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Thread: Upgrading the Stereo of a 2003 RS6

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    Registered User live.marc's Avatar
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    Upgrading the Stereo of a 2003 RS6

    As new RS6 owner, and loving it I am now thinking of changing the factory fitted Sat nav for a touchscreen Bluetooth DAB sat nav entertainment system, you know the sort!

    There's a lot of 6" screens out there, and have seen an Alpine 8" screen but crazy price, so may just opt for a 7"

    I have come across icartech in berlin, anyone know if they are any good? ICARTECH S730 for Audi A6 4B (C5)

    Trouble is I am in the UK, so fitting it may be a challenge. Any thoughts, advice welcome as am quite new to this

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    Registered User Other_Erik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by live.marc View Post
    As new RS6 owner, and loving it I am now thinking of changing the factory fitted Sat nav for a touchscreen Bluetooth DAB sat nav entertainment system, you know the sort!

    There's a lot of 6" screens out there, and have seen an Alpine 8" screen but crazy price, so may just opt for a 7"

    I have come across icartech in berlin, anyone know if they are any good? ICARTECH S730 for Audi A6 4B (C5)

    Trouble is I am in the UK, so fitting it may be a challenge. Any thoughts, advice welcome as am quite new to this
    If you're like a lot of us, and prefer going with Audi OE equipment, Zawa can fit you out with an RNS-E Nav+ with a Bluetooth adapter for a lot less than you might think. Once you hear the audio quality (in comparison to the stock system), you'll be convinced

    PM incoming

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    Registered User orcars6's Avatar
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    I am considering as well perhaps....what details can you provide Mr. extremely helpful other_Erik??? I am in Northern Cal. Thx.

  4. #4
    Registered User Other_Erik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by orcars6 View Post
    I am considering as well perhaps....what details can you provide Mr. extremely helpful other_Erik??? I am in Northern Cal. Thx.
    No problem -

    Zawa doesn't want his contact info or pricing made public, thus me coming into these threads and PM'ing the original poster with Zawa's contact info.

    What I can say is you will go back and forth via email with him regarding every little detail on the RNS-E, that it's pretty customizable as far as Sirius/XM module, Bluetooth module add-on, etc... He'll want to know the model of radio (ex: Symphony II with Bose is the most popular in the RS6) you currently have and whether your wiring is stock, whether you're running an aftermarket subwoofer, etc... Whether you want slick or matte frame face, whether you're going to retain your stock navigation signal (EVERYONE should do this, it's about an hour job to pull the old Onstar crap and reroute the antenna cable to the back of the Radio bay), and so on. Lots of questions, and he'll provide pictures of functions and knob selection and different plate looks and every option you can consider.

    Once everything is decided, he'll give you a detailed list of the parts he's going to put in his kit, and how much it'll cost you.

    You'll pay him ($X) via PayPal, and you'll be at the end of the queue to receive an RNS-E. When I did this 2 years ago, it was a "6-week" lead time (I believe that was 5 others in front of me?), and I ended up getting mine in about 3 and a half weeks. Your mileage may vary on delivery speed, and he doesn't do rush jobs - he does right jobs.

    What you will eventually get in a big insured box from NJ is:
    RNS-E Unit, fully assembled and looking brand-spanking new
    Any additional module(s) you requested
    ALL the wiring harnesses you need to plug-and-play
    A set of 4 Audi/VW radio removal keys
    RNS-E radio code card (for the love of god, do not lose this)
    Current year Audi Map DVD for the RNS-E (will not update MMI systems, unfortunately)
    A length of green wire that you can choose (or not) to tap into your vehicle speed sensor wiring behind the cluster - optional but delivers better speed accuracy
    DETAILED full-color printed instructions - maybe 60-70 pages full of pictures and text, plus wiring schematic/pinout drawings
    A DVD full of pictures and movies of the RNS-E in action, how-to setup options, and much more info than you'll probably every look at.
    And more packing material than you'll be able to fit back into the box. I don't know how he does it, it's like some kind of dark magic...

    Disclaimer/full disclosure: I receive nothing for referring people to Zawa besides knowing that more RS6's are receiving a MUCH needed field upgrade - I have no reason to order anything else from him, and doubt that he'd give me a discount if I did. I don't know his pricing structure or how much he makes off these systems, it wouldn't surprise me if he was doing this entirely at-cost. After I received my system, I went back and forth with him and a trusted acquaintance of his trying to troubleshoot a problem with my RNS-E that in the end turned out to be my own stupid fault (self-installation error). 100+ emails back and forth, and he was always fast to answer, first to follow-up when I was slow, and kept the conversation on-track until we finally found my issue

    orcars6 - you'll have a PM in your box momentarily

    O_E
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    Registered User kruat's Avatar
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    He sounds like a stand up guy. When I'm ready for an audio upgrade I'll have to ask you for his info. Although, I may just go aftermarket.
    -Mike-
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    Zawa is way to goo.

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    Registered User 4everRS's Avatar
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    Upgrading the stereo? You mean exhaust work, right?.....
    Avus Silver RS6 - Viper Stage 2 ECU/TCU - Water/Meth Injection - Frozen Rotors - Hbars - clear corners - Hella smoked tails - gutted precats

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    Registered User Other_Erik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kruat View Post
    He sounds like a stand up guy. When I'm ready for an audio upgrade I'll have to ask you for his info. Although, I may just go aftermarket.
    Dropping a PM here in a moment with his contact info. Would definitely say he's a stand-up guy, but then I'm just a semi-anonymous voice on the internet.

    Quote Originally Posted by 4everRS View Post
    Upgrading the stereo? You mean exhaust work, right?.....
    Gutted pre-cats + Open dumps = the best sound you'll ever hear from the RS6.

    The RNS-E puts out much better sound than the stock radio, but that's like saying it's much better than getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick - the stock radio sets the bar pretty low. I've heard better sound quality from 2.1 speakers hooked up to an old laptop than the stock RS6 radio...

    O_E
    #905530 - Brilliant Black on Ebony. Sorted, running strong, ready for a new owner.
    No, I am not the board admin - that's Erik (from Sweden), I'm Other_Erik (from the US)

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    I ended up with a Pioneer Avic X8610BS, very nice iPhone integration with carplay as well. List price is a bit high but Newegg had them for ~ 550 at one point.
    http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...S?tab=firmware

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    Erik, I am interested in the info plzzz

  11. #11
    Registered User Other_Erik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rs6BC View Post
    Erik, I am interested in the info plzzz
    PM Sent

    Thanks!
    O_E
    #905530 - Brilliant Black on Ebony. Sorted, running strong, ready for a new owner.
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  12. #12
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    I need to upgrade this and the PCM system in the Porsche; they're both archaic, and of course I want to keep them both OEM+. I just need to wait til my finances allow for it.
    2017 Subaru BRZ Limited w/ Performance Pack 6MT
    2003 Audi RS 6 quattro 5AT - sold

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    Wait what can you upgrade to from PCM!?!? That never dawned on me but I'd love to do it in the wife's cayenne s.
    RS6 #1 904959, Daytona, Silver, tons of "stuff," went through puddle, dead engine, end of #1 for me, rebuilt by local enthusiast and thriving.
    RS6 #2 904568, Avus, Ebony, no stuff, stock minus RNS-E.

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    I'd love the info for Zawa to upgrade my stock (non navi) system. My old A4 had an aftermarket unit that integrated so perfectly it looked like it OEM but I can't find an equal for the A6/RS6.

  15. #15
    Registered User Other_Erik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyB View Post
    I'd love the info for Zawa to upgrade my stock (non navi) system. My old A4 had an aftermarket unit that integrated so perfectly it looked like it OEM but I can't find an equal for the A6/RS6.
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    No, I am not the board admin - that's Erik (from Sweden), I'm Other_Erik (from the US)

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    OK. Me too. You once sent me some of the info, but never the contact details. I might surprise my wife with this at some point.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dmb408 View Post
    Wait what can you upgrade to from PCM!?!? That never dawned on me but I'd love to do it in the wife's cayenne s.
    I don't want to derail this thread but there's a lot of info on Rennlist and 6speedonline if you just google "PCM upgrade Cayenne"
    2017 Subaru BRZ Limited w/ Performance Pack 6MT
    2003 Audi RS 6 quattro 5AT - sold

  18. #18
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    I've been thinking about upgrading my non navi unit for a while to get the nav and blue tooth phone capability. could you send me the contact info please.

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