S3 8L Concert Adding sub + amp

[HmanS3]

1999 W Audi S3 Concert non bose:::

Ok having Bought the adaptor to change the pre-outs to RCA form

i have now found all my speakers run from the Existing preout setup
the car is not bose equiped so shouldn't the front speakers run from the Head unit amp outputs? not pre-outs

Also Guessing somewhere up front there must be an Amp for the fronts???
now cause they wouldn't work without one running from Pre out i Guess

so does the Concert not use its own amped pre outs at all?

 

[AndyMac]

Non Bose system runs the fronts off the amp in the head unit and rears/sub off the rear pre-outs.
I assume you've unplugged the Audi loom and you've lost sound from all speakers?
Bear in mind that connector also provides the feed from the CD changer so if you were testing it with a CD then you would lose all sound.
You should have a brown speaker connector plugged into the HU with just the middle connections populated. This is the front speaker loom. If this is not there then I'd assume you have the Bose setup. Look at the sub, if it has two 4" drivers then its Bose, if it has a single 6.5" driver then it's non Bose.
Also look in the righthand cubbyhole and if theres a small black amp squeezed down behind the rear lights then that's the Bose 4 channel amp.

 

[HmanS3]

ok this is really confussing it has a (non bose sub) but does not have the brown speaker plug it all connects through the yellow plug
there is an Amp in the Right hand cubby hole though.

Stereo does not show Bose on screen

I plugged it all back in -except the yellow plug no sound

there is an Amp in the Right hand cubby hole though.

 

[AndyMac]

Then it has the Bose system but someone obviously ditched the Bose sub (probably sold it on ebay), then couldn't get hold of one to replace it when they sold the car, so bought a non Bose one thinking it would just plug in anyway.
Just to confirm, was the non Bose sub connected up? It can't have been unless someone has butchered the loom.
The non Bose sub loom is completely different to the Bose one. The Bose loom is a Black connector with 7 connections on it (2 pre-outs, 2 screens, perm live, earth and remote on), the non Bose one is red and has all of the above (less one screen) plus the left & right rear speakers, so 10 connections.
You can't physically connect a non Bose sub to a Bose loom (and vice-versa).
The Bose logo on startup doesn't mean anything, it is purely cosmetic and can be switched on/off with VAGCOM regardless of the system it is running.

 

[HmanS3]

Ok By actually using my eyes properly i have realised

1) Im a Tw@ and
2) my car has Bose (Which really isn't that good)

How can I proceed from here to fit after market subs and amps to my car?

 

[AndyMac]

The biggest problem is the sub (on either the Bose or non-Bose system). Upgrade the sub either to one of my stealth subs or a proper boot hogger and it transforms the sound as the cabin speakers no longer have to deal with bass they can't deal with, and the woolly rumbly Bose sub is replaced with something that actually works properly. You can pick up the pre-out feeds and remote on for the new amp from the loom going to the tupperware sub. All you then need is to run power from the battery for the amp.
PM me your email address and I'll send you the instructions and pin outs.