Audio AND ElectronicsThe iDrive style controller on the center console worked well enough. It was a little sensitive for my hands, but after the first hour of getting used to it you shouldn't have a problem dialing your way through the audio, car and navigation menus. Regarding the latter, of the three vehicles the nav in the Audi was the least intuitive initially. But again, as with the controller, once you understood the system of dialing to input information (which is definitely different from the Acura dialing system), it was no problem at all. On the upside, the Audi features something that's convenient and even maybe a safety feature of sorts. There's a small display in the gauge cluster that provides nav info, such as distances to travel and approaching turns; it allows the driver to just glance down to pick up the next prompt instead of turning your head to the center of the dash. The center display, when not used for navigation, will read out audio related information. Just check your track list with a quick glance down and then change selections with the controls in the steering wheel. This is something every high-end automaker should include for their audio and nav systems. I found it made a great difference.
For an S8 buyer the $6,300 ($500 more for the optional Sirius satellite radio) for the B&O system probably won't seem like a lot of money. At less than 10% of the car's purchase price, it's reasonable - proportionally speaking, of course. Perhaps some owners might want DVD playback at that price instead of the iPod tray with the USB connection. Frankly, I'd take the latter and perhaps add some all-in-one DVDs for the headrests for the little one. That would probably about do it. All in all, this is a dream car for most and definitely a vehicle worth dreaming about.
Sound OffAverage ScoreAudio: 6.7Ergonomics: 7.2Navigation: 7.5
Eric HoldawayThis system is good, much better than most factory systems, but it is still behind what a true audiophile system should be, especially for the money it costs to get this upgrade. The vocals were where this system really excelled. Diana Krall, Tracy Chapman, Sting - all sounded wonderful to me on this system, very natural, but with odd imaging and stage placement of the lead vocal and even the bass instrument playback location. Dual mono-imaging appears to be en vogue these days. The lead singer imaged directly in front of the listener and not the center of the dash. Now many would think this is a good thing, but for me it creates a huge asymmetry in the stage. The left side of the stage starts at the left A-pillar and the lead-singer is just to the right of that in front of the driver, then the rest of the stage stretches all the way across the rest of the expansive dash to the far A-pillar. So most of the staging is compressed to one side and I just don't like that lopsided feeling in the staging. The bass instrument positioning was skewed too. The normally centered bass line on Usher's "YEAH!" was over the driver's left shoulder or over the passenger's right shoulder and not centered in the vehicle. Now, at low volumes the Audi almost had enough bass to be exciting. Unfortunately, as soon as you push the listening level, the subwoofer amp tapers the output and the driver falters in clarity. The high-frequency reproduction is the weakest part of the system for me. There is no shimmer or real nice extension in the upper sounds.