Symphony ii+ vs. RNS E

[evolution2147]

Hi everyone I have a b6 s4 with the bose sound system in my car. I also put the symphony ii+ head unit in a while ago from a b7. I think it sounds pretty good for a stock system. Well I just put a RNS E in and I think it sounds a lot worse. It sounds bad enough that I took it back out. I loved the looks of the unit but it sounded horrible. (And i dont mean static, I mean there was no bass, hit barely any notes and sounded really tinny) Does this sound normal? Or has anyone else noticed this?

[evolution2147]

No one has any experience with this?

[Christian@enfig]

I don't have too much experience but does the RNS-E have a pin that says bose on the diagram?

[Dfwavant]

If you decide to completely abandon the Symphony ii+, I'm in the market for an upgrade to the Symphony ii.

[M02-00A]

im looking to purchase RNS-E for my B5 S4 and this sounds like a problem... I hate when the sound gets downgraded..


Have you checked to see the power(RMS) rating of RNS-E and see if its fighting with your bose stock amp? may be if you have speakers installed have you set the ohms correctly?


No one has any experience with this?

[CrazyCal]

The sound didn't get "downgraded", the unit just isn't installed properly.

Evolution, apparently you didn't bother searching. I'd be willing to bet this is your problem:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/464119-RNS-E-problem-2002-specific?highlight=RNS-E

[Alister]

Agree that it hasn't been coded properly (specifically for Bose vs non Bose).

[CrazyCal]

OP, so... did this ever get resolved or is this just another newbie "I need help" then-disappear-off-the-face-of-the-planet threads?



Agree that it hasn't been coded properly (specifically for Bose vs non Bose).

I don't think that it's a coding issue at all.

The issue, to me, sounds like the pins for the amp power, ground, and amp turn-on signal are covered up. Post #27 in my thread (posted above) describes this in detail.

[evolution2147]

Sorry guys thought for sure no one was responding to this!! I am going though your other post as I type this..

I will explain my story.. I had a b6 a4 bose and purchased a sym2+ on ebay and a wiring adapter from euro-parts.us. Everything sounded great and i had no complaints. I bought a b6 s4 with bose and transferred the radio and adapter to it and everything sounded fine. A few months went by and I thought Id give an RNSE a shot. When I hooked up the rnse I swapped the 2 pins on the harness (bose wire and k line wire) following this guide: http://www.euroaddiction.net/forum/b6-b7-s4-diy-how-section/581-audi-b7-s4-diy-symphony-ii-rns-e-installation.html
The audio quality took a huge hit. It didn't sound horrible but it sounded much much weaker than the sym2+ and very cheap sounding. (Everything is coded fine so PLEASE do not suggest that!!) Also no error codes whatsoever. I even tried a second rnse and it sounded the same.

After about a month I was frustrated one night and was curious about the bose pin. I pulled the bose wire out of the harness going to the radio and noticed a HUGE increase in audio quality. It is much more powerful and much more bass. It is still not as perfect as I would expect it to be but it is much more tolerable. I have no idea why it sounds better this way but it does. I now get an error saying the front speakers have an open circuit but I really dont care.

If anyone could shed a little light on this that would be great! I am going to pull my radio again to look for these blue things you are talking about.

[dcc236]

1. Check your wiring harness carfully
2. As Alister above has suggested, you need to code the RNS-E for your car & setup using VCDS

The sound quality from the Symphony II and RNS-E are similar, good but not fantastic. I'd be pretty certain your issue is one of the two above.

[evolution2147]

I will look over the harness again. However I am certain it is NOT a coding issue. It is coded for sound system with audio pilot.

[dcc236]

I will look over the harness again. However I am certain it is NOT a coding issue. It is coded for sound system with audio pilot.

If it is neither of the two items above, you can assume you have a faulty unit. However, I'd put money on it being a fault in one or both the items mentioned.

I have no idea what Audio Pilot is. The required VCDS coding is a multi-stage process. You code it for the car model and then for all the appropriate Audi audio, nav and bluetooth options installed in your car.

[evolution2147]

AudioPilot is the little microphone in the headliner area that changes the volume based on ambient noises. I have tried 2 rnse units and they sound identical. I also removed the blue strips as suggested and it made no difference. I just bought a new harness online just for the heck of it but it will take a little while to arrive.

[dcc236]

AudioPilot sounds like a new name for Gala but only reinforces to me you've incorrectly coded it. You need to ensure it is coded for your car - a B6 S4 from memory and then the features of your audio system.

If you have tried a different unit, then your problem is definitely in either the coding of the RNS-E or in the wiring. Might be worth finding someone locally with RNS-E conversion knowledge to help you.

All that is needed is the wiring diagrams from the stock unit originally installed in your car, the one on top of the rns-e and a genuine Ross Tech VCDS cable.

- Check each and every cable connected to the rns-e is correctly connected to the car based on the two wiring diagrams, then
- Recode the RNS-E using VCDS.

[CrazyCal]

I also removed the blue strips as suggested and it made no difference. I just bought a new harness online just for the heck of it but it will take a little while to arrive.

You only need to remove one blue strip. Also, you said you messed with the bose pin. Did you put it back before removing the blue strip? You start screwing with too much stuff and you'll confuse yourself and never get it right.

This stuff has nothing to do with coding. Coding only makes slight adjustments to the acoustics based on what model Audi you have. Any audio changes through coding would be minimal at best.

[dolsinmark]

Whenever I have had any issue with audio system, I just used to reset the audio system referring Bose audio manual and it worked many times. But this issue was somewhat critical and fixed with your guidelines. So many thanks for input.

[evolution2147]

Whenever I have had any issue with audio system, I just used to reset the audio system referring Bose audio manual and it worked many times. But this issue was somewhat critical and fixed with your guidelines. So many thanks for input.

How do you do this? I haven't heard of this before.
Adam