Chris YatoThe Audi S8 is one impressive piece of machinery with its powerful V10 motor, beautiful exterior styling and impeccable interior appointments. Audi engineers turned to the folks at Bang & Olufsen to create an upgraded audio system option to match the detail and refinement found throughout the car. This car is built to impress and immediately does so when the ignition is turned on. The B&O sound system sounded powerful with good low-frequency response, but the tonal balance was a bit off. As I auditioned the system with my usual test tracks, I couldn't help but think that the micro-perforated aluminum grilles, while stylish and beautiful, aren't exactly the most acoustically friendly choice. The side-biased staging and lack of DVD-Audio playback ability was disappointing, especially for the price point. Ergonomic faux pas include: having to reach over to the glove compartment to change CDs, and an audio/navigation system with control knob/buttons that weren't particularly user-friendly. Although the B&O upgrade is a definite improvement over the base system for both audio reproduction and "wow factor," it doesn't reach the same level of performance as the top OEM audio systems out there.
Casey ThorsonIf any car is deserving of a high-end audio system, it's the magnificent S8. Apparently, Audi had already given that some thought. The optional B&O system is simply a piece of work - acoustic lens tweeters, speakers behind stunning aluminum grilles and the "Multi Media Interface" (MMI) display that motorizes out of the center dash are just plain cool (although the MMI display is a bit clunky in action). Audi's rotary knob controller is much like BMW's iDrive, but is much more intuitive to use, largely because of the menu access buttons surrounding the knob and fewer sub menus. I found it trying at times to navigate through, but really likeable when it came to menu selections such as satellite radio. There is no DVD player for the surround sound, just a 6-disc CD changer and an iPod connection oddly placed in the glove box. One really needs to play around with the system settings to get the best overall balance. I found that the B&O DSP was best set in the "All" position with the surround turned down a couple notches. But, that couldn't overcome its deficiencies. Certain vocals, such as those of Rebecca Pidgeon, were played back with so much midrange cone breakup that it was unlistenable, even at a low volume. I can't help think that those awesome looking aluminum grilles were too confining, thus creating the problem here. The system's soundstage wasn't very deep but had good consistent width. Images were generally distinguished above the dash with the exception of hard left/right midrange information that pulled to the door locations - the relatively smooth tweeters were the only saving grace here. Bass was played back with good definition and integrity, but the sub had a tendency to run out of energy before the rest of the system. In the end, the S8's B&O system has about as many pros as it does cons related to its musical performance, but its clever design is certain to make for a conversation piece at the country club.