Thread: Car audio question - 2003 Audi A4 - how to power it?

me thinks that you have some options. you could get 2-4 channel amps and drive 8 of the stockers (does this have monsoon?) or you can use the existing amp by hacking your pc audio out to the audi amps inputs- this may be difficult if you cannot locate a pinout of the audi's stock amp- my buddies b5 vw has an amp mounted in the passenger side of the trunk, if yours is similar I'd go with multi channel sound card hacked to audi stock amp- you'll need to figure out how to get the amp to switch on- oem amps have the same features as decent after markets- they just come in harder packages- not everyone needs to adapt things to it. I am a big fan of the vw monsoon system- after hearing it I am completely revamping my BMW audio system.

Originally Posted by Puffanug

So I am putting a pc in my Audi A4 (2003, B6 platform). I am having a hard time figuring out what I will need to power the speakers once I remove the factory HU. I have searched on Audi forums, but have found no useful info. At this point, I have determined I have 10 speakers (I think), and maybe one amp for the rear speakers.

Where can I find out what I need for power? i will need an amp or two, and maybe some crossovers? Help, please point me to a website with info...

I also counted about 10 speakers in my 90.

Currently I'm running a (4.1) 5 channel amp in the following way:
2 channels to the 6½"s in the front doors.
2 channels to the 6x9"s in the rear deck.
1 channel to the 2 12" subs in the trunk.

My future setup would be something like:
2 channels to the 6½"s in the front doors + hi-passed to the on-dash tweeters.
2 channels to the rear doors (either 6½" or 5¼") + hi-passed to the in-rear-door tweeters.
2 powerful channels to the rear deck (6x9"s).
1 bridged channel to the 12" subs in the trunk.

To expidite the above, I'd need to have two 4-channel amps just as e39 had suggested.
The amp to the rear shall be more powerful than the other.
I'd also need two sets of hi-pass crossovers.

keep in mind that more speakers is not always better.

You could save yourself a lot of time and money by ripping out your stock speakers and replacing with a few higher quality speakers and a single amp...or two depends on how you want to go.

The wiring to wire up enough amps for 10 speakers alone can be expensive, not to mention, figuring out how to connect all of those RCAs, space to fit 3 amplifiers, power, ground, and remote wires, AND speaker wires.

Are there any websites that show the factory layout of my system? Like something that shows how many speakers, how many amps, and how they are wired? I count 8 speaker grills (2 front center dash, 2 front door (each door), 2 rear door (each door), and 2 maybe 4 on the rear deck).

@Red - Could you make any suggestions for my setup? If I were to rip it all out, what would I need to replace it with? I'd like to keep the cost low, but get decent sound. I would prefer to keep the speakers, but i am looking at all options right now...

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the replies...

P.P.S. I can get good deals on Sony car audio stuff, but I have heard they aren't that great. Any opinions on Sony amps or speakers? Thanks again!

Audi Sound Input

I've asked for you regarding the wiring diagram

you could just not power ALL of the speakers, but only select a few and run much cleaner power to them than what the factory amp was providing, not to mention more power than the factory amp and still get good output.

I'd have to know what at what ohm rating your factory speakers are though

edit: one more thing to consider is that the factory amp includes the crossovers for these speakers...each speaker has a seperate wire going to the stock amplifier to give it the proper signals. it's a completely active set-up. you would need something like the 701 or the like to controll it. and you would need to power each channel off of a dedicated channel on an amplifier...

I don't know why I didn't think about this earlier - in light of this, it would be MUCH cheaper to just buy new speakers with passive x-over systems and power those from an amplifier than to keep your stock speakers.

OK, according to my spec sheet for my car:

150W sound system with 10 speakers:
- four speakers in front door (2 per door)
- four speakers in rear door (2 per door)
- subwoofer and front centerfill speaker

It did not mention the OHMs.

@Red - thanks for asking that guy for the wiring diagram. I found that post when googling... lol

Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

I don't know why I didn't think about this earlier - in light of this, it would be MUCH cheaper to just buy new speakers with passive x-over systems and power those from an amplifier than to keep your stock speakers.

Red,
In my post, I never said I was running stock 6x9"s and 6½"s.
As a matter of fact, what I had planned out and later shared above was never meant to be for factory speakers.
So in a way I'm glad you're agreeing with me.