On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 10:22:02 +0100, Stimpy wrote:

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 10:33:37 +0100, "Stimpy"

wrote:

Given the general negative vibe about Bose products on this ng I
was
wondering if anyone has any experience of living with Bose car
audio
products?

I'm about to order an Audi which, for a few hundred quid, can be
upgraded to include a 'Bose Premium' amp/speakers. This also
includes
the Bose 'noise reduction' system which, according to the Bose web
site, compensates for ambient/road noise.

I've only had a 5 minute demo of this add-on and, to be honest, I
couldn't really detect much of a real difference between the Audi
'Concert II' stereo system with or without the Bose options.
Given
that it's a £400 option, I'm erring toward not specifying it and
sticking with the default stereo

Any opinions?

I had an A4 with Bose, and we now have a TT and an A6 with the
standard sound systems (Symphony in the A6). The Bose upgrade *does*
sound better to me (smoother frequency response due to the preset
equalisers, and more SPL without breakup), but only you can decide
if
it's £400 better. The standard system isn't too shabby.

Given the choice I'd rather have a Symphony without Bose in my new TT
but, annoyingly, they won't/can't fit a Symphony into a TT so I'm
having to stick with a 'Concert II'. I was hoping the Bose upgrade
might compensate a little but I think I'm going to stick with the
standard system and spend the £400 on the 6-pack CD and cruise
control.

For £400 (about $US600, right?), you can do a *hell* of a lot better with an
alpine head unit and infinity speakers.