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[Audi A3/S3] To Bose or not to Bose


darrenh
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Personally yes! I had it in the TT (concert 2 Bose) and it was superb. When I tested the A3 it had Symphony 2 with Bose and I was less impressed, so in my A3 i've ordered Concert 2 Bose again.

Depends what sort of music fan you are. If you like clarity and hi-fi standard music, there are better systems on the market. If you like good bass definition and a warm sound at volume with no distortion then get bose. Its not up to competing with your average sub-in-the-boot tw@ts (why would you want to!?) it's a grown up version!

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Have Bose in my S3. My opinion is that it's better with Bose than without, but after market systems will out perform it. Obviously you're not paying the £500 quid that the option costs new, (which seems a bit pricey for changing 4 speakers, and putting a base box and an amp in the boot!)

And as PaulS3 says, helps with resale, so how much does it really end up costing you?

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I have it in my A4 Avant and regret not having specced it on my S3 and A4 Skip. IMO it's well worth the money.

I used to be well into Car HiFi but got sick of losing space in the car\theft risk etc so Bose is a good compromise, it's built in so you won't get anybody wanting to nick it really because it's built in and won't work in anything else and you don't lose space.

Jon.

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Didn't get it for my new A3, regret it but that's assuming that the Bose would have been an improvement. Standard stuff has turned out to be a big big disappointment coming from the standard stuff in a 1.8T Golf. Not sure what the equivalent upgrade money would get you with aftermarket ICE though?

You shouldn't compare it to Bose in a TT though, very different cabin environment. Go to a stealer and check them out to be sure.

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I went for it on the first one and decided not to on the second as I thought it was poor value for money and decided to go aftermarket.

Has it been worth it? Difficult to say, I've ended up spending more but that's more a reflection of me and perhaps a poor choice of expensive speakers (Focals) which I admit I don't really like and should have gone for straight Alpine. Very pleased with the Alpine 9812 headunit as it's red lit to match the dash and plays MP3 and WMA disks, eliminating the need for the boot changer.

Overall given both the amount of tinkering it has taken and the amount it still has to get, I'm not sure I would have bothered again, and instead I might have just got an aftermarket changer than played MP3 and plugged it into the concert. Audi go way out of their way to make aftermarket installs a pain in the backside with their wiring looms though so it's not all plain sailing.

Overall though it's more down to a available free time problem as the sound is definitely better than the factory bose.

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It doesn't sound as though it's a clear cut thing at all confused.gif from those that have had Audi systems both with and without Bose so what chance do we have! Mine, without Bose, sounds quite good on FM radio but CD quality is really depressingly bad with some distortion, even on low base acoustic tracks.

Just a feeling but it may be worth going for Bose, to get the speakers factory fitted for not too much of an outlay and if it's still pants get a new headunit as that's normally the corner that has been cut. I figure that there'd be less labour costs involved in that than replacing all the speakers and associated wiring. Maybe I'm just talking out my ass and other more informed users have another opinion. ROLLEY~14.GIF

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If you can be arsed then I'd say do the whole aftermarket thing, but if you want better than average (Not perfect) sound then take the BOSE....it's as clear cut as that!

The facts:

BOSE is better than standard.

Aftermarket is better than BOSE.

grin.gif

beerchug.gif

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Bose is amazing, i'm sure there are other aftermarket systems available too, but it all depends on whether you want your dash cordinated or not.

Also bear in mind, the audi system will be less nickable.

anyway, stop flappin' and start drivin'

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[ QUOTE ]

Bose is amazing, i'm sure there are other aftermarket systems available too, but it all depends on whether you want your dash cordinated or not.

Also bear in mind, the audi system will be less nickable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good points, which make the Bose system more appealing in my eyes.....plus I couldn't be arsed fecking with a brand new car.

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[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

Bose is amazing, i'm sure there are other aftermarket systems available too, but it all depends on whether you want your dash cordinated or not.

Also bear in mind, the audi system will be less nickable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good points, which make the Bose system more appealing in my eyes.....plus I couldn't be arsed fecking with a brand new car.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is exactly why I got it for my TQ grin.gif

jump.gifbeerchug.gif

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I don't think so. At least not just any after market unit IMO. Bose isn't very 'tamper friendly'. It should be possible to fit another Audi (or Blaupunkt) unit though, as long as it's suitable for Bose.

I wouldn't really want anything but OE equipment in my car anyway.

And I agree with the others, Bose is great. cool.gif

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This subject has been discussed here a few times before and my advice is still (I have a new A3 3.2 Symphony II plus Bose): Not worth it, only average sound. Totally different than Bose sound quality in an A6 or A4 (don't know why - can't only be explained by the size of the car). So save your money. If you'll do a search you'll find that most A3 owners with Bose will give you the same advide ... unfortunately.

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