back (which I eventually got after physically proving my point) and bought a Pioneer television that is quite frankly streets ahead of the B&O for less money.

I realised in the end that quality counts, and not to be sucked in by the garbage the sales people in the B&O stores feed you.
 
LWNY said:
These units are customized for each vehicle, attenuating its freq spectrum based on the reflectivity or liveliness of the car they are in, plus, they have noise compensation built in, either reducing the dynamic range so the low level sound rises above the noise floor or just general increase in volume level. They put a bit of fine tuning for each vehicle since they will be selling many of these units.

The drop in units usually are not customized for each vehicle unless you go to a installer with experience on these things.

That is why companies like Blose, a brand that gets laughed off in the home audio world, is so pBopular in the car market. They provide the facilities and ability to mass customize generic stereos for a given car.
Click to expand...

I'm not being funny, but as much as I agree with you about Bose, at least they get laughed at occasionally. B&O don't even get reviewed by the well known hifi magazines and websites!

You're either one of their dedicated salesmen or you've been sucked in like the rest.

Any serious hifi fanatic will tell you that B&O is all mouth and no trousers. Sorry to rain on your parade chief but it's a well known fact.
 
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