2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron Speaker Sizes

The 2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron factory audio system includes an a-pillar and rear door panel accepting 1 inch units. Center dash, d-pillar, and front door panel locations accommodate a 3.5 inch speaker size, while front door panel and rear door panel locations accept 6.5 inch speakers. The cargo area supports an 8 inch unit. Compatible speaker types for replacement and upgrade include tweeter, full-range, midrange, midbass, and subwoofer.

Specific details regarding locations, speaker sizes, and types are outlined in the compatibility chart.

Speaker Details by Location
Location Size Type Notes
A-Pillar 1 Tweeter
  • Requires panel disassembly
  • Professional installation recommended
  • Low replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: high
Cargo Area 8 Subwoofer
  • Ample working space
  • Medium replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: low
Center Dash 3.5 Full-Range
  • Requires dashboard disassembly
  • Medium replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: medium
D-Pillar 3.5 Midrange
  • Extremely difficult access
  • Professional service only
  • Low replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: high
Front Door Panel 3.5 Midrange
  • Standard installation
  • High replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: low
Front Door Panel 6.5 Midbass / Full-Range
  • Standard installation
  • High replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: low
Rear Door Panel 1 Tweeter
  • Standard installation
  • Medium replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: low
Rear Door Panel 6.5 Midbass / Full-Range
  • Standard installation
  • Medium replacement priority
  • Replacement difficulty: low

2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron Speaker Replacement Summary

8 total positions
5 easy to replace
3 high priority
2 professional only

Replacement difficulty:

Low: 5 Medium: 1 High: 2

Replacement priority:

High: 3 Medium: 3 Low: 2

Additional Notes

  • The 2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron incorporates multiple speaker locations throughout the cabin, suggesting a multi-component audio architecture with dedicated drivers for different frequency ranges rather than relying solely on coaxial speakers.
  • The A-pillar and rear door panel positions both accommodate 1-inch tweeters, which typically handle high-frequency reproduction above 3-4 kHz and contribute to soundstage width and imaging clarity.
  • Three separate 3.5-inch locations serve distinct purposes: the center dash uses a full-range driver for central vocal anchoring, while the D-pillar and front door panels employ midrange drivers that likely reproduce frequencies in the 300 Hz to 5 kHz range.
  • Both front and rear door panels feature 6.5-inch positions compatible with either midbass or full-range drivers, offering flexibility depending on whether the system uses component separation or simpler full-range configurations.
  • The cargo area houses an 8-inch subwoofer location, which would typically reproduce low frequencies below 80-100 Hz and provide bass extension that smaller door-mounted drivers cannot achieve.
  • Replacing factory speakers in a component system like this generally prioritizes the front door 6.5-inch positions first, as these contribute most significantly to midrange clarity and midbass impact in the primary listening area.
  • The presence of dedicated tweeter locations in the A-pillars and rear doors indicates that these positions require separate high-frequency drivers when upgrading to aftermarket component speaker sets rather than coaxial designs.
  • The 3.5-inch midrange drivers in the front doors and D-pillars fill the frequency gap between the 1-inch tweeters and 6.5-inch midbass drivers, creating a three-way component configuration in the front stage.
  • Sound improvement from speaker replacement would likely be most noticeable when addressing the 6.5-inch front door positions, as these handle the critical midrange and upper bass frequencies where musical detail and vocal reproduction reside.