Audi/Bose Radio System Replacement

[Taka Mizutani]

A response to some of your questions:

1. In the sedan w/ Bose, the front door speaker housings fit 4" speakers w/o
modification. If you ditch the entire Bose
enclosure and do something custom, I believe you can even fit a 6.5", 5.25"
is definitely no problem. The rear deck speaker
openings are sized 6.5" but use a 6x9" adapter (the Bose speakers are 6x9").
You can do either 6.5 or 6x9 in the rear deck.

2. That's exactly what I did with my component speakers, although I didn't
like the sound that much with the tweeter basically
reflecting off the windshield. Were I to do it again, I'd leave the dash
speakers disconnected and install some tweeters in the
door panels. I'd definitely recommend a head unit with time alignment for
better stereo image.

3. Best speakers and stereos? That's very very subjective.

I've been reading that the Soundstream Van Gogh series amps (no longer in
production but available on ebay) are a very good amp for the money. I have
had very good experience with a/d/s amps (pre-DEI buyout) as well as PPI
amps (pre-DEI as well). I'll use my a/d/s amps again for my next system-
they're relatively low wattage (4x80 and 6x40) but they have a really clean
and slightly warm sound, no distortion, plenty of reserve capacity. I'll run
a monoblock amp for the sub- probably something on the order of 500x1 for a
very small 10" sealed enclosure sub. Older Rockford Fosgate stuff is also
very good (before they went to the rounded styling, pre-Best Buy days). As a
general rule, don't get anything that advertises peak power ratings (the RMS
rating, damping factor and current capacity are the most important specs,
along with frequency response from 20-20k w/o significant rolloff).

As for head units, again very subjective. According to their specifications,
the current line of Eclipse head units have the best spec- S/N ratio is
110:1! Call me old school, but the ones I really like are the Sony ES
CDX-C90, Alpine CDA-7995, Pioneer Premier P7. The Sony is out of production
and needs the matching DSP processor to really shine. The Alpine is out of
production as well. The Pioneer is still in production, I don't know if it
needs an outboard DSP. These head units are seriously expensive, though. The
current McIntosh units are also supposed to be really good.

Definitely run an outboard amp for your main speakers and your sub. You will
get much much cleaner sound that way. You really need a sub because the main
speakers aren't large enough and you really can't produce low frequencies in
a car efficiently w/o the sub- a nice sealed enclosure 10" sub is enough to
do the trick unless you're into competition or thumping around playing rap
music.

Definitely try to find a head unit with time alignment of the drivers- makes
all the difference in terms of stereo imaging.

I'd skip the rear mains and spend your money on a really good set of front
components- Focal Utopia, JM Labs, a/d/s 300 series, MB Quart competition
line, Dynaudio, etc. I prefer silk-dome tweeters over metal-dome, smoother
highs IMO.

Use sound deadening material on the floorpan, rear bulkhead and doors to
make the cabin much quieter. The really good stuff like Cascade isn't very
thick nor is it that heavy (not an asphalt-based deadener). Then do the
trunk. Anything else is seriously diminishing returns (removing the
headliner to do the roof or removing the dash to do the firewall, for
example).

Custom enclosure for the sub is nice in terms of space efficiency if you can
afford to do so- the storage pockets on either side is a good location. Best
would be custom MDF rear deck with custom enclosure attached to the rear
deck firing into the cabin (you might need to go to dual or quad 8" drivers
to do that). That would maximize trunk space with a minimum of intrusion,
eliminate any issues of getting sound to the cabin and give you a nice
hidden spot to mount the amps (between the custom enclosure and the rear
bulkhead). If it's done right, you would still retain function of the ski
sack although the lid might not work well).

I have two cars with seriously less-than-ideal setups for stereo equipment,
so it's kind of refreshing to think about a much more straightforward car
like the Audis.

Taka


On 2/24/06, Michael Palatas <mpalatas at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> Alright guys, here's my problem, the factory stock Audi/Bose radio system
> in my '91 200 20V TQ sedan has finally bitten the dust.  I want to gut the
> system and replace it with an new aftermarket system (head unit, speakers,
> amps, etc...).  I know some of you have done that (taka at a minimum) and
> have some questions:
>
>   1.  What speaker dimensions are appropriate for the existing openings
> after the old stuff is removed?
>   2.  Has anybody ever tried to install some speakers (tweeters I assume)
> into the dashboard speaker openings; and what size would fit?
>   3.  Do you have any suggestions as to some of the best speakers and
> stereos out there?  Right now I am using Crutchfield.com to find ones that
> fit and they have been very helpful, but they have so many choices...
>
>   TIA!
>
>   Nick
>   103K, Stage III, Eurolights, 17' wheels, Faze boost gage.
> _______________________________________________
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>