Thanks for taking the time to read. Thanks in advance for any suggestions offered.

Well, it just started to turn cold here and it has revealed a failing stock Bose symphony stereo (deck + cd combo) in my 2001 A4 Avant. It didn't do this last winter, but guess it is dying now. When you first start the car, the audio is completely distorted and sounds horrible until you have been driving for 5 - 10 minutes and then it "warms" up and goes clear again. The time is getting longer and longer (last weekend it took nearly 30 minutes) so I think it is about to become permanently broken. It doesn't matter if you are listening to a tape / cd / or radio, and it is on all the speakers.

Of course, a replacement stereo from the dealer is $715. Ouch! I am reluctant to put an aftermarket stereo in as the Audi one just looks so nice. I guess I am looking for advice and any possible suggestions people have for "upgrading" or just try to find the same to replace it.

1) Any chance in fixing it? Doubt it...but worth considering.

2) Assuming I try to hunt down a used one, what would be a reasonable price to pay? Is my best bet looking on this forum, ebay, or can people recommend a yard or refurbished shop?

3) Since I have to replace it anyway, is there any upgrades that I should consider? I do have a GPS navigation system in teh trunk, but it is one of those really lame navigation systems that tries to give you basic navigation instructions in the dash console. A piece of junk. All I want is to view a map. Is there any way to put a slightly better audio system with a real navigation map that can tie into my existing system? My guess is there isn't, unless I replace the navigation computer as well...probably cost me like $3k. I would put out some money if I could gain this capability, but not wanting to get crazy and spend that much.

4) Any thing else to consider?

thanks again.

-R

 

Ok...I am really in need of some help here.

I went ahead and bought a used bose Symphony HU from ebay for ~$50. I decided I would be happy enough if I could just get the systems sounding right again.

I switched the HU and it still basically sounds like crap. Now, the back speakers sound normal, but the front speakers sound like they are completely blown. Obviously, I haven't fixed the problem. The temperature here is radically changing, so just because it doesn't seem like the same problem exactly, I am not concerned.

Therefore, the problem must be elsewhere, like on a common amp. I called the dealer to ask them about an amp and how much it cost, and they told me that there isn't a common amp but each Bose speaker has its own individual amp and each speaker cost ~$180.

However, I search around the forums and I keep hearing about an amp in the back right side of the trunk somewhere. Can someone please help me here and confirm that I have an amp that powers all of the speakers, that it is most likely blown, and where the heck it is?

Again, I have a 2001 A4 Avant with teh Bose Symphony system.

TIA

 

Basically I have the same problem right now too.. it's around 30~35 in the morning when I start up my car and the right front door speaker is doing this distorted/hissing sound, but when the day gets to around 70+ in the afternoon the speaker would sound clear and normal again. Anyone has any solution to this problem? I have tried to replace the speaker too myself but the problem still stays. Anyone has any idea of how to fix this?

 

Dude...

Same issue...
1 of my subs in the back is eithier broken or something is loose... Sounds "ok" with songs with low base and terribly annoying with high demand.

The system really does have to "warm Up" to sound good.
[align=left] [/align]