Philipp Paul Klose
Member
@amirm maybe a new worthwhile direction for the forum? If you see better fit in a different sub forum, please move it.
This is a review of the Bang&Olufsen Premium Sound System built-in from the factory in an Audi A6 TFSIe 55 (PHEV) Sedan.
Disclaimer: Objectivity on this one is hard for me, since I was involved in the development of the car. Nothing here was not sponsored. Paid for everything myself.
Since many of you were interested in my last review of the miniDSP C-DSP (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...udio-amplifier-review-and-measurements.33578/) and automotive sound systems have not been reviewed yet here at ASR. My train of thought was: Why don´t we test automotive sound systems with the same care, as we test home sound systems? Most people spend statistically around one hour per day in their car (in Europe, in the US even more) – why not use that time better with properly chosen sound equipment?
The Audi A6 is an upper-mid-market luxury sedan car positioned in the C segment. Competitors are the BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF, Cadillac CT5, Genesis G80 and Volvo S90. The drivetrain consist of a turbo four cylinder made into an 7-speed double clutch plus and an electric motor in the vicinity of the gearbox. Battery capacity (net) is ca. 14,4kWh, which can be charged externally via AC up to 6kW. All four wheels are driven depending on situation (“quattro”) and total power output is ca. 270kW/367 euro horsepower with 500NM of torque. Sedan body styles are not really popular at the moment, but I have to tell you that driving pleasure and comfort is so nice in comparison to so many other SUVs in this segment.
The sound system consists of 15 channels of amplification with ca. 700 Watts of power and 16 speakers which are placed in the doors, dashboard, pillars, headliner and trunk cover. Most of the speakers are not passively coupled, which allows for a good degree of freedom in the DSP tuning process. In the A-pillars two 3D speakers are placed. Fraunhofer IIS implemented the Symphoria algorithm which elevates and enhances the sound stage upwards (https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/ff/amm/automotive/symphoria.html). Dolby Atmos playback is not supported yet. Audi asks for a markup of 1150,-€ for the premium B&O system in Germany. Which is a fair price considering what you get. Be aware that there is also an Advanced Bang&Olufsen sound system with 19 speakers and 1800 Watt available, which costs 6350,-€ extra.
In the car, not an awful lot badging is present, which is much appreciated.
The frequency response is sloped with ca. 1.5dB/oct. Below 150Hz we can see a relative mild bass boost (for automotive). The trough at 172Hz is a modal null point. Null points can only minimally influenced by DSP – so this is an issue that we cannot come by other than by re-shaping the car (which is obviously not an option). Other cars have the same problem. Slight resonances going above the green +-3dB tube can be found at 610Hz, 900Hz, 1020Hz, 1.8kHz and 6.8 kHz.
Here you can see the average of ten premium car sound systems of different makes. All of them have a trough in the region of 160-200Hz:
The Maximum sound pressure level in the car was 103 dBC.
The step response is obviously a little messy due to the high amount of early reflections and speakers. But speakers show in general good cohesion and act as one system:
The THD at 98 dBSPL (green) and 108 dBSPL (violet). THD is mostly created by rattling materials and trim pieces, but stays well below 7% even at loud listening:
In the waterfall diagram some low frequency resonances can be spotted. But they are relatively low in level. All the cavities, tanks and spaces needed in the car make it almost impossible to have a resonance free car:
Within the sound menu settings, a high and low frequency attenuation and boosting can be activated. They give an broadband shelving characteristic. If you want to listen to your music as flat as possible,
With the turn of the volume know a loudness function (that cannot be deactivated) is applied. At low levels, the low and high frequencies are boosted (thin green), while at normal levels the filter is more or less neutral (thin red and thick green), while at even higher levels, the highs are taken back.
In the HMI, a sound focus function allows an optimization for possible seating configurations. The available options are “All”, “Front” and “Rear”.
When seated in the front, the options “All” and “Front” work best.
When seated in the back, the “Rear” option improves bass performance significantly, but adds a resonance at 1kHz.
When the pure noise in the car is measured at 30, 50 and 120kmh (with a binaural miniDSP Hears + correction filter), the car is quiet, but not super quiet. At 100kmh (brown trace) the tyre resonances
The 3D sound option is certainly very interesting, but adds too much sweetness to my taste. I do not like it, when something is tried to be added artificially.
Rating: 4.2 out of 5.
This is a review of the Bang&Olufsen Premium Sound System built-in from the factory in an Audi A6 TFSIe 55 (PHEV) Sedan.
Disclaimer: Objectivity on this one is hard for me, since I was involved in the development of the car. Nothing here was not sponsored. Paid for everything myself.
Since many of you were interested in my last review of the miniDSP C-DSP (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...udio-amplifier-review-and-measurements.33578/) and automotive sound systems have not been reviewed yet here at ASR. My train of thought was: Why don´t we test automotive sound systems with the same care, as we test home sound systems? Most people spend statistically around one hour per day in their car (in Europe, in the US even more) – why not use that time better with properly chosen sound equipment?
Overview
The Audi A6 is an upper-mid-market luxury sedan car positioned in the C segment. Competitors are the BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF, Cadillac CT5, Genesis G80 and Volvo S90. The drivetrain consist of a turbo four cylinder made into an 7-speed double clutch plus and an electric motor in the vicinity of the gearbox. Battery capacity (net) is ca. 14,4kWh, which can be charged externally via AC up to 6kW. All four wheels are driven depending on situation (“quattro”) and total power output is ca. 270kW/367 euro horsepower with 500NM of torque. Sedan body styles are not really popular at the moment, but I have to tell you that driving pleasure and comfort is so nice in comparison to so many other SUVs in this segment.
The sound system consists of 15 channels of amplification with ca. 700 Watts of power and 16 speakers which are placed in the doors, dashboard, pillars, headliner and trunk cover. Most of the speakers are not passively coupled, which allows for a good degree of freedom in the DSP tuning process. In the A-pillars two 3D speakers are placed. Fraunhofer IIS implemented the Symphoria algorithm which elevates and enhances the sound stage upwards (https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/ff/amm/automotive/symphoria.html). Dolby Atmos playback is not supported yet. Audi asks for a markup of 1150,-€ for the premium B&O system in Germany. Which is a fair price considering what you get. Be aware that there is also an Advanced Bang&Olufsen sound system with 19 speakers and 1800 Watt available, which costs 6350,-€ extra.
In the car, not an awful lot badging is present, which is much appreciated.
Measurements
Let us start with a frequency response with the standard settings at the driver seat. All measurements were made with a miniDSP UMIK-2 (moving mic method) and miniDSP EARS.The frequency response is sloped with ca. 1.5dB/oct. Below 150Hz we can see a relative mild bass boost (for automotive). The trough at 172Hz is a modal null point. Null points can only minimally influenced by DSP – so this is an issue that we cannot come by other than by re-shaping the car (which is obviously not an option). Other cars have the same problem. Slight resonances going above the green +-3dB tube can be found at 610Hz, 900Hz, 1020Hz, 1.8kHz and 6.8 kHz.
Here you can see the average of ten premium car sound systems of different makes. All of them have a trough in the region of 160-200Hz:
The Maximum sound pressure level in the car was 103 dBC.
The step response is obviously a little messy due to the high amount of early reflections and speakers. But speakers show in general good cohesion and act as one system:
The THD at 98 dBSPL (green) and 108 dBSPL (violet). THD is mostly created by rattling materials and trim pieces, but stays well below 7% even at loud listening:
In the waterfall diagram some low frequency resonances can be spotted. But they are relatively low in level. All the cavities, tanks and spaces needed in the car make it almost impossible to have a resonance free car:
Within the sound menu settings, a high and low frequency attenuation and boosting can be activated. They give an broadband shelving characteristic. If you want to listen to your music as flat as possible,
With the turn of the volume know a loudness function (that cannot be deactivated) is applied. At low levels, the low and high frequencies are boosted (thin green), while at normal levels the filter is more or less neutral (thin red and thick green), while at even higher levels, the highs are taken back.
In the HMI, a sound focus function allows an optimization for possible seating configurations. The available options are “All”, “Front” and “Rear”.
When seated in the front, the options “All” and “Front” work best.
When seated in the back, the “Rear” option improves bass performance significantly, but adds a resonance at 1kHz.
When the pure noise in the car is measured at 30, 50 and 120kmh (with a binaural miniDSP Hears + correction filter), the car is quiet, but not super quiet. At 100kmh (brown trace) the tyre resonances
Listening
The listening experience is nice in the car. The staging is wide and precise. The phantom center is concentrated right above the steering wheel. Male and female vocals come through nicely. Although the system is not perfect and in no way comparable to a normal sound system at home, it is a nice treat, that you should not neglect when you can have it a new car. Bass is precise and deep but in no way rumbling and rude. High frequencies are not annoying. I can listen to the system for an hour without getting fatigued. The drop in the low mids is at 170 Hz is audible, but certainly not as bad as it looks in the measurements.The 3D sound option is certainly very interesting, but adds too much sweetness to my taste. I do not like it, when something is tried to be added artificially.
Rating: 4.2 out of 5.