bang & olufsen a good upgrade?

[andyollie]

im told by my dealer that you lose all the bass when you go for this upgrade, i was in a b7 bose equiped car last night and i think my stock radio in my old b7 was better? because the bose is a bit tinny maybe overly SQ?

[JGreen76]

I am guessing that your dealer doesn't have one on the lot with that option that they are willing to sell you.... B&O is better. If it didn't sound better to the sells rep... 1 of 2 things:
1) he/she sucks at sales
2) he/she does not know how to adjust the setting of a stereo

[Audi_A5]

don't listen to him, get it!! I sure do regret not taking this option :(
and I'll regret it everyday to come..

[nick71692]

My b6 has the symphony and my b7 has the bose, by far the bose is better so im sure the b&o is amazing

[A4Ber]

The symphony on my b7 sucks, however the prestige is too expensive and I really don't need those other options. My b8 is not here yet so I can't see how the b8 symphony like. I hope I don't need to get aftermarket sound system.

[CGYa4]

As a previous lot attendant for an audi dealership i can assure you once you fiddle with the settings you will be quite happy with the B&O.

[SignitrSideways]

If you have any desire to listen to your music even remotely loud, the B&O is nearly a requirement. And that sales rep is horribly mis-informed... there are settings to easily surpass my tolerance for bass thru MMI.. believe me, it is worth the price if you love your music. You will not need to look aftermarket for any reason.

[piotrowr]

As a previous lot attendant for an audi dealership i can assure you once you fiddle with the settings you will be quite happy with the B&O.

Heck, I thought my B&O sounded great w/o even touching the default settings but once I did it was off the wall!

[Ghostly]

doesnt the B&O system come with Prestige as a standard?

[burner799]

I have only heard the b&o in the S8, but it was a world apart from any Bose system that I have heard.

[SignitrSideways]

doesnt the B&O system come with Prestige as a standard?

yes!

[andyollie]

i had $3000 worth of alpine type x and alpine 310 media station in my old B7, so yea i like listening to a good system, ill deffo have a listen to bando before i rule it off my order. thanks for the feed back

[AofC_RR]

Seriously well worth it. You might want to upgrade the subwoofer. That's about the only thing I've heard. Ridiculously good treble and mid though. Bass is adequate IMO

[thxac3]

I was worried about not getting the B&O system also, and I can tell you the system that comes with the Premium Plus package is good enough. My home audio system consist of Martin Logan speakers and Classe processors and amps. If you don't need the extras that come with the Prestige package, save your money. Yes the B&O sounds better, but not $3k better. But this is just my $.02. That being said, if my wife let me get the prestige package I would have, but I would rather have the S-Line package.

[A4Ber]

I was worried about not getting the B&O system also, and I can tell you the system that comes with the Premium Plus package is good enough. My home audio system consist of Martin Logan speakers and Classe processors and amps. If you don't need the extras that come with the Prestige package, save your money. Yes the B&O sounds better, but not $3k better. But this is just my $.02. That being said, if my wife let me get the prestige package I would have, but I would rather have the S-Line package.

I agree with you. I only want the B&O and sline, but is not worth it at all. is like 6k more with the sline?

[ultra]

the B&O enigneer that designed it said it is about three grand worth of equipment . I think the option is like $850-900 so it's a great value for sure.

[EthanDM]

The B&O system is amazing...can't comment on Audi symphony though.

[khmerguy978]

the b&o is exceptional. the prestige package is too.

side assist can be a life saver.
back up assist is good to save.
start button/smart key is techy status.

i get in my audi to listen to music. find some uncompressed music and test it out, it was beyond bose. my sister has the technology package in her infiniti m35x, with the crazy bose system with speakers on the shoulder rests, and i think mines sound better.

cheers... rocco

[jloh]

B & O is only as good as the quality of the recording that it's playing....it doesn't try to put anything that is not there. The best way to listen to is with with all the settings in the middle and a high-quality recording (bring a CD you're familiar with and listen to both systems back to back)

If you want thumpin bass that the whole city block will tremble at, then no B & O probably isn't the best system for that.

[Audi05s4]

YES

[vjma]

The B&O is the bet OEM system there is. Period. To compare the BOSE in the B7 to the B&O in the B8 is like comparing tape recorder vs CD. That is my personal opinion. You have to listen to it to make your own judgment though.

[A4Ber]

Hey, I just got my car today. Before I was worry about not getting the B&O, however I think the Symphony is very nice too. It is better than my Logic 7. If i had to go back and rethink, I will still pick the premium plus.

[qtrocar]

Audi has always had really good audio in their cars. Over recent years, the relationship with Bose has produced some cars with exceptional sound quality, but there have always been other manufacturers who have offered better sound systems in their cars. I have a Bose Lifestyle 48 home theatre, and have had Bose in my prior Audi A6.
The new B&O system is a much better system than the Bose. The sound quality is hard to imagine, and is on par with many of the most exclusive, expensive and highest quality home theatre systems.
Yesterday, while going out for dinner with a few friends, we listened to the B&O in my 2009 A4. I was demonstrating the sound quality for the iPod interface. The immediate response from the person in the front, and in the back of the car was that they had never heard a sound system in a car that sounded this good.
So, while this opinion is admitedly subjective, it really does seem like Audi has produced a sound system that is a reasonable price, with exceptional value. The unfortunate thing is that it is only offered on the Prestige model, so there is clearly a price point that you'll have to be prepared to deal with if you want this level of sound quality.

[piotrowr]

Audi has always had really good audio in their cars. Over recent years, the relationship with Bose has produced some cars with exceptional sound quality, but there have always been other manufacturers who have offered better sound systems in their cars. I have a Bose Lifestyle 48 home theatre, and have had Bose in my prior Audi A6.
The new B&O system is a much better system than the Bose. The sound quality is hard to imagine, and is on par with many of the most exclusive, expensive and highest quality home theatre systems.
Yesterday, while going out for dinner with a few friends, we listened to the B&O in my 2009 A4. I was demonstrating the sound quality for the iPod interface. The immediate response from the person in the front, and in the back of the car was that they had never heard a sound system in a car that sounded this good.
So, while this opinion is admitedly subjective, it really does seem like Audi has produced a sound system that is a reasonable price, with exceptional value. The unfortunate thing is that it is only offered on the Prestige model, so there is clearly a price point that you'll have to be prepared to deal with if you want this level of sound quality.

Yah agreed, it's funny how much time I spend in the garage listening to the B&O over anything I have in the house! It's sort of like having noise reduction headphones on when you listen to this system. I never imagined a car stereo could sound so good! It was like the feature that came with the car that I didn't anticipate so it was a pleasant surprise..

[4-tified]

So, while this opinion is admitedly subjective, it really does seem like Audi has produced a sound system that is a reasonable price, with exceptional value. The unfortunate thing is that it is only offered on the Prestige model, so there is clearly a price point that you'll have to be prepared to deal with if you want this level of sound quality.

I can't understand how you could describe the B&O system with
"a reasonable price" and "exceptional value.
The only way to get this system is to get the "prestige" pkg., which means you must pay a premium price to get this B&O system.
$3350 is the cost to get this system.
Granted there are other options added to this price difference, but to get the upgraded audio you still have to pay $3350 more, especially if you don't want the other options. I would want the B&O, but not for $3350 extra.

I have over 20 years of professional audio/video production experience, and I have developed an exceptional sense of quality audio from producing it in the studio, to playing it on every kind of audio system.
I haven't heard the B&O so I can't speak on it's quality. I can speak on what it takes to create exceptional audio in a car that is mass produced with the benefit of large scale parts purchasing. IOW, Audi and all car makers can buy fine audio parts are much lower costs than we can as individuals. I can equip any car with exceptional quality sound an volume for about $1500 and less. This would be exceptional sound quality, not to mention that I would be buying on typical equipment discount most of us can get if we shop the net carefully. A car maker should be able to drop that cost by at least 25%-30%, and maybe more.
That also assumes they would use the parts I would.
Anyone that has looked at the hardware installed in even "high end" car audio knows that the parts used are quite low quality, especially the speakers.

My point, after that rambling, is that for the money asked I wouldn't get it.
Audi has made a mistake by not offering the B&O as a stand alone option for $1000 or under, not over. Over $1000 I would rather upgrade audio parts myself, except for the built in head unit, and it would be much better sounding. At about $1000 for a decent audio system it would be worth it to me to not have to go tearing panels open to install audio parts.

The B&O is not anywhere near reasonable in price, nor can it be called exceptional in value in my opinion, and of course you don't have to
share it.

[piotrowr]

I can't understand how you could describe the B&O system with
"a reasonable price" and "exceptional value.
The only way to get this system is to get the "prestige" pkg., which means you must pay a premium price to get this B&O system.
$3350 is the cost to get this system.
Granted there are other options added to this price difference, but to get the upgraded audio you still have to pay $3350 more, especially if you don't want the other options. I would want the B&O, but not for $3350 extra.

I have over 20 years of professional audio/video production experience, and I have developed an exceptional sense of quality audio from producing it in the studio, to playing it on every kind of audio system.
I haven't heard the B&O so I can't speak on it's quality. I can speak on what it takes to create exceptional audio in a car that is mass produced with the benefit of large scale parts purchasing. IOW, Audi and all car makers can buy fine audio parts are much lower costs than we can as individuals. I can equip any car with exceptional quality sound an volume for about $1500 and less. This would be exceptional sound quality, not to mention that I would be buying on typical equipment discount most of us can get if we shop the net carefully. A car maker should be able to drop that cost by at least 25%-30%, and maybe more.
That also assumes they would use the parts I would.
Anyone that has looked at the hardware installed in even "high end" car audio knows that the parts used are quite low quality, especially the speakers.

My point, after that rambling, is that for the money asked I wouldn't get it.
Audi has made a mistake by not offering the B&O as a stand alone option for $1000 or under, not over. Over $1000 I would rather upgrade audio parts myself, except for the built in head unit, and it would be much better sounding. At about $1000 for a decent audio system it would be worth it to me to not have to go tearing panels open to install audio parts.

The B&O is not anywhere near reasonable in price, nor can it be called exceptional in value in my opinion, and of course you don't have to
share it.

Dude!!! Depends on the market! In Canada yah, it's a stand alone and probably elsewhere but we're taking about the US of A, where OBABA has a say!!!!

Amazing you don't have a b&o yet you have n opinion????

[A4Ber]

I can't understand how you could describe the B&O system with
"a reasonable price" and "exceptional value.
The only way to get this system is to get the "prestige" pkg., which means you must pay a premium price to get this B&O system.
$3350 is the cost to get this system.
Granted there are other options added to this price difference, but to get the upgraded audio you still have to pay $3350 more, especially if you don't want the other options. I would want the B&O, but not for $3350 extra.

I have over 20 years of professional audio/video production experience, and I have developed an exceptional sense of quality audio from producing it in the studio, to playing it on every kind of audio system.
I haven't heard the B&O so I can't speak on it's quality. I can speak on what it takes to create exceptional audio in a car that is mass produced with the benefit of large scale parts purchasing. IOW, Audi and all car makers can buy fine audio parts are much lower costs than we can as individuals. I can equip any car with exceptional quality sound an volume for about $1500 and less. This would be exceptional sound quality, not to mention that I would be buying on typical equipment discount most of us can get if we shop the net carefully. A car maker should be able to drop that cost by at least 25%-30%, and maybe more.
That also assumes they would use the parts I would.
Anyone that has looked at the hardware installed in even "high end" car audio knows that the parts used are quite low quality, especially the speakers.

My point, after that rambling, is that for the money asked I wouldn't get it.
Audi has made a mistake by not offering the B&O as a stand alone option for $1000 or under, not over. Over $1000 I would rather upgrade audio parts myself, except for the built in head unit, and it would be much better sounding. At about $1000 for a decent audio system it would be worth it to me to not have to go tearing panels open to install audio parts.

The B&O is not anywhere near reasonable in price, nor can it be called exceptional in value in my opinion, and of course you don't have to
share it.

i totally agree with you! nice write up! Yeah B&O sure is nice, but it does not worth that much money to get that system. If i could get B&O without the prestige for 1.5k, I would.

[andyollie]

we are getting B and O in the UK as a 500 quid option, $750 in your currency :) im gonna tick this option.

[A4Ber]

we are getting B and O in the UK as a 500 quid option, $750 in your currency :) im gonna tick this option.

Wow, then get it. That's an awesome price...I would get it if they offer here.

[robots_are_neon]

b&O has enhanced my driving experience like none other

[vjma]

Stand alone option here as well for roughly US$900, which is a steal if you ask me

[aessa]

Has anyone experienced a rattle from the rear speakers while listening to their B&O sound system?
I have a brand new 2009 audi a4 s-line that I picked up a week ago and while listening to the B&O sound system, there is a very annoying rattle that comes and goes even at a very low volume. It just becomes really apparent when you turn the bass all the way up and turn up the volume.

Any feed back would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Amir

[DannyDeez]

Random question: Does anyone know how to properly pronounce Bang & Olufsen?

[Longfist86]

great equipment for a great price. do it!

[hoppy6698]

This thread hasn't been touched since Feb 09, so now that the B&O is a stand-alone option on the Premium Plus A4, I'm guessing the consensus is still a "must have" for anyone remotely considering themselves an audiophile.

Correct?

[Ryan_T]

Yes.

Very good upgrade.

[L0U]

in the top 5 oem systems available.

[Ryan_T]

For 95% of the buyers, I think the B&O justifies forgoing an aftermarket system.

[Fleet Admiral]

b&O has enhanced my driving experience like none other

Makes your car handle like it's on rails, right?

Has anyone experienced a rattle from the rear speakers while listening to their B&O sound system?

Yes, plenty of A8 owners. Just look it up in that thread. Other than tearing it apart and padding the hell out of it, which might not even work, there's nothing to solve it apparently.

Personally, unless you're going to use the stereo to listen exclusively to DVD AUDIO discs or movies in your car, it ain't worth it. You can't honestly tell me or anyone else there's a difference unless it's using 5.1-7.1 channel surround.

5th gear did an idiotic test like this using a ahem--- 2 channel CD. Looked like he was having a hard time discerning which was BOSE vs B&0. Hardly a comparisson done right. When you use the right audio media the way it was intended on the system, it'll be clearly apparent. This system wasn't designed for heavy bass, but more for highs and lows of classical instruments.

[speedchangesU]

I have the B&O in my 09 B8 prestige and its better than my Bose in the B6 I traded, This is one of the reasons I went with that package along with the lane assist and 5 spoke 18 inch wheels, May even help resale who knows!