Phatnoise Q

I fitted mine myself, into a 2000 S4. Piece of piss. The hardest bit was getting the CD changer out.

andyt

Can you only get this at the dealer then?

If not, where?

Audi/PhatNoise have a marketing agreement whereby the Audi version of the PhatBox is only available through Audi channels. Under this agreement, PhatNoise are not permitted to market the Audi version directly or through other retailers.

If you want an Audi PhatBox, you must go to an Audi dealer.

Or eBay.

Since I'm in the UK, Audi over here don't even know what I'm talking about when I say Phatnoise (or at least they didn't last year when I got mine). I bought it from a guy in the US on eBay last year (called "vwaudiparts"), but he doesn't seem to have any others for sale at the minute. Other people do though.

andyt

I'll agree with that. Bought another car earlier this year and since it only had the concert I wanted to see about getting a PhatBox. I got some confused looks from the salesman! Never did find one in the end :-(

They certainly should do now. The PhatBox has been available through UK Audi dealers for a little while now. Do be aware, though, that the company name is PhatNoise - the device you wanted is a PhatBox.

'bellfamily')

Do you know how much UK dealers are charging for it ?

Thanks

Richard

The commonly quoted price seems to be around £700, but I believe that this includes installation.

'bellfamily')

Thanks for the info. I think it may be significantly cheaper to source it from the US and do the necessary things to make it work and install it myself.

An example.

Richard

So, any idea what else would you need over and above what is provided by that auction?

I think the guy called Andy Turner in this thread should be able to provide the answer.

Richard

I guess this might depend on what model of Audi you have - I have a

2000 S4.

I bought one imported from the US, to the UK. The only extra thing I needed to buy was a new transformer for the docking station since the existing one was 110v only. This version of the Phatbox is wired to couple directly with the wires to the CD changer in your boot. I took out the CD changer and put the Phatbox in its place. It's shaped to fit into exactly the same bracket, with a couple of screws either side. I believe most modern Audi's are pre-wired for CD changers so even if you don't already have one, you should have the wires to connect the Phatbox to.

Presumably you can check the PC requirements yourself, suffice to say any modern PC will do, and you'd probably want it to have USB2 for the increase in speed.

andyt

>

This is the voice-controlled model - right?

Did you have to mount a microphone in the cabin somewhere?

-----------== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Uncensored Usenet News ==----------

The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!-----= Over 100,000 Newsgroups - Unlimited Fast Downloads - 19 Servers =-----

What voice-controlled model???

What's the microphone for?

The Glovebox guide just has a cryptic reference to it:

but I believe there is a voice command interface -

"Audi's new PhatNoiseT Digital Car Audio System puts thousands of songs (up to 500 CDs) at your fingertips, with an onboard voice-enabled search to let you browse your music collection by Playlist, Album, Artist, and Genre - so you never have to take your eyes off the road."

So your Phatnoise can hear you, of course!

That means that the PhatBox speaks to you, not you to it (well, you can, but it won't hear you). You still have to push buttons.

There's nowhere to connect a microphone on the PhatBox, so I don't think it will hear you.

This isn't voice control or recognition. The PC software generates voice tags which are stored on the phathoise cartridge along with the tracks themselves. Then, as you're navigating through the albums or artists, you get a voice reading out the name of each.

andyt

That's what I get for listening to the VW salesperson.

Thanks for the info -