I finally decided to improve the acoustics and sub on my 2015 S4. Some of you may already know that the B&O, whilst it is a nice improvement over the basic audi system, it just seems to lack a bit of imaging and the depth that low bass frequencies can add to the music.
Not having done the audio system in my last car, i felt a bit out of touch with what was available, so i visited a few audio shops to get an idea on what was new on the market and gather some opinions some installers. Most recommendations were to just use a sealed box with a 12" sub... hmmm.... My idea was always to replace the existing sub and use the original sub cut out, but everyone just kept saying, it's too hard and you wont get the results.. An audio shop even when to the extend of recommending to upgrade all my speakers to VW specific Focals 165V on all doors. Now his caught my attention for the first few minutes, due the the fact that the VW focals looked like plug and play items. However the reality is that it would end up being a big waste of money, considering that the existing B&O speakers provide enough brightness and clarity IMHO... even if the magnets and voice coils in the B&Os look ordinary.
Add to that, the fact that none of the shops gave that peace of mind that i was seeking, in that they would be careful and meticulous whilst doing the work. In the end, I felt hesitant in handing over the keys to someone to pull apart my beloved toy and poke its little wires, So i decided to do the work myself!...
I already had an Amp from a previous system sitting around, so all i needed was to find the right SQ sub to match it.
and so.. i settled for the following items:
Alpine MRV-M1005 - 1000wrms @ 2 ohm
Morel Ultimo Ti 10" 2 ohm version with 1000wrms (Single Voice Coil)
Audio Control LC2i with the optional remote
20mm MDF board
a Stinger 4 gauge 1500 watt amp kit
and Car Builders Sound Deadener - 40sq/f in 500x300x2.0 sheets
Tools:
Pry Tool kit
Torx T25 driver
Socket set (if you want to remove the rear seat belts like i did)
The first thing i did, was to remove all the door trims one by one and apply sound deadener on the back of the outer skin and on the face of the inner skin as such:
Make sure that you're careful when pulling the trim off once all the torx screws have been removed, apply even and gradual pulling pressure on the edge of the door trim and work your way around so not to break any of the clips. I'm sure there are plenty of posts on how to remove the door trims so i wont cover it here. Even though i thought it would be difficult, it's actually quite straight forward and not that hard at all.
The next thing i did was to remove the rear seat bench, seat belts, rear window side trims and rear shelf. I also removed the side side airbags seat cushions which are held down by a single torx screw. If you do this, make sure you disconnect at least the negative terminal from your battery, otherwise when you reconnect them you will need to reset the fault light shown on the dash via your VAG cable. This is also done to avoid setting them off by accident as a small short in current can trip the airbag.. so take precautions and disconnect your battery. I did this to run cables behind one of the side airbag. And so... The next step was to put sound deadener in the boot/trunk and rear shelf
the boot lid
Once i was done with the sound deadening i moved on to cut a piece of 20mm MDF to fit in the recessed area of the shelf... i like mounting all my speakers on the thickest possible MDF so that it sits properly. It also helps with less vibrations and at the same time, i wanted to brace the metal, again just to avoid vibrations as a good powerful sub will definitely cause some metal flexing. From experience, timber has also stop the flexing
now...the sticker i applied to the board simply because it was supplied with sub and it would have ended in the rubbish otherwise...you'd never see it. I also added UV resistant marine grade varnish Lol..just because i had a spare spray can sitting around in the garage, but i don't think it will do anything nor was it needed :P.. I also did a cut out on the MDF for the trunk light and one for the shelf plastic support bracket (not in the pic). I also made my own supports out of timber to hold down the shelf trim, since the B&O sub actually had a plastic surround that held the trim down in place. You can see the timber supports in the photo below along with a metal bracket i made and run across to both supports to hold the shelf trim down and avoid rattles. I re-utilized two of the sub torx screws on the metal plate to hold the trim down.
In the photo, you will also notice that i had to cut out a tad bit off the shelf so that any excursion from the subwoofer did not touch or rub against the shelf trim - i then manually moved the cone up and down to test for contact.. all clear!..
i also used 8 bolts to hold the MDF down as you can see in the pic and drilled new holes.. well i had no choice
This is how the sub hangs, which is great as it does't eat into the boot space at all
The next step was to find a place for the LC2i remote. I couldn't settle for a spot, specially since it had it's own metal bracket and i wanted it to look OEM... so i decided to remove the controller from the supplied bracket... sourced an Audi Q7 MMI volume button and decided to mount it on the cabin light console. I had to modify the back of the Q7 knob to replace the original one, simple and quick process with a dremel tool.... I measured the hole on the original remote bracket, located the suitable drill bit and carefully drilled a hole for it right next to the hands free microphones.. I obviously removed the light console out of the car to do this.. this is the end result:
Personally i think it looks great and it looks like the car came with it...
I then run the wires for the controller on the side of the roof and out the back.. The next step was the LOC (LC2i)!. With the left over MDF i actually made a bracket for the LC2i and glued right next to the spare tyre. I didn't want to drill any more holes than what i already had done on the shelf to hold the MDF board, so i used construction adhesive and left it overnight to dry. The following morning I tried to move it and that thing isn't going anywhere!.. so my plan worked. I'm sure if i pushed it with enough force it could be removed with no traces or holes. this is the result
You can easily see in the photo where i run the wires. For the speaker level input i used the White&Yellow (positive) and Blue and Yellow (Negative) out of the audi amplifier loom connector. Make sure that you use the wires coming away from the amp and not coming from the direction of the head unit, if that makes sense.. I did it from the head unit direction at first by error and I didn't get any signal... so I then moved the speaker inputs cables to the wires coming out of the amp connection or from the direction of the B&O amp and that worked well. The LC2i has an GTO Selector which allows the LC2i to be turned on by the speaker signal... DON'T BOTHER with this seriously!!.. get a proper switched 12v power cable run from the cigarette lighter behind the center console. If you just rely on the speaker signal from the B&O amp and then run the remote wire out from the LC2i to your amp, the LC2i will just flicker on and off as the sub frequencies come on and off...:/... the signal wont even be strong enough to power your own amp and you may only hear you sub come on at high volume.. so just run a proper switched 12V supply into the LC2i (remote in). Unfortunately in the B8.5 there is no switched power in the boot/truck so the closest i found and without having to pull apart anything is that cigarette lighter .. Don't forget to source a fuse holder with a 1amp fuse for the constant 12V power into the LC2i just for safety. here is where i run mine from
My amp wasn't small enough to be installed under the B&O amp, so i had to install it behind the rear seat.. It doesn't look too bad and it's being held by four screws. The great thing is that if you remove the screws, you can't even tell there ever were any screws there. The fluffy material behind the seat does a great job at hiding the holes.. you will never know where they are so that works for me.
Before you put everything back in place, test it and if all is working.. then you can re-install all your trim pieces..
Hope this helps anyone trying to do this upgrade..
Overall, i'm absolutely happy with the end result. This morel sub is just incredible in terms of sound.. i have no rattles or squeaky noises AT ALL!!... even when i crank it up.. nothing is vibrating or rattling away and the bass is just incredible and clear!!!!.. The sound deadening behind the original B&O speakers in the doors also gave me noticeably better acoustics and the entire system just sound ahhhmazing!.. Very very very happy with the effort and i highly recommend the sound deadening in the doors before you even think that you may need new speakers. It DOES make a difference in how the system sounds. The only slight rattle i hear is on the outside.. those crappy exhaust shields unfortunately. However, they don't rattle loud enough to make the car sound crap when standing outside.. it's just a slight rattle and I'm not even concerned about it. These only rattle when i crank it up very high past 23 or 24, but anyway i never wanted a system for SPL purposes, and i won't be listening it past 16 or 18.. that's enough for me and i can hear every instrument very well.. I'm a bit of an audiophile and i'm all for Sound Quality. I have attained a dramatic change in SQ as a result, so what else can i say.... Do it!!..haha
Reply With Quote
Ibis P+ / DSG / Silk Napa / B&O / Sport Diff. / ADS lite / MMI & Nav / APR Stage 2+ & TCU Tuned / Ultra Charger / 184mm KI LIL BITCH / ECS Kohlefaser Luft-Technik Intake / AMS Alpha Cooler / ECS 2-Piece Rotors / Akebono Pads / VMR 803 19x9.5 ET45 265-35-19 PSS / ECS Drivetrain Bushing Inserts / CR-15
THEN 
THEN 
THEN Rinse & Repeat!
Originally Posted by ChobeG
Bookmarks