Stereo

[Mikeyfenn1]

Hiya folks just purchased my first A3, has anybody know which is the best after market stereo I can put in the car, there’s an Audi chorus there at the moment, but it’s very basic no Bluetooth, I also have steering wheel controls which do nothing on this particular model of stereo, any advice would be great

[greysquirrel]

I put in an XTRONS 7" touchscreen one. It's a custom fit one and works with all the dash and steering controls. It's great, runs on Android, does all I want it to. It's got Sat nav, radio, cd, sd slots but I use it linked to my phone's hotspot with Spotify and google voice search, so I can instantly ask it to play any song, album or playlist. My only criticism of it is it seems to lack midrange sound, being all bass and treble. Adjusting the equaliser helps though. I can even browse the internet and watch videos and youtube on it!

As with all (if not most) aftermarket stereos you do have to modify some of the wiring to get the rear speakers to work on our Audis

 

[Mikeyfenn1]

Thank you so much, did you get the wires with the stereo to modify it, and the one I got is the Audi chorus 

[greysquirrel]

If you have the non-Bose system, then only your back speakers and amp are amplified. To get sound out of them, you need to step down the high level signal to the rear speakers, to a low level signal, using a high to low converter. It's just a small box, and you need to cut and rewire the rear speaker wires to this and plug the rear RCA wires into it. It's quite easy if you've done any DIY car stereo stuff before. I used a Fixapart AX03 from amazon, and it works a treat! (there are loads of others available) Full sound to all speakers, and the sub works too! Without this box you will get very quiet sound from the rear speakers, some people just adjust the fader to the rear, but it sounds awful that way. I'll see if I can find out the diagram I used. I picked my stereo up for about £170, it was a recon unit, but looked and smelt new in it's box, the same one on the Xtrons site is £299. It's certainly not High End equipment from the point of view of sound quaility, but it's certainly as good as the original unit, looks factory fitted, and is full of features. Here's a photo of it fitted in my car.

A cheaper option, that I used before I bought this headunit, was a Kinivo BTC480 bluetooth unit that I wired to an ignition live, then plugged in to the aux socket to play music from my phone and use for handsfree calling. That worked well and only cost about £35. Brilliant sound quality too.

Sorry to keep rambling......

 

 

 

[Mikeyfenn1]

I see thanks again for the advice, I don’t seem to have an aux output, do all A3 have one

[greysquirrel]

I thought so, but I guess they may not. Mine is to the right of the handbrake, under a small flip up cover. I just plugged the 3.5mm jack plug into it. I know there were lots of different specs though, some trims apparently only got front speakers as standard, some had amplified subs in the boot or back side trim panels, and some had Bose amplified speaker systems, so lots of variation.

[Inlondonow]

I have an X-trons in my 2012 A3. I have Bose speakers which means I now have a high pitched whine in the background! The DAB keeps dropping out all over the place too. Would NOT recommend these units!

[rt93clee]

Anything I'd have to know to upgrade to the bose speakers in an 8p 3door do they need a specific wiring harness?? have the standard speakers none bose in it at the moment and have they got an amplifier and is it the same plug for the bose amplifier if so for a plug and play simple set up and is it the same for the speakers any help or advice will be appreciated thanks lads