Allroad Bose Aftermarket Subwoofer Install
#1
12-23-2007 | 04:46 AM
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1st Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 17
Allroad Bose Aftermarket Subwoofer Install
I recently hooked up an Infinity Basslink subwoofer to my allroad and couldn't be happier with the sound! I followed the instructions posted here: https://www.audiforums.com/m_318162/tm.htm
But with a few modifications, and some other clarifications...
1. The last bolt holding the ecu cover down was pretty troublesome. The easiest way to remove this bolt is to either use a low profile socket wrench, or one of those socket wrenches that ratchets using a twisting motion. For the allroad, you DONT have to remove the drivers side bolster below the steering wheel in order to get the power wire through the ecu box and into the cabin. It isn't really a small hole but rather a fairly large passage from the box to the main passanger cabin.
2. For the cable routing, follow the instructions but when you get the wire to the back seat go ahead and remove the bench. Just grab the underside of the leather seat bench and yank it up pretty hard. I didn't realize how hard you had to pull. Don't disconnect the harnesses for the heaters, etc, just route the cable under it, fasten with zips and reinstall.
3. The basslink has speaker level inputs, so you can just tap into the rear left and right speakers, and you don't run into a ground loop isolation problem. I don't know if hooking it up with rca's would sound better, but the speaker level inputs were just easy to work with. The hardest part of the install was soldering the 5 wires that needed to be tapped (remote turn on, +/-left, +/- right), since I didn't remove the stock amp or subwoofer it was very cramped! I partially removed the rear panels surrounding the amp to give some more workspace. I used one of the bolts next to the amp for the ground, and I added a small washer to hold the wire in place. Some people remove the stock subwoofer but I just left it there to simplify things.
The remote gain control is a cool feature and also very easy to connect with the supplied cable. I didn't want a subwoofer that would take up a lot of space or be really loud, but the basslink lets me take all the bass load off the main speakers and everything just sounds clearer and more well rounded. I highly recommend it if you are unhappy about the bass in your allroad, or just want a simple and inexpensive upgrade to the system.
Besides the woofer, if you want to replace any of the speakers you will have to use pretty low ohm units. The way I understand it is that the audi bose system works on the principal that a very well tuned, low power amp driving low impedance speakers (I think they are less than 2 ohms) sounds a lot better and costs a lot less than a more powerfull amp driving higher impedance speakers that are not very well tuned. It's a decent system for what it is.
I'll post some pics of the install tomorrow!
But with a few modifications, and some other clarifications...
1. The last bolt holding the ecu cover down was pretty troublesome. The easiest way to remove this bolt is to either use a low profile socket wrench, or one of those socket wrenches that ratchets using a twisting motion. For the allroad, you DONT have to remove the drivers side bolster below the steering wheel in order to get the power wire through the ecu box and into the cabin. It isn't really a small hole but rather a fairly large passage from the box to the main passanger cabin.
2. For the cable routing, follow the instructions but when you get the wire to the back seat go ahead and remove the bench. Just grab the underside of the leather seat bench and yank it up pretty hard. I didn't realize how hard you had to pull. Don't disconnect the harnesses for the heaters, etc, just route the cable under it, fasten with zips and reinstall.
3. The basslink has speaker level inputs, so you can just tap into the rear left and right speakers, and you don't run into a ground loop isolation problem. I don't know if hooking it up with rca's would sound better, but the speaker level inputs were just easy to work with. The hardest part of the install was soldering the 5 wires that needed to be tapped (remote turn on, +/-left, +/- right), since I didn't remove the stock amp or subwoofer it was very cramped! I partially removed the rear panels surrounding the amp to give some more workspace. I used one of the bolts next to the amp for the ground, and I added a small washer to hold the wire in place. Some people remove the stock subwoofer but I just left it there to simplify things.
The remote gain control is a cool feature and also very easy to connect with the supplied cable. I didn't want a subwoofer that would take up a lot of space or be really loud, but the basslink lets me take all the bass load off the main speakers and everything just sounds clearer and more well rounded. I highly recommend it if you are unhappy about the bass in your allroad, or just want a simple and inexpensive upgrade to the system.
Besides the woofer, if you want to replace any of the speakers you will have to use pretty low ohm units. The way I understand it is that the audi bose system works on the principal that a very well tuned, low power amp driving low impedance speakers (I think they are less than 2 ohms) sounds a lot better and costs a lot less than a more powerfull amp driving higher impedance speakers that are not very well tuned. It's a decent system for what it is.
I'll post some pics of the install tomorrow!
#2
04-11-2011 | 05:59 PM
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Subwoofer in Allroad 2003
Thanks for this post, it really helped me get the job done. So far I have run an 8 gauge power wire to the battery. I would like to add some notes:
1. Taking the big main plastic cover off of the rear of the engine compartment, where the battery and ECU module are: Just remove the rubber trim/gasket and then lift and pull the plastic cover (the width of the car) out. Replace same way, not too tough.
2. That 5th 8mm bold on the ECU gave me a fit. I used blocks of wood to help hold the plastic trim piece up to allow my skinny hands to get in there to undo the last bold.
again, thanks to the community for help with this fun project. Still working on it, but I want to go slow.
1. Taking the big main plastic cover off of the rear of the engine compartment, where the battery and ECU module are: Just remove the rubber trim/gasket and then lift and pull the plastic cover (the width of the car) out. Replace same way, not too tough.
2. That 5th 8mm bold on the ECU gave me a fit. I used blocks of wood to help hold the plastic trim piece up to allow my skinny hands to get in there to undo the last bold.
again, thanks to the community for help with this fun project. Still working on it, but I want to go slow.
#3
04-12-2011 | 10:21 PM
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 123
From: Orlando FL
I did this on my A4 bose but instead used the bose amp's subwoofer output. The bose amp has built in crossovers that distribute sound to the correct speakers, so the back door speakers (at least on my A4) didn't get any of the low bass, while on the flip side the back deck (stock subwoofers) didn't get any of the mid's to high's.
I also removed the two stock subs and replaced them with regular full range speakers powered by a seperate amp that i got signal to from the rear door speakers. This allowed me to turn the bass at the head unit down to around 0 or -1 and still have plenty as the gain on the subs had play in it.
REALLY CLEANED IT UP
-Tyler
I also removed the two stock subs and replaced them with regular full range speakers powered by a seperate amp that i got signal to from the rear door speakers. This allowed me to turn the bass at the head unit down to around 0 or -1 and still have plenty as the gain on the subs had play in it.
REALLY CLEANED IT UP
-Tyler
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