Audi E-Tron Bass Monster

Philip Bradshaw really likes bass!

Audi E-Tron Bass Monster

Philip Bradshaw is typical of the car audio upgrader, except, for one thing, he likes bass. That is not unusual, but Philip really likes bass a lot and always upgrades just the bass reproduction in his cars, and he has had a few of them.

Meeting a subject of a feature for the first time is always exciting. I am armed with information about the car and the equipment within the upgrade, but everything else is a surprise. I eagerly waited for Philip to arrive in the car park at Itchen Valley Country Park. I had bagged a parking spot with a green background for the shoot, and all was going so well until an elderly couple pulled up alongside me and began eating their lunch! Fortunately, on this occasion, I had deliberately parked across two car parking spaces in case this happened!

Philip drove into view in his beautifully shiny Audi e-tron. The car is a work of art with sleek lines and enormously wide tyres. It looks like a car that means business!

Philip says he has always liked nice cars and tends to buy up the range where possible. Now retired, he has had a successful career as an engineer, then a salesman and then in marketing. His chief field of expertise was developing what we today have to call HMI (Human Machine Interfaces). He did this for companies in the UK and, later, American companies.

I asked Philip what made him want to upgrade the audio in his car. He says, “I have always enjoyed a lot of bass. I listen to a lot of old classic rock music, which I find lacks low-end and sometimes sounds ‘tinny’. This electric car runs comparatively quietly, but the tyre’s contact surface on the road means I get a lot of bass cancellation, especially when travelling at speed. Despite being fitted at the factory with a subwoofer, I found the bass somewhat lacking.”

Philip frequently upgrades the bass in his cars. He has previously used other manufacturers’ subs, sometimes with a discrete amplifier fitted. He exclusively uses FOUR MASTER Accutek in Winchester to do the work. “Stuart always does a great job, and I trust him. He certainly knows his way around a car, and there are not many I would trust to remove the trim and replace it without a trace.”

When it comes to equipment, Philip leaves the decision up to Accutek. “Stuart always provides me with equipment that suits my requirement. I am not a sound expert, and I firmly believe that Stuart is. I have a relatively modest system at home, but I like the sound of the Sherwood amp and Jamo speakers. I also have a Yamaha subwoofer connected to a Sonos set up in the house.

The subwoofer Stuart chose for this particular car is an Audison Prima APBX 10 AS. This compact active subwoofer sits neatly in the luggage compartment of the Audi with the added advantage of being able to be removed very quickly if more luggage space is required. As sub-bass is non-directional, it should perfectly marry up with the sound from the front speakers.

After taking a few snaps, I was eager to get in and have a listen. I was keen for Philip to play me some music with which he is familiar. He played an AC/DC track, “Gone Shooting”. The bass line is relatively static on this track and just tracks the three root notes of the guitar chords. The sub-bass was very low and forceful. I wanted to hear how articulate the subwoofer was. He chose “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak. This track was much busier in the low end, and I had also discovered the sub-level control. I turned the sub off and was surprised to still hear lots of bass going on. On inspecting his settings, I noticed that Philip had the factory sub turned up, along with the bass on the head unit. With these zeroed, I felt the bass improved. Philip wanted to play some tracks with some sub-bass anomalies. Firstly, he played the first part of “Skater Boy” by Avril Lavigne. Sure enough, it has some massive, very low notes in the introduction. The second track was an enormous surprise. It is Coldplay’s “Paradise”. Once again, it has some very low notes before the vocal entry. These bass notes would almost certainly not be reproduced in other cars.

I played a couple of tracks with which I am very familiar. I wanted to see if the sub-bass could be balanced with the front full-range speakers. I chose Ravels’ “Bolero”, conducted by Andre Previn, as it introduces different instruments of the orchestra one at a time and can reveal a system’s shortcomings. It played surprisingly well, although the sub-bass control had to be backed off quite a way. As with many live recordings, there was a sub-bass rumble which is not meant to be audible. Once I had sorted this, the system performed surprisingly well for balance.

The Audison APBX 10 AS in this car is an absolute beast. I think it does leave the front end somewhat behind, but Philip is entirely satisfied with the result. Music is a very personal thing at the end of the day, and the genius of this upgrade is that Stuart at Accutek was able to give Philip precisely what he wanted.

I am extremely grateful to Philip for giving up his time to meet me and let me listen to his car.

Philip’s Top Five

Mountain Time - Joe Bonamassa
Faster - Within Temptation
Shine on you crazy diamond - Pink Floyd
I should have known it - Tom Petty
Easter - Marillion (1997 remaster)