2005 Audi A4 Stereo Installation

We Swap the Source and Speakers for Improved Sound

Audi has been very successful with its high end compact executive car, the A4. Due to its popularity, many aftermarket manufacturers have created numerous products to integrate lifestyle accessories such as iPod, sat radio and Bluetooth, just to name a few, to the factory sound system. They have done a great job of creating additional options, but what if you are not happy with the sound to begin with? This 2005 Audi A4 with "Audi Symphony" suffered from some typical factory sound issues. There was no real soundstage and of course imaging was a joke. We listened to some of our test tracks before the install and tested the system with the same music after swapping the products. More on that below.



The best way to tackle the bad factory sound was to go to the source, the head unit that is. The factory radio had one positive in that it looked integrated, as you would expect, not that it looked great though. After all, it still rocks a cassette player (it takes a long time for old technology to look sexy). Other than that it didn't have much to offer. There was no built-in iPod connectivity or ability to connect to satellite radio. By removing the factory source and replacing it with a Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD we were able add those features. The second modification we wanted to make was swapping the factory component speakers with some Pioneer coaxials. Later on we would look to add an amp and replacing the factory subwoofer.



The factory system would be easy to improve upon, given how horrible the sound was. Basically the soundstage was really low and the breath of the sound was from the a-pillar to about the middle of the windshield. Depending on the music being played the sound could seem to emanate from the side or the rear. The tonal quality was muted with no dynamic range to speak of. We didn't try the cassette player. The owner of the vehicle was using an FM transmitter for iPod playback so we didn't listen to that either. Could you blame us?!



Below we go over the key steps for swapping the factory source and speakers. Then we'll conclude with a brief evaluation of the aftermarket sound. (See all the pictures of the install below. Captions are listed with the images in the gallery.)

1. The factory radio can be removed by inserting special radio removal keys into the four slots shown. Inserting the keys release the locking clips, thus making it possible to pull it from the dash. This was accomplished with no issues.

2. We had to unplug the three harness plugs and the antenna plug and remove the factory radio.

3. Since the factory radio came with a factory amp to power the rear speakers and sub you must use an integration harness that includes the low level signal. The front speakers will be powered by the head unit's onboard amplifier. Constant power, ground, illumination and amp turn-on can be found at the factory harness. The factory did not provide an accessory wire in the harness. We found an accessory wire by the fuse box area and connected it. This wire must be connected in order for the new radio to turn on and off with the ignition key.

4. A dash kit must be used to integrate the aftermarket radio into the dash. It provides new mounting tabs as well as a new trim ring to give it that "factory look".

5. Once all the wires have been connected, the aftermarket harness will now connect to the factory harness.

6. The new radio will be secured by the factory screws shown.
 
7. Dash kits are much improved these days. The trim ring from the dash kit snaps into place and fills in all the gaps for a clean look.

8. Since the Pioneer DVD player offers iPod connectivity, an optional cable was purchased. This cable simply plugs into the back of the new radio and the other end was run to the glove box.

9. The AVH-P4100DVD with the motorized face retracted for access to the CD/DVD slot.

10. The front doors were equipped with a speaker on the lower part of the door and a tweeter on the upper part.

11. Removing the factory panel revealed the stock 6 ½" speaker.

12. The speaker can be removed by unscrewing three torx bolts. The factory speaker has an integrated mounting bracket that must be used.

13. The factory speaker basket needed to be modified in order to install the new speakers. We had to cut and remove the cone, a fairly simple task.

14. Once the cone was removed, we used a Dremel tool to remove the magnet.

15. Once those parts were cut out, we were able use this as an adapter bracket for the new speaker.  Since the factory wires were located on the front side of the speaker, we opted to use the factory plugs for the connection. We soldered the speaker wires from the factory speaker to the new aftermarket speakers.

16. The new speaker was then attached to the modified bracket with some screws.

17. The new speaker was reattached to the door.

18. The factory plug was reinserted to the bracket. Since a pair of coaxials was used, I opted not to plug in the factory tweeter harness.

19. The door panel was reinstalled with no clearance issues.

We weren't surprised by the incredible difference in sound quality by swapping only a couple of products, but because of how bad the car audio system sounded before the install the new system seemed even more dramatic in terms of improved sonic performance. Immediately the soundstage was raised to a very respectable level. Imaging was also much better. You could feel the music in front of you instead of to one side or behind you. Tonally you could hear and feel the midbass, it complemented the factory sub better and the highs had clarity. Basically with a pair of Pioneer coaxials and a new source unit we were able to bring dynamic range to the audio where none existed. You're talking about a simple, three and a half hour install that provided an amazing result. The only issue with the swap was the accessory wire issue which was an easy solve. Thanks to the Scosche dash kit we were also able to keep the center stack aesthetics. All that's left is the addition of an amp and a subwoofer.