Sound system improvements... or not?

[Acme]

I'm afraid I'm gonna get the "search, you m.....n" with this one, but I promise you, I did for the last 2-3 days. And I did find a few threads about complete audio builds... Not saying I'm not going to take that route eventually if it comes to that, but I want to see if there a simpler and much cheaper way of solving my "problem". Which is...... the sound system...!! I cannot find a setting that I like. First time ever, I think, that I'm getting a "new" car and can't f...g figure out a way to somewhat enjoy the OEM sound system.

On a side note: when I was younger (like, a long time ago ) I used to do complete audio builds in my cars... Sub-woofers, amps, eqs, head units, speaker upgrades, etc. But I stopped doing that.)

I don't have B&O, but a have NAV, so I have the base sound system with 10 speakers and a sub, with DSP. I don't know if it's just me, maybe there's something wrong with my system. But I can't get good deep bass. What I get is stupid loud mid-bass coming from what I think is the front center speaker. I can't do anything to make it better. I enjoy any type of music (except classic and country!!), but I usually listen to rock and metal. It's the worst... I tried to adjust all settings... Bass, treble, sub-woofer, DSP, fader. When I think I'm getting somewhere, the next track sucks more than ever before. And I'm back to square one. I miss the more basic sound system I had in my B7!

I tried BT (built-in with MMI and NAV)... I don't know what profiles/codec they are using, but sound quality is not very good. I had better with my Dension unit in my B7. I then moved some 320 kbps mp3s to an SD card. Sound is better, but still.... the bass sucks.

So my question is (and I guess you already figured it out): is there any way(s) to improve the system without a complete audio build? I don't want to put 2K $ into this, and I don't need huge subs and amps...

[A4 Centaur]

Yea, get some sound dampening material.

Get a pair of Infinity, Focal, Blaupunkt, JBL, or other component speakers with a good S/N ratio.

Get some adapters for the doors.

Look for a Subwoofer set up you can install for cheap, say a 10" sub.

Enjoy.

[Acme]

Yeah. I kinda figured that was the way to go but I was hoping for an "easy" quick fix. I was probably dreaming...

[A4 Centaur]

Well, for 100 USD a pair of good speakers with a higher S/N ratio is a great start.

[Zapps]

A bit of a step up in complexity & price, but maybe find a used MS-8? While I have switched out a lot, I think my aftermarket gear sounds much better with the ms8.

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[theSaint024]

I'm afraid I'm gonna get the "search, you m.....n" with this one...

I'm a little disturbed that I thought about this for more than a second, but... what word is the "m.....n"? I initially thought it was "moron", but then I thought why would he censor it? My second thought "Muthafu***" doesn't work because it doesn't end in "n" as far as I know. I'm out of words after that.

I am wishing I had your problem. I used to do stereo builds too in the dayz of way back. So some would say I was an audiophile. But I find I only listen to children's music in the car now. I cannot even tell if the system sounds good or not anymore.

[DangerBruno]

I have stock sound on my 2013 allroad and I am pleasantly surprised as I had Bose in my 01 allroad at that was superb. Although when I first got it I thought the sound was shite. Ima huge audiophile as I'm a musician and a DJ so I NEED good clear sound. Now I won't get that deeeeep bass because the sub just isn't big enough. I plan to put a single 10 in the back soon which will definitely solve that. I found that a simple Mid scoop and bass boost helped TREMENDOUSLY. Take the mids down to 7-9 o'clock on the circular adjust and put treble to 3 and bass to 3 or higher depending on taste. I find that metal and hardcore taste better with less bass due to me always having the volume at a billion. Electronic stuff I usually put the bass higher because DUH! Hope that helps a bit. And it's free. Although some solid replacement speakers can never hurt as they will have a better range for sure! That can also lead to a never ending search for the perfect speaker.


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[Acme]

A bit of a step up in complexity & price, but maybe find a used MS-8? While I have switched out a lot, I think my aftermarket gear sounds much better with the ms8.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

The MS-8 without some speaker upgrades would be a waste, IMHO. Adding that to the whole thing would cost much more than I'm willing to spend at this point.

I'm a little disturbed that I thought about this for more than a second, but... what word is the "m.....n"? I initially thought it was "moron", but then I thought why would he censor it? My second thought "Muthafu***" doesn't work because it doesn't end in "n" as far as I know. I'm out of words after that.

I am wishing I had your problem. I used to do stereo builds too in the dayz of way back. So some would say I was an audiophile. But I find I only listen to children's music in the car now. I cannot even tell if the system sounds good or not anymore.

`

Yeah, that was actually moron, although I can't really say why I censored it... Didn't really think about it at the time!

I don't have children. That would solve my problem though... I would end up doing as you do!

[Acme]

I have stock sound on my 2013 allroad and I am pleasantly surprised as I had Bose in my 01 allroad at that was superb. Although when I first got it I thought the sound was shite. Ima huge audiophile as I'm a musician and a DJ so I NEED good clear sound. Now I won't get that deeeeep bass because the sub just isn't big enough. I plan to put a single 10 in the back soon which will definitely solve that. I found that a simple Mid scoop and bass boost helped TREMENDOUSLY. Take the mids down to 7-9 o'clock on the circular adjust and put treble to 3 and bass to 3 or higher depending on taste. I find that metal and hardcore taste better with less bass due to me always having the volume at a billion. Electronic stuff I usually put the bass higher because DUH! Hope that helps a bit. And it's free. Although some solid replacement speakers can never hurt as they will have a better range for sure! That can also lead to a never ending search for the perfect speaker.


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I don't have a mid level adjustment on my system. Usually upping both treble and bass to let's say 8-9/10 will have the same effect as lowering the mids (and that is what I do most of the time), but... that doesn't work with this system. I think it's because of the sub-woofer level ajustement, but I can't figure it out. There's too much bass and most of it in the lower mids, which is not really good as it overpowers everything else, and when I try to lower it to acceptable levels, all the deep bass is gone. A better sub-woofer would probably solve this. I think...

As I read your message, I'm guessing you either have B&O or the base sound system in the Avant is better than in the sedan....

[DangerBruno]

I don't have a mid level adjustment on my system. Usually upping both treble and bass to let's say 8-9/10 will have the same effect as lowering the mids (and that is what I do most of the time), but... that doesn't work with this system. I think it's because of the sub-woofer level ajustement, but I can't figure it out. There's too much bass and most of it in the lower mids, which is not really good as it overpowers everything else, and when I try to lower it to acceptable levels, all the deep bass is gone. A better sub-woofer would probably solve this. I think...

As I read your message, I'm guessing you either have B&O or the base sound system in the Avant is better than in the sedan....

What year is your car? I definitely don't have B&O, my system has the eq selectable in the MMI screen.


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[Acme]

What year is your car? I definitely don't have B&O, my system has the eq selectable in the MMI screen.


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2013, MMI with NAV (so 3G high as I understand it*). In the menu I have DSP, subwoofer, bass, treble and fader. No mid level adjustment.

UPDATE: Maybe it's 3G+... It's confusing because in Canada we didn't get Google Earth maps with NAV. Although I think the MMI is 3G+ because I have the joystick in the middle of the knob.

[DangerBruno]

2013, MMI with NAV (so 3G high as I understand it*). In the menu I have DSP, subwoofer, bass, treble and fader. No mid level adjustment.

UPDATE: Maybe it's 3G+... It's confusing because in Canada we didn't get Google Earth maps with NAV. Although I think the MMI is 3G+ because I have the joystick in the middle of the knob.

When I have "media" selected I can press the bottom right selector button (where my finger is) which is probably on your center console since you have nav. Then the menu you see on my screen pops up. I guess you have a totally different system than me. I would be surprised to find out you have less of a selection when it comes to EQ. That's about as much info as I can give as I don't have the Nav package. Hope you get this figured out! Best of luck!


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[Acme]

When I have "media" selected I can press the bottom right selector button (where my finger is) which is probably on your center console since you have nav. Then the menu you see on my screen pops up. I guess you have a totally different system than me. I would be surprised to find out you have less of a selection when it comes to EQ. That's about as much info as I can give as I don't have the Nav package. Hope you get this figured out! Best of luck!


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Yeah. You don't have NAV, so it's a different system. Looks like you have a better eq than what I have though. Weird.