A6 C7 4G - Standard Audio upgrade questions

[staman_sk]

Hello,
Bose Bose Bose.. there is literally hundreds of posts regarding Bose upgrade but just a few regarding ASA (Audi Standard Audio).

I'm about to upgrade my Audi A6 C7 4G 2014 EU standard audio and having few questions.
EDIT: My car is having some Default MMI "amp" with 60-80W RMS, subwoofer and all the speakers are powered via MMI head unit. That's how the things are here in Europe on 2014 A6.
I do have front doors mid-bass + tweeters in the corners of the dashboard, mid-bass + tweeters in the rear doors, center speaker in the front dash..
Front midbass: 200mm 4G2035415
Front tweeter: 50mm (?) 4G0035399
Front center: 100mm 4G0035416
(do not care about the rear speakers)

As there is no cabling prep available and I don't really want to spent a fortune on the upgrade. I'm just planing to do a front speakers replacement with aftermarket 2-way system.
I did picked up a pair of Audison Voce AV K6 for a very reasonable price. Using MDF rings i'll be able to replace stock mid-bass speakers - no problem at all



Now my question. Where to place the Audison crossover and how to connect the front tweeters. There is not much space on the door trim, only way how to do that is hide the crossover inside the door insert.
Now, how to connect to the front tweeters?
Front tweeters are having their own harness that goes into the MMI head unit. Can I connect the Audison tweeters directly to those wires? Or do I have to use the Audison crossover and somehow run the cable trough the dashboard / fuse boox / door ? (and leave the original tweeter cable un-plugged?).

Door_tube.jpg

Front tweeter Part-number: 4G0035399
It has some capacitor for high-pass freq soldered on it.
IMG_20191012_112350.jpg

I already done the part 1 using the STP Anticor and other materials to do the deadening. Aftermarket speaker replacement should be the next goal.

IMG_20190727_071731.jpgIMG_20190727_075242.jpgIMG_20190727_080708.jpgIMG_20190726_195253.jpg


So guys, how would you do it ? Is it possible to use the existing wire and hook the new Audison tweeter directly on that cable? (without that capacitor?)
Or, will I be forced to add new audio cable from the Audison tweeter and run it somehow to the Audison crossover (inside the door)
Thank you very much for any inside.

[staman_sk]

Well.. figured out myself when nobody reply to these questions.

I'll disconnect current tweeters and leave the cable unplugged. I will have to wire a new cable from the tweeter possition via the fuse box > door tunnel > into door insert where the Audison crossover will be hidden. Planing to do the installation in upcoming weekend.
Also purchased a new center speaker(s) so this one will be also replaced.

[baldy]

Well.. figured out myself when nobody reply to these questions.

I'll disconnect current tweeters and leave the cable unplugged. I will have to wire a new cable from the tweeter possition via the fuse box > door tunnel > into door insert where the Audison crossover will be hidden. Planing to do the installation in upcoming weekend.
Also purchased a new center speaker(s) so this one will be also replaced.

For the tweeters, just use the OEM wiring in the car as it's more than adequate.

Since all of the speaker cables go to the same location (back of MMI), I'd suggest putting the crossovers there as well ... instead of running new wires through the door tunnel. This will also ensure that you do not have rattles in the door over time from the crossovers (and make it easier to reverse when you sell the car).

[staman_sk]

That set I bought (Audison Voce AV K6) comes with one crossover for each side. If I use this crossover for (in-door) midbass I'll have none for the tweeters (dashboard). Also, size of this crossover is bulky, there is literally not enough space in the dashboard where the tweeters are located.

Also, once you upgrade the audio system, why would you ever reverse it back when selling the car?

[staman_sk]

Installation finished

As expected, hardest part was place the new cable. Initial plan to use the door tunnel was no go. Door harness is made that way, that it can't be "open" and stick another cable in it. Figured that one out after I had a closer look.
Luckily, under this door tunnel there was yet another round hole with a rubber cover. I used this hole, pierced the rubber and stick a new cable through. Sounds easy but it was very hard to access it and get the new cable in. It took me a better part of an hour to place cables for each side. Really not enjoyed doing this ..

Door_tube.jpgIMG_20191019_124832.jpgIMG_20191020_140156.jpg

Once the cable has been placed, it was all good.
Audison provided a mounting kit for their tweeters, so after a few second of adjustments, I was able to mount it. Piece of cake

IMG_20191019_163626.jpg

Crossover has been hidden inside the door insert, I also used some insulation materials to cover the sides of it. This way, it wont move nor make any noise.
Some cutting, soldering, attaching, and it was ready for new midbass installation. I also needed to adjust the MDF rings a bit but that wasn't a big problem.
I used 1.5mm cable for midbass/crossover installation and 1mm for tweeters. Everything has been placed well, insulated.. should be fine

IMG_20191019_125008.jpgIMG_20191019_151908.jpgIMG_20191019_151917.jpgIMG_20191019_172220.jpg

(I added some more STP Biplast next to the speakers but It was getting colder outside so I rather focused on finishing the work than taking more pictures)

Once I had the old speakers out, I figured out the impedance. All my new speakers was 4 Ohms but the old one was:

Midbass (4G2035415) - 2.5 Ohm
Tweeters (4G0035399) - 8 Ohm
Center speaker (4G0035416) - 4 Ohm

Here u can see old one and new one side by side..

IMG_20191019_135421.jpgIMG_20191019_135432.jpg

(I know what is written on the internet but when I tested new speaker it was 4.0 Ohm). This is very strange by Audi but that's what meter shows.

I had strange feeling about this and it came true. Mid-bass is noticeable quieter than the original one. I was listening to it on lvl13 before, now I have to be on 15-16 to achieve the same level of volume.
Soundwise, it's better. Noticeable better (my English isn't good enough to express myself the way I would love to)
Lows (bass) - there was literally none with original factory speakers. Bass felt plastics before, deeper sounds was not feeling right.. It's a big improvement.
Mids - also improvement, sounds more natural, more real, more correct.
Highs - biggest improvement. It more clear, more rich
I know from previous experience that new speakers need some time to adjust, to burn-in. I expect the result will be even more "hear-able" after some period of time

Total cost: ca 350EUR for speakers, material, cables, etc
ca 10 hours of work in two stages (4+6)

I'm overall happy with the sound improvement. Will re-evaluate after some time..
If there would be a way how to use old tweeters cable and possibly add some high-pass filter/crossover for the new tweeters, this would be an easy project.
Door insulation for A6 is a must. Even stock speakers sound way better when door deadening is done. Respect for the stock speakers tough. They look like you wouldn't pay 10EUR for it..

[Joe'sS6]

Good work, .

What Amp(s) are you using?

[billq]

How difficult was it to get the door cards off?
I've got b&o but wouldn't mind adding some sound deadener. Did you notice much difference in terms of less road noise?

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[OlyS6]

Door cards are easy when you know what to look for:

Use a plastic pry tool to pop off the speaker grilles on the door, as well as whichever trim you have covering your door handle.
Next, find the 3 T25bolts that fasten the door card to the door.
You can now start prying the card off of the door- the best way is pushing 'up' into the bottom of the first few inches of the card until you hear a small 'pop'; this is one of the plastic door locks popping open. Then you can pry from the bottom up, all the way around the door card.
The top of your door card will need to be lifted straight up, as it is hooked over the bottom of the window frame.
When you put the card back on, you will need to first make sure all of the plastic locks (circular vertical pieces of plastic sticking out of the back of the door card) are pulled up into the 'open' position. You will hear them pop back closed when they lock back into place when you push the door card back on.
Finally, mind the cable that slides in/out of your inner door handle. It is easy to put back into place, but if you forget to do so, you'll have to pry the whole thing off again. Depending on your car, you'll have either one or 2 electrical connectors that are easy to disconnect from the card, but don't always seat perfectly when you pop it it back on. Make sure your power window is working prior to getting the door card snapped back on and bolted in.
(I've done this well over a dozen times now, with many of those times to fix one of the above errors...)

[staman_sk]

Good work, .

What Amp(s) are you using?

Here in Europe more than 50% of A6's have ASA (Audi Standard Audio = most cheapest version = less than Bose)
If you're refering to Amp that you can find in the trunk, i have none. Also, no optical wiring, simply nothing.
I guess the MMI headunit must have some prebuild Amp in it (or there might be some Amp hidden in front console)

How difficult was it to get the door cards off?
I've got b&o but wouldn't mind adding some sound deadener. Did you notice much difference in terms of less road noise?

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Absolutly, that was the first thing i've done after bought this car second handed. I had some STP Black Gold available from my previous (old car) installation.
Road noise is lower, it's not that disturbing. I also had IR windows film installed on front-sides-windows in the same time, so I can really feel the difference.
I'm really wondering why Audi doesn't do that by default. It's not expensive and it really taking the comfort of driving to the next level

Door cards are easy when you know what to look for:

Use a plastic pry tool ...)

Thank you for the detailed how-to
There is lots of videos online.. you can also do it without that tool for opening plastics door clips. It can be done.. Tricky part is that bottom ancor but you only have to apply presure and it will be released.

[staman_sk]

Installation materials I've used:
https://www.ahifi.sk/tlmiaci-materia...lack-gold.html
https://www.ahifi.sk/akusticky-tlmia...aero-wave.html
https://www.ahifi.sk/penovy-tlmiaci-...aero-foam.html
https://www.ahifi.sk/tlmiaci-materia...iplast-15.html
(sorry for not providing EN site)

[billq]

Thank you all for your input.
Maybe a project for the Christmas holidays.

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[george_tgc]

Hello to all,
I ask for your help and experience regarding some audio changes. I need to replace the front doors speakers and the one in central dash (standard audio). I saw a few retrofits on google, but not what i am looking for (seems too complicated). Instead of ordering new OEM speakers, i was curious if i can find better AM speakers and simply replace them.
Can you please help me with an example, caracteristics or dimensions that i need to know? Maybe an existind post that i did not found?
Thank you!

[A6gotcha]

Im going to do mine today so i'll let you know how it turns out