S4 Bose Speaker Replacement Writeup

[pzp107]

This is the writeup I promised for the speaker install with upgraded infinity reference speakers. You can choose to use other speakers but parts of the install may different, maybe even easier or harder.

1. Remove Door Panel by removing to small philips head screws on the top left and right side of the door panel. Then unscrew the handle cover by the window control switch. Remove the handle cover by pushing down and pulling out towards the inside of the car. Remove the two screws behind that cover. The rear doors are exactly the same except there is one screw behind the cover and 1 screw at the top of the door. The door panel will lift up as you pull up and out. Be careful not to tug to hard as there are electrical connections. Disconnect all electrical connectors including the speakers and be careful not to break the connector clips.

2. Remove the speaker from the door panel but removing the three red philips head screws. The speaker and mounting bracket will come off as one unit. Remove the three torx bolts on the front face of the speaker. This will seperate the speaker and mounting bracket.

3. The correct speakers to use for the front door panel are the infinity reference 4022i (4 inch) and the rear doors are the 5022i (5.25inch speakers) . They are 2 ohm speakers which is what the stock bose speakers are. They have a 3db base boost and a pivoting tweeter. 5.25 inch speakers would eclipse the front mounting bracket and wouldn't be able to be used unless you are seriously hacking up the speaker or using the adapter brackets available in england and possibly a different type from crutchfield. Same thing goes for the rear with 6.5 inch speakers, cant do it. This wiring will also retain the factory tweeter in unison with the new speakers in the front. If you do not want to use this feel free to cut the tweeter wires and insulate them to not cause problems.

4. Start by placing the speaker as centered as possible in the front speaker mounting bracket. One of the original torx bolts will be reused as it lines up perfectly. The remaining two screws can be done multiple ways. This is the way I did it. I used the hardware that came with the speakers. I used the speed clipse and screws. I ended up drilling holes after teh first torx screw was in and placing the speed clipse around the edge of the bracket and putting a screw through both. Dont need to worry about plastic cracking from self tapping screws and issues down the line. This is as solid as it gets. I chose to cut a slot in the mounting bracket sidewall with a dremel to fit he speed clip in perfectly. You can also shave down the thin wall on the edge to have the speed clip mount flush. You can see it in the pictures why I did this. At the end I also dremeled the extra from the screws since they were quite a bit to long. I also used washers under some of the screws etc. You do not necessarly have to do this I just chose to for a reason I dont remember. The front speaker rubber isolator surround fits perfectly around the new speaker as well.

5. Afterward I chose to seal the speaker to teh bracket. Some use tape foam, spray in insulating foam. I chose silicone. Ran a bead around the speaker(your hole ampty space to fill is less than an 1/8 of an inch and mine came out very uniform). Then I just ran my finger to smoosh it through the opening some and flatten out the bead.

6. Let cure, and the reinstall the speaker and mounting bracket to the door using the red philips head screws you took out originally. Stock audi connectors fit but the negative connection(smaller female spade) needed to be crimped a little more with some pliers to make sure it didnt pop off as it was a very loose fit. The positive was very plug and play.

7. Rear speakers were even easier. I believe they are 4 red phillips head screws holding the speaker to the door. Then 3 or 4 torx bolts again. These speakers work easier as the bracket is fairly flat and just about perfect size for the speaker. I mounted them the same way. This includes the speed clip/screw combo and silicone again and spade crimping.

8. Reinstall door panels being careful to ensure all connections are made and that you watch out for the door pin that pops up when the door is unlocked. Reinstallation is reverse of removal.

9. Play and Enjoy. I believe running the speakers with the 3db bass boost button off. It just sounds better with my avic d3 using the middle range loudness setting in music studio environment. These are options in the avic d3. With the 3db bass pushed it is to much bass for the given mids and highs and not enough when the loudness setting is off. I aimed the tweeters upward and this seems to work well and I didnt need to adjust it. I also think it sounds best with the stock tweeters retained.

10. Enjoy and review pics for better reference/description.
:Stock speakers and brackets pictured
:Final installed reference speaker pictures
:hardware pics
:Silicone pics
:stock torx screw reusing pics
:dremeled out pics

[timklb]

thank you! my rears are going out and this makes me want new ones!

[Ianxcom]

^lol. you said rear

[nshn72]

This works with the stock Bose stereo system? You said you have an Avic D3 so I was just wondering.

[NastyNogaro]

Any recommendations for other good aftermarket speakers for front and rear?

Nice write up.

[OWENthatsmyname]

this is great.

+1 to some suggestions to speakers.

part #'s and links would be greatly appreciated.

[JLHroxURface]

So how do those infinities sound compared to the Bose?

[pzp107]

Yes these work for the stock system. The amp is still running regardless of what headunit you do unless you rewire the system. These are one of the few speakers that will work well because they are 2 ohm. I listed the part number above. The infinity reference series front is 4022i and the rear is 5022i. Those are the part numbers. You can find them on ebay, best buy, crutchfield, and numerous online outlets just google. They sound good much clearer highs. They overpower the rear deck speakers some. I recommend not running them with the 3db bass boost option. The AVIC d3 has a loudness setting set at mid for me which boost mids which I think sounds the best overall; You can simulate this with the eq the stock bose system has.

[pzp107]

You can get the "better" andm or more expensive infinity kappa series as well. Just get the 4 inch speaker and 5.25 inch speaker. I dont know the part numbers off hand. They run 2 ohm also. If you want to rewire your system you can run any speaker you'd like. Stick to 2 ohm speakers if running stock or aftermarket headunit with bose amp still in place.

[Pagantus]

The S4 came with 2 different sound systems in it? the Bose or a regular one?... How do I know I have the bose system? I haven't really looked but thought I would ask anyway. I don't have any bose emblems anywhere on the car so my guess it that is not a bose system. I have the Symphony I head unit and have at least 6 speakers, again I haven't really looked. Also does anyone know where the amp is. I have read that its in the right trunk panel but at first look I didn't see anything that looked like an amp back there even thought I didn't take the entire panel off. I'm just trying to get some answers before I start ripping apart my car looking for things that aren't there. I need to tie into the pre-amps from the head unit to run a couple of 12's in the trunk and if the amp is in the trunk this makes wiring less of a pain in the rear.

[lotusgardener]

I think all s4's had bose but you could easily tell because the speaker grills on the doors have a bose emblem on them.

[Pagantus]

I think all s4's had bose but you could easily tell because the speaker grills on the doors have a bose emblem on them.

I don't have a Bose emblem on any of the speaker grills. I looked in the trunk at the back sides of the rear speakers and they have the audi symbol stamped on them?!?

[ColinGruenfeld]

I think all s4's had bose but you could easily tell because the speaker grills on the doors have a bose emblem on them.

Not all S4's had the bose standard....

Shocking huh?

[Pagantus]

Not all S4's had the bose standard....

Shocking huh?

I was afraid of that... oh well... I guess that just makes it easier to replace the speakers and or head unit if I wanted to.

[Mr.RS4]

Is it possible to have 5.25inch speakers in front, and 6.5inch in back, and still use orginale head unit?

If I change out head unit to Kenwood DNX-9240BT, what loudspeaker do you recomande?

[pzp107]

Yes you can but you will need to make special speaker brackets. I had to make my brother customer fiberglass ones to fit 5.25 inch speakers or you can order them from that company in britain. For ease of use I would recomend the smaller speaker over the 5.25 but thats up to you.

[pzp107]

Yes you can still use the stock headunit also just make sure you get 2 ohm speakers. Thats all. Try and keep the rated rms lower to get the most from the stock headunit and amp.

[Mr.RS4]

Yes you can still use the stock headunit also just make sure you get 2 ohm speakers. Thats all. Try and keep the rated rms lower to get the most from the stock headunit and amp.

Thanks for answer

[williamj76]

I thought that if the the tweeters mounted on the front door panels of the bose system were disconnected, 4 ohm coaxial speakers could be wired in a way that the impedence would be 2 ohms and work with the factory head unit. Does any body know if the is true or incorrect? I'm hoping to replace the factory speakers in the front doors with a pair of boston acoustic 4 ohm coaxials.

[MeinS4]

Don't use 4Ω impdedance speakers with factory Symphony head unit using the Bose amp. Either use the Infinity 4022i or 4032CF for the front doors and 5022i or 5032CF for the rear doors. These speakers are compatible because they are true 4Ω speakers.

What is "True 4Ω" — All Reference speakers feature 2Ω voice coils. Original factory-installed speaker wiring in many cars is 18-22 gauge. This wire, and heating in the voice coil when power is applied, increase the impedance “seen” by the amplifier or head unit. The impedance of Reference Speakers has been adjusted to compensate for this increase and can be safely driven by any head unit including the factory Symphony head unit with the factory Bose Amplifier.

In case you are wondering, the 4032CF is the replacement for the 4022i and the 5032CF is the replacement for the 5022i. Either the newer "CF" or older "i" series will work fine. They have the exact same impedance and specifiations. Just a slightly different tweeter design.

[nynoah]

the 4022i that i found were all 4 ohms. Same with 5022i. The other ones that are the updated ones are 2 ohm. I am running them in my car with success.

[Hard Driver]

thank you! my rears are going out and this makes me want new ones!

You may just have a problem with the rear speakers domes coming loose. I had a buzz from the rear speakers that made them sound blown. I read that the center dome can come unglued and to use some epoxy to re-glue the dome and the rattle goes away. When I took out my back deck and looked at the speakers, actually some old tape of some kind had dried up and fallen into the speaker. Removing the loose dry tape in the speaker made the buzz go away. So you could check for these two things before replacing the speakers for being blown.

[MeinS4]

the 4022i that i found were all 4 ohms. Same with 5022i. The other ones that are the updated ones are 2 ohm. I am running them in my car with success.

Not trying to agrue with you.... I just know that these reference speakers are all 2Ω impedance. Spec sheet from Infinity...

http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/p...=US&Region=USA

http://manuals.harman.com/INF/CAR/Pr...ers.pis.vF.pdf

[bagged_wagon]

You may just have a problem with the rear speakers domes coming loose. I had a buzz from the rear speakers that made them sound blown. I read that the center dome can come unglued and to use some epoxy to re-glue the dome and the rattle goes away. When I took out my back deck and looked at the speakers, actually some old tape of some kind had dried up and fallen into the speaker. Removing the loose dry tape in the speaker made the buzz go away. So you could check for these two things before replacing the speakers for being blown.

thats the exact issue im having now. checking that now! so is infinity the only aftermarket company to go with in 2010?

[bobg94043]

i used gorilla glue on my domes and it fixed it and still sounds great 9 months later. as for the infinity speakers, i have always been a fan and i think they sound great. don't quote me on this as i didn't do much research, but i remember reading that it was hard for people to find 2 ohm speakers in the right sizes for our cars and that you could still find the infinitys in 2 ohm. im sure there are other companies that do it, but i feel like it started to become less popular, for lack of better words. someone correct me if i'm wrong.

[S4gasm aka LOTR]

Is there an updated part for this speaker? These are no longer offered by infinity.

[JVD]

Is there an updated part for this speaker? These are no longer offered by infinity.

Most 4" speakers should be ok.

4ohm will be fine as well.

[TedStriker]

Is there an updated part for this speaker? These are no longer offered by infinity.

Amazon still has them.

[nateS4]

Amazon still has them.

Great, what about a nice plug and play harness? Would have been nice if Crutchfield carried the superseded one.

[getslideways]

Great, what about a nice plug and play harness? Would have been nice if Crutchfield carried the superseded one.

its two wires, why would you need a harness?

The factory ends in my 01.5 didn't look to need anything to slide over the clips on my Infinity reference 5032CF. I say "look" as I had it all apart to test fit but haven't made the adapter rings yet to fit the larger than stock speaker.

EDIT

Here is a pic of the terminals on my stock bose that I currently have out of the car:



Most aftermarket speaker's terminals look pretty much the same. So no harness required in my case.

[Gujuhammer]

^^^^Do you have pic of the adapters you used?

[getslideways]

^^^^Do you have pic of the adapters you used?

I haven't made the mounting adapters yet (the speaker in the photo is blown, so I removed it until I get the replacements in). The weekend weather has been too poor for me to get motivated to pull out the MDF and jigsaw. I can post them up when I do finish them though. If that would be helpful, or if anyone wants to see what they end up looking like I will gladly take a few pics along the way. Its supposed to rain again this weekend but if I get some sunbreaks maybe I will finally be able to tackle it.

[rdcyclist]

I haven't made the mounting adapters yet (the speaker in the photo is blown, so I removed it until I get the replacements in). The weekend weather has been too poor for me to get motivated to pull out the MDF and jigsaw. I can post them up when I do finish them though. If that would be helpful, or if anyone wants to see what they end up looking like I will gladly take a few pics along the way. Its supposed to rain again this weekend but if I get some sunbreaks maybe I will finally be able to tackle it.

I'm going to be doing this shortly myself and will have the replacement Infinitys on Monday and should be able to make some usable adapters on the CNC outta ABS sheet later in the week. If you guys will give me some dimensions that'll give me a headstart on the job. As soon as we finalize the design it's pretty easy to shoot a bunch of them.

I'm using the 4032cf and 5032cf Infinitys from Amazon. About a hunnert bucks for both pairs. Film at eleven...

Edit: Well crap, the 4032's won't be here until next Friday. Not eligible for Amazon Prime dammit.

[topquarkpc]

Quick...getslide...get recycle some dimensions so you don't have to mess with your jigsaw...
What dimensions do you need...???
I just redid my sys (different brand & sizes) and have the factory speakers and adapters out in a box at the moment...
Thinking maybe I can rig my wife's Wagon myself with these infinity speakers...
Let me know

Looks like 4022 were replaced by 4023... and are cheaper than 4022...on amazon

[rdcyclist]

Quick...getslide...get recycle some dimensions so you don't have to mess with your jigsaw...
What dimensions do you need...???
I just redid my sys (different brand & sizes) and have the factory speakers and adapters out in a box at the moment...
Thinking maybe I can rig my wife's Wagon myself with these infinity speakers...
Let me know

Looks like 4022 were replaced by 4023... and are cheaper than 4022...on amazon

So from the top:
1. Dimensions: Bose speaker footprint with outer perimeter size and mounting hole spacing. Infinity speaker footprint with center hole size and mounting hole spacing. Any desired offset. I'll be getting these dimensions late next week or so when I get my speakers from Amazon. I'd rather not tear into the door panels right now cuz my garage looks like a war zone with The Santorin Avant Project Car From Hell going on right now.
2. Yes, the 4032 and 5032's are much cheaper than the 4022 and 5022's. About 40%. Unfortunately the 4032's aren't eligible for Prime hence the wait for delivery.

[topquarkpc]

hm...i just noticed that too about 4032...
well... i don't have the infinity speakers so i can't help you there but i can probably get the OEM dimensions...
so you need outer diameter & 'bolt pattern' (mounting screw locations) of where bose speakers fit into both front & rear door locations.
correct? not sure if i will be able to measure the offset tho... iirc, front one has a rubber gasket/adapter that sits at an angle that gives additional offset... not sure if you're planning on re-using that piece or not... likely not...i assume...
rears has a flat plastic adapter about 3/16" thick...
i do have spare doorcards that i can reference but they are buried somewhere in my garage so not likely i'll be able to use them... eh...
Big shout out to local member 8520 who installed my sys/setup for a very reasonable price that i was able to afford... i even came inadequately prepared and he was able to help me out big time as well... thanks D...!!!

[getslideways]

Quick...getslide...get recycle some dimensions so you don't have to mess with your jigsaw...
What dimensions do you need...???

rdcyclist maybe these will be of some help. I just took the Infinity Template and scanned it on a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper for size reference as well as a printable template, and I did the same with the bottom of the factory mounting bracket.

I also took some rough measurements with a digital caliper and a side shot so you could see the slop of the factory piece and the slanted mounting angles. Hope some of this is of some use:

Keep in mind these are larger than stock speakers for the front, I dont want to confuse anyone into thinking these are the 4" versions

[rdcyclist]

Thanks for the pitchers. I'm gonna hafta wait until I get the speakers and get into my doors so see what's the best way to fit them. That angle is concerning. I was anticipating being able to make a flat adapter. Maybe I'll just adapt the Infinitys to the Bose adapter. We'll see.

If you could measure bolt circle diameter on the Infinity template that would be a good start for me.

[getslideways]

Thanks for the pitchers. I'm gonna hafta wait until I get the speakers and get into my doors so see what's the best way to fit them. That angle is concerning. I was anticipating being able to make a flat adapter. Maybe I'll just adapt the Infinitys to the Bose adapter. We'll see.

If you could measure bolt circle diameter on the Infinity template that would be a good start for me.

Sure thing, here are some other examples just to help you give you a better idea of the stock bracket an how it compares to the larger infinity. Just to help you plan ahead

[rdcyclist]

This is going to be interesting. Thanks for the images. I wasn't clear on the bolt circle diameter dimension; I need the diameter of the pattern of the holes in the template. That'll give me and idea of the size differential of the speakers and what I'm adapting.

Film at eleven...