# 2018 Audi S5 Sportback build



## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Hello everyone,

Well if there is anything good that has come from this Pandemic, I guess not having to drive everywhere has allowed me to work on my car in 2-3 hour increments over the course of several months. 

This is my daily driver, so ditching the spare or removing access to the folding rear seats was not an option. I wanted to achieve good sound, with minimal space usage. I have a 5-month old and carry a stroller. I posted some of these pictures over at Audiworld along with other mods to the car, but I’ll share the audio build here.

Equipment list:
Interface: NAV-TV Zen-V. Digital signal from the OEM headunit directly into the dsp.
DSP: MiniDSP C-DSP 8x12DL
Amps: (X2) MMats HiFi6150D
Frontstage: Audiofrog GB10, GB25, Image Dynamics CX62
Rearfill: I’ll skip on it for now.
Sub: Image Dynamics ID8, bought an Audiofrog G10 sub and may build an enclosure for it later.

First off a picture of the car.
-David


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

A-pillars with GB10/ GB25. This was my first attempt at making a-pillars, I'm not happy with the wrap and will be re-wrapping them again soon.









Drivers side close-ups

















I have a limited set of tools and live in a duplex, no laser cutter, CNC machine, or 3D printer. I made these rings for the GB25s with a jigsaw, fixed base router, and hand tools. This was the third ring I made, the first two were not usable. I almost gave up and had a local company cut me rings out of acrylic.









A-pillars with first coat of fiberglass









Wrapped after lots and lots of sanding, filler, and high build primer.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Using an old pair (10+yrs) of Image Dynamics Midbass drivers. I run this pair with a set of mini-horns in my last vehicle. 









Rings for the midbass, sealed with wood glue.









Primed









Coated in bedliner spray and cut a clear plastic jar to protect the speaker from water. 

















Mounted to the door and used CCF to seal it the best I could. The LED light was attached to the side. 










Replaced the B&O grills with standard grills, since the B&O grills are too restricting. It is a different look/ style, but it looks fine and not out of place.


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## elerny (Aug 23, 2012)

great craftsmanship, looks amazing


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

OEM mids vs. GB25

















Wiring for the mids/ tweeters


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Running an Image Dynamics ID8 for now it's small, but effective. The carpet color really bothers me, so if anyone knows where I can find a fabric that is identical or close to the Audi color/ texture please let me know.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Here is the amp rack. I was surprised that I was able to fit 2 amps, DSP, Nav-TV, and a fused distribution block in the left cubby. It fits and I don't expect to be able to change a fuse in under 5 minutes if needed.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Here are some pics of the wiring. Looks like spaghetti  










































Managed to get 12ga wires through the door harness.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Setup shop in the corner of my kitchen . My garage is too small I can't even open a car door fully. I had to park it far left or right depending on what side I was working on.










Having too much fun!


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Everything is connected and to my surprise worked the very first time I fired it up! I have only set the crossover points. I don't know a thing about tuning, but I hear the Minidsp Dirac Live feature works great, so I'll have to read up on it and give it a try when I find sometime. If anyone has any pointers, please let me know.


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## SheepishLordofChaos (Aug 14, 2020)

Looks excellent sir. Nice and clean/integrated.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Great job, the pillars look excellent for a 1st attempt!


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

Nice and clean!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Well OP you had me at “ Audi “ lol. 


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## court (Feb 7, 2017)

Very nice work and great looking Audi. I use to have an S5









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## JimmyDee (Mar 8, 2014)

Very nicely done, and great choice of equipment. I love Audis, and the S5 is a cool looking vehicle.

I'm sure it sounds pretty good right now... but once you figure-out the DIRAC and tune it properly, I suspect you'll be blown away.


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## clifff150 (Apr 19, 2012)

Nice build! Really beautiful car. The pillars look great. You’re making me want to go redo my setup now


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## Frequentflyer (Mar 3, 2020)

Nice. Setting up shop in the corner of your kitchen... love it. You must be single. 😂


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Love the Audi S5 Sportback - this is one of the vehicle I hope to purchase some day 

Amazing job on the pillars! Really good plan equipment wise and with the installation. Love the use of the cubby to get the amps / DSP installed. 

I’m really enjoying the MiniDSP 8x12 - so if you have any questions - shoot over a PM  


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

court said:


> Very nice work and great looking Audi. I use to have an S5
> 
> Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


Great looking car! I've liked the S5 and RS5 for a long time, but I need a 4 door and when they brought the Sportback to the US, I jumped at the opportunity!


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

jimmydee said:


> Very nicely done, and great choice of equipment. I love Audis, and the S5 is a cool looking vehicle.
> 
> I'm sure it sounds pretty good right now... but once you figure-out the DIRAC and tune it properly, I suspect you'll be blown away.


I sure hope I am blown away  I spent way too many hours and $ on it.I did however learn a lot and had fun in the process!


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Frequentflyer said:


> Nice. Setting up shop in the corner of your kitchen... love it. You must be single. 😂


Nope, I'm married to an awesome wife! 

I don't say anything about her stash of purses and shoes and she doesn't say anything about my stash of drivers and amps. 

Our entire relationship I have been modding cars whether it is performance or audio related, that is who I am. I actually setup shop a month before (Feb) I left on paternity leave, thinking I would finish the build in a month. Fast forward to Aug and I finally have everything connected. I did however take down the shop a little after a month when I finished most of the wood work.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

bertholomey said:


> Love the Audi S5 Sportback - this is one of the vehicle I hope to purchase some day
> 
> Amazing job on the pillars! Really good plan equipment wise and with the installation. Love the use of the cubby to get the amps / DSP installed.
> 
> ...


Thanks Jason!

I'm not sure when you will be in the market, but I've heard some dealers still have new 2019 A5/ S5 Sportbacks in stock, offering huge discounts to get them off the lot. If we weren't looking to buy a home, we would be looking to replace my wife's Jeep GC.

I've said it before, but the amplifier wall in your S4 is jaw dropping!

Appreciate the offer and will PM you after I read through material on the MiniDSP, don't want to ask questions to things I should already know. 

-David


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Here are more pictures of the car. 

At the tint shop all windows tinted including the windshield. 









After I installed an RS grill. I have since added back the chrome Audi rings and chrome on the bottom, so the front would match the rest of the car.


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## Bchester6 (Jan 15, 2020)

That's a sexy car and beautiful build!! Nuthin better than that new car (audio) smell


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## ejeffrey (Oct 8, 2015)

Nice car, and fantastic work on those pillars! I like the attention to detail as well.


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## mark620 (Dec 8, 2010)

Great car . Nice job on pillars


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Looks like you have been on here often and been looking at builds and what a proper build should be. 
Great Job!
I guess Covid does pay its self off lol

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## jlx40 (Aug 14, 2014)

excellent work. Where did you get the a pillar fabric and can you share the front grill part numbers ?


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Awesome Build....Love the pillars


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

I agree. Those pillars are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Wish I could get you to do mine.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks guys!
I was afraid to mess up my OEM a-pillars so I bought a used set off eBay, so I could play around. I followed Mark's tutorial on YouTube (caraudiofabrication) to build the a-pillars.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

jlx40 said:


> excellent work. Where did you get the a pillar fabric and can you share the front grill part numbers ?


Do you mean the non B&O speaker grills? Bottom ones on this picture. They allow sound to pass through from a "normal" round speaker. The fabric I ordered from a local automotive upholstery shop. The fabric is a close match, but not identical. 

Part #
8W0-035-419-4PK Speaker Grille, LEFT
8W0-035-420-4PK Speaker Grille, RIGHT


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Niebur3 said:


> Awesome Build....Love the pillars


Hey Jerry! 
Appreciate your help with selecting gear for my car and supplying the Audiofrog front stage. We exchanged many PMs a few months back and now it finally made it's way into the car.


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## Alexander612 (Jun 13, 2016)

The work is amazing! I think the midbass overlays can be made even more transparent using the frame style and the new grid.


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## supersuk (Apr 17, 2010)

I'm about to build some pillars for my A6 and would like to know where you purchased the matching fabric? I need to get a bunch for some other parts of the build.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

@supersuk send me a PM and I’ll give you their phone number. They don’t have a website where you can easily order from.


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## speedczar (May 31, 2020)

Nice looking car and build.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

Impressive DIY job! I like how you tucked things away in the trunk and kept everything almost factory looking.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks guys!
I’ve been working with Jason (bertholomey) to get a tune on the car. He has been extremely helpful! Now, if I can just find the time to implement and try the things he has taught me .


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## Ge0 (Jul 23, 2007)

bitperfect said:


> A-pillars with GB10/ GB25. This was my first attempt at making a-pillars, I'm not happy with the wrap and will be re-wrapping them again soon.
> View attachment 277126
> 
> 
> ...


Great job wrapping those pillars!

Question: How did you determine aiming for the midranges? 

Ge0


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks Geo!

The midranges are aimed across from each other, the main determining factor was aesthetics since this is my daily driver. The tweeters on the other hand, are aimed on axis with the opposite listener. I used a laser on the tweeters to aim them.


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## Ge0 (Jul 23, 2007)

bitperfect said:


> Replaced the B&O grills with standard grills, since the B&O grills are too restricting. It is a different look/ style, but it looks fine and not out of place.
> View attachment 277140
> 
> View attachment 277141


Now why in the heck would B&O choke off half the midbasses cone area? That's either brilliant for some unknown reason OR stupid styling cue's. 

Either way, good call with the stock grill.

Ge0


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## Alexander612 (Jun 13, 2016)

Ge0 said:


> Now why in the heck would B&O choke off half the midbasses cone area? That's either brilliant for some unknown reason OR stupid styling cue's.
> 
> Either way, good call with the stock grill.
> 
> Ge0


Such grilles - they remove the middle frequencies from the speaker. Apparently this was conceived when designing the entire system as a whole. Ie under the midbass - the grille .


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Ge0 said:


> Now why in the heck would B&O choke off half the midbasses cone area? That's either brilliant for some unknown reason OR stupid styling cue's.
> 
> Either way, good call with the stock grill.
> 
> Ge0


The midbass in the B&O system are 4X6" drivers that are at a 90 deg angle mounted to the doors. The standard Audi sound system using typical round drivers.

Here are are some pics of the OEM midbass. I agree with you it is odd and totally unnecessary.


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## lithium (Oct 29, 2008)

Honestly, if those are door enclosures, I would rather run those than a IB 6.5" drivers. If you can mod the enclosures to fit some 5" drivers that would sick.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

lithium said:


> Honestly, if those are door enclosures, I would rather run those than a IB 6.5" drivers. If you can mod the enclosures to fit some 5" drivers that would sick.


They are not sealed enclosures, but rather vent to the doors.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Update: Finally tuned the system, and I am impressed! 

I can't thank Jason (bertholomey) enough for offering his time and knowledge in helping me get a tune on the car. Thanks buddy! 

I ran Dirac in 7Ch mode to get time alignment, then ran Dirac in 2Ch mode (left/ right). The center is right in the middle, everything is above the dash, it sounds very very good! and I know it can only get better as I try a few other things.

I have never tuned a sound system and have zero experience with DSP software (e.g., Helix, miniDSP, REW, etc.) I just followed Jason's instructions and in a few hours had a solid tune. I probably could have done it in under an hour, but I like to take my time.

I look forward to finding time, so I can listen to my favorite songs and keep playing with mniDSP/ Dirac/ REW to see if I can improve things even further.

I can't recommend the miniDSP w/ DL enough!


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

You are very welcome my friend! I’m so very glad you had good results so quickly. I know it will just get better and better as you work with it. Enjoy the thrill of listening to your favorite music in that beautiful car!


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## Jaloosk (Jan 13, 2010)

I love the attention to detail and especially how the pillars turned out! One question for you; where do you get the factory-looking/textured fabric to wrap the a-pillars with? Could you hook me up with your supplier via PM?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

bitperfect said:


> At the tint shop all windows tinted including the windshield.


“Hey that looks like Mr Tint”

I got mine done there as well.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Also, if you want a hand/ears/etc let me know, I live like 4mi from Mr Tint.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

nadams5755 said:


> Also, if you want a hand/ears/etc let me know, I live like 4mi from Mr Tint.


Thanks Nick! Very cool to offer that!


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Jaloosk said:


> I love the attention to detail and especially how the pillars turned out! One question for you; where do you get the factory-looking/textured fabric to wrap the a-pillars with? Could you hook me up with your supplier via PM?


PM sent. Good luck with your install!


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

nadams5755 said:


> “Hey that looks like Mr Tint”
> 
> I got mine done there as well.


Yes, indeed! Terry and the rest of the guys there carry great products and their work is outstanding. I have been taking my cars there for many years.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

nadams5755 said:


> Also, if you want a hand/ears/etc let me know, I live like 4mi from Mr Tint.


That would be awesome! Would love to get your eyes and ears on this system. I'm in Sunnyvale, about 15-20mins from you. I'll send you a PM.


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Happy New Year DIYMA! 

A special thanks to Nick (@nadams5755 ) for taking the time and helping me tune my car!

It was a pleasure meeting you! Your car sounds AMAZING! The dynamic range in your car was awesome! 
At some point down the road I need to update my mid-bass drivers. Those Audio Development 8" you have were so Powerful! 

Here is Nick playing through some tuning tracks.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

it's a sweet install, especially for your first build. 

we fixed one problem with the install and only set levels to center things up. TA seemed correct.


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## clange2485 (Dec 10, 2020)

Very nice pillars and build. That’s a beautiful car.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

nadams5755 said:


> it's a sweet install, especially for your first build.
> 
> we fixed one problem with the install and only set levels to center things up. TA seemed correct.


I’m so happy you were able to connect, give it a thorough listening to, and to make some improvements. This is the great part of the hobby, and a useful benefit to the forum. Thanks Nick for taking the time and the effort - particularly during Covid times. 


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

it's nice to connect w/ people. there's a pretty active community out here so it's nice to get people into it.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

nadams5755 said:


> it's nice to connect w/ people. there's a pretty active community out here so it's nice to get people into it.


I was really hoping David could get plugged into that scene - there a LOT of great people out there, great meets/comps, a ton of fantastic cars, and many folks who would lend ears and experience. I’m hoping that Richard and Linda may be able to host an event or two in 2021 that he can attend. 


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

This forum and its members are great!

Lots of knowledgeable people to learn from and willing to help others out! I have learned a lot from following others' build threads, their mistakes (or should I say changes ), and their guidance/ feedback on products and installs. Not to mention Jason and Nick who generously offered their time to help.

I plan to attend local events (COVID restrictions permitting) to continue to learn and make improvements. 

I have a problem with my sub (making a weird sound), so I disconnected it for now. Not sure if it is the sub, amp, or something upstream. My wife and I purchased a home right before the holidays, so it will probably be sometime before I get to work on the car. On the plus side the new home has a 3 car garage, so I should have plenty of space to play!


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